SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2000 – Page 5

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2:12

Paragraph 2:12–14

This paragraph contains background information. It gives general details of how the girls were prepared for the king.

2:12a

to go to King Xerxes: This means to go to the king’s private part of the palace and spend the night with him. You need to consider what is the polite way to express this in your language so your readers understand that she went to the king so that he could have sex with her.

2:12b

beauty treatments: See note on 2:3d.

2:12c

oil of myrrh: Myrrh is a resin which comes from certain trees. It has a pleasant smell and could be mixed with oil to make a perfume.

cosmetics: This is a general term for things like the powder and ointments women use to make themselves more beautiful.

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2:13

2:13b

whatever she requested: This means any ornaments, jewelry, clothes, perfumes or cosmetics she wanted to make herself beautiful when she went to the king.

harem: See note on 2:3b.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2:14

2:14a

a second harem: See note on 2:3b. Apparently, the harem was divided into two parts. The first part was for the girls who were waiting to go to the king; the second part was for those who had spent the night with him and so had become his concubines.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2:15

Paragraph 2:15–18

In these verses, the story returns to Esther and Mordecai, the main characters in the story. If you have a way in your language to indicate this, you should use it here.

2:15a

Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle from whom Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter: You will need to study carefully the best way to include this information in your translation and where in the verse you should put it. Look at how different English versions have translated it. Contemporary English Version even omits it completely, because the translators considered that Esther had already been introduced in 2:7.

2:15b

Hegai, the king’s trusted official in charge of the harem: This is also repeated information and you need to decide whether you should repeat it in your translation.

harem: See note on 2:3b.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2:16

2:16

Tebeth: When the story took place, the Hebrew year began in the middle of March. So Tebeth, the tenth month, was from mid-December to mid-January. You could put this information in a footnote if you decide it is important for your readers.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2:17

2:17a

The reference to the length of the king’s reign at the end of 2:16 has interrupted the story about Esther, so in order to resume the story, you may need to repeat the fact that Esther went to the king.

2:17c

royal crown: See note on 1:11a.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2:18

2:18a

officials and servants: See notes on 1:3a.

2:18b

tax holiday: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as holiday is more literally “causing to rest.” There are two main ways that English versions translate this word:

(1)__ It refers to any type of holiday.

(New International Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version)

(2) It refers to a period of not paying taxes, something that kings of that time sometimes did to celebrate special events.

(Berean Standard Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow the first option.

2:18c

worthy of the king’s bounty: This means that the king did it in a way which displayed his generosity. He did it in the way people expected a king to behave.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2:19

-20

Section 2:19–23

Mordecai discovered a plot against the king

These verses describe an event which will be very important later in the story. Two of the king’s servants were angry with the king and plotted to kill him.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2000