Bible Strands
Esther 2:8
When the king’s command and edict had been proclaimed, many young women gathered at the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai. Esther was also taken to the palace and placed under the care of Hegai, the custodian of the women.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the immediate execution of the king’s decree in Susa, as royal officials assemble young women into the citadel under Hegai’s supervision. This moment initiates the royal selection process, occurring just after Mordecai’s introduction of his adopted niece Hadassah.
The words — The text relies on בְּ/הִשָּׁמַ֤ע (be./hi.sha.Ma'), meaning “when were heard,” to mark the edict’s activation. It pairs with וּֽ/בְ/הִקָּבֵ֞ץ (u./ve./hi.ka.Vetz), literally “and when were gathered,” to describe the physical mobilization of the candidates.
The thread — This assembly directly fulfills the provincial mandate detailed in Esther 2:3, which ordered commissioners to collect all beautiful young women. The narrative later returns to Esther’s background in Esther 2:15, clarifying her biological parentage and adoption status.
Why it lands — The passage documents the administrative reality of the king’s search, noting Esther’s forced inclusion alongside thousands of others. It requires the reader to track how a single named individual enters a state-controlled system before any personal agency or outcome 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
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.
Cross-references
- Esther 2:3 and let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom to assemble all the beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the women, and let them be given beauty treatments.
- Esther 2:15 Now Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle from whom Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. And when it was her turn to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s trusted official in charge of the harem, had advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.