Esther 1:10

10 On the seventh day, when the king's heart was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains [a] that served in the presence of king Ahasuerus,

Esther 1:10 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 1:10

On the seventh day
Of the feast, the last day of it, which the Rabbins, as Jarchi observes, say was the sabbath day, and so the Targum:

when the heart of the king was merry with wine;
when he was intoxicated with it, and knew not well what he said or did; and the discourse at table ran upon the beauty of women, as the latter Targum; when the king asserted there were no women so beautiful as those of Babylon, and, as a proof of it, ordered his queen to be brought in:

he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar,
and Carcas, the seven chamberlains, that served in the presence of
Ahasuerus the king;
or "eunuchs", as the word is sometimes rendered; and such persons were made use of in the eastern countries to, wait upon women, and so were proper to be sent on the king's errand to the queen.

Esther 1:10 In-Context

8 And the drinking was, according to commandment, without constraint; for so the king had appointed to all the magnates of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.
9 Also the queen Vashti made a feast for the women of the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
10 On the seventh day, when the king's heart was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of king Ahasuerus,
11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown to shew the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was of beautiful countenance.
12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king which was [sent] by the chamberlains; and the king was very wroth, and his fury burned in him.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or 'eunuchs;' and so vers. 12,15, &c.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.