Esther 5:1

1 And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. And being splendidly arrayed, having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. And she blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face cheerful, and benevolent, but her heart straitened for fear. And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king: and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her colour as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before . But God changed the spirit of the king gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceable words, and said to her, What is , Esther? I thy brother; be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, for our command is openly declared , Draw nigh.

Esther 5:1 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 5:1

Now it came to pass on the third day
Of the fast; though the former Targum paraphrases it the third day of the passover, the sixteenth of Nisan, (See Gill on Esther 4:17), though it is probable this was nearer the time fixed for the destruction of the Jews, see ( Esther 8:9 ) , yet the Jews have fixed the fast of Esther on that very day, the thirteenth of Adar ^F6:

that Esther put on her royal apparel;
in order to go in to the king, and appear before him; which to do in a mournful habit, such as she had on when fasting, was not proper; for then she put off her royal crown, as is intimated in the additions to the book of Esther,

And upon the third day, when she had ended her prayers, she laid away her mourning garments, and put on her glorious apparel. (Esther 15:1)

and as was usual for princes to do in times of mourning ^F7; but now she put it on, as both Ben Gorion ^F8 and the latter Targum affirm:

and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the
king's house;
into which none might go but such as were called; yet Esther being queen, the keepers of the door could not forbid her, as Aben Ezra observes:

and the king sat upon his royal throne, in the royal house, over
against the gate of the house;
so that he could see whoever came in at it, into the inner court.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Vid Reland. Antiqu. Heb. par. 4. c. 13. sect. 5.
F7 Vid. Paschalium de Coronis, l. 10. c. 11. p. 699.
F8 Hist. Heb. Jud. l. 2. c. 4.

Esther 5:1 In-Context

1 And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. And being splendidly arrayed, having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. And she blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face cheerful, and benevolent, but her heart straitened for fear. And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king: and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her colour as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before . But God changed the spirit of the king gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceable words, and said to her, What is , Esther? I thy brother; be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, for our command is openly declared , Draw nigh.

2 And having raised the golden sceptre he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her, and said, Speak to me. And she said to him, I saw thee, lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of thy glory; for thou, lord, art to be wondered at, and thy face full of grace. And while she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her.

3 And the king said, What wilt thou, Esther? and what is thy request? even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be thine.

4 And Esther said, To-day is my great day: if then it seem good to the king, let both him and Aman come to the feast which I will prepare this day.

5 And the king said, Hasten Aman hither, that we may perform the word of Esther. So they both come to the feast of which Esther had spoken.

Footnotes

• [a]. widely differs from the