Esther 2:6

6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.

Esther 2:6 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 2:6

Who had been carried away from Jerusalem
Which, according to some F6, is to be connected, not with Mordecai, but with Kish, his great-grandfather; and indeed otherwise Mordecai must be now a very old man, and Esther his first cousin, they being brothers' children, must be at an age, one would think, not to be reckoned among young virgins, and not be so amiable as she is represented; and indeed, according to the former Targum, she was seventy five years of age, which is not credible; and yet this, and more she must be, to be equal to Mordecai, if he was carried captive, as follows:

with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of
Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away;
which was eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem, for so long Zedekiah reigned after that captivity of Jeconiah: hence Sir John Marsham F7 makes this affair of Esther to be within the time of the Babylonish captivity, and places Ahasuerus her husband between Darius the Mede and Cyrus, contrary to history and Scripture, see ( Daniel 6:28 )


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Vid. Rainold. de Lib. Apocryph. Praelect. 113, 117, 146.
F7 Chronicon. see. 18. p. 609, 621.

Esther 2:6 In-Context

4 And let the maiden that pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.
5 There was in Shushan the fortress a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,
6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter; for she had neither father nor mother -- and the maiden was fair and beautiful -- and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.
8 And it came to pass when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the fortress, unto the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was brought into the king's house, unto the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Jehoiachin, 2Kings 24.6, &c.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.