397. Royal Honors Given to a Subject

Esther 6:8  •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 12
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Esther 6:8. Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head.
1. Chardin says that when the grandees visited Solyman III., to congratulate him on his coronation, the king made every one of them a present of a Calate, or royal vest. “It is an infallible mark of the particular esteem which the sovereign has for the person to whom he sends it, and that he has free liberty to approach his person” (Travels in Persia, p. 11). See also note on 1 Samuel 18:4 (#257).
2. Herodotus states that the kings of Persia had horses of remarkable beauty and of a peculiar breed which were brought from Armenia. To ride upon the king’s horse was almost as great an honor as to sit upon his throne.
3. Some commentators think that by “the crown royal” is meant merely an ornament which was a part of the bead-trappings of the horse; though why the horse’s head-dress should deserve such special mention here it is not easy to tell. It is more likely that the crown of the king is meant, and if so, it is probable, as some authorities suppose, that the crown was put, not on the head of Mordecai but on the head of the horse. It is said to have been a custom among the Persians, as well as some other nations, that the crown of the king was sometimes put on some favorite royal steed when the animal was led in state.