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旧约 - 以斯帖记(Esther)第2章

Later when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her.
Then the king's personal attendants proposed, "Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king.
Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them.
Then let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish,
who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah.
Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
When the king's order and edict had been proclaimed, many girls were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem.
The girl pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.
Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so.
Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.
Before a girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.
And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king's palace.
In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
When the turn came for Esther (the girl Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her.
She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
And the king gave a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate.
But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai's instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.
During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai.
And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were hanged on a gallows. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
以斯帖记第二章   第 2 章 

  斯 2:1> 后悔药是没处买的,你看亚哈随鲁王…… 

  2:1 亚哈随鲁王可能事后又想起瓦实提以往的好处来,但他已经降旨将她逐出,此时后悔也晚了。 

  斯 2:3,14-17> “三千宠爱于一身,六宫粉黛无颜色”──以斯帖的命运是凶是吉? 

  2:3,14-17 波斯王除了爱搜集大量珠宝,也爱搜罗众多美女。年轻处女离乡背井,住进皇宫后院,专候皇帝召唤服事他。她们甚少见到皇帝,生活枯燥乏味。如果以斯帖不被选中,她的命运也一如其他女子──皇帝见她一面后便把她忘记。但以斯帖极得皇帝欢心,得封为后,取代了瓦实提的位置。皇后较妃嫔的地位高,享有较多自由,影响力也较大。虽然如此,由于以前的皇后被认为滥用自由,因此以斯帖的特权也受到限制。 

  末底改 

  斯 2:5-6> 末底改的身世如何── 

  2:5-6 末底改是犹太人。犹太人自一百多年前被掳至此以来,人口已经倍增。他们享有很大的自由,获准从商做买卖,并在朝廷任官( 2:19 ;但 6:3 )。 

  斯 2:6> 末底改到底有没有被掳的经历? 

  2:6 圣经说耶路撒冷被毁时,末底改亦被掳走。果真如此的话,末底改此时已逾一百岁了。这疑点可解释为,在这里“末底改”亦可指“末底改的家人”;被掳走的极可能是末底改的父母、祖父母,甚或曾祖父母,而不是末底改本人。 

  斯 2:6> 2:6 耶哥尼雅又称为约雅斤(参王下 24:8-17 )。 

  斯 2:10> 以斯帖为什么要对自己的身分保密? 

  2:10 以斯帖实质上没权力,也不能常见到皇帝,因此最好不随便暴露身分。虽然身为神的子民,我们有责任勇敢地表明自己的身分,但有些时候,对此保持缄默,直至适当时候才予以表露,不失为上策。但不管怎样,我们都可以让别人从我们身上看到神的作为。 

  斯 2:17> “这是神对我的安排吗?这有何意义?”也许在将来你会看到…… 

  2:17 早在犹太人面临灭族威胁以前,神已把以斯帖放在皇后的位分,到困难出现时,便有合适的人选提供帮助。在转工或环境转变时,即使你看不透神的心意,也当知道,神把你放在某一位置,或许是为了将来有需要时,透过你而有所作为。 

  斯 2:19> 既已选立了王后,为何再次选美? 

  2:19 亚哈随鲁王第二次下令召集少女,不是为选立皇后,而是满足他自私享乐的欲念。 

  斯 2:23> “挂在木头上”的意思是── 

  2:23 在以斯帖所处的时代,把犯人吊在木架上,让他们气绝身亡,是很普遍的治罪方法。──《灵修版圣经注释》