Esther 2:5

5 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 Let the king appoint chief officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every attractive young virgin to the {harem} in the citadel of Susa {under the care of} Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let him give [them] their beauty treatment.

4 And let the young woman {who is pleasing} in the king's eyes become queen in place of Vashti. The thing was good in the king's eyes, and he acted accordingly.

5 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 who was deported from Jerusalem with the exiles who were deported with Jeconiah the king of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported.

7 He was raising Hadassah, that [is] Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she did not have a father or a mother; the young woman [had] a beautiful figure and [was] very attractive. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had taken her as his daughter.