Esther 10:3

3 For Mordecai the Jew was next in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was powerful among the Jews and popular with his many kindred, for he sought the good of his people and interceded for the welfare of all his descendants.

Esther 10:3 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 10:3

For Mordecai the Jew was next unto Ahasuerus
The second man in the kingdom, the principal of the counsellors, and prime minister of state:

and great among the Jews;
highly respected by them, in great honour and esteem with them, for which there was great reason:

and accepted of the multitude of his brethren;
or of many, of most, of the greatest part of them; for, let a man be ever so deserving, there are some that will envy his greatness, cavil at everything done by him, and speak evil of him without any just reason:

seeking the wealth of his people;
their good, their welfare and happiness, temporal and spiritual:

and speaking peace to all his seed;
not only to his family, but to all the Jews who were of the same seed with him, the seed of Abraham; either speaking to them in an humble and condescending manner, being very humane, affable, and courteous; or speaking for them to the king, asking of him for them what might conduce to their peace, prosperity, and happiness. No mention is made in this history of the death and burial either of Mordecai or Esther; but the author of Cippi Hebraici says F26, that Mordecai was buried in the city of Shushan, and that all the Jews in those parts assemble at his grave on the day of Purim, and sing songs, playing on tabrets and pipes, rejoicing that there was a miracle wrought; and the same writer says F1, they do the like at that time at the grave of Esther, half a mile from Tzephat, read this book that bears her name, eat, drink, and rejoice. Benjamin of Tudela says {b}, they were both buried before a synagogue, at a place called Hamdan.


FOOTNOTES:

F26 P. 70. Ed. Hottinger.
F1 Ib. p. 64.
F2 Itinerar. p. 96.

Esther 10:3 In-Context

1 King Ahasuerus laid tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea.
2 All the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Media and Persia?
3 For Mordecai the Jew was next in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was powerful among the Jews and popular with his many kindred, for he sought the good of his people and interceded for the welfare of all his descendants.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.