Esther 1:2

Est 1:2 [That] in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which [was] in Shushan the palace,

Ver. 2. When the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne] Having peace with all men, being quiet and secure; though this lasted not long; for he was shamefully foiled by the Grecians (against whom he led an army of two millions of men), and forced to flee back again over Hellespont, in a poor fisher’s boat; which being overloaded, had sunk all, if the Persians by the casting away of themselves had not saved the life of their king. Omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo, &c.

Which was in Shushan the palace] See Neh 1:1. Ptolemy, Strabo, and Pliny tell us, that in this city (situated upon the river Choaspes) was that famous palace of Cyrus, which was adorned with marble walls, golden pillars, and a great store of precious stones; shining as so many stars from the roof and sides of it, to the dazzling of the eyes of the beholders (Ptol. 1. 6, c. 3; Strab. lib. 15; Plin. 1. 6, c. 27; Herod. 1. 5; Athen. 1. 12, c. 3). Here it was, likely, that the kings of Persia sat to hear causes under a vine of gold, set with smaragds, as with so many clusters of grapes.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Est 1:2. When Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom — Was settled in the quiet possession of it, enjoying peace and tranquillity throughout his large dominions; which was in Shushan the palace — “Which, after the conquest of the Medes, was made by Cyrus, and the rest of the Persian kings, the royal seat, that they might not be too far from Babylon. It stood upon the river Ulai, and was a place of such renown, that Strabo calls it, “a city most worthy to be praised,” informing us, that the whole country about it was amazingly fruitful, producing a hundred and sometimes two hundred fold. Darius Hystaspes enlarged and beautified it with a most magnificent palace, which Aristotle calls “a wonderful royal palace, shining with gold, amber, and ivory.” — Dodd. See Prideaux, and Calmet’s Dict. on the word Shushan.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:2 The fortress of Susa was the king’s winter capital during the cold months.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That is, had rest and quietness.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 2. Sat on the throne of his kingdom] Having subdued all his enemies, and brought universal peace to his empire. See the commencement of the introduction.

Shushan the palace] The ancient city of Susa, now called [Persian] Shuster by the Persians. This, with Ecbatana and Babylon, was a residence of the Persian kings. The word הבירה habbirah, which we render the palace, should be rendered the city, ενσουσοιςτηπολει, as in the Septuagint.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(2) Shushan.—Susa. Mentioned also in Neh_1:1. It was the general abode of the Persian kings. (See Herod. vii. 6.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Shushan the palace] i.e. Susa. Ecbatana, Babylon, Persepolis, and Susa were all places of sojourn for the Persian court for longer or shorter periods.

‘Shushan the palace,’ which is to be distinguished from ‘Shushan the city’ (Est_9:13-15) was built by Darius, father of Xerxes, on the same plan as the palace at Persepolis. The city of Susa was cut in two by a wide river, anciently called the Choaspes, and now known under the name of Ab-Kharkha. The populous quarters on the right bank are now marked by hardly perceptible undulations of the plain; on the left, the royal city, the citadel, and the palace. “Three huge mounds, forming a rhomboidal mass, 4500 feet long from N. to S., and 3000 feet broad from E. to W., are a standing witness to the size and magnificence of the buildings which formed the ancient citadel or acropolis,” Driver in Camb. Bible on Dan_8:27.

M. Dieulafoy, a French architect and engineer, in 1884–6 carried out important excavations at Susa, and brought to light many interesting features, recovering the plan of the citadel, and extensive remains of the buildings of which it consisted. “Artaxerxes, in an inscription found on one of the columns, says: ‘My ancestor Darius built this Apadâna in ancient times. In the reign of Artaxerxes, my grandfather, it was consumed by fire. By the grace of Ahuramazda, Anaïtis, and Mithras, I have restored this Apadâna.’ An Apadâna was a large hall or throne-room. The Apadâna of Susa stood on the N. of the Acropolis: it formed a square of about 250 feet each way. The roof (which consisted of rafters and beams of cedar, brought from Lebanon) was supported by 36 columns in rows of six; the sides and back were composed of walls of brick, each pierced by four doors; the front of the hall was open. The columns were slender shafts of limestone, delicately fluted, and topped by magnificently carved capitals. In front of the hall, on each side, was a pylon or colonnade, with a frieze at the top 12 feet high, formed of beautifully enamelled bricks, the one decorated by a procession of lions, the other by a procession of ‘Immortals,’ the armed life-guards of the Persian kings. A garden surrounded the Apadâna, and in front of it on the south, was a large square for military manœuvres, etc. Adjoining it, on the east, was a large block of buildings forming the royal harem (the ‘house of the women’ of Est_2:3, etc.): south of this was the royal palace, with a court in the centre (Est_4:11; Est_5:1). The entire acropolis covered an area of 300 acres.[55]”

