not bound to keep this feast where there were no Jews;
for, let him be where he may, he is obliged to keep it:
and that these days of Purim should not fail among the
Jews; or the observance of them be neglected and
cease: nor the memorial of them perish from their .seed;
neither the memorial of them, nor of the reason of
keeping them; wherefore on those days they read the
whole book of Esther, fairly written on a roll of parch-
ment, and are careful that none omit the reading of it;
rather, they say ", the reading and learning the law
should be omitted, and all commands and service, than
the reading this volume, that so all might be acquainted
with this wonderful deliverance, and keep it in mind.
Ver. 29. Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abi-
hail, and Mordecai the 3ew, wrote with all authority,
&c.] Strongly pressing the observance of this festival;
before, Mordecai only recommended it, but now the
queen gave a sanction to it, and laid her obligation on
the Jews to observe it; perhaps some of the Jews were
backward to it, or neglected to observe it, and there-
fore Esther and Mordecai joined in a letter to them, to
press them to it; the Jewish chronologer {x} says, this
was written the year following; the former Targum
is, they wrote this whole volume, anti the strength of
the miracle, or set the miraculous deliverance in the
strongest. light, with this view, to confirm this second
letter of Purim; that it might have its weight and in-
fluence upon them, to engage them to keep it, as the
latter Targum adds; that when it was an intercalary
year, they might not read the Megillah (or book of
Esther) in the first Adar, but in the second Adar.
Ver. 30. And he sent letters unto all the Jews, &c.]
That is, Mordecai did, signed in the queen's name, and
his own: to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Aha-

suerus; among which was Judea, that was become a
province, first of the Chaldean, now of the Persian em-
pire, see Ezra v. 8. to whom also these letters were
sent, directing and ordering the Jews there to observe
these days, who were also concerned in the deliverance
wrought: with words oJ' peace and truth exhorting
them to live in peace with one another, and their neigh-
bouts, and to constancy in the true religion; or wish-
ing them all peace and prosperity in the most loving
and sincere manner.
Vet. 31. To confirm these days of Purim in their times
appointed, &c.] The lithand 15th ofAdar: according as
Mordecai thc Jew and Estherthe queen had enjoined them;
in the letters written and signed by them both: and as
they had decreed for themselves, and for their seed; see
ver. 27. the matters of their fastings and their cry; in
commemoration of their deliverance from those dis-
tresses and calamities which occasioned fastings and
prayers during the time,of them; and to. this sense is
the former Targum; though it is certain. the Jews ob-
serve the 13th day, the day before the two days, as a
fast, and which they call the fast of Esther y, and have
prayers on the festival-days peculiar to them; but the
sense Aben Ezra gives seems best, that as. the Jews had
decreed to keep the fasts, mentioned in Zech. vii. 5. so
they now decreed to rejoice in the .days of Purim.
Ver. 32. And the decree of Esther confirmed these
matters of Purim, &c.] As a festival to be observed by
the Jews in future generations: and it was written in the
book; either in this book of Esther; or in the public
acts and chronicles of the kings of Persia; or in a book
by itself, now lost, as Aben Ezra thinks, as many others
are we read of in Scripture, as the books of the chro-
nicles of the kings of Israel and Judah, &c.

This chapter is very short, and just makes mention
of a tribute Ahasuerus laid on his realm, ver. 1. re-
fers to the Persian chronicles, both for the greatness
of him, and of Mordecai, and is closed with the cha-
racter of the latter, ver. 3.
Vet. 1. And the King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the
land, and upon the isles of the sea.] Which include all
Iris dominions, both on the continent, and on the sea,
the Aegean sea; though Aben Ezra thinks it regards
such as were not under his government, but stood in
fear of him, of whom he demanded tribute. IfAha-
suerus was Xerxes, perbaps his exchequer might be
drained by his wars with the Grecians, which put him
upon this; though some understand this of his re-
newing the taxes and tribute, which he remitted upon
his marriage with Esther, ch. iS. 18.
Ver. e. And all the acts of his power, and of his
might, &c.] As Xerxes was a very mighty and
powerful prince: and the declaration of the grcatness of
Mordecai, whereunto the ]ring advanced him; the his-
tory- of that, and which tended not a little to the great-
ness, dignity and prosperity of the king himself, and
his whole kingdom: are they not written in the book of
the chronicles of the Icings of Media and Persia ? to
which the reader is referred by the writer of this book,
the which were in being in his times, but now lost: had
they been preserved, they might have been of great use
to lead into the history of the Medes and Persians,
which for want of them is very dark and intricate; the
writer of this book having nothing further to do with it,
than as it related to the affairs of the Jews.
Ver. 3. For .Mordecai the Jew was next unto Aha-
suerun, &c.] The second man in the kingdom, the
principal of the counsellots, and prime minister of
state: and great among the Jews; highly respected by
them, in great honour and esteem with them, tbr
which there was great reason: and accepted of the mul-
titude of his brethreu; or of many, of most, of the
greatest part of them; for, let a man be ever so de-
serving, there are tome that will envy his greatness,
cavil at every thing done by him, and speak evil of him
without any just reason: seeking the wealth of his


{w} Lebush & Schulchan, ib. c. 687. sect. 2.
{x} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 29. p. 87.
{y} Lebush & Schulchan, ut supra, c. 686. sect. 1.