2:1 The beginning of this chapter is similar to the end of chapter 1: the king reacts to his wife (this time in sadness, not anger) and is told by others what to do. There is no remorse from the king after his anger clears: he only remembers what she did (not how he reacted) and what had been decreed about her (even though he approved the decree).

2:2–4 As always, Ahasuerus is told what to do by others: a national beauty pageant should be held to choose a new queen. Reconciling with Vashti, who has violated the king’s fragile and oversensitive sense of honor, is apparently out of the question. Once again the silly ostentation of the Persian Empire is on full display.

2:5 Our two heroes are introduced. The first thing we learn about Mordecai is that he is a Jew. Although this designation will take on increasing weight as Haman’s hatred focuses on him, at this point in the story it serves only to identify him as one more minority in an empire that is home to many non-Persians (1:22). His genealogy also identifies him as a son of Kish. This connection with King Saul (Kish’s son) will become important later in the story.

2:6 Three times we are told Mordecai had been among those “carried away” in the exile, even though the first clause would have been sufficient to communicate that fact. This helps define Mordecai’s precarious and vulnerable position in Persia. He is not there by choice and has no recourse to any of the resources Israelites enjoyed in the Promised Land. It might be significant that no desire to return to Israel or grief or worry over its fate is ever registered by Mordecai, even though Cyrus, an earlier Persian king, had already allowed for Jews to return (cf. Neh. 1:4 for a stark contrast). These concerns might have been dear to Mordecai’s heart, but we are never told of them. Despite the book’s support for the work of God’s people in and for a pagan society, this silence is noticeable.

2:7 Esther is introduced, first by her Jewish name (Hadassah, meaning “myrtle”) and then by her Babylonian name, derived from either the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar or the Persian word for “star.” She is described only in relation to her physical beauty—qualifying her for Ahasuerus’s contest—and in relation to her cousin who had adopted her.

2:8 Esther is taken into the harem for the process of beautification. The passive verb is important: her wishes are not consulted and, in fact, are not even known. It could be that she had received a wonderful spiritual upbringing from her cousin and that harem life was therefore tantamount to torture for her. On the other hand, she might have thought all of her dreams were coming true. We are told nothing.

2:9 Esther wins the attention and affection of the chief eunuch, who singles her out from probably hundreds of young women for special treatment. This reminds us of Joseph (Gen. 39:2, 23) and Daniel (Dan. 1:17–20) and prompts us to interpret Esther’s success as being from God, raising our expectations that God will work through Esther in redemptive ways, even if, unlike in Genesis 39 and Daniel 1, he is not explicitly mentioned.

2:10–11 Another question about the characters’ motivation confronts us: Why does Mordecai tell Esther to keep her Jewish identity a secret? (Note, again, that this is phrased in terms of ethnic identity and not spiritual allegiance.) A cynical reading might suggest Mordecai is worried about ruining Esther’s chances in the beauty contest and wants a high-placed insider in the royal court for the good of his own people. But Jewishness as such does not seem to have provided any obstacle to living or working in Persia; outside of Haman’s scheming, it is never a particular problem when Mordecai reveals he is Jewish, nor is it an impediment in other postexilic books. Persia as a whole does not appear to have been an anti-Semitic place (cf. comment on 3:15). It is probably more likely that Mordecai understands the unstable and unfair nature of the court and is worried about possible persecution of minorities. As it turns out, this worry is well founded, but it will be Mordecai who provokes the wrong party.

2:12–14 The particular process of the beauty contest is explained. After an opulent beauty treatment extending an entire year, the contestant is allowed whatever she wants to help her chances of being chosen as queen. (We are not told what the young women would take with them to the king’s palace; perhaps it was special clothing or aphrodisiacs.) A single night would be spent with the king, after which the woman would pass to the custody of another eunuch in the harem. There she would spend her life unless the king decided to pick her as queen. We learned in verses 2–3 that the main qualification for this contest was physical beauty; now we learn what “pleasing the king” (v. 4) actually involves: pleasing the king in bed. We also learn the incredibly slim odds of Esther ever seeing the king again after that first night.

2:15–16 When it is Esther’s turn, she asks for no help beyond what her handler recommends. Since this is followed immediately by a statement of her finding favor not just in the eyes of Hegai (v. 9) but from everyone who sees her (again, the text focuses on physical appearance), this should be interpreted as another sign of her success—Esther is different from the other women, who were bringing whatever they thought could help them please the king sexually. As before, however, Esther’s success in pleasing the Persian king in bed creates an ironic contrast with other heroes to whom God granted success in pagan settings, such as Joseph and Daniel. Although God will be at work to save many lives through Esther (cf. Gen. 45:7), and although Esther was not given a choice in the matter, there is a clear contrast with Joseph refusing Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39) and Daniel and his friends refusing normal Babylonian meals.

Esther is again identified according to her Jewish ancestry and her relation to Mordecai (Est. 2:15a), even though this information repeats what we were recently told (v. 7). Registering her Jewish ancestry as she goes to Ahasuerus might produce the effect of making her night as a sexual toy of a pagan king even more jarring and unpalatable. Notice, however, that the information given relates only to the men in control of her life: her deceased father, the cousin who had adopted her, and then the king. The repetition in verses 15–16 of the verb “take” from verse 8 creates a contrast with Mordecai’s adopting her: Mordecai took her in, but now she is taken to the king. Esther is moving from the authority of Mordecai to that of the king. Esther is passive throughout, receptive and pliable to whoever stands over her, whether her cousin, the king, or his eunuchs.

2:17–18 The original terms of the contest involved pleasing the king in physical attractiveness (v. 4) or in bed (v. 14). Although Esther clearly fulfills both of these conditions, we are told not that she has fulfilled these conditions but that the king loves her. This connotes sincere attention and affection (cf. Gen. 24:67; 29:18; Song 1:7). Instead of being only a sexual plaything, Esther unexpectedly receives a genuine level of care from the king. Without delay, she is crowned queen with a great feast. The book’s first feast led to Vashti’s demotion; the book’s second feast is Esther’s promotion in place of Vashti.

The mention of tax relief could have been omitted with no loss to the narrative. There are a few hints in the book that the success and advancement of the Jews will benefit the empire as a whole (cf. comment on Est. 3:15); the end of 2:18 should probably be read as one more example of this.

2:19–20 Esther is now placed exactly where she needs to be for the story to unfold; although she is taken from the king’s presence to the “second harem” (v. 19a AT; cf. Hb. and v. 14), she is the one person in the kingdom who will be able to foil Haman’s plot. The repetition of her keeping her identity secret (v. 20a) is important in a number of ways. First and foremost, her rise to prominence has not given away her secret. Doubtless Haman would have thought twice about attacking the people group of the king’s beloved wife; and if he had known, he would have been more suspicious of attending two banquets held by this Jewish queen. Verse 20 also emphasizes that even though Esther has been taken to the king, she has not forgotten Mordecai. Her new position has not broken her obedience to him. This, too, will be important once Mordecai needs Esther to influence the king.

Mordecai’s position in the gate (v. 19) means he is a government bureaucrat. The gate was a large building with a number of offices serving as the administrative center of the palace.

2:21–23 In the briefest way, the writer recounts an assassination attempt on the king discovered by Mordecai and foiled. This interlude contributes to the story in several ways. In addition to underscoring the instability and danger within the Persian court, we see the first instance of Mordecai working through Esther to reach the king—a strategy that will save many Jewish lives later in the book. The traitors’ execution by hanging foreshadows ominously the fate of the book’s main villain. Mordecai’s good deed is recorded but is unrewarded, contrary to normal Persian custom. This will allow the king to be reminded of his oversight later, at the most opportune moment (6:3). We also see Mordecai being honest and loyal to the king, irrespective of the king’s faults or his treatment of Mordecai’s adopted cousin. Revealing the plot also took courage—if the would-be assassins had known Mordecai was aware of their treason, his life would have been in danger. Finally, Mordecai says nothing about being passed over for a promotion or reward after this act of service to the king—he is not interested in self-promotion. Mordecai will continue to show these qualities throughout the story.