Esther 2:14

Esther 2:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.
• New International Version (NIV)In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
• English Standard Version (ESV)In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.
• New King James Version (NKJV)In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name.

Context of Esther 2:14

12Now when the turn of every maiden was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that it had been done to her according to the law for the women twelve months (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors and with the things for the purifying of the women), 13then in this wise came the maiden unto the king: Whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house. In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, who kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and she were called by name. 15Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her. 16So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

Esther 2:14 word by word

בָּעֶ֣רֶב׀ הִ֣יא בָאָ֗ה וּ֠בַבֹּקֶר הִ֣יא שָׁבָ֞ה אֶל־בֵּ֤ית הַנָּשִׁים֙ שֵׁנִ֔י אֶל־יַ֧ד שַֽׁעֲשְׁגַ֛ז סְרִ֥יס הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ שֹׁמֵ֣ר הַפִּֽילַגְשִׁ֑ים לֹא־תָב֥וֹא עוֹד֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כִּ֣י אִם־חָפֵ֥ץ בָּ֛הּ הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ וְנִקְרְאָ֥ה בְשֵֽׁם׃Read the interlinear

• eveningעֶ֫רֶב‛ereb · eveningH6153
• wentבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• secondשֵׁנִיshênîy · secondH8145
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: palaceH1004
• womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• keptשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
• concubinesפִּלֶ֫גֶשׁpîylegesh pilegesh · concubineH6370
• calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034

Cross-references for Esther 2:14

• Esther 4:11All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death, except those to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
• Genesis 34:19And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was honored above all the house of his father.
• Deuteronomy 21:14And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.
• Isaiah 62:4Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah; for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
• Isaiah 43:1But now thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.
• Isaiah 45:4For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

Commentaries on Esther 2:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14She returned into the second house - This was the place where the king's concubines were kept. They went out no more, and were never given in marriage to any man, and saw the king's face no more unless specially called. Custody of Shaashgaz - This is probably another Persian name; sheshkhunj, beardless, a proper epithet of a eunuch; or sestgunj, weak loins, for the same reason. Names of this kind at once show the reason of their imposition, by describing…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14The second house of the women - i. e. Esther returned to the “house of the women,” but not to the same part of it. She became an inmate of the “second house,” or “house of the concubines,” under the superintendence of a distinct officer, Shaashgaz.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14a second harem: Each woman spent one night with the king in his bedroom. After that, she lived like a widow unless the king remembered her name and called for her. The women in the second harem lived comfortably in a luxurious setting under the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-201-3. After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased--On recovering from the violent excitement of his revelry and rage, the king was pierced with poignant regret for the unmerited treatment he had given to his beautiful and dignified queen. But, according to the law, which made the word of a Persian king irrevocable, she could not be restored. His counsellors, for their own sake, were solicitous to remove his disquietude, and hastened…Read the comment

Topics related to Esther 2:14

• Chamberlain
• Lasciviousness
• Marriage
• Shaashgaz

In the dictionaries

• Chamberlain
• Shaashgaz
• Delight
• Esther, Book of
• Shaasgaz

Commentaries on Esther 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings