Esther 4:17

17 So Mordecai went and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

Esther 4:17 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 4:17

So Mordecai went his way
About the business he was directed to; the word used having sometimes the signification of passing over or transgressing, Jarchi interprets it of Mordecai's transgressing the command, by fasting on a festival; the letter being written on the thirteenth of Nisan, ( Esther 3:12 ) , the next day was the passover, on which he supposes the fast began; and the three days were, the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth of the month, and belonged to the feast of the passover and of unleavened bread; so the Targum:

and did according to all that Esther had commanded him;
got the Jews together, and kept a fast three days; according to the Midrash F5 they were the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of Nisan.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 Midrash Esther, fol. 94. 4.

Esther 4:17 In-Context

15 Then Esther told them to return Mordecai this answer,
16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day; I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so I will go in unto the king, even though this is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.
17 So Mordecai went and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010