Esther 5:2

Est 5:2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, [that] she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that [was] in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

Ver. 2. And it was so] God, the great heart disposer, so ordered it.

That when the king saw Esther the queen, &c.] Beautified by God in a special manner, as was Moses, αστειος τω θεω, Act 7:20, Stephen, Act 6:15, &c. And some faces we know do appear most orientally fair when they are most instamped with sorrow.

That she obtained favour in his sight] Josephus saith, that at first the king frowned upon her, so that she fell into a swoon before him. Rex autem, voluntate arbitror Dei, mentem mutavit, i.e. but the king, as God would have it, changed his mind, and cheered her up. How true this is I know not; but this I know, that the wrath of a king is as the roaring of a lion, which is so terrible, that it astonieth all that hear it, and that omne trahit secum Caesaris ira malum. All drag the evil wrath with Caesar himself. Sir Christopher Hatton, being checked and threatened by Queen Elizabeth, died soon after; neither could the queen, having once cast him down with her word only, raise him up again, though she visited him, and comforted him. Esther here was soon raised and relieved.

Deiecit ut relevet, premit ut solaria praestet;

Enecat, ut possit vivificare Deus.

And the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre] He did not kick her out of his presence, as some Cambyses would have done, neither did he command her to the block, as Henry VIII did his Anne Bullen upon a mere pretence of disloyalty; neither yet did he cashier her, as he had done Vashti for a less offence: but, by holding out his sceptre, shows his gracious respects unto her. This was the Lord’s own work, as was likewise that of old, that Laban should leave Jacob with a kiss, Gen 31:55 Esau meet him with a kiss, Gen 33:4, where the word kissed hath a prick over each letter in the original, to show the wonder of God’s work in changing Esau’s heart from his former hatred. {Hebrew Text Note} Let a man’s ways please the Lord, and men shall quickly befriend him. This is compendiosissima hominum gratiam consequendi via, saith Lavater here, the readiest way to win favour with all others. When David was once a man after God’s heart, whatsoever he did pleased the people.

So Esther drew near, and touched the top of his sceptre] With her hand, saith the Chaldee; with her mouth, saith the Vulgate translation. This she did, either in token of submission, or for the avoiding of danger; for, as Josephus saith, He that touched the king’s sceptre was out of the reach of evil, O απτομενος, ακινδυνος. Wives should submit themselves to their own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Submission includeth reverence (in heart, speeches, gestures) and obedience to all their husband’s lawful commands and restraints. This is no more than is meet, saith the apostle, Col 3:19.

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.

5:2 he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her: She was not killed for entering the king’s presence without an invitation (4:11, 16).

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

Which was a sign that her coming was agreeable unto him, as Esther 4:11.

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

the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand--This golden scepter receives an interesting illustration from the sculptured monuments of Persia and Assyria. In the bas-reliefs of Persepolis, copied by Sir Robert Ker Porter, we see King Darius enthroned in the midst of his court, and walking abroad in equal state; in either case he carries in his right hand a slender rod or wand, about equal in length to his own height, ornamented with a small knob at the summit. In the Assyrian alabasters, those found at Nimroud as well as those from Khorsabad, "the great king" is furnished with the same appendage of royalty, a slender rod, but destitute of any knob or ornament. On the Khorsabad reliefs the rod is painted red, doubtless to represent gold; proving that "the golden sceptre" was a simple wand of that precious metal, commonly held in the right hand, with one end resting on the ground, and that whether the king was sitting or walking. "The gold sceptre" has received little alteration or modification since ancient times [GOSS]. It was extended to Esther as a token not only that her intrusion was pardoned, but that her visit was welcome, and a favorable reception given to the suit she had come to prefer.

touched the top of the sceptre--This was the usual way of acknowledging the royal condescension, and at the same time expressing reverence and submission to the august majesty of the king.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. She obtained favour in his sight] The Septuagint represents "the king as being at first greatly enraged when he saw Esther, because she had dared to appear before him unveiled, and she, perceiving this, was so terrified that she fainted away; on which the king, touched with tenderness, sprung from his throne, took her up in his arms, laid the golden sceptre on her neck, and spoke to her in the most endearing manner." This is more circumstantial than the Hebrew, but is not contrary to it.

The golden sceptre that was in his hand.] That the kings of Persia did wear a golden sceptre, we have the following proof in Xenophon: Ὁτι ου τοδε το χρυσουν σκηπτρον το την βασιλειαν διασωξον εστιν, αλλ' πιστοι φιλοι σκηπτρον βασιλευσιν αληθεστατον και ασφαλεστατον. See Cyrop., lib. viii., p. 139, edit. Steph. 1581. It is not, said Cyrus to his son Cambyses, the GOLDEN SCEPTRE that saves the kingdom; faithful friends are the truest and safest sceptre of the empire.

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

2. held out to Esther the golden sceptre] See Est_4:11.

touched] So among the Greeks the suppliant laid hold of the person or the garments of the person to whom the appeal was directed. The Vulgate makes Esther kiss the sceptre (‘osculata est summitatem virgae eius’). For the Greek apocryphal Additions, presenting a detailed account of Esther’s preparations for the interview and of the interview itself, see chaps. 14, 15.

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.

And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight,.... Which no doubt was of God, who has the hearts of kings in his hand, and turns them as he pleases; the king had not called her for thirty days past, or more, which showed coolness of affection to her, and now she transgressed a law by coming uncalled for, which might have provoked his wrath; and for a lesser matter than this was Vashti divorced; but yet his mind was inclined to her, and she appeared very amiable and pleasing to him:

and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand; as a token of his well pleasedness in her, and acceptance of her; and that no harm should come to her for transgressing the law:

so Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre; as acknowledging his kindness, and her thankfulness for it, as well as subjection and obedience to him.

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

Golden. "It is not this golden sceptre which saves the kingdom," said Cyrus, "but faithful friends are the most true and secure sceptre for kings." (Cyrop. viii.) (Calmet) --- Kissed. Hebrew, "touched." (Haydock)

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).

The king held out the golden sceptre, in testimony that he pardoned her presumption, and accepted her person, and was ready to grant her petition.

Esther touched the top of his sceptre, in token of her thankful acceptance of the king’s great favour, and of her reverence and submission to his majesty, whereof that might possibly be a usual token, and it may be, at the king’s call and invitation to her to come near to him.

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

Esther touched the top of the sceptre. This was, no doubt, the customary act by which the king"s grace was, as it were, accepted and appropriated. It is analogous to that touch of the person or of the garments which secured the suppliant mercy among the Greeks.

HOMILIES BY P.C. BARKER

Ver. 2.

The hour that revealed duty.

This verse speaks of an hour when darkness turned to light, gloomy foreboding to well-grounded hope; and when the anguish of trembling suspense was lifted off many a heart, as an unhealthy vapour lifts itself and vanishes before the growing sun. Though it was most true that many a heart was this hour relieved of its strain of anxiety, and was immensely gladdened, yet, as the immediate task had devolved upon Esther, so no doubt the immediate relief was hers. In her first and chiefly the battle was fought and the victory won. In what she thought, did, and obtained we may find concentrated the important suggestions of the hour in question. Notice three things:

I THE UNPROMISING APPEARANCES WHICH THIS HOUR PRESENTED. They were not mere dim, vague impressions which it made, nor were they fancies. These appearances were true for the human point of view, however they might be overruled by Divine power and goodness. For men they were hard facts, with which it was necessary to deal. Thus it was certain that

1. The hour was one which found incalculable human interests at stake.The blotting out of existence, the swift swallowing up of human lives innumerable, with all their precious freightage of love and joy, of purpose and hope, was no light fancy, no vague fear now. Yet that was the appalling uncertainty beneath the burden of which the solemn hour bended. It was not dull cloudiness of sky alone, and that made worse by unnecessary apprehension and weak fearfulness. It was one defined dark mass of cloud.

2. To all human appearance the question of the hour depended on thecaprice of one man. It did not resemble some case of great interest, which was going to have the best attention of a select number of the best of people, and thereupon a deliberate decision be taken. In that hour the momentary whim of a capricious despot would decide the question of life or death, for the innocent Esther first, and after her for a whole race, of which she was then the head and representative. But all the while this is, truly speaking, only a forcible case of a constant phenomenon, a genuine fact of human life. We can see, when shown in the dimensions of the instance before us here, the same thing which, because it is on a lesser scale, eludes both belief and even notice in our ordinary life.

3. The responsibility of doing the best possible, or all that was possible, forthat hour rested on one gentle, loving woman. What a disproportion! The case is that of the lives of perhaps a million people. The judge is a sensual, capricious Eastern despot. The advocate and intercessor is Esther. And it may be immediate death to her so much as to stand where she does. The occasion witnesses her not defiant, not overcome. It exhibits her a pattern of human self-forgetfulness that secret of so much of a soul"s highest influence on earth, and of its "power to prevail" with heaven. She has collected most calmly a soul"s whole force; strength sufficient to the day is hers; and in her may most truly be seen an example of "strength made perfect in weakness.

II THE CAREFUL PREPARATIONS MADE FOR THIS HOUR.

1. The crisis had not been recklessly nor negligently met. Deep thought hadbeen spent upon it. Anxious consultation had been held upon it. Loving and mature advice had been offered and accepted regarding it.

2. To meet and counteract the things of sight, and "that do appear," resort had been had to faith. The interposition of the Unseen had been sought in "lastings oft" and long. Esther had sent word to Mordecai, (Est_4:16) "I also and my maidens will fast likewise

3. In this supplication of Heaven the aid of intercession had not beenforgotten. Esther had not overlooked the importance of a general union of her people in religious exercise. She called into vitality and determined activity the whole combined and sympathetic force of multitudes, who at her instance did for three days put away from themselves every other thought, care, hope, that they might be found "watching" as regards the crisis of this hour. What an interesting suggestion arises from the words, (Est_4:17) "So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him." The tender ward has become the strong, firm, religious teacher of her guardian.

III THE GRAND RESULTS OF THIS HOUR.

1. The event of the hour disappointed all fear, rewarded amply all anxiouspreparation, fulfilled more than the most that hope had dared contemplate.

2. The event of the hour proved different from all that could be reckonedupon at the hands of mere human goodness. And an impressive lesson of religion was taught: "The king"s heart is in the hand of the Lord". (Pro_21:1) This was what secured the rest. "The king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

3. The event of the hour was grander because of its contrasts.

(1) Esther"s darkest hour changes to light; Haman"s day, ablaze with light and confidence and boasting, is overspread, and goes out in darkness and storm.

(2) The change for Esther and her people themselves is great indeed between the beginning and the end of that hour. Toil brought rest so quickly. Fierce struggle brought peace so sweet. Anguish brought bliss so full. These are the contrasts, as safe, as blessed, as they were sudden. B.

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

Held out - In testimony that he pardoned her presumption, and was ready to grant her petition. Touched - In token of her thankful acceptance of the king's favour, and of her reverence and submission.

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