King Achashverosh

In preparation for Purim this year, my chavruta and I started exploring the Malbim's commentary on Megillat Esther. Anyone who is familiar with the Malbim's commentary style knows that the Malbim will devote pages of commentary to every word choice in the text. For example, whereas many other commentators accept synonyms as a part of the choice of language, the Malbim holds that every word choice conveys an idea.

The result is a fascinating and unified explanation of the characters in the Megillah. Specifically the Malbim presents Achashverosh in unique light.

Here is the beginning of Megillat Esther:   

1. Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus—this is Ahasuerus who reigned, from India to Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty province 2. that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the castle, 3. in the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the army of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him; 4. when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty, many days, even a hundred and fourscore days. 5. And when these days were fulfilled, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the castle, both great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace; 6 there were hangings of white, fine cotton, and blue, bordered with cords of fine linen and purple, upon silver rods and pillars of marble; the couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of green, and white, and shell, and onyx marble.7 And they gave them drink in vessels of gold—the vessels being diverse one from another—and royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king. 8 And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel; for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure. 9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus. 10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that ministered in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, 11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on. 12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by the chamberlains; therefore was the king very wrathful, and his anger burned in him. 

Upon a simple reading of the text, one would conclude that Achashverosh was a hedonist king who enjoyed showing of his wealth and throwing lavish parties. In his drunkenness, he decides to parade his wife around (in the nude) in front of his officers. Of course she refused. Ultimately it was his foolishness that put him in a situation where he was publicly embarrassed and forced to execute his beloved wife.

But the Malbim raises a number of (seemingly nit-picky) questions on these verses that will illustrate a much more sophisticated nature to Achashverosh's character.  

Questions (these are only a few highlights from the numerous questions that he asks)

Question 1: In the first two pesukim, the Megillah seems repetitive. Does it really need to say "in the days of Ahasuerus",  then "he was the Ahasuerus who reigned from Hodu to Cush" and then again "in those days, when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom"? Why the repetition? (Verse 1-2)

Question 2: Why does the Megillah elaborate on the party thrown with so many details? Do we really need to be told about the specific vessels for the wine? (Verse 3-6)

Question 3: Why did Vashti host her own party? Why specify the locations of the parties? (verse 9)

Question 4:  Why did Achashverosh call in Vashti to parade her (as Chazal teach us, naked) in front of his officers? Is that really a normal behavior, even in a drunken state? (Verse 10-11)

Question 5:  Why does it tell us twice that Achashverosh got angry- isn't "and the king became very wrathful", and "his anger burnt within him" redundant? (verse 12)

 The Malbim argues that Achashverosh was not a fool as he is made to appear in the text. Achashverosh is a cold and calculating politician. Every extraneous details in these pesukim provide us a window into his carefully constructed plan: 

The Backstory 

The Malbim starts by providing a little background. Achashverosh was not of royal descendance. He was a commoner with no right to the throne, but who slowly acquired wealth and prestige (that is why it introduces the book with Achashverosh- not King Achashevrosh). Vashti on the other hand, was royalty. Her grandfather was Nevuchatnezzar, the Babylonian emperor who destroyed the first Jewish temple and exiled the Jews. 

Achashveroshs only claim to power was through his marriage to Vashti. In lieu of his position as "king by marriage", Achashverosh could claim some power, but he could not claim absolute authority. Had Achashverosh conquered the kingdom by force he would be treated as a tyrant who was not subject to the laws of the land. But as a "king by marriage", Achashverosh would still need to answer to the people and he was not above the law. 

Achashverosh was not satisfied with simply being king, he wanted absolute tyranny. Achashverosh needed to portray himself as a king who had conquered the land and could do as he pleased. 

So Achashverosh devised a plan:  

Step 1: Move the capital from Babel to Shushan (Verse 2). 

This move achieved two objectives. 

1) It violated the laws of the land, and while inherently does not constitute tyranny, allowed Achashverosh to accustom the people to a ruler who does as he pleases. 

2) It moved Vashti away from her family and her loyalists. Vashti was well known in Babel as the Queen by blood. It was also well known that Achashverosh had been nothing but a peasant and that his power was derived from her. But if he established his residence in Shushan, Achashverosh could portray himself as the one with power. He could misrepresent the history and few would not of his lies. 

Step 2: Re apportion government funding for himself by throwing a lavish party (verses 3-6)

Achashverosh took government money that he had no right to, and decided to spend it on a party. By doing so, it would accustom the people to a ruler who spends country money how and when he wants. However, few would resist an opportunity to celebrate with the king, so no one opposed him. 

Step 3: Invite everybody to the party in the Kings palace, commoners and government officials alike (verse 6-8)

 Achashverosh wanted to take power from government officials but would need to do so subtly. To do so, Achashverosh empowered the populace. He sent a clear message that every citizen could enter into the garden of the royal palace. Everybody would celebrate together. By treating all the people as equal, Achashverosh took away the power and the standings of government officials. They would be equally beholden to King Achashverosh's command and would be treated like everybody else. 

Step 4: Downplay Vashti's role by forcing her to throw a separate party in his palace (verse 9). 

Achashverosh slowly conveyed a narrative that it was Vashti who was queen only by virtue of her marriage to Achashverosh. The city of Shushan was less familiar with Vashti's royal blood so this was easier to achieve. Although the palace should have been hers, the palace is referenced as being his. 

Malbim's attention to detail: There are times in the verses when Vashti is referred to as Vashti the Queen (verses 9,11) , and other times that she is referred to as Queen Vashti (verse 12). 

The Malbim explains that "Vashti the Queen" is used to signify that she is Vashti who happens to be queen. Her royalty is not part of her identity. The Malbim points out that any time Achashverosh refers to Vashti, he refers to her in this way. Through this nuanced use of calling her Vashti the Queen, he convinces the people that her royalty resulted from him.  

Queen Vashti knows however, that she is a queen by birth, and Achashverosh is only king in virtue of her. The Malbim points out that the verses that are told from her perspective (verse 12) calls her Queen Vashti. In reality, her right to the throne does not go through Achashverosh, as he makes it appear. Her royalty is part of her identity.  

Step 5: Have Vashti be brought at the hands of the chamberlains to parade at his party (naked) (verse 10). 

This was Achashverosh's boldest move and one that he would ultimately come to regret. Vashti's royalty was Achashverosh's greatest obstacle to tyranny because it reminded the nation that he was only a king by marriage. Achashverosh needed to continue downplaying her role. To do so, Achashverosh would convince the people of Shushan that he had only married Vashti because of her beauty. By parading her around as a trophy wife, and by embarrassing her, he could get that message across. 

The fact that Achashverosh had ordered Vashti be brought at the hands of servants was another way to disrespect her. Vashti was no royalty but would be brought to him as a servant on his command.  

Thing do not go according to plan

Queen Vashti refused, putting Achashverosh in a difficult situation. Not only was he publicly disobeyed, but his anger "burnt within him" because Vashti was subverting his plot to gain tyranny over the land. She was exposing him as a phony. Ultimately, Achashverosh is forced to kill Vashti (against his will). 

With the Malbim's guidance, we see that Achashverosh was not a simple fool attached to excess. He is a cold and calculating politician who manipulated the nation and became a tyrant. Throughout the Talmud there are many 

Why didn't the Megillah just say so explicitly? 

What needs to be kept in mind whenever we learn the Megillah is that the Megillah was written while Achashverosh was still in power. As such, it was a letter that would be censored.  The Megillah has to portray Achashverosh's character "between the lines" in fear of retribution if they criticize him openly. 

The Megillah does so beautifully. Its subtly in its attention to detail and its choice of words conveys the exact nature of a tyrant that would escape the notice of everyone but the Jews who would know how to decode the text.