Bible Strands
Esther 2:11
And every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn about Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports Mordecai’s actions to the reader at the moment Esther has entered King Xerxes’ harem and is concealing her Jewish lineage.
The words — `mit.ha.Lekh` (H1980) literally means to walk back and forth or pace, and `cha.Tzar beit` (H2691, H1004) translates to the court of the house.
The thread — This pattern of verifying the status of others appears in Genesis 37:14, 1 Samuel 17:18, and Acts 15:36, where individuals are dispatched to check on the welfare of family or fellow believers.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to recognize that faithful oversight operates in hidden locations, demanding persistent attention rather than dramatic intervention.
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
And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
Cross-references
- Genesis 37:14 Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem,
- 1 Samuel 17:18 Take also these ten portions of cheese to the commander of their unit. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring back an assurance from them.
- Acts 15:36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”
- Esther 2:13 When the young woman would go to the king, she was given whatever she requested to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace.