A citation from the library
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, on Esth 5:3
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · 1871
Esth 5:3 · Douay-Rheims
“And the king said to her: What wilt then, queen Esther? what is thy request? if thou shouldst even ask one half of the kingdom, it shall be given to thee.”
On this verse:
“it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom--This mode of speaking originated in the Persian custom of appropriating for the maintenance of great men, or royal favorites, one city for his bread, another for his wine, a third for his clothes, &c., so that the phrase denoted great liberality.”
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.