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Easton's Bible Dictionary
The son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. It has been
alleged that he was carried into captivity with Jeconiah, and hence that he must
have been at least one hundred and twenty-nine years old in the twelfth year of
Ahasuerus (Xerxes). But the words of Esther do not necessarily lead to this conclusion.
It was probably Kish of whom it is said (ver. 6) that he "had been carried away
with the captivity."
He resided at Susa, the metropolis of Persia. He adopted his cousin Hadassah (Esther),
an orphan child, whom he tenderly brought up as his own daughter. When she was
brought into the king's harem and made queen in the room of the deposed queen
Vashti, he was promoted to some office in the court of Ahasuerus, and was one
of those who "sat in the king's gate" ( Esther
2:21 ). While holding this office, he discovered a plot of the eunuchs to
put the king to death, which, by his vigilance, was defeated. His services to
the king in this matter were duly recorded in the royal chronicles.
Haman (q.v.) the Agagite had been raised to the highest position at court. Mordecai
refused to bow down before him; and Haman, being stung to the quick by the conduct
of Mordecai, resolved to accomplish his death in a wholesale destruction of the
Jewish exiles throughout the Persian empire ( Esther
3:8 - 15
). Tidings of this cruel scheme soon reached the ears of Mordecai, who communicated
with Queen Esther regarding it, and by her wise and bold intervention the scheme
was frustrated. The Jews were delivered from destruction, Mordecai was raised
to a high rank, and Haman was executed on the gallows he had by anticipation erected
for Mordecai ( Esther
6:2 - 7:10
). In memory of the signal deliverance thus wrought for them, the Jews to this
day celebrate the feast ( Esther
9:26 - 32
) of Purim (q.v.)
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
contrition; bitter; bruising
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(little man, or worshipper or Mars) The deliverer, under
divine Providence, of the Jews from the destruction plotted against them by Haman
the chief minister of Xerxes; the institutor of the feast of Purim. The incidents
of his history are too well known to need to be dwelt upon. [ESTHER]
Three things are predicated of Mordecai in the book of Esther:
(1) That he lived in Shushan;
(2) That his name was Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish the Benjamite
who was taken captive with Jehoiachin;
(3) That he brought up Esther. |
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
mor'-de-ki, mor-de-ka'-i (mordekhay; Mardochaios):
An Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin, whose fate it has been to occupy a distinguished
place in the annals of his people. His great-grandfather, Kish, had been carried
to Babylon along with Jeconiah, king of Judah (Esther
2:5 - 6).
For nearly 60 years before the scenes narrated in Esther, in which Mordecai was
greatly concerned, took place, the way to Palestine had been open to the Israelites;
but neither his father, Jair, nor afterward himself chose to return to the ancient
heritage. This seems to have been the case also with the rest of his house, as
it was with the vast majority of the Israelite people; for his uncle died in Persia
leaving his motherless daughter, Hadassah, to the care of Mordecai.
Employed in the royal palace at Susa, he attracted, through the timely discovery
of a plot to assassinate the king, the favorable notice of Xerxes, and in a short
time became the grand vizier of the Persian empire. He has been believed by many
to have been the author of the Book of Esther; and in the earliest known notice
of the Feast of Purim, outside of the book just mentioned, that festival is closely
associated with his name. It is called "the day of Mordecai" (2
Maccabees 15:36). The apocryphal additions to Esther expatiate upon his
greatness, and are eloquent of the deep impression which his personality and power
had made upon the Jewish people. Lord Arthur Hervey has suggested the identification
of Mordecai with Matacas, or Natacas, the powerful favorite and minister of Xerxes
who is spoken of by Ctesias, the Greek historian. Few have done more to earn a
nation's lasting gratitude than Mordecai, to whom, under God, the Jewish people
owe their preservation.
John Urquhart
Tags:
adopted esther, bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, haman, feast of purim, mordecai, sat in the king's gate, vizier
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