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In Esther 1:9 we read, “ושתי המלכה עשתה משתי נשים” Vashti the queen was made of two women. Aside from being biologically surprising, what are the consequences of this in our understanding of the Megilla?


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closed as off-topic by Double AA Mar 8 '15 at 16:43



I know this is late; maybe I’ll get an answer next year. – J. C. Salomon Feb 25 '13 at 18:38
There’s a Purim Torah I remember hearing that dealt with this question. I don’t recall the details, but it involved Haman having a detachable nose. – J. C. Salomon Feb 25 '13 at 18:41
הכי קרא שמה ושתי, שהיתה שתי נשים – b a Feb 26 '13 at 0:37
up vote 20 down vote accepted

One consequence is that Achashverosh had two mothers-in-law. This is further evidenced by the fact that the megilla provides both their names:

  • "כְּשֹׁךְ, חֲמַת הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹש" - "Keshoch, the mother-in-law of Achashverosh". (Esther 2:1)
  • "וַחֲמַת הַמֶּלֶךְ שָׁכָכָה" - "And the mother-in-law of Achashverosh was Shachacha". (Esther 7:10)
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Nicely done :-) – Double AA Feb 25 '13 at 23:31
In that case, who was בערה בו? – Yitzchak Mar 4 '14 at 21:12
@Yitzchak, בערה בו is not a name, but rather a description. "בערה" = "his beast" (as in "ושלח את בערה" of Ex. 22:4), so that the full phrase "וחמתו בערה בו" means "his mother-in-law, his beast, was with him". This implies that one of Vashti's mothers was an animal that belonged to Achashverosh and that she happened to be with him at the time. – jake Mar 5 '14 at 0:19
