Esther 10:1
in Esther 10Now King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the land, even to its farthest shores.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
KJV
And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
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This verse in Esther 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd the King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land, and upon the isles of the sea. Which include all his dominions, both on the continent, and on the sea, the Aegean sea; though Aben Ezra thinks it regards such as were not under his government, but stood in fear of him, of whom he demanded tribute. If Ahasuerus was Xerxes, perhaps his exchequer might be drained by his wars with the Grecians, which put him upon this; though some understand this of his renewing the taxes and tribute, which he remitted upon his marriage with Esther, Est 2:18.
This site's exposition
laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea
on Esther 10:1-3
The king who taxed an empire from India to Ethiopia at the book's opening in 1:1 closes it still ruling exactly that way, laying tribute upon the land and upon the isles of the sea, and Mordecai's greatness is referred outward to a public record, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia, the same idiom of archival witness that closed the Purim ordinance itself at 9:32. The book's last sentence is its confession of purpose stated plainly: Mordecai the Jew, next unto king Ahasuerus, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed. The word seed closes over the very thing Haman's lot was cast to consume at 3:6 and 3:13, so a deliverance the narrator never once explained ends filed as verifiable history, a house of Kish spoken for and the Agag war of 1 Samuel 15 closed here in an archive, the same quiet ending the Purim charter received three verses earlier.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
What does the text mean when it says that King Ahasuerus made all lands and all islands of the sea subject to his tributes? Since the historical king of the Persians and Medes did not have all lands under his rule, nor was he able …
That King Ahasuerus exacted tribute from all the islands, which is where the Hebrew version of the story of Esther comes to an end... Why are we told that King Ahasuerus exacted tribute from every land, and from all the islands of the sea? Because …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
): The king laid a tribute. Happy is our island, that pays no tribute but what is laid upon it by its representatives, and those of its own choosing, and is not squeezed or oppressed by an arbitrary power, as some of the neighbouring nations are.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A tribute - Perhaps an allusion to some fresh arrangement of the tribute likely to have followed on the return of Xerxes from Greece. Upon the isles of the sea - Cyprus, Aradus, the island of Tyre, Platea, etc., remained in the hands of the Persians after the victories of the Greeks, and may be the “isles” here intended.
Laid a tribute upon the land - On the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of which we have already heard. The isles of the sea - Probably the isles of the Aegean sea, which were conquered by Darius Hystaspes. Calmet supposes that this Hystaspes is the Ahasuerus of Esther.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land. [Areas] that were not under his kingship, but feared him, and also on islands distant from him. And the verse mentions this to inform that he succeeded in all of his ways, and his strength was seen, now that Mordekhai was his deputy.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּשֶׂם֩ | vaiyasem | and he put | H7760 → | 584 times |
| הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲחַשְׁוֵר֧וֹשׁ | ʾachasherosh | Ahasuerus | H325 → | 31 times |
| מַ֛ס | mas | a tax | H4522 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | |
| וְאִיֵּ֥י | veiyei | and [the] islands of | H339 → | |
| הַיָּֽם׃ | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → |
וַיָּשֶׂם֩and he put
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
הַמֶּ֨לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֲחַשְׁוֵר֧וֹשׁAhasuerus
ʾachasheroshH325 →31 times
מַ֛סa tax
masH4522 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →
וְאִיֵּ֥יand [the] islands of
veiyeiH339 →
הַיָּֽם׃the sea
haiyamH3220 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 2:1Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.
it leads to
- Luke 3:1
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
- Luke 3:1
Through
Psalms 72:10May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:6
Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah, and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
- Psalms 68:29
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts.
- Isaiah 49:7
Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes…
- Isaiah 60:6
Through
Esther 1:1This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
it leads to
- Daniel 9:1
In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—
- Daniel 9:1
Through
Isaiah 11:11On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and…
it leads to
- Zechariah 10:8–12
I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were.
- Micah 7:12
On that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
- Isaiah 10:20
On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy…
- Zechariah 10:8–12
About Esther
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 14 and Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther.