Esther 2:21-23
2:21 a Bigthana might be the Bigtha of 1:10 b, one of the king’s seven eunuchs. He and Teresh guarded the king’s bedroom, so it would not have been hard for them to carry out their plot if they hadn’t been discovered.2:22 c gave the information to Queen Esther: The quickest, safest way for the information to get to the king was through the queen.
• Although Esther could have promoted herself by taking credit for this information, she gave Mordecai credit for the report, an important point later in the story (6:1-3 d).
2:23 e impaled on a sharpened pole (literally hanged on a tree, or hanged on wood): This phrase has traditionally been translated hanged on a gallows, but inscriptions from ancient Persia show that impalement was a standard form of execution. Xerxes’ father, Darius I, claimed to have impaled 3,000 Babylonians when he conquered Babylon. Sometimes criminals were executed first and then displayed on a stake, as with the execution of Haman’s sons (9:5-14 f).
• This was all recorded: Mordecai was not rewarded until much later (6:1-14 g).
• While various records of Xerxes’ reign have been found, the particular book mentioned here no longer exists.
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