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1 After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. 2 Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king: 3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them: 4 And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. 5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; 6 Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 7 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. 8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women. 10 Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it. 11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her. 12 Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;) 13 Then thus came every 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. 14 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. 15 Now 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 favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. 16 So 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. 17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king. 19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king's gate. 20 Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him. 21 In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. 22 And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name. 23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
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[AD 420] Jerome on Esther 2:1-4
The worldly philosophers drive out an old passion by instilling a new one; they hammer out one nail by hammering in another. It was on this principle that the seven princes of Persia acted toward Ahasuerus, for they subdued his regret for Vashti by inducing him to love other maidens. But whereas they cured one fault by another fault and one sin by another sin, we must overcome our faults by learning to love the opposite virtues. “Depart from evil,” says the psalmist, “and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

Source: LETTER 125.14
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:1-4
When, therefore, Judea had been repulsed from its relationship with the king, various nations—and the various inhabitants of particular nations from the various parts of the world—were brought in to receive a share in the royal grandeur through the holy preachers, who were ministers of the words of the Gospel. And they were placed under the hand of Hegai, meaning quick or customary, who was in charge of the king's women; that is, under the care of the shepherds and rulers of the Church to whom the governance of the souls of the faithful was committed, so that they might be able to offer them, in word and by example, whatever they needed for the cultivation of righteousness. And so whatever souls pleased the eyes of the inner breast in proper faith and pure conscience would be brought, pure and holy, to the bed of the eternal king in place of the stubborn and shameless Vashti who had been cast out.

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:1-4
After Judea had been expelled from the royal marriage, different peoples and different individuals from each nation from different parts of the world were led to the royal congregation by the holy preachers who were ministers of the evangelical word. They were given into the custody of Hegai, whose name is interpreted as “celebration” or “solemnity.” He was the superintendent of the royal women. In other words, they4 were given to the care of the pastors and leaders of the church to whom the custody of the souls of the faithful was entrusted.

Source: EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 3
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:5-9
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 mercy and grace than the Synagogue of the Jews which the prophet Hosea rightly calls “No-mercy” on account of its wickedness. So the spiritual Mordecai adopts her as his daughter, because she had lost both her parents; and what can Mordecai signify if not the teachers of the nations, and especially the blessed apostle Paul who was also, we are told, from the line of Jemin, i.e. from the tribe of Benjamin? He too was entrusted with the Church of the nations after the call of God transformed him from a persecutor into an apostle; and after the deaths of her father and her mother—that is, the errors and superstitions of the gentiles—he made her in a sense his own when, through the grace of baptism and the word of the Gospels, he sired anew a daughter for the all-powerful Father for eternal salvation. Hence he said to them: “Though you might have many masters, you do not have many fathers; for I sired you in Christ through the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 4). She was, therefore, been taken into captivity at one time by Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, when—because of the Devil—she was taken from natural law and the worship of one God to the confusion of idolatry. Yet God’s righteousness never abandoned her, and in fact called her back to the path of truth by means of his preachers, who looked after her with great care and brought her up in complete righteousness, justice and truth. For her, Hegai the eunuch—i.e. the chaste order of pastors—prepared the cosmetics of women, that is, healthful doctrine and examples of good works; and he gave her his own share of food, which was actually the knowledge of Scripture and an upright character. He also arranged for her seven beautiful girls as attendants, in that he adopted—for the sake of giving her a very beneficial apprenticeship—more of the faithful who were reborn through the grace of the sevenfold Holy Spirit and likewise took up good works. In other words, she would therefore be found suitable in every way for the couch of the eternal king, adorned as she was with a flourishing faith and the glow from every kind of virtue.

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:5-9
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 of her faith and before the eyes of God it finds a greater mercy and grace than the synagogue of the Jews which with good reason the prophet Hosea calls merciless because of its impiety. Therefore the spiritual Mordecai adopted [Esther] as his own daughter because she had lost both her parents. And what is signified by Mordecai but the future teachers of the Gentiles? This is especially true of the blessed apostle Paul who also descended from the stock of Jemin, that is, he testified to be from the tribe of Benjamin. After Paul was transformed from persecutor into apostle, the gentile church was entrusted to him. And he himself, after her mother and father had died—namely, the errors and superstitions of the Gentiles—made her his own daughter when he regenerated her through the grace of baptism and the word of the gospel, making her also a daughter of the almighty Father, saved for all eternity. Therefore Paul said to them, “For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.”

