And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
And Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
And Hatach cometh in and declareth to Esther the words of Mordecai,
And Hatach came and told Esther the words of 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.
Voices3
And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. Both the case of the Jews, and the cause of it, and what he would have her do at this critical juncture.
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
God will keep those that are exposed by the tenderness of their consciences. Notice is here taken of a law that none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth; though the arbitrary power of their kings often, as now, set many a mourning, yet none must come near the king in a mourning dress, because he was not willing to hear the complaints of such.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The verses this one reaches1
Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool.
