Esther 2:10
in Esther 2Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Esther had not made known her people nor her kindred; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not make it known.
KJV
Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it.
⋯
This verse in Esther 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseEsther had not showed her people nor her kindred,.... What nation or family she was of; it not being asked, she was under no obligation to declare it; and being born in Shushan, as very probable, she was taken to be a Persian: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it; lest she should be despised and ill treated on that account; fearing, if the king knew it, he would not marry her, as Aben Ezra; or rather, as the same writer thinks, that she might keep the law of God privately, observe the sabbath, &c.
This site's exposition
Esther did not reveal her people
on Esther 2:10-11
Esther keeps "her people or her lineage" hidden "because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so". At 4:8 Mordecai urges her to plead for her people. Every day Mordecai walks "in front of the court of the harem" to learn of "Esther’s welfare".
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Indeed the church of the nations, being instructed with the precepts of the holy teachers, did not want to disclose the place of its homeland and people, because, after being purified through baptism from any corruption of sin or defilement of idolatry, it is no …
That is, the Church of the nations, which was instructed in the precepts of the sacred teachers, does not want to betray the place of her country and people because now that she has been cleansed through baptism of all the pollution born of sin …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Shew it - Lest the knowledge hereof should either make her contemptible, or bring some inconvenience to the whole nation; but there was also an hand of God in causing this to be concealed, for the better accomplishment of that which he designed, though Mordecai was ignorant of it.
But he only told her not to proclaim her country. All truths are not to be spoken at all times, though an untruth is not to be spoken at any time. She being born in Shushan, and her parents being dead, all took her to be of Persian extraction, and she was not bound to undeceive them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Esther had not showed her people - This might have prejudiced her with the king; for it was certainly no credit at the Persian court to be a Jew; and we shall find from the sequel that those who were in the Persian dominions were far from being reputable, or in a safe state. Besides, had her lineage been known, envy might have prevented her from ever having access to the king.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Persians had no special contempt for the Jews; but, of course, they despised more or less all the subject races. Esther, with her Aryan name, may have passed for a native Persian.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Not to reveal it. So that they should say that she was from an ignoble family and dismiss her, for if they knew that she was of the family of King Shaul, they would keep her. 11 According to Targum, Mordechai feared for Esther’s and the Jews’ safety.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And what would be done with her. He [Mordechai] was one of two righteous men to whom a hint of salvation was given; Dovid and Mordechai. Dovid as it is stated, “Even the lion and the bear has your servant slain.” 12 I Shmuel:36.
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.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִגִּ֣ידָה | higidah | she had told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| אֶסְתֵּ֔ר | ʾester | Esther | H635 → | 55 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמָּ֖הּ | ʾamah | people her | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֽוֹלַדְתָּ֑הּ | moladtah | kindred her | H4138 → | 22 times |
| כִּ֧י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מָרְדֳּכַ֛י | maredokhai | Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
| צִוָּ֥ה | tzivah | he had commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| עָלֶ֖יהָ | ʾaleiha | to her | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַגִּֽיד׃ | tagid | she will tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הִגִּ֣ידָהshe had told
higidahH5046 →370 times
אֶסְתֵּ֔רEsther
ʾesterH635 →55 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַמָּ֖הּpeople her
ʾamahH5971 →1873 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מֽוֹלַדְתָּ֑הּkindred her
moladtahH4138 →22 times
כִּ֧יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מָרְדֳּכַ֛יMordecai
maredokhaiH4782 →60 times
צִוָּ֥הhe had commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
עָלֶ֖יהָto her
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַגִּֽיד׃she will tell
tagidH5046 →370 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
Ephesians 6:1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
it leads to
- Colossians 3:20–25
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
- Proverbs 23:22
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
- Proverbs 6:20
My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
- Colossians 3:16–17
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to…
- Proverbs 1:8
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.
- Colossians 3:20–25
Through
Matthew 10:16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
it leads to
- Philippians 2:15
so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- Luke 10:3
Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
- 1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- Philippians 2:15
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, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 3 and Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther.