The king’s statement to Esther here almost defies logic. It is essentially as if he said to her, “Esther! I haven’t sent for you for over a month and I’ve instead been with my concubines and other wives. But now that you’re here, I really like you and even though I haven’t really thought about you at all lately, what is it that you want? I’ll give you up to half my kingdom!”

As preposterous as that sounds, it is what he told her. It seems like all that prayer and fasting for the past three days had come in handy.

We see this phrase in another place in scripture, so it must have been a thing people said in the ancient world.

22When the daughter of d Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

Mark 6:22-23

It isn’t clear in either case if this was hyperbole or a colloquial phrase, but almost certainly neither of these kings (Ahaseurus or Herod) would have truly handed half their kingdom over to these two women. The meaning was clear in Esther’s case, however. The king was so pleased with her that he wanted her to know she could speak freely and ask for whatever she wanted. My guess is that he thought she wanted to ask to buy something or for some kind of “do-gooder” cause, and he was more than willing to oblige.

What do you think the king thought Esther was going to ask for?

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Esther is simultaneously a victory and a tragedy. In some ways, If you look at it through a modern lens, it should be called the Victory of Mordecai and the Tragedy of Esther. Esther loses her parents and then is taken into the harem of a despotic king to be used as he wishes. Mordecai ends up, like Daniel, a very high official and ruler in his expatriated land.

This will be a great study of Esther as we look at the emotions, the world and the meanings of one of the most cherished, and often misunderstood books of the Bible.

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