Esther 5:6

6 And the king said to Esther {while they were drinking wine}, "What [is] your petition? It will be given to you. What [is] your request? Even half the kingdom, it will done.

Esther 5:6 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 5:6

And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine
For such it seems the banquet was she prepared; it was not properly a meal, neither dinner nor supper, but a drinking bout; or, however, it was at that part of the banquet in which wine was drank that the king accosted Esther, when he began to be cheerful with it. The Persians at their meals had two courses: the first consisted of meats at which they drank water, the other of fruits, when they drank wine; Aelianus ^F9 says, the Persians, after they are filled with food, indulge themselves in drinking wine:

what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy
request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed;
by which it appears he retained the same affection for Esther, and the same disposition to show her kindness. See ( Esther 5:3 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 1.

Esther 5:6 In-Context

4 And Esther said, "If it is good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him."

5 And the king said, "Bring Haman quickly {to fulfill} the request of Esther." So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

6 And the king said to Esther {while they were drinking wine}, "What [is] your petition? It will be given to you. What [is] your request? Even half the kingdom, it will done.

7 And Esther answered and said, "[This is] my petition and my request.

8 If I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it is good to the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them tomorrow, and I will do according to the word of the king.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "at the meal of wine"