Rashi
Jewish
1040–1105
“According to the law what [is there] to do This refers back to “And the king said to the wise men.””
The interpretation timeline
Esth 1:15
How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.
From the early Church Fathers to now.
1 Jewish · 1 Reformed
Esth 1:15 · Douay-Rheims
“What sentence ought to pass upon Vasthi the queen, who had refused to obey the commandment of king Assuerus, which he had sent to her by the eunuchs?”
Scholastic
c. 1100 – 1500
1105
A.D.
666 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Post-Reformation
c. 1650 – 1900
1771
A.D.
John Gill
Reformed
1697–1771
“What shall we do unto the Queen Vashti, according to law,.... The king desired to know what law was provided in such a case as her's, and what to be done according to it: because she hath not performed the commandment of the king by the chamberlains? as this was the crime, disobedience to his commands, he would have those who had knowledge of the law consider what punishment was to be inflicted on her for it, according to former laws, usages, and customs, or as reason and justice required; and it being a festival, and they heated with wine, was no objection to a consultation on this head; for it was the manner of the Persians at festivals, and when inflamed with wine, to consult and determine about matters of the greatest moment (w); yea, reckoned their counsels and decrees firmer than when made when they were sober (x); so the ancient Germans (y). (w) Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 133. (x) Strabo. Geograph. l. 15. p. 505. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 11. & l. 5. c. 21. (y) Tacitus de Mor. German. c. 22.”
Modern · 1953 →
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.