Esther 2:3 (KJV)

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And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace to the house of the women unto the custody of Hege the king’s chamberlain keeper of the women and let their things for purification be given them

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Cross-references

in all the provinces. Es 1:1 Es 1:2

the custody. Heb. the hand. Hege. Es 2:8

their things. Es 2:12-14 Isa 3:18-23

that they may gather.This was the usual way in which the harem, or {seraglio,} was furnished; the finest women in the land, whether of high or low birth, were sought out and brought to the harem. They all became the king's concubines; but one was raised as chief wife, or sultana, to the throne; and her issue was especially entitled to inherit. Hegai. the king's chamberlain.{Saris hammelech,} "the king's eunuch:" so the LXX., Vulgate, Targum, and Syriac.

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