Esther 2:17

17 Now, the king loved Esther more than all the other women and favored her over all the other virgins. So he put the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

Esther 2:17 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 2:17

And the king loved Esther above all the women
The virgins he made his concubines, as next explained; though Jarchi interprets it of married women, for such he supposes were gathered and brought to him, as well as virgins:

and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the
virgins;
who had been purified, and in their turns brought to him:

so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen
instead of Vashti;
declared her queen, and gave her all the ensigns of royalty: so it was usual with the eastern kings to put a crown or diadem on the heads of their wives at the time of marriage, and declare them queens ^F19.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Vid. Paschalium de Coronis, l. 10. c. 8. p. 689.

Esther 2:17 In-Context

15 (Esther was the daughter of Abihail, Mordecai's uncle. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter.) When Esther's turn came to go to the king, she asked only for what the king's eunuch Hegai, the guardian of the women, advised. Everyone who saw Esther liked her.

16 So Esther was taken to King Xerxes in his royal palace in the month of Tebeth, the tenth month, in the seventh year of his reign.

17 Now, the king loved Esther more than all the other women and favored her over all the other virgins. So he put the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

18 Then the king held a great banquet for Esther. He invited all his officials and his advisers. He also declared that day a holiday in the provinces, and he handed out gifts from his royal generosity.

19 When the virgins were gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate.