Bible Strands
Esther 2:1
Some time later, when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrative describes King Xerxes acting alone at a moment of temporal distance following his initial rage against Queen Vashti. The text positions this event as the direct catalyst for the royal attendants' subsequent proposal to find a new queen.
The words — The Hebrew verb זָכַר (za.Khar) translates literally as "he remembered," indicating a deliberate cognitive return to past events. The phrase כְּשֹׁךְ (ke./Shokh) literally means "when it subsided," describing the cooling of the king's חֲמָת (cha.Mat), or anger.
The thread — The motif of a king's fury subsiding appears in Esther 7:10 when Haman is hanged and in Daniel 6:14 when the king labors to save Daniel. These parallels trace a pattern of royal emotional shifts driving narrative pivots.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that political decisions often follow emotional cooling rather than immediate reaction. It requires the reader to track how remembered grievances directly trigger institutional actions.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Esther 7:10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.
- Daniel 6:14 As soon as the king heard this, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel, and he labored until sundown to rescue him.
- Esther 1:12 Queen Vashti, however, refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs. And the king became furious, and his anger burned within him.