Source: EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 3
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:10-11
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 longer able to bear the shame of its former impiety. And the Lord taught [the church] through the prophet by saying, “Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house, because the king desired your beauty, as he is also the Lord your God.”

Source: EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 3
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:10
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 and the filth of idolatry, she can no longer endure in any form the shame of her original impiety. Moreover, the Lord is also commanding her through his prophet, when he says: “Listen daughter, and see, and lend your ear, and forget your people and your father’s home, because the king has desired your beauty, because he is the Lord your God” (Psalms 45).

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:11
So it follows that Scripture demonstrates through the figure of Mordecai the cleverness of the leaders, when it says:

“He would stroll every day in front of the forecourt of the house where the chosen virgins were serving, expressing his concern for Esther’s welfare and wanting to know what was happening to her.” Because every day the sacred teachers take care to keep watch, venturing out to teach the Gospel so that they might examine the faith and the works of the people entrusted to them, to see if they are following with attentive concern the rule of proper faith through which we obtain eternal salvation; or if they are diligent about worshipping God and doing good works, which is how we may win the reward of the heavenly kingdom in the life to come. For those whose hearts burn incessantly with the heat of proper faith and the fire of divine love cannot be free of this concern for even an hour. Hence when the teacher of the nations glories in his labors and in the persecutions which he suffered for Christ, he adds as follows: “And in addition to any secondary concerns, I am faced every day with my concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is offended without my being disturbed?” (2 Corinthians 11) And to the Romans: “God, whom I serve in my spirit in the Gospel of his Son, is my witness that I remember you in my prayers always, and without interruption” (1 Romans).

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:12
Now, why is it that the girls who were to be brought into the king’s bedchamber were prepared for twelve months with oil and scent, i.e. for six months they were anointed with oil of myrrh (which is known to have a pleasant odor) and for another six they used various pigments and scents? It must be that all the souls who are invited to receive the gift of holy baptism and to enter the bed of the true Groom, i.e. Christ the king, are thoroughly imbued by oil of myrrh—i.e. by the light of faith and the salve of love—with the scents of the virtues, so that they will deserve to be worthy of his company. For what are the holy preachers doing when they instruct their catechumens in the truth of the faith, if not teaching them to adorn that faith with good works so that with fasting, prayer and charity, and with other works of virtue, they may quickly wash away the original filth of the old man and clothe themselves in the elegance of the new one. We read, after all, in the Acts of the Apostles that the centurion Cornelius had first pleased God with prayer and charity, and then when Peter arrived he received the purification of baptism and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:13
For any soul that strives to hurry to the bed of the heavenly Groom receives from its teachers the adornment that is appropriate to it, and with which it shows itself more devoted to the understanding of the faith and the knowledge of virtue, so that—by the intact faith of the holy Trinity and full confession—it may go forth from among the postulants to receive the sole baptism and anointment with the holy oil, when it is genuinely united with the heavenly Groom.

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:14
What then follows—“She would enter in the evening and leave in the morning, and was then brought to the second building”—and so on, proves in an allegorical way that after our vices have subsided, the glow of our virtues (which will not shine properly anywhere but in the unity of the holy Church) ought to rise. And yet one who has sequestered himself from it because he has some foul odor of error or vice is quite rightly kept from being brought to the second building where the king’s concubines were waiting, because a decline in robust faith deserves not a advance in but a restoration of respect; and he will no longer have such an authorization to return to our king until he has been visited once again by celestial grace, and restored through his calling to his original dignity.

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:15-18
It is evident that the magnificent banquet for Esther’s wedding, prepared for both the princes and the people, represents the greatest bliss that is enjoyed by the entire human race, both great and small, for the spiritual union of Christ with the church. In this banquet, in fact, no carnal foods are consumed by those who are worthy to participate in it. Instead they consume a spiritual diet of wisdom and virtue. In this banquet, all the faithful receive the holy mysteries of the body and blood of the Lord as a remedy for their salvation. Here the meal of eternal life resides. And our king gives peace to all the provinces, and bestows abundant gifts in freeing those who believe in him from the weight of sins, and rewarding them with spiritual gifts. Therefore he himself says in the gospel, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Source: EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 4
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:15
It says “in the course of time,” i.e. once the five ages of the world—during which the posterity of the Fathers was gaining ground, and the institution of the Law was flourishing among the Jews—had come to an end, and a sixth age was at hand when, with the arrival of the Redeemer, a multitude from among the nations would be brought together through the Gospel. For it was then that Esther in the allegorical sense, i.e. the Church, was being brought from among the nations to Christ the king through the apostles’ preaching, and by means of the belief of robust faith and the sacrament of baptism; she was shapely, and in the incredible beauty of her virtues she appeared gracious and lovely to all who saw her. The apostle Paul mentions this period when he writes to the Galatians, as follows: “After the fullness of time had come, God sent his own Son born from a woman, made under the Law so that he might redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive the adoption given to children” (Galatians 4). And to the Ephesians: “God, who is rich in mercy, revived us together with Christ by whose grace you were saved, because of the great charity with which he loved us even though we were dead through our sins; and he revived us with him, and had us sit with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus to show in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace in his goodness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2).

