of golcl. Drinking-vessels of gold were of compelling men to drink. That th"' found iu considerable nurrwers in the Persian Persians were hard drinkers, and freq nently camp near Platmo. (Herod., ix. 80) when the drank to excess, is stated by Herodotus (i. Greaks took it. They hacl been the property 133) and Xenophon (' Cyrop.,' viii. 8, § 11). of Persian nobles. The king would naturally Ver. 9.-Vaahti, the queen. The only possess in great abundance whatever luxury wife of Xerxes known to the Greeks was wo.s affected by the upper class of his subjects. Amestris, the daughter of Otanes, one of the The veBBele being cliverae one from another. seven conspirators (Herod., vii. 61 ). Xer:s:es This is II minute point, which must have probably took her to wife as soon as he was come from an eye-witness, or from one who of marriageable age, and before he ascender! had received the account of the banquet the throne had a son by her, who in his from an eye-witness. It was perhaps unusual. seventh year was grown up (ibid. ix. 108,. At least, in the grand banquet represented It would seem to be certain that if Ahasncrua by Sargon on the walls of his palace at 1s Xerxes, Vashti must be Amestris. Th., Khorsabad, it is observable that all the guests names themselves are not very remote, since hold in their hands goblets which a.re exactly m will readily interchange with v; out alike (see 'Ancient Monarchies,' vol. ii. p. Vashti might possibly represent not the 214). Royal wine. Literally, "wine of the real name of the 9.ueen, but a. favourite kingdom "-wine, i. e., from the royal cellar, epithet, such e.s vahuta, ''sweetest." Made and therefore good wine, but not necessarily a fee.at for the women. Men and women the "wine of Helbon," which was the only did not take their meals together in Persia wine that the king himself drank (A then., unless in the privacy of domestic life (Brisson, 'Deipnosoph,' iv. p. 145, A). 'De Regn. Pers.,' iL pp. 273-276). If the Ver. 8. -The drinking we.a accorcling to women, therefore, were to partake in a fes- the law. Rather, "according to edi,et "- tivity, it was necessary that they should be the edict being the express order given by entertained separately. In the royal house. the king to all the officers of his household. In the gy:nreceum or harem, which was pro- It is implied that the usual custom was bably on the southern side of the great different-that the foolish practice prevailed pillared hall at Susa (Fergusson).
HOMILETICS. The Book of Esther. There is a striking contrast between the Books of RUTH anrl ESTHER. The earlier book is an idyll; the later a chronicle. The earlier relates to lowly persons and to rural life; the later to kings and queens, and to a great Oriental metropolis. The earlier is the story of a family, and its interest is domestic ; the later is a chapter from the history of a people, and deals with the intrigues of a court and the policy of a state. The religious character and aim of this book may be presented in four observations. I. Goo's NAME IS ABSENT FROM THE WHOLE BOOK, BUT Goo HIMSELF IB IN EVERY CHAPTER. There is no other book except Canticles in the sacred volume in which the Divine Being is neither mentioned nor obviously referred to. Yet no disbeliever in God could have written it; and no believer in God can read it without finding his faith strengthened thereby. Refer especially to eh. iv. 14. II. A NATIONAL FESTIVAL IS HISTORICALLY ACCOUNTED FOB. The feast of Purim was held in high honour, and observed with great regularity and solemnity and rejoicing, among the Jews. "The temple may fail, but the Purim never," was one of their proverbs. This Book of Esther was written to explain the origin of this national festival. III. A VALUABLE MORAL LESSON PERVADES THE WHOLE NARRATIVE. Not only is the great general truth, that earthly greatness and prosperity a.re mutable and transitory, brought effectively before us, but we learn that God humbles the proud, and exalts the lowly who trust in him (vide 1 Sam. ii. 1-10). II. THE PROVIDENCE OF Goo IS STRIKINGLY AND MEMORABLY DISPLAYED. We are brought into contact with the righteousness and the rule of the Most High. A great deliverance is wrought ; and whilst tbo means a.re human, the deliverance itself is Divine. God appears as "mighty to save." The book is, accordingly, one peculiarly 11Uitable to those m distress, perplexity, and trouble.
Vere. 1, 2.-The responsibility of rule. The Ahasuerus of this book wo.s probably the Xerxes so well known to students of ancient history. The name, the peric,!, B2 THE BOOK OF ESTHER. [CH. I. 1-9.