Why did Esther have to wait until evening to see the king in Esther 2:14? Canonical Text and Immediate Context “In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to a second house of the women … ” (Esther 2:14). The Hebrew verb tense (“would go”) shows a fixed, court-mandated routine, not a personal choice. The verse explains both the timing (evening arrival, morning departure) and the reason: the king summoned each woman at night, then sent her to the concubines’ quarters unless he later “delighted in her and summoned her by name.” Persian Court Protocol and the Rhythm of a Royal Day Persian kings devoted daylight hours to audiences, judicial decisions, military dispatches, and ritual meals (Herodotus I.133; Xenophon, Cyropaedia VIII.1.42). Nights were reserved for private matters—including sexual relations—shielded from the public eye and the bureaucratic staff that crowded the palace by day. Esther’s evening entrance fits that protocol exactly: • Privacy: Palace architecture at Susa (uncovered in French excavations, 1885-1978) shows a discrete harem wing connected to the king’s inner chamber by a single guarded corridor, facilitating after-hours visits without exposing the women to courtiers. • Security: Eunuchs controlled nighttime movement. Shaashgaz’s title in Akkadian loanwords (ša-ši-kaš, “overseer of the woman-house”) appears on Persepolis Fortification tablets dated to Xerxes’ era (ca. 486 BC), confirming a eunuch-managed second residence. • Legalism: The Medo-Persian legal code in the “Constitution of the Persians” (quoted by Diodorus XVII.103) forbade unauthorized persons in the royal presence by day; violations were capital offences (Esther 4:11 echoes the same peril). Evening access prevented accidental encounters with diplomats or priests and insulated dynastic paternity claims. Ancient Witnesses that Corroborate the Practice • Herodotus IX.108-113 notes that Queen Amestris, Ahasuerus’ mother, saw her husband chiefly at night. • Ctesias (Persica, frag. 13) describes courtesans who “served the king at night and were unseen by the realm.” • Josephus, Antiquities XI.200-202, explains that Esther was “brought to him at night, according to the law of the Persians.” These converging records demonstrate that Esther 2:14 reports normal court custom, not an odd exception created by the biblical narrator. Function of the Second House of Women After the night visit the woman became, de facto, a concubine; she could never marry another man (cf. Daniel 1:3-5, where youths taken for royal service lose future marital freedom). The “second house” therefore served: 1. Quarantine—preventing rumor of pregnancy by another man. 2. Hierarchy—distinguishing those who had been with the king from virgins still awaiting a first summons. 3. Recall—keeping potential favorites ready if “he delighted in her.” Moral and Theological Dimensions The narrative never endorses Xerxes’ harem (Deuteronomy 17:17 forbids multiplying wives), but it records it truthfully. God’s providence often operates through the flawed structures of pagan power (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28). For Esther, the mandated nighttime appointment placed her exactly where divine timing intended. The same sovereignty orchestrated Joseph in Pharaoh’s prison (Genesis 39-41) and Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s court (Daniel 1-2). Providence in the Timing 1. Strategic Concealment: Esther’s Jewish identity (“for Esther kept her heritage secret,” 2:10) was easier to hide under night-time introduction, delaying political backlash until the crisis of chapter 3. 2. Foreshadowing Redemption: Darkness-to-light transitions echo salvation motifs—Israelite Passover night (Exodus 12), resurrection at dawn (Matthew 28:1). Esther’s evening entrance anticipates the morning deliverance she will later secure for her people. Practical Application for Believers Today 1. God governs the calendars of emperors and the evenings of unknown maidens alike. 2. Purity in a corrupt culture is possible (Esther 2:15 notes Esther sought “nothing but what Hegai advised”). 3. Our “evening” appointments—periods when God seems silent—may be positioning us for morning influence. Summary Esther waited until evening because Persian royal protocol reserved nocturnal hours for private conjugal audiences, enforced by eunuchs, verified by multiple classical sources, and evidenced archaeologically at Susa. That timetable, though rooted in pagan custom, became the stage on which God advanced His redemptive plan for Israel. |
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