Esther 9:19

19 And these Jews, that dwelled in burg towns not walled, and in villages, deemed the fourteen day of the month [of] Adar to be solemn of feasts, and of joy, so that they be joyful therein, and send, each to (the) other, parts of their feasts, and of their meats. (And this is why those Jews who live in remote towns without walls, and in villages, deem the fourteen day of the month of Adar, or of March, to be a time for feasts, and for joy, and indeed they be joyful on that day, and send portions of the food from their feasts to one another.)

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 Certainly the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, or March, was the day of slaying with all them, and in the fourteenth day they ceased to slay; and that day they ordained to be solemn, so that therein in each time afterward, they should give attention to meats, to joy, and to feasts. (And so the thirteenth day of the month of Adar was the day that the Jews, outside the city of Susa, slaughtered their enemies, and then on the fourteenth day they ceased their slaughter; and that day they ordained as a time for feasting, so that at that time each year thereafter, they would give attention to food, and to joy, and to feasts.)

18 And those Jews, that used, or haunted, the slaying in the city of Susa, lived in (the) slaying in the thirteenth and fourteenth day(s) of the same month. But in the fifteenth day they ceased to slay; and therefore they ordained the same day to be solemn of feasts and of gladness. (But the Jews, who did the slaughter in the capital city of Susa, continued their slaughter from the thirteenth to the fourteenth day of the month. And then on the fifteenth day they ceased the slaughter of their enemies; and so they ordained that day to be a time for feasts and for gladness.)

19 And these Jews, that dwelled in burg towns not walled, and in villages, deemed the fourteen day of the month [of] Adar to be solemn of feasts, and of joy, so that they be joyful therein, and send, each to (the) other, parts of their feasts, and of their meats. (And this is why those Jews who live in remote towns without walls, and in villages, deem the fourteen day of the month of Adar, or of March, to be a time for feasts, and for joy, and indeed they be joyful on that day, and send portions of the food from their feasts to one another.)

20 And Mordecai wrote all these things, and he sent all these things written by letters to the Jews, that dwelled in all the provinces of the king, as well to Jews dwelling nigh as far, (And Mordecai wrote down all these things, and he sent letters concerning all these things, to the Jews who lived in all the king's provinces, yea, to the Jews living nearby, as well as to those living afar off,)

21 that they should receive and hold for their feast days the fourteenth and the fifteenth day(s) of the month [of] Adar, and ever[more] when the year turneth again, to hallow these days with solemn honour; (so that they would keep the fourteenth and the fifteenth days of the month of Adar, for their feast days, and forevermore when the year turneth again, celebrate these days with feasts of honouring;)