Barnes' Notes And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. A tribute - Perhaps an allusion to some fresh arrangement of the tribute likely to have followed on the return of Xerxes from Greece.Upon the isles of the sea - Cyprus, Aradus, the island of Tyre, Platea, etc., remained in the hands of the Persians after the victories of the Greeks, and may be the "isles" here intended.
And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? Power and ... might - In the later years of Xerxes his "power and might" were chiefly shown in the erection of magnificent buildings, more especially at Persepolis. He abstained from military expeditions.Kings of Media and Persia - Media takes precedence of Persia because the kingdom of Media had preceded that of Persia, and in the "book of the Chronicles" its history came first.
For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed. Mordecai ... was next unto king Ahasuerus - See Esther 2:5 note. Artabanus (Esther 1:14 note) was favorite toward the end of Xerxes' reign, i. e. in his 20th and 21st years. |
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