Esther 2:23
in Esther 2After the report had been investigated and verified, both officials were hanged on the gallows. And all this was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when inquisition was made of the matter, and it was found to be so, they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
KJV
And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
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This verse in Esther 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Both hanged on a tree - i. e. “crucified” or “impaled” the ordinary punishment of rebels and traitors in Persia. The book of the chronicles - Ctesias drew his Persian history from them, and they are often glanced at by Herodotus.
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 Church1 voice
Then it adds: "And it was investigated, and discovered, and both men were hung on a gibbet; and the king commanded that it be written in the record book that he should be repaid somehow for saving his life; and it was set down in …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He was not rewarded presently, but a book of remembrance was written. Thus with respect to those who serve Christ, though their recompence is adjourned till the resurrection of the just, yet an account is kept of their work of faith and labour of love, which God is not unrighteous to forget, Heb. vi.
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
And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
It was found out - It was proved against them, in consequence of which they were hanged. Perhaps the words ויתלו על עץ vaiyittalu al ets, they were hung upon wood or a tree, may refer to their being impaled. A pointed stake is set upright in the ground, and the culprit is taken, placed on the sharp point, and then pulled down by his legs till the stake that went in at the fundament passes up through the body and comes out by the side of the neck. A most dreadful species of punishment, in which revenge and cruelty may glut the utmost of their malice. The culprit lives a considerable time in excruciating agonies. It has been observed that the name of God does not once occur in this book. This is true of the Hebrew text, and all translations from it; but in the Septuagint we find the following words, in Est 2:20, after, Esther had not showed her kindred: Οὑτως γαρ ενετειλατο αυτῃ Μαρδοχαιος, φοβεισθαι τον Θεον, και ποιειν τα προσταγματα αυτου, καθως ην μετ’ αυτου; “For so Mordecai had charged her to fear God, and to keep his commandments, as she did when with him.” This, as far as the Septuagint is concerned, takes away the strange reproach from this book. It must be owned that it was not because there were not many fair opportunities that the sacred name has not been introduced.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְבֻקַּ֤שׁ | vayvukash | and it was sought | H1245 → | 225 times |
| הַדָּבָר֙ | hadavar | the matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| וַיִּמָּצֵ֔א | vaiyimatze' | and it was found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| וַיִּתָּל֥וּ | vaiyitalu | and they were hanged | H8518 → | 27 times |
| שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם | sheneihem | [the] two of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֵ֑ץ | ʾetz | a gallows | H6086 → | 328 times |
| וַיִּכָּתֵ֗ב | vaiyikatev | and it was written | H3789 → | 224 times |
| בְּסֵ֛פֶר | besefer | in [the] book of | H5612 → | 186 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֥י | divrei | [the] matters of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַיָּמִ֖ים | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ פ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיְבֻקַּ֤שׁand it was sought
vayvukashH1245 →225 times
הַדָּבָר֙the matter
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
וַיִּמָּצֵ֔אand it was found
vaiyimatze'H4672 →455 times
וַיִּתָּל֥וּand they were hanged
vaiyitaluH8518 →27 times
שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם[the] two of them
sheneihemH8147 →768 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עֵ֑ץa gallows
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
וַיִּכָּתֵ֗בand it was written
vaiyikatevH3789 →224 times
בְּסֵ֛פֶרin [the] book of
beseferH5612 →186 times
דִּבְרֵ֥י[the] matters of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
הַיָּמִ֖יםthe days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ פthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 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 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.
it leads to
- Psalms 7:16
His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.
- Daniel 6:24
At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom…
- Ezekiel 5:13
And when My anger is spent and I have vented My wrath against them, I will be appeased. And when I have spent My wrath on them, they will know that I, the LORD,…
- Judges 15:7
And Samson told them, “Because you have done this, I will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you.”
- Psalms 7:16
Through
Esther 10:2And all of Mordecai’s powerful and magnificent accomplishments, together with the full account of the greatness to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of…
it leads to
- Esther 8:15
Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted…
- Esther 9:4
For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful.
- Esther 8:15
Through
Genesis 40:22But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had described to them in his interpretation.
it leads to
- Genesis 40:19
Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh of your body.”
- Genesis 40:19
Through
Genesis 40:19Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh of your body.”
it leads to
- Genesis 40:22
But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had described to them in his interpretation.
- Genesis 40:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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, Commentary on Esther and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).