Esther 9:19

19 On this account then the Jews dispersed in every foreign land keep the fourteenth of Adar a holy day with joy, sending portions each to his neighbour.

Esther 9:19 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 9:19

Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled
towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness
and feasting
Jarchi observes that those in the villages, who are they that do not dwell in walled towns, observed the fourteenth, and they in towns surrounded with walls the fifteenth, as Shushan; and this circumvallation, he says, must be what was from the days of Joshua; according to the Jewish canons, every place that was walled from the days of Joshua the son of Nun, whether in the land of Israel or out of it, though not now walled they read (i.e. the book of Esther) on the fifteenth of Adar, and this is called a walled town; but a place which was not walled in the days of Joshua, though now walled, they read in the fourteenth, and this is called a city; but the city Shushan, though it was not walled in the days of Joshua, they read on the fifteenth, because in it was done a miracle ^F13 and each of these was kept as a day of public rejoicing for their great deliverance and freedom from their enemies:

and a good day:
as the Jews usually call the several days of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles:

and of sending portions one to another:
expressive of mutual joy, and congratulating one another upon the happiness they shared in; see ( Revelation 11:10 ) , and particularly this may respect sending gifts to the poor, who had not that to rejoice and make merry with others had; see ( Nehemiah 8:10 ) , though these seem to be distinct from them, ( Esther 9:22 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 Maimon. Hilchot. Megillah, c. 1. sect. 4. 5. T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 2. 2.

Esther 9:19 In-Context

17 And they rested on the fourteenth of the same month, and kept it as a day of rest with joy and gladness.

18 And the Jews in the city Susa assembled also on the fourteenth and rested; and they kept also the fifteenth with joy and gladness.

19 On this account then the Jews dispersed in every foreign land keep the fourteenth of Adar a holy day with joy, sending portions each to his neighbour.

20 And Mardochaeus wrote these things in a book, and sent them to the Jews, as many as were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, both them that were near and them that were afar off,

21 to establish these joyful days, and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar;

Footnotes

• [a]. good day.