Bible Strands
Esther 2:17
And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports King Xerxes elevating Esther to the throne immediately after she enters his palace in the tenth month of his seventh regnal year. This statement bridges her presentation to the king and the subsequent royal banquet and tax proclamation.
The words — The text states the king va/i.ye.'e.Hav (loved) Esther above all the women, and that she va./ti.sa'- (bore/obtained) chen (favor) in his sight. These lexical markers document her formal removal from the virgin pool and her installation as queen.
The thread — This pattern of sudden elevation appears in Psalms 113:7, where God raises the poor from the dust, and Ezekiel 17:24, where the Lord brings down the tall tree and makes the low tree tall. The motif of humble exaltation resurfaces in Luke 1:48, where God looks with favor on the humble state of His servant.
Why it lands — The verse records a shift in royal favor and political status without explaining its cause or promising theological precedent. It asks the reader to track how human decisions and court dynamics unfold before any divine purpose is revealed.
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 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.
Cross-references
- Psalms 113:7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
- Ezekiel 17:24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”
- Luke 1:48 For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.
- 1 Samuel 2:8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
- Psalms 75:6 For exaltation comes neither from east nor west, nor out of the desert,
- Esther 1:11 to bring Queen Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown, to display her beauty to the people and officials. For she was beautiful to behold.
- Esther 4:14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”