Esther 2:5 (LSB)

Passage

Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew. And his name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite,

Nearby Context

Esther 2:3 And let the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every young virgin, beautiful in appearance, to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the hand of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who keeps charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given to them.

Esther 2:4 Then let the young lady who is good in the eyes of the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the word was good in the eyes of the king, and he did so.

Esther 2:5 Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew. And his name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite,

Esther 2:6 who had been taken away into exile from Jerusalem with the exiles who had been taken away into exile with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken away into exile.

Esther 2:7 And he was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "citadel", "susa", "name", "mordecai", "jair", "shimei", "kish", and "benjamite". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "citadel" and "susa", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Then let the young lady who is..." into verse 6's "who had been taken away into exile...", so "citadel" and "susa" belong inside that flow. In Esther context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "citadel" and "susa" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.