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:16-17
Hence we should also bear in mind the crucial moment when Esther was brought to the king’s bedchamber:

“So she was brought to the bedchamber of King Ahasuerus in the tenth month, which is called Tevet, in the seventh year of his reign; and the king loved her more than all the women, and placed the diadem of kingship on her head, and had her rule in place of Vashti.” For Tevet is that month in the Hebrew calendar which corresponds to the Greek Eudymos and the Latin Januarius, when the Lord incarnate was circumcised on the eighth day and was adored even as a tiny infant by the Magi, who were brought there by a star that led the way, and honored as God, man and king with the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh that were offered to him. This was also the month when he was heralded and baptized by John. So in the seventh year of Ahasuerus, Esther went up to the king’s bed; and the Church was brought to and joined with the king Christ, in whom she remains without change by the grace of the sevenfold Spirit. “Whom he loved more than all the women;” and she had before him grace and mercy above all women, that is, above all the nations of the world. “He placed on her head the diadem of kingship,” when he summoned her as his consort in kingship; “and he had her rule in place of Vashti,” i.e. the Synagogue of the Jews which lost its place of honor when it spurned and crucified our king. That is, the prophet is looking at the excellence of this queen when he says to Christ the king: “The queen stood at your right hand in golden robes, cloaked in colorful clothing” (Psalms 45). And right after that, he speaks to her as follows: “Listen daughter, and see, and lend your ear, and forget your people and your father’s home, because the king has desired your beauty. He is the Lord your God, and the daughters of Tyre will adore him; with gifts all the wealthy among the people will seek your face” (ibid.).

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:18
Now, what can “prepare a greatly magnificent feast for all his officials and slaves in honor of his marriage with Esther” mean, if not that everyone throughout the world, from the greatest to the least, celebrates with the greatest joy the spiritual union of Christ and the Church? After all, at this feast it is not meals of the flesh that the celebrants have the honor to consume, but the spiritual dishes of wisdom and virtue. It is there that all of the faithful receive—for the sake of restoring their salvation—the sanctified mysteries of the body and blood of the Lord; and there that the fodder of eternal life is stored. Our king gives a respite to all the provinces, and bestows gifts of many kinds, when he frees those who believe in him from the burden of sin, and repays them with spiritual gifts. That is why he himself says in the Gospel: “Come to me all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will restore you. Take my yoke upon yourselves, and learn from me because I am mild and humble of heart, and you will find rest in your souls” (Matthew 11). The prophet as well says about this: “When he went up on high he led captivity away captive; he gave gifts to men” (Psalms 68). That is why the apostle adds to this: “And he made some of them apostles, others prophets, still others evangelists, and others pastors and teachers for finishing the training of the saints for the work of ministry, for building the body of Christ until we all arrive at the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, at the complete man, at the measure of the age at which Christ reaches his fullness” (Ephesians 4).

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:19-20
Virgins are being sought for the king a second time and gathered together, because it was not enough for our Lord Jesus Christ to associate himself exclusively with the Jewish members of the early Church; rather he also acquired through his preachers copious numbers of the faithful from among the nations so that a single catholic Church would arise from both peoples, namely his most noble bride who has no blemishes or wrinkles. Hence he himself says in the Gospels: “And I have other sheep which are not from this fold, and it is right that I should lead them; and they will listen to my voice, and there will be one fold and one shepherd” (John 10). “Mordecai was staying at the king’s door,” because the holy teachers who are persistently committed to teaching the Gospel call together the nations to the entryway of faith and the sacrament of baptism; and our Esther had still not betrayed her country and her people in keeping with the order of Mordecai the prefiguration because in keeping with the doctrine of faith, the Church of the saints never does anything out of arrogance but rather obeys—humbly and in pure conscience—everything commanded her by the aforementioned evangelists. And it is about her that the prophet says: “All the glory of the king’s daughter from within” (Psalms 45). And the apostle says: “She is our glory, the testimony of our conscience” (2 Corinthians 1).

