Esther 8:10

And he wrote in the King Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring,.... Which gave the letters authority, and made them irreversible, and for this Mordecai had the king's order, Es 8:8 and

And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries: Sent letters by posts on

Which were not employed in the sending of the former letter; but this coming later required more care and speed, that the Jews might be eased from the torment of their present fears, and have time to furnish themselves with necessaries for their own defence.

Esther 8:10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus’ name, and sealed [it] with the king’ s ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, [and] riders on mules, camels, [and] young dromedaries: Ver. 10. And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus’ s name] For he knew that "where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?" Ecclesiastes 8:4; see Daniel 5:19. Mordecai, as he was careful not to abuse his authority, so he spareth not to improve it to the utmost for the Church’ s good. We may also lawfully and comfortably improve the benefits and privileges granted us by princes and other benefactors. Constantine’ s donation and Peter’ s patrimony is much boasted of by that antichrist of Rome. A mere fiction, as various learned men of their own side have proved (Cusanus, Ficinus, Volater, Otho Frising). But if it were never so true, what power had Constantine to give away and alienate such a considerable part of the empire (might he not well have been therefore called Pupillus, as he was in scorn by some heathen historians for his bounty to poor Christians)? or with what conscience could the bishop of Rome have accepted of such a gift, and left it to his successors. But it was neither so nor so. Not Constantine, but Pepin, enlarged the pope’ s territories; as not Peter, but Phocas, is the right craggy rock upon which is founded the pope’ s supremacy. And sealed it with the king’ s ring] See Esther 3:12, and observe what a strange turn of things here was all on the sudden. Merlin from this clause gathereth, that the king perused and approved whatsoever the scribes wrote by the appointment of Mordecai, he saw it, and signed it. And sent letters by posts] See Esther 3:15. That was a witty speech of him, who said of secretaries that pretend much to Scripture: they were like posts, that bring truth in their letters and lies in their mouths. And of another, that they do angariare, make posts of the Holy Scriptures; compelling them to go two miles, which of themselves would go but one. And riders on mules] Which are counted swifter than horses, and yet a horse is so swift a creature, that the Argives consecrated a horse to the sun, as the swiftest beast to the swiftest planet, Equitantes in equis angariis riding on the public couriers horse (Tremel.), O ταχιστοςτωταχυτατω. Camels] These were large strong beasts, that could endure long and hard travel. It is said of them, that they do drink, in praesens et in posterum, for the present and the future, and can hold out travelling three days together without food. And young dromedaries] These were also swift beasts, Jeremiah 2:23, and therefore it is by antiphrasis that among us a slow person is called a dromedary, Ut lucus a non lucendo, bellum quasi minime bellum.

(10) Posts.—The posts. Literally, the runners. (See Note on Esther 1:22.) Riders on mules.—Rather, on horses of great speed; the “swift beast “of Micah 1:13. Camels, and young dromedaries.—The words thus translated occur only here, and there is much doubt as to the meaning. It may suffice to mention two renderings :—(1) “Mules, the offspring of royal mares “—so Gesenius; or (2) we may connect the former word with the Persian word meaning royal—so Canon Rawlinson, who translates the whole clause, riders upon coursers of the king’s stud, offspring of high-bred steeds.”

Verse 10. On mules, camels, and young dromedaries] What these beasts were is difficult to say. The word רכש rechesh, which we translate mules, signifies a swift chariot horse. The strange word אחשתרנים achashteranim is probably a Persian word, but perhaps incurably corrupted. The most likely derivation is that of Bochart, from the Persian [Persian] akhash, huge, large, rough, and [Persian] aster, a mule; large mules. The words בני הרמכים beney harammachim, the sons of mares, which we translate dromedaries, are supposed to signify mules, produced between the he ass and the mare, to distinguish them from those produced between the stallion and the ass, But there is really so much confusion about these matters, and so little consent among learned men as to the signification of these words, and even the true knowledge of them is of such little importance, that we may well rest contented with such names as our modern translations have given us. They were, no doubt, the swiftest and hardiest beasts that the city or country could produce.

10. riding on swift steeds] As time was an object, it was important that the messengers should be well mounted. Both Herodotus (viii. 98) and Xenophon (Cyrop. viii. 6. 17) speak of horses only as being used in Persia to carry despatches. that were used in the king’s service] This corresponds to but one word in the original, which occurs only in this passage, and is a Hebraised form adapted from the Persian khshatra, lordship, realm, or khshatram, a crown, which is also the source of kether, a crown (Esther 1:11, Esther 2:17, Esther 6:8), and of the Greek κίδαρις. bred of the stud] perhaps literally, sons of the (royal) mares. The word rendered ‘stud’ occurs here only in the Bible. In later Hebrew it means a mule born of a mare and he-ass. The LXX. and Vulgate, probably having no clue to the meaning of the words, much abbreviate the latter part of this verse, having merely, they sent the letters (Vulg. the letters were sent) by couriers.

Riders on mules, camels and young dromedaries - Most moderns translate “riders upon coursers and mules, the offspring of mares;” but the words translated “mules” and “mares,” are of very doubtful

10. Posts on horseback — See notes on Esther 1:22; Esther 3:13. Riders on mules — Rather, on swift coursers. See note on 1 Kings 4:28. The word is here a collective.