[55] Driver, ibid. who also points out that in one of the galleries of the Louvre, Paris, several rooms are devoted to sculptures, etc., brought from Susa, and to a restoration of parts of the Apadâna. He refers, among other works, to Dieulafoy, L’Acropole de Suse, Mme Dieulafoy, A Suse, Journal des Fouilles, and La Perse, la Chaldée, et la Susiane, Chap. xxxix., all with illustrations and maps.

The word bîrâh translated ‘palace’ (marg. castle) probably includes the idea of a stronghold as well as a royal residence, and in fact seems to have a still wider application in Est_9:6, where see note. The king’s place of residence is indicated by a different expression in Est_1:5, Est_2:8, Est_4:13, Est_7:7-8. Benjamin of Tudela, a Spanish-Hebrew traveller in the East in the 12th century (ed. Asher, London and Berlin, 1840, i. 117), mentions visiting the ruins of Xerxes’ palace, adding that even at that time 7000 Jews lived at Susa.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That in those days, when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom,.... Not only was placed upon it, but settled in it; after Xerxes had subdued Egypt, in the second year of his reign (e), and enjoyed great peace and tranquillity:

which was in Shushan the palace; that is, the throne of his kingdom was in Shushan, the royal city of the kings of Persia; of which see Gill on Neh 1:1, Dan 8:2.

(e) Herodot. ib. (Thalia, sive, l. 3.) c. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Captial. Hebrew, "palace, (Protestants; Haydock) or castle," (Calmet) may also signify "a capital." (Montanus, &c.) --- Hystaspes founded this ancient royal city of Persia, (Pliny, [Natural History?] vi. 27.) or he greatly embellished it. (Calmet) (Ælian, Anim. xiii. 18.) (Tirinus) --- He seems to have resided here almost constantly. The preceding kings (Calmet) spent the winter in this warm climate, and perhaps the spring. See 2 Esdras i. 1. They spent other parts of the year at Ecbatana and at Babylon. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Sat on the throne of his kingdom, i.e. either was lately advanced to it, or rather was settled in the peaceable possession of it.

The palace; or, the castle; or, the chief or royal city, as both, Jewish and Christian interpreters render it. Shushan might be the proper name of the palace, which thence was given to the whole city. Here the kings of Persia used to keep their courts chiefly in winter, as ordinarily they were in Ecbatana in summer.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Sat on the throne of his kingdom — That is, was quietly and firmly settled in his dominions; an oriental mode of representing an absolute monarch in possession of royal authority and power. The Asiatic kings are thus represented on the monuments, and Xerxes is said to have watched the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis while seated on a throne.

Shushan the palace — See note on Neh_1:1.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan. Though the Persian court resided a part of the year at Ecbatana, and occasionally visited Persepolis and Babylon (Xen., "Cyrop.," 8:6, "Anab.," 3:5, yet Susa was decidedly the ordinary seat of government, and ranked as the capital of the empire (see Herod., 3:49; Aeschyl., "Pers.," 11. 122, 123; Ctes., "Exe. Pers.," pessim, etc.). "Shushan the palace" is distinguished from Shushan the city, (Est_9:12-15) the one occupying a lofty but artificial eminence towards the west, while the other lay at the base of this mound, stretching out a considerable distance towards the east.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sat - Was settled in the peaceable possession of it. Shushan - The chief or royal city. Shushan might be the proper name of the palace, which thence was given to the whole city. Here the kings of Persia used to keep their courts in winter, as at Exbatana in summer.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

when King Ahasuerus sat, etc. when the kingdom was firmly established in his hand. Our Sages, however, explained it differently in Tractate Megillah (11b).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.