Esther 2:7
in Esther 2And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai had taken her in as his own daughter.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maiden was fair and beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.
KJV
And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
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This verse in Esther 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAnd he brought up Hadassah (that is Esther) his uncle's daughter,.... Her Hebrew name was Hadassah, which signifies a myrtle, to which the Israelites, and good men among them, are sometimes compared, Zec 1:
This site's exposition
named Mordecai son of Jair
on Esther 2:5-7
Mordecai's line runs to Kish, of "the tribe of Benjamin," the house that gave Israel its first king, Saul son of Kish. Keil and others trace the line to Saul, whose war with Agag at 1 Samuel 15:8 returns when Haman the Agagite appears at 3:1.
This site's exposition
And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah
Hadassah is the Hebrew name for myrtle, and Esther is her Persian name, which Clarke takes to mean a star. Barnes finds no sure trace of that name in Old Persian. Clarke also notes that the Vulgate and Josephus make Esther the niece of Mordecai.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Now, what can Esther—whose name means hidden, and who was also called Hadassah, i.e. mercy—signify if not the Church of the nations, which pleases God in the recesses of its heart because its faith is pure, and it finds before the eyes of God more …
It is evident that Esther signifies the gentile church. Her name is interpreted as "hiding place," and she also had the other name of Hadassah, that is, "mercy." The church is pleasing to God in the hiding place of his heart because of the chastity …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Her wisdom and virtue were her greatest beauty, but it is an advantage to be a diamond to be well set. (4.) Mordecai, her cousin-german, was her guardian, brought her up, and took her for his own daughter. The LXX. says that he designed to make her his wife; if that were so, he was to be praised that he opposed not her better preferment.
When those whose unhappiness it is to be thus deprived of their parents in their childhood yet afterwards come to be eminently pious and prosperous, we ought to take notice of it to the glory of that God, and his grace and providence, who has taken it among the titles of his honour to be a Father of the fatherless.
Esther - Hadassah was her Hebrew name before her marriage; and she was called Esther by the king after it.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:84%@v10-14
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Hadassah, הדסה hădassâh from הדס hădas (“myrtle”) would seem to have been the Hebrew, and Esther the Persian, name of the damsel. Esther is thought to be connected through the Zend with ἀστήρ astēr, “star.” But there is not at present any positive evidence of the existence in Old Persian of a kindred word.
He brought up Hadassah - הדשה hadassah signifies a myrtle in Chaldee: this was probably her first or Babylonish name. When she came to the Persian court, she was called Esther, aster, or sitara, which signifies a star in Persian: the name is undoubtedly Persian. Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, and therefore must have been Mordecai’s cousin, though the Vulgate and Josephus make her Mordecai’s niece: but it is safest here to follow the Hebrew.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֨י | vayhi | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֹמֵ֜ן | ʾomen | raising | H539 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הֲדַסָּ֗ה | hadasah | Hadassah | H1919 → | |
| הִ֤יא | hi' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֶסְתֵּר֙ | ʾester | [is] Esther | H635 → | 55 times |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| דֹּד֔וֹ | dodo | uncle his | H1730 → | |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| לָ֖הּ | lah | [belonged] to <the> her | ||
| אָ֣ב | ʾav | a father | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וָאֵ֑ם | vaem | and a mother | H517 → | |
| וְהַנַּעֲרָ֤ה | vehanaarah | and the young woman | H5291 → | 63 times |
| יְפַת־ | yefat- | [was] beautiful of | H3303 → | |
| תֹּ֙אַר֙ | toar | shape | H8389 → | |
| וְטוֹבַ֣ת | vetovat | and good of | H2896 → | 538 times |
| מַרְאֶ֔ה | mareh | appearance | H4758 → | 103 times |
| וּבְמ֤וֹת | uvemot | and at [the] death of | H4194 → | |
| אָבִ֙יהָ֙ | ʾaviha | father her | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאִמָּ֔הּ | veimah | and mother her | H517 → | |
| לְקָחָ֧הּ | lekachah | he took her | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מָרְדֳּכַ֛י | maredokhai | Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | of him | ||
| לְבַֽת׃ | levat | to a daughter | H1323 → | 588 times |
וַיְהִ֨יand he was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
אֹמֵ֜ןraising
ʾomenH539 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הֲדַסָּ֗הHadassah
hadasahH1919 →
הִ֤יאthat
hi'H1931 →1879 times
אֶסְתֵּר֙[is] Esther
ʾesterH635 →55 times
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
דֹּד֔וֹuncle his
dodoH1730 →
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵ֥יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
לָ֖הּ[belonged] to <the> her
lah
אָ֣בa father
ʾavH1 →1212 times
וָאֵ֑םand a mother
vaemH517 →
וְהַנַּעֲרָ֤הand the young woman
vehanaarahH5291 →63 times
יְפַת־[was] beautiful of
yefat-H3303 →
תֹּ֙אַר֙shape
toarH8389 →
וְטוֹבַ֣תand good of
vetovatH2896 →538 times
מַרְאֶ֔הappearance
marehH4758 →103 times
וּבְמ֤וֹתand at [the] death of
uvemotH4194 →
אָבִ֙יהָ֙father her
ʾavihaH1 →1212 times
וְאִמָּ֔הּand mother her
veimahH517 →
לְקָחָ֧הּhe took her
lekachahH3947 →966 times
מָרְדֳּכַ֛יMordecai
maredokhaiH4782 →60 times
ל֖וֹof him
lo
לְבַֽת׃to a daughter
levatH1323 →588 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 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
it leads to
- Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become discouraged.
- Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
- Proverbs 29:15
A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
- Proverbs 19:18
Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.
- Deuteronomy 6:7
And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
- Colossians 3:21
Through
2 Corinthians 6:18And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
it leads to
- John 1:12
But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
- Revelation 21:7
The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.
- 2 Samuel 7:14
I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
- John 1:12
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 Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 3.