Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;
Then Esther spake unto Hathach, and gave him a message unto Mordecai, saying:
and Esther speaketh to Hatach, and chargeth him for Mordecai:
And Esther spoke to Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai:
Esther — A Jewish orphan becomes queen of Persia; Haman plots genocide; Mordecai and Esther intervene; deliverance comes by providence — and God's name never once appears in the book.
Voices2
Again Esther spake unto Hatach,.... For there was no other way of corresponding and conversing but by an eunuch; the wives of kings being altogether under their watch and care: and gave him commandment unto Mordecai; to go unto him, and what he should say to him from her, which is as follows.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed
Many women, fortified by the grace of God, have accomplished many heroic actions. The blessed Judith, when the city was besieged, asked permission of the elders to be allowed to go into the foreigners' camp. By exposing herself to danger she went out for love of her country and of the people who were besieged, and the Lord delivered Holophernes into the hand of a woman. To no less danger did Esther, who was perfect in faith, expose herself, in order to save the twelve tribes of Israel that were to be destroyed.
Clement of Rome· 1 CLEMENT 55.3-6, 99patristic
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
