According to the Book of Daniel, the Persian Empire would go to war with the Greeks, against Alexander the Great, and the Greeks would conquer Persia (Daniel 8:4-7, 20-21), thus ending Persian influence over the Jews in Judah. After the coming of Alexander, the Jews would be greatly influenced by the Grecian culture. Moreover, we are told that from the time of the conquering of Babylon there would be only four Persian kings, who would influence the life of the Jews in the province of Judah. Moreover, the fourth king would be far richer than the other three (Daniel 11:2). This fourth king seems to be the Ahasuerus mentioned in Esther 1:1, because this Ahasuerus “is the Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces (Esther 1:1).
So, the events of the Book of Esther take place during the reign of the fourth king mentioned in Daniel 11:2. This Ahasuerus is the Persian king, Khshayarsha, better known by his Greek name, Xerxes, in secular history[1] and he was the richest of the four kings mentioned by the angel in Daniel’s prophecy of the kings of the north and the kings of the south (Daniel 11 & 12; cp. Esther 1:1). Daniel’s prophecy concerns the Grecian influence of the Jews. Therefore, the fourth king of Persia is the king who was conquered by Alexander the Great.
The Book of Esther opens with the king in his palace at Shushan, which is Hebrew for Susa, the winter capital of the king (Esther 1:2). Persepolis to the south was the main capital of Persia at this time.[2] The time of the book begins, probably, in winter during the third year of the reign Ahasuerus. The Jews had already begun to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem’s city wall during the second year of his reign (Ezra 4:24), and during his third year he made a great banquet for all the princes and nobles of his 127 provinces (Esther 1:3; cp. verse-1). The banquet was held in order to display his great wealth and majesty before the princes and nobles of the Persian Empire, and the event lasted for 180 days (Esther 1:3-4).
Afterward, Ahasuerus made a feast for seven days for all the people, both great and small, who were present at the palace in Shushan (Esther 1:5), whose “furnishings included white linen and blue curtains hung by cords of the finest linen and purple wool on silver rings, alabaster columns, gold and silver couches displayed on a floor made of valuable stones of alabaster, mother-of-pearl, and mineral stone (Esther 1:6 – NET).
The affair began as an unrestricted affair, where all things were available at the king’s expense, but no one was required to partake of everything that was offered. This was done by the order of the king, so that all might celebrate the glory of the king, while at the same time allowing for the idiosyncrasies of the many nationalities he ruled (Esther 1:7-8).
Even the women participated in the great event, except that they did so separately from the men. Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the king’s palace (Esther 1:9). So, all things were conducted to glorify and magnify the king’s majesty.
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[1] See The Expository Notes of Dr. Constable at Esther 1:1-9 – “The King’s Feast.”
[2] See The Expository Notes of Dr. Constable at Nehemiah 1:1-3 – “The News Concerning Jerusalem.”
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