So when the king's order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women.
A royal order goes out across the empire, and one orphaned Jewish girl is taken with the rest into the king's palace in Susa, into the care of Hegai, the man in charge of the women. God is never named anywhere in this book, so the verse raises a question — is anything here more than palace routine, and who is really moving events?
God working without His name
Commentators read this book as the record of God acting behind a curtain. The command goes out, the girls are gathered, and one of them happens to be a Jew.
William KellyGod can work where He cannot announce Himself. Here is a striking example. When the command went out for young women to be sought for the king, so that he could take his choice, among the others in Susa the citadel there was a certain Jew named Mordecai.
A hidden girl among a hidden people
Her very name carries the theme, and it fits the state of the nation she belonged to.
Leslie M. GrantEsther means "I will be hidden." The book deals with the Jews during their captivity, outside their own land, hidden among the nations. Yet God was caring for them behind the scenes — the same God they had disobeyed. And God's name is not found in the book: He is hidden too. He cannot link His name openly with them, because their scattering is discipline for their disobedience. What is more, they had chosen to stay in Persia, even though God had opened the way for them to return to Israel.
Taken, not consulted
Esther does not volunteer. She is taken. Writers do not soften what that meant for a Jewish girl.
H. L. RossierWe see the Jewish wife handed over by force to the Gentile king, like a slave whom someone disposes of, without ever being asked! Her will counts for nothing in this union. She is forced into it. Such a position might be highly desirable to all the other young women in the empire, but it could not be desirable for Esther.
Scripture's deliberate silence
Should Mordecai have hidden her? Should Esther have gone? The text does not say, and commentators point to that silence instead of filling the gap.
William KellyWhatever we may think of Mordecai or of Esther in this matter — and Scripture is silent here, neither accusing nor excusing — we do not wait long before the vital question is raised. The Jews must either die or be delivered beyond all outward hope, and that without sign, wonder, or miracle.
Favour with everyone who saw her
Once she is inside, something happens that no royal order could arrange.
F. B. HoleIt was fairly certain that one young woman would win the king's favour. But Esther won more than that. She also won the favour of the king's chamberlain, and indeed of everyone who looked at her. So she was lifted all at once into a position of extraordinary influence.
The keeper of the women as a picture
Hegai's whole job is to make a woman ready to stand before the king. Writers see in that a lesson that reaches past Persia.
Michael HardtEsther goes through a time of preparation before she can meet the king. In the same way, there will be a time of preparation for the remnant. The true Esther will be prepared under the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit, pictured here by Hegai, and her beauty will be brought into display. This also applies to Christians today: the Spirit needs to show us the way. We cannot reach beauty by our own thinking.
The long beauty treatment in the palace draws a sharper comment.
Leslie M. GrantSo the unbelieving world thinks it can improve on the beauty of those whom God has created, by various artificial means. Very likely the king would have been just as impressed with Esther if there had not been this long delay.
Why the swap of queens matters
Queen Vashti has been put out, and a Jewish girl takes her place. Commentators read that exchange as a picture of something still ahead.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinEsther is a picture of the Jewish remnant. The King of Israel, our Lord, will call that remnant when Gentile Christendom has been disowned and set aside for its unfaithfulness, just as Vashti was set aside. So Vashti and Esther illustrate the parable of the good and the wild olive tree in Romans 11.
Summary
- Hidden. Her name means "I will be hidden" — hidden girl, hidden nation, hidden God whose name never appears in the book.
- Taken. She is gathered by decree, disposed of like a slave, her own will counting for nothing in the arrangement.
- Unjudged. On whether she or Mordecai should have complied, Scripture is silent, neither accusing nor excusing.
- Favoured. She wins the king's favour, the chamberlain's, and that of everyone who looks at her — and is lifted at once into extraordinary influence.
- Prepared. Hegai gets her ready for the king. That preparation pictures the Spirit's work, which still applies to believers now.