Esther 5:3

3 And the king said to her, "What [is] it, Queen Esther? What [is] your request? It will be given to you--even half the kingdom."

Esther 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 5:3

Then said the king unto her, what wilt thou, Queen Esther?
&c.] He supposed she had some business with him, some suit to make to him, by her coming in this manner:

and what is thy request?
signifying he was ready to grant it, be it what it would:

it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom;
as it was usual with the Persian kings to give their wives cities for certain purposes, (See Gill on Esther 2:18), here Ahasuerus, out of his great affection to Esther, offers half of his dominions, his one hundred and twenty seven provinces; meaning that he would grant her anything, and everything that was reasonable, and even magnificent; it is an hyperbolical and courtly way of speaking, and which has been used in later times, and in other countries; see ( Mark 6:23 ) .

Esther 5:3 In-Context

1 And it happened, on the third day, and Esther put on royal clothes, and she stood in the inner courtyard of the {king's palace}, opposite the {king's palace}; the king [was] sitting on his royal throne in the {throne room} opposite the doorway of the palace.

2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard she found favor in his eyes, and the king held out the gold scepter that [was] in his hand to Esther, and Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter.

3 And the king said to her, "What [is] it, Queen Esther? What [is] your request? It will be given to you--even half the kingdom."

4 And Esther said, "If it is good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him."

5 And the king said, "Bring Haman quickly {to fulfill} the request of Esther." So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.