Esther 2:6

6 1who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar 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 young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." This pleased the king, and he did so.
5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite,
6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away.
7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
8 So when the king's order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women.

Cross References 1

  • 1. 2 Kings 24:14, 15; 2 Chronicles 36:10, 20; Jeremiah 24:1; Jeremiah 29:1, 2
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.