Esther 2:21
in Esther 2In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, grew angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the threshold, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.
KJV
In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.
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This verse in Esther 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Conspiracies inside the palace were ordinary occurrences in Persia. Xerxes was ultimately murdered by Artabanus, the captain of the guard, and Aspamitras, a chamberlain and eunuch.
This site's exposition
sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus
on Esther 2:21-23
Two chamberlains who kept the door, Bigthan and Teresh, grow wroth and plot to lay hand on the king, and Mordecai uncovers the matter and tells Esther, who certifies the king in Mordecai’s name. The plot is proven, the two are hanged, and the deed is written in the book of the chronicles before the king, filed and closed. The chapter ends on the detail every reader is meant to carry forward without comment from the text: nothing was done for Mordecai, no reward, no mention, a debt the book leaves standing until an insomniac king calls for the chronicles at 6:1.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
There is no doubt that the Scribes and Pharisees of the Jews are signified by the two eunuchs who were the caretakers of the royal house and guarded the threshold of the palace. Indeed it was said that even though they had the key to …
Now, what can these two eunuchs, who were doorkeepers of the royal house and presided over the first rank in the palace, symbolize if not the scribes and the Pharisees of the Jews about whom it is said that though they had the key to …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Mordecai got notice of their treason, and, by Esther's means, discovered it to the king, hereby confirming her in and recommending himself to the king's favour. How he came to the knowledge of it does not appear. Whether he overheard their discourse, or whether they offered to draw him in with them, so it was that the thing was known to him.
16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Mordecai sat in the kings gate - Mordecai might have been one of the officers of the king, as the gate was the place where such usually attended to await the king’s call. It is not likely that he was the porter; had he been only such, Haman could have removed him at once. Two of the king’s chamberlains - Eunuchs. Why they conspired against the life of the king, we are not informed. The Targum says that they found out that Esther had intended to use her influence with the king to get them removed from their office, and Mordecai put in their place; therefore they determined to poison Esther, and slay the king in his bedchamber. It is very likely that they were creatures of Haman, who probably affected the kingdom, and perhaps were employed by him to remove the king, and so make his way open to the throne.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיָּמִ֣ים | baiyamim | in the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הָהֵ֔ם | hahem | <the> those | H1992 → | 553 times |
| וּמָרְדֳּכַ֖י | umaredokhai | and Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
| יֹשֵׁ֣ב | yoshev | [was] sitting | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּשַֽׁעַר־ | beshaar- | at [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| קָצַף֩ | katzaf | he was angry | H7107 → | |
| בִּגְתָ֨ן | bigtan | Bigthan | H904 → | |
| וָתֶ֜רֶשׁ | vateresh | and Teresh | H8657 → | |
| שְׁנֵֽי־ | shenei- | two of | H8147 → | 768 times |
| סָרִיסֵ֤י | sarisei | [the] eunuchs of | H5631 → | 42 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִשֹּׁמְרֵ֣י | mishomerei | from [the] guards of | H8104 → | 468 times |
| הַסַּ֔ף | hasaf | the threshold | H5592 → | |
| וַיְבַקְשׁוּ֙ | vayvakshu | and they sought | H1245 → | 225 times |
| לִשְׁלֹ֣חַ | lishloach | to stretch out | H7971 → | 845 times |
| יָ֔ד | yad | a hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בַּמֶּ֖לֶךְ | bamelekh | on the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲחַשְׁוֵֽרֹשׁ׃ | ʾachashverosh | Ahasuerus | H325 → | 31 times |
בַּיָּמִ֣יםin the days
baiyamimH3117 →2304 times
הָהֵ֔ם<the> those
hahemH1992 →553 times
וּמָרְדֳּכַ֖יand Mordecai
umaredokhaiH4782 →60 times
יֹשֵׁ֣ב[was] sitting
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
בְּשַֽׁעַר־at [the] gate of
beshaar-H8179 →374 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
קָצַף֩he was angry
katzafH7107 →
בִּגְתָ֨ןBigthan
bigtanH904 →
וָתֶ֜רֶשׁand Teresh
vatereshH8657 →
שְׁנֵֽי־two of
shenei-H8147 →768 times
סָרִיסֵ֤י[the] eunuchs of
sariseiH5631 →42 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
מִשֹּׁמְרֵ֣יfrom [the] guards of
mishomereiH8104 →468 times
הַסַּ֔ףthe threshold
hasafH5592 →
וַיְבַקְשׁוּ֙and they sought
vayvakshuH1245 →225 times
לִשְׁלֹ֣חַto stretch out
lishloachH7971 →845 times
יָ֔דa hand
yadH3027 →1618 times
בַּמֶּ֖לֶךְon the king
bamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֲחַשְׁוֵֽרֹשׁ׃Ahasuerus
ʾachashveroshH325 →31 times
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
Esther 6:2And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
it leads to
- Esther 2:21–22
In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, grew angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
- Esther 2:21–22
Through
2 Kings 21:23Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his palace.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 12:20
And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.
- 2 Kings 12:20
Through
2 Kings 12:20And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 14:5
As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah executed the servants who had murdered his father the king.
- 2 Chronicles 24:24–27
Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the LORD delivered into their hand a very great army. Because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, judgment was…
- 2 Kings 14:5
Through
2 Samuel 16:11Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son, my own flesh and blood, seeks my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone and let him…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 14:9
But if the prophet is enticed to speak a message, then it was I the LORD who enticed him, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My…
- Ezekiel 14:9
Through
1 Kings 16:9However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.
it leads to
- Daniel 5:1–4
Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them.
- Genesis 24:2
So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
- 1 Kings 18:3
and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
- Daniel 5:1–4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Esther
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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 5; Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).