Esther Chapter 10

“And the King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land, and upon the isles of the sea.] Which include all his 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. If Ahasuerus was Xerxes, perhaps his exchequer might be drained by his wars with the Grecians, which put him upon this; though some understand this of his renewing the taxes and tribute, which he remitted upon his marriage with Esther, (<170218>Esther 2:18).”

“AHASUERUS' GREATNESS. MORDECAI'S ADVANCEMENT. (Est 10:1-3) Ahasuerus laid a tribute--This passage being an appendix to the history, and improperly separated from the preceding chapter, it might be that the occasion of levying this new impost arose out of the commotions raised by Haman's conspiracy. Neither the nature nor the amount of the tax has been recorded; only it was not a local tribute, but one exacted from all parts of his vast empire.”

“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. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Chronicles, &c. - These are lost long since, and buried in oblivion, while the sacred writings remain throughout the world. When the kingdoms of men, monarchs and their monarchies are destroyed, and their memorial is perished with them, the kingdom of God among men, and the records of that kingdom, shall remain as the days of heaven. Next: Job Chapter 1”

“10:1-2 King Xerxes imposed a tribute: Persian taxes on the provinces were heavy. This burden supported the Persian government’s free spending.”

“laid a tribute: Est 1:1, Est 8:9; Luk 2:1 the isles: Gen 10:5; Psa 72:10; Isa 24:15; Dan 11:18 Esther 10:2”

“And King Ahashverosh laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. Est 10:2. And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the statement of the greatness of Mordochai to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? The Chethiv אחשׁרשׁ is a clerical error for אהשׁורשׁ. The word מס, service, here stands for tribute. As the provinces of the kingdom paid the imposts for the most part in natural produce, which they had reared or obtained by the labour of their hands, their labour (agriculture, cattle-keeping, etc.) was to a…”