Esther 9:29
in Esther 9So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim.
KJV
Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.
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This verse in Esther 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This second letter of Purim - Mordecai’s first letter Est 9:20 was to some extent tentative, a recommendation. The Jews generally having accepted the recommendation Est 9:23, Est 9:27, he and Esther now wrote a second letter which was mandatory.
This site's exposition
the daughter of Abihail
on Esther 9:29-32
Esther the queen writes WITH ALL AUTHORITY to confirm the second letter, the orphan of 2:7 now legislating for an empire's Jews, and the letters go out with words of peace and truth. The confirmation remembers the dark side by statute, the matters of the fastings and their cry, so the feast carries its own fast (kept as the fast of Esther on Adar's thirteenth) and the joy never forgets what it cost. The decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book: the chapter ends, like the book, in an archive.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
For we require this admonition so that we will have always in our hearts the peace of Christianity, and will adopt the truth of the Gospel itself; which will prevent us from inadvertently falling, through discord and disagreement, into the errors of the heretics from …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
It is well when those who are in authority use their authority to authorize that which is good. [2.] With words of peace and truth. Though they wrote with authority, they wrote with tenderness, not imperious, not imposing, but in such language as the council at Jerusalem use in their decree ( Acts xv. 29 ): "If you do so and so, you shall do well.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Wrote - The former letter, ver. 20, did only recommend but this enjoins the observation of this solemnity: because this was not only Mordecai's act, but the act of all the Jews, binding themselves and posterity.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-20-anchored-29-29
Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Esther - wrote with all authority - Esther and Mordecai had the king’s license so to do: and their own authority was great and extensive.
How the passage was read
On Esther 9:20-32On Esther 9:20-32
The feast this book founds
These verses are the founding charter of Purim, the one feast instituted inside the canon's own narrative books. Its name comes from the “pur,” the lot Haman cast for Israel's destruction. The text itself names the three practices that still define the day: feasting and gladness, sending portions of food to one another, and gifts to the poor (9:22). To this day the whole book of Esther, called the Megillah (“scroll”), is read aloud in the synagogue, with the congregation drowning out Haman's name with noisemakers; the day is kept with costumes, feasting, food baskets to friends, and charity.
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.
Sources: Mishnah Megillah 1:1 (the scroll reading) · Esther 9:22 (the three practices, in the text itself)
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַ֠תִּכְתֹּב | vatikhto | and she wrote | H3789 → | 224 times |
| אֶסְתֵּ֨ר | ʾester | Esther | H635 → | 55 times |
| הַמַּלְכָּ֧ה | hamalkah | the queen | H4436 → | 35 times |
| בַת־ | vat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אֲבִיחַ֛יִל | ʾavichayil | Abihail | H32 → | |
| וּמָרְדֳּכַ֥י | umaredokhai | and Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִ֖י | haiyehudi | the Jew | H3064 → | 75 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| תֹּ֑קֶף | tokef | authority | H8633 → | |
| לְקַיֵּ֗ם | lekaiyem | to confirm | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִגֶּ֧רֶת | ʾigeret | [the] letter of | H107 → | |
| הַפּוּרִ֛ים | hapurim | the Purim | H6332 → | 8 times |
| הַזֹּ֖את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| הַשֵּׁנִֽית׃ | hashenit | <the> second | H8145 → | 156 times |
וַ֠תִּכְתֹּבand she wrote
vatikhtoH3789 →224 times
אֶסְתֵּ֨רEsther
ʾesterH635 →55 times
הַמַּלְכָּ֧הthe queen
hamalkahH4436 →35 times
בַת־[the] daughter of
vat-H1323 →588 times
אֲבִיחַ֛יִלAbihail
ʾavichayilH32 →
וּמָרְדֳּכַ֥יand Mordecai
umaredokhaiH4782 →60 times
הַיְּהוּדִ֖יthe Jew
haiyehudiH3064 →75 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
תֹּ֑קֶףauthority
tokefH8633 →
לְקַיֵּ֗םto confirm
lekaiyemH6965 →628 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אִגֶּ֧רֶת[the] letter of
ʾigeretH107 →
הַפּוּרִ֛יםthe Purim
hapurimH6332 →8 times
הַזֹּ֖את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
הַשֵּׁנִֽית׃<the> second
hashenitH8145 →156 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 2:15Now Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle from whom Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. And when it was her turn to go to the king, she did not ask…
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 6:9
but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises.
- Esther 2:3
and let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom to assemble all the beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care…
- Acts 7:10
and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.
- Song of Solomon 6:9
Through
Esther 3:15The couriers left, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was…
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…
- John 16:20
Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
- Esther 8:15
Through
Esther 8:10Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:21
With you I shatter the horse and rider; with you I shatter the chariot and driver.
- Jeremiah 2:23
“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young she-camel galloping…
- 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.
- Jeremiah 51:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPersian periodEstherHadassah, the orphan exile who became queen of Persia and, at the risk of "if I perish, I perish," stood between her people and Ha…
- PersonPersian periodMordecaiEsther's cousin and guardian at the gate of Susa, who refused to bow to Haman, uncovered the plot against the king, and was raised…
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; 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).