Esther 2: 12 – 23
The turn came for each girl to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their cosmetic treatment, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and cosmetics for women. When the girl went in to the king she was given whatever she asked for to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. In the evening she went in; then in the morning she came back to the second harem in the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines; she did not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.
When the turn came for Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had adopted her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was admired by all who saw her. When Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, the king loved Esther more than all the other women; of all the virgins she won his favour and devotion, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king gave a great banquet to all his officials and ministers—‘Esther’s banquet.’ He also granted a holiday to the provinces, and gave gifts with royal liberality.
When the virgins were being gathered together, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. Now Esther had not revealed her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had charged her; for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Ahasuerus. But the matter came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. When the affair was investigated and found to be so, both the men were hanged on the gallows. It was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
Reflection
What’s in a name? Our names are so intrinsically linked with our identities. The book named after Esther is special in the Bible. It’s one of only two that bear the name of a woman. It’s also one of only three in the Old Testament where God’s name, YHWH, doesn’t appear. Yet it’s there – hidden, if you scratch beneath the surface, in a few of Esther’s verses. It’s concealed in the first or last letters of consecutive words; a reminder of God’s hidden but named presence in a book all about the power and necessity of human influence.
There are four people in today’s reading that are named though. Shaashgaz, Hegai, Bigthan and Teresh, the eunuchs of the royal palace. Eunuchs, people we might today describe as gender non-conforming, sometimes don’t get the best treatment in Scripture. And yet here are four, their names preserved for us to read millennia after the story was written.
The author of Esther describes these people and their roles in a completely matter of fact way, without judgement or condemnation. Their non-conformity with a male/female binary is entirely inconsequential. If anything, their named presence in the royal household indicates their very high status in society. Who were these people? Shaashgaz, in charge of the beauty treatments and cosmetics, sounds particularly fabulous. Hegai, the diligent custodian, perhaps a quieter and more reserved figure. Bigthan and Teresh are the scheming bad guys, but their treachery is a critical part of the plot later on.
Today, many in politics and the media demonise minorities, particularly trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people. Entire identities are maligned as a threat. Yet Esther reminds us that these people are, and have always been, part of society. They are unique individuals. They have names.
Perhaps that’s what God has in mind when he says in Isaiah 56:4-5 that he will give eunuchs ‘a name better than sons or daughters […] an everlasting name that will not be cut off’.
Prayer
Loving God,
we are wonderfully made in your image.
You created land and sea, day and night, male and female.
But you also created beaches, sunsets, and people who don’t fit into a gender binary.
We pray for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people around the world who face discrimination and oppression.
We long for a day in which everyone values the uniqueness of others.
May we always show to the people we meet the non-judgemental love of Jesus, in whose name we pray.
Amen