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:19-23
There is no doubt that the Scribes and Pharisees of the Jews are signified by the two eunuchs who were the caretakers of the royal house and guarded the threshold of the palace. Indeed it was said that even though they had the key to knowledge, they did not enter and did not let others enter. They wanted to rebel against the king and kill him because they were jealous of the teaching and virtue of the Savior. They constantly put him in danger and conspired with the ministers of Roman power to find a way to kill him. Therefore it is written in the gospel, “Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ ” And in another passage it is read, “So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, ‘What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take our place and people.’ ” And a bit further it is added, “So from that day on they planned to put him to death.”

Source: EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 5
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:21-22
Now, what can these two eunuchs, who were doorkeepers of the royal house and presided over the first rank in the palace, symbolize if not the scribes and the Pharisees of the Jews about whom it is said that though they had the key to knowledge, they did not enter themselves and would not allow anyone else to enter. These men decided to rise up against the king and kill him because they constantly envied the teachings and virtues of the Savior and so decided to plot against him; and together with the administrators of Roman rule they were trying to kill him in some way. Hence we read in the Gospel that “the Pharisees went out and hatched a plot to catch him with his words; and they sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians, saying ‘Master, we know that you are truthful and you teach the way of God in truth; and that you do not concern yourself with anyone because you show no regard for a man’s status. Tell us, then, what you think—should one pay taxes to Caesar, or not (Matthew 22)?’” And elsewhere it is written that “the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled a council, and they said ‘what shall we do? Because this man does many wonders, if we let him go like this everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and do away with our place and our nation’” (John 11). Hence a bit after that, he adds: “So from that day forth they determined to kill him” (ibid.). The prophet Isaiah is alluding to these two characters when he mentions the two houses in which the Savior incarnate became a stone to trip against and a rock to stumble over, a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem on which many of them will stumble and fall, and be bruised, and ensnared, and caught. So our Mordecai, who knew about the wickedness of these eunuchs, turned them into the king through Esther, because the order of preachers shows the faithful—who are the limbs of Christ—how to be on guard against the deceit and the depravity of these men. These two eunuchs might also represent the character of heretics and schismatics who, because they carry in their hearts the poison of deception and wickedness, attack the truth by assiduously constructing evil schemes for removing it from the hearts of believers, and somehow killing within them Christ who is the life of the faithful. But the sacred teachers, who illuminate the sinfulness of these men, expose to the light the darkness of their errors by showing how the innocent are rescued from the death of the soul because God has pointed them out; how the guilty are punished with just vengeance; and how those who deserve it are repaid with the appropriate reward.

Source: Commentary on Esther
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 2:23
Then it adds: “And it was investigated, and discovered, and both men were hung on a gibbet; and the king commanded that it be written in the record book that he should be repaid somehow for saving his life; and it was set down in the accounts, and recorded in the chronicles before the king.” The “record books” are, then, the volumes of the two Testaments which set down the rewards that await the righteous in return for their good deeds, and the punishments that await the wicked for their sins. Hence it is written in the Gospel: “The son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father, and will then repay each one according to his works” (Matthew 16). And likewise, “The wicked will come to eternal punishment, while the just come to eternal reward” (Matthew 25). Hence Paul as well writes to the Romans as follows: “For the wrath of God is unleashed upon all the wickedness and injustice of men, who repress in their injustice the truth of God who repays each according to his works; and those who seek glory, honor, and purity by patiently doing good deeds will receive eternal life, while those who trust in wickedness, because they are contentious and will not acquiesce to the truth, will receive wrath and indignation. There will be trouble and distress for every soul of an evildoer” (Romans 1 and 2). Ezekiel as well speaks about this: “The justice of the just man will be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will be upon him. When a soul has sinned, it will die” (Ezekiel 18). The Psalmist also refers to this in the same terms: “The eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and his ears attend to their prayers; the face of the Lord is upon those who do evil, that he may wipe their memory from the earth” (Psalms 33).

Source: Commentary on Esther