Esther 2:5

5 Now there was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite.

Esther 2:5 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 2:5

Now in Shushan the palace was a certain Jew
Not one of the tribe of Judah, for he was afterwards called a Benjaminite; but was so called, because he was of the kingdom of Judah, which consisted of both tribes. Jarchi says, all that were carried captive with the kings of Judah were called Jews among the nations, though of another tribe: whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of
Kish, a Benjamite;
who was among those that came with Zerubbabel from Babylon to Jerusalem, and returned to Persia again, ( Ezra 2:2 ) ( Nehemiah 7:7 ) , though some think this was another Mordecai; (See Gill on Ezra 2:2), who descended not from Kish, the father of Saul, but a later and more obscure person.

Esther 2:5 In-Context

3 And let the king appoint commissioners in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in the citadel of Susa under custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; let their cosmetic treatments be given them.

4 And let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." This pleased the king, and he did so.

5 Now there was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite.

6 Kish had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with King Jeconiah of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had carried away.

7 Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his cousin, for she had neither father nor mother; the girl was fair and beautiful, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter.