以斯帖記 第二章 Esther 2
- 馬克牧師
- May 13
- 8 min read
各位平安，我們今天接著來聊《以斯帖記》第二章，延續昨天第一章的故事。昨天講到瓦實提皇后因為不聽王的話，被廢掉了。那接下來呢？亞哈隨魯王當然就要選新的皇后啦！
所以王的臣僕就建議：「來吧，我們在全國各地找出最美的女子送進王宮，讓皇上從中選出新的皇后！」聽起來是不是有點像古代小說？皇帝要選妃，萬民美女都來參加選美大賽的那種情節。
就在這時候，故事帶出了另一位重要角色——末底改。他是便雅憫人，是被擄到巴比倫的猶太人後代。第二章第六節還提到一件耐人尋味的事，就是他是當年巴比倫時代，尼布甲尼撒王擄走南國耶哥尼雅王時的一份子。恩，這裡就有點讓人好奇了—— 如果你了解這段歷史的話，從巴比倫時代最鼎盛的時代到現在波斯帝國亞哈隨魯王的時代，已經快130年了！末底改怎麼可能還活著？所以比較合理的理解是，那個「在其中」的是他的祖先，而不是他本人。不然這時候他至少有一百四五十歲了。
好，接著我們的女主角終於登場啦——以斯帖！她是末底改叔叔的女兒，也就是他的堂妹。但因為她從小就沒有父母，所以末底改就把她當成自己的女兒來撫養。可能年紀差很多，直接說是「女兒」也比較好安排生活。
然後呢，以斯帖因為年輕又貌美，自然也被送進了王宮。當時負責選妃的官員名叫希該，類似我們說的內務府總管。他一看到以斯帖就對她特別好，不但給她最好的資源，還安排了七個宮女專門伺候她。以斯帖不愧是自帶女主角光環，從家裡出來簡直就是開了掛，一進宮就人氣滿點，人人都喜歡她，一帆風順，直上青雲當皇后的劇情。
我們再往下看《以斯帖記》第二章的一些細節，其實蠻有意思的。這些被挑選進王宮的女子，還不能馬上見王喔，要先經過一整套的美容療程——總共12個月，前六個月用的是沒藥油，後六個月則是香料和潔身的藥物。你看，這根本是古代版的頂級SPA行程了！波斯人選皇后也是非常講究，要把整個人從裡到外調理到最完美的狀態，才能去見皇帝一面。這裡也看出來作者相當熟悉宮內選妃的程序和過程，代表應該是一個對於波斯文化有深度了解的人才寫得出來。
而且不是每個人見了王就能再見第二次喔。只有那個讓皇帝一眼看上、特別喜歡的，才會被再次召見，才有可能被立為皇后。想像一下天下美女齊聚一堂要海選皇后的位置，競爭應該是比歌手比賽還要更激烈。
結果怎樣呢？第17節就講了，王一看到以斯帖就愛上她，甚至比其他所有女子都更寵愛她。她在王眼前大受歡迎，直接就被立為皇后！大家都在爬樓梯的時候，以斯帖簡直是坐直升機降落在頂樓，完全沒有任何波折，女主角順利上位，像極了小說裡的主線進展。
但這一章還沒完，還有另一條支線要交代，就是我們的男主角末底改。他某天剛好在王宮的大門那裡，無意中聽到兩位太監密謀要刺殺皇帝。他立刻把這件事告訴了以斯帖，而以斯帖也照他的名義去向王報告。這一舉不只是救了國王一命，也讓末底改直接立下一個擎天保駕之功，簡直就是天上掉下來的功勞，一躍成為皇帝眼中值得信任的大臣。
所以第二章整體看下來，真的像小說一樣順：女主角一出場馬上變皇后，男主角一出場馬上立大功。兩個人怎麼看都不像普通人，分明就是天選之子，已經被安排好要在後面劇情裡擔任關鍵角色。現在看起來一帆風順，其實也是在為後面更大的挑戰鋪路。
喔對了，這裡還有一個關鍵的小細節，我們不能漏掉。在第二章第10節有提到——以斯帖並沒有告訴任何人她的籍貫和宗族，因為末底改特別交代她不要讓人知道。
為什麼這麼重要呢？你要知道，當時猶太人已經是亡國之民了，分散各地，身份常常不但不被尊重，還可能成為攻擊的對象。雖然波斯帝國在制度上表面是種族平等，但實際上，猶太人的身分仍然敏感，有些人可能還是會帶著偏見看待他們。
所以末底改的這個提醒，其實是出於保護。為了不讓以斯帖在選妃的過程中因為自己的背景而受到不公平的對待，他乾脆說：「先別講，等時機成熟再說。」
這個鋪陳其實也很有戲劇性，因為等到後面我們會看到，以斯帖的猶太人身份，正好成為她關鍵時刻拯救族人的轉捩點。現在先藏起來，等於是給故事留下了一個伏筆。
所以說啊，按照一個精彩小說的節奏，前面當然要先把背景交代清楚。我們從第一章介紹了亞哈隨魯王這位個性衝動的國王，然後進入第二章，認識了我們的男主角末底改和女主角以斯帖，他們的出場都像小說主角一樣，直接就進入主線、擁有關鍵位置。
那故事要精彩，怎麼能少得了反派角色？沒錯，第三章一開始，就登場了一個重要的壞人——哈曼。他一出場也是直上青雲被抬高到宰相的位置，地位甚至超過了王的其他大臣，這背景也沒多說清楚，總之就是突然間權力大到讓人意外。而他的崛起，也正式為末底改、甚至整個猶太民族帶來一場極大的危機。
這樣，整個故事的架構就完整了：時代背景，皇帝、男女主角、壞人，全都就位，一場政治鬥爭與信仰堅持的交鋒即將展開，準備進入主要劇情了。
那今天的分享就到這裡，感謝各位的聆聽，我們明天繼續來看《以斯帖記》第三章的精彩發展。願上帝祝福各位。
Hello everyone, peace to you all! Today, we’re continuing with Esther chapter 2, picking up where we left off in chapter 1. Yesterday, we talked about how Queen Vashti was removed because she refused the king’s command. So what happens next? Naturally, King Ahasuerus needs to find a new queen!
So his attendants suggested, “Let’s search throughout the entire empire for the most beautiful women and bring them to the palace so the king can choose a new queen!” Sounds a bit like an ancient romance novel, doesn’t it? The emperor is choosing a bride, and all the beauties of the land come to compete in this royal pageant.
At this point, the story introduces another key character—Mordecai. He was a descendant of the tribe of Benjamin, a Jew who had been exiled to Babylon. In verse 6 of chapter 2, there’s an interesting historical detail: it says he was among those taken when King Jeconiah of Judah was exiled by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Now this is where it gets curious—if you know your history, you’ll realize that from the peak of the Babylonian empire to the time of King Ahasuerus of Persia, nearly 130 years had passed! So it’s highly unlikely that Mordecai himself had been exiled. A more reasonable interpretation is that it was one of his ancestors who was taken into exile—not Mordecai himself. Otherwise, he’d be 140 or 150 years old by now!
Alright, now our female lead finally appears—Esther! She was the daughter of Mordecai’s uncle, which makes her Mordecai’s cousin. But since she had lost both her parents at a young age, Mordecai raised her as his own daughter. Maybe the age gap between them was large enough that calling her a daughter made more sense in everyday life.
Because Esther was young and beautiful, she too was brought into the king’s harem. The official in charge of the women was named Hegai—kind of like the head of the royal household. As soon as he saw Esther, he favored her greatly. He gave her the best treatment and resources, and even assigned seven female attendants to care for her. Esther truly had that “main character” aura—she stepped out of her home and immediately things just went her way. The moment she entered the palace, everyone liked her. It was smooth sailing all the way, heading straight toward becoming queen.
Now, if we look further into the details of chapter 2, some parts are quite fascinating. These women selected for the palace couldn’t meet the king right away—they first had to undergo a full year of beauty treatments: six months with myrrh oil, and six months with perfumes and cleansing rituals. Sounds like the ancient version of a deluxe spa package! The Persians took their queen selection very seriously—every aspect of appearance and grooming had to be perfected before even getting a chance to see the king. This also shows that the author of Esther had a good understanding of Persian court procedures—whoever wrote this clearly knew their stuff.
And just because you saw the king once didn’t mean you’d get a second chance. Only those who truly caught the king’s eye would be summoned again and considered for the title of queen. Imagine all the most beautiful women gathered for a nationwide selection—it’s probably more competitive than any singing competition!
So what happened? Verse 17 tells us that the king loved Esther more than all the other women. She found favor and grace in his sight, more than all the other virgins. And just like that—Esther was crowned queen! While others were still climbing the stairs, Esther took the express elevator straight to the top. No obstacles, no detours—just a smooth rise to power, just like a classic main-character storyline.
But the chapter doesn’t end there. There's a side plot about our male lead, Mordecai. One day, while sitting at the king’s gate, he overheard two palace officials plotting to assassinate the king. He told Esther, and Esther reported it to the king in Mordecai’s name. This act didn’t just save the king—it also earned Mordecai a huge merit. He essentially became the king’s trusted man overnight. Talk about a divine promotion—he went from bystander to national hero just like that.
So when we step back and look at chapter 2, it flows like a novel. The female lead becomes queen, the male lead saves the king. Both of them seem marked by destiny, placed in key positions right from the start. Everything feels smooth for now, but it’s all setting the stage for the bigger challenges ahead.
Oh—and there’s one more key detail we shouldn’t miss. In verse 10, it mentions that Esther did not reveal her background or nationality, because Mordecai had told her not to. Why is that important? Well, at this point in history, the Jews were a displaced people. Their homeland was gone, and they were scattered throughout foreign lands. Their identity wasn’t always welcomed—it often made them a target. Even though Persia claimed to uphold racial equality, Jewish identity was still sensitive and sometimes subject to discrimination.
So Mordecai’s warning was out of caution and protection. He didn’t want Esther to be disqualified or mistreated because of her heritage, so he told her to keep quiet—for now. This becomes a very dramatic setup, because later, Esther’s identity as a Jew becomes the turning point for her people’s salvation. Keeping it a secret now plants an important seed for what’s to come.
So, like any great story, the foundation is laid: a temperamental king, a rising male and female lead, and—of course—you need a villain. That’s where chapter 3 begins, with the sudden appearance of Haman, the bad guy. Out of nowhere, he’s promoted to the highest-ranking official, even above all the other royal advisers. We don’t get much backstory, but his sudden rise in power signals danger—especially for Mordecai and the entire Jewish people.
Now the full cast is in place: the royal court, the protagonists, and the antagonist. The stage is set for a showdown of politics, power, and faith.
That’s all for today’s episode—thanks for listening! Tomorrow, we’ll dive into the dramatic developments of Esther chapter 3. May God bless you all.
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