Esther 4:2
in Esther 4But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering that gate.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter within the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
KJV
And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
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This verse in Esther 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBefore the king’s gate - He could not enter into the gate, of the place where the officers waited, because he was in the habit of a mourner; for this would have been contrary to law.
This site's exposition
When Mordecai learned of all
on Esther 4:1-3
Mordecai puts on "sackcloth and ashes" and goes "wailing loudly and bitterly," as far as the king's gate, because the law barred sackcloth there. The Hebrew of his great and bitter cry is the phrase used of Esau at Genesis 27:34, a likeness the commentators note.
This site's exposition
But he went only
Albert Barnes notes that this law appears nowhere else, though its principle held across the East: nothing of ill omen came before the king. John Gill reads Mordecai’s place at the gate as a way to reach Esther inside. The gate was as close as his grief could come.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
When Mordecai heard about the destruction of the Jews which had been sanctioned with an imperial decree, he put on clothes for mourning and proceeded to the gates of the palace with bitterness in his soul and grief in his voice. In the same way, …
When Mordecai hears that the slaughter of the Jews has been fixed by imperial decree, he dresses himself in somber clothing and approaches the doors of the palace with a bitter soul and a wailing voice; and when the leaders of the Church hear about …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And came even before the king's gate,.... Or court, that Esther might if possible be made acquainted with this dreadful calamity coming upon her people: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth: or appear in such a dress at court, where nothing was admitted to damp the pleasures of it.
It was nobly done thus publicly to espouse what he knew to be a righteous cause, and the cause of God, even when it seemed a desperate and a sinking cause.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
None might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth - This law is not elsewhere mentioned; but its principle - that nothing of evil omen is to be obtruded on the monarch - has been recognized throughout the East in all ages.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּב֕וֹא | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| שַֽׁעַר־ | shaar- | [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| לָב֛וֹא | lavo' | to go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שַׁ֥עַר | shaar | [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בִּלְב֥וּשׁ | bilvush | in clothing of | H3830 → | 33 times |
| שָֽׂק׃ | sak | sackcloth | H8242 → | 49 times |
וַיָּב֕וֹאand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
עַ֖דto
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
שַֽׁעַר־[the] gate of
shaar-H8179 →374 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵ֥יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
לָב֛וֹאto go
lavo'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שַׁ֥עַר[the] gate of
shaarH8179 →374 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
בִּלְב֥וּשׁin clothing of
bilvushH3830 →33 times
שָֽׂק׃sackcloth
sakH8242 →49 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther
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); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 7; Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).