Esther 1:9

9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.

Esther 1:9 in Other Translations

9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.

9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus.

9 At the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.

9 Meanwhile, Queen Vashti was throwing a separate party for women inside King Xerxes' royal palace.

9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.

9 Queen Vashti also held a banquet for the women at the royal palace of King Xerxes.

9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women of King Ahasuerus' palace.

9 Queen Vashti also gave a big dinner. Only women were invited. It was held in the royal palace of King Xerxes.

Esther 1:9 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 1:9

Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women
&c.] For it was not customary with the Persians, nor other eastern nations, to admit of women to their festivals ^F13, but they feasted by themselves. Who Vashti was is not known with any certainty. Bishop Usher, who takes Ahasuerus to be Darius Hystaspis, thinks Vashti was Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, whom he married. The Targumist says, she was the daughter of Evilmerodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar. Her name seems to be the same with Vesta, a deity worshipped by the Persians, as Xenophon {n}, and signifies vehement fire, which was in great veneration with them; and therefore this queen is most likely to be of Persian original: she kept her feast

in the royal house which belonged to Ahasuerus;
her guests not being so many, there was room enough in the king's palace for them, and where it was more decent for them to be than in the open air in the garden, and exposed to the sight of men.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F13 Justin c Trogo, l. 41. c. 3.
F14 Cyropaedia, l. 1. c. 23.

Esther 1:9 In-Context

7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.

8 By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.

9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.

10 On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas—

11 to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at.

Cross References

• 1. S 1 Kings 3:15