Queen Vashti vs. Salome: A Study on Im/modesty and Consequences

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS

In Esther chapter 1, King Ahasuerus hosts a lavish banquet, leading to Queen Vashti’s refusal to display herself before drunken guests, highlighting her modesty. This refusal results in her being set aside, contrasting with Salome’s eager dance display at Herod’s feast. The narratives emphasize the consequences of alcohol and the importance of modesty.

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In Esther chapter 1 we read that King Ahasuerus held a banquet for 180 days for his attendants, officials, and nobles. It was lavish. No luxury was spared. Food and drink were plentiful and flowing. Then,

When these days were finished, the king held a banquet lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa, from the greatest to the least, in the courtyard of the garden of the king’s palace.

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible says of this second banquet, of every age, rank, state and condition of life; these were the common people, whether inhabitants of the city or country people there on business, whether natives or foreigners…

The verses describe the continued luxury the King put on in this second banquet for the people of Susa. Royal wine was again plentiful. In verse 9 we read,

Queen Vashti also held a banquet for the women in the palace which  belonged to King Ahasuerus.

Then, something happened. After 180 days of feasting with nobles and 7 more days of feasting and drinking with the people of Susa “from the greatest to the least“, a besotted King (verse 10) called for his Queen Vashti to come out “in order to display her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful.” (verse 11).

Vashti said NO. (verse 12)

Collective gasp.

Queen Vashti likely knew the potential consequences of refusing the king’s request, but she refused anyway. (I think of Esther who also later knew the repercussions of violating the king’s protocol, saying ‘If I die, I die’).

No one knows why Vashti refused. It’s not in the Bible. Some have said she didn’t want to leave her own guests at the women’s banquet, hospitality in the East being of high value. Others have said she didn’t want to be paraded humiliatingly before a drunken crowd of nobles and commoners. It was a custom in Persia to keep wives, especially queens, apart from other men’s eyes.

Whatever her reason, it seems to be a consensus from Commentaries that modesty was at the root of her refusal. I mean, the request was immodest. If Ahasuerus had introduced his queen at the beginning of the first banquet then sent her back to the women’s harem, fine. But after 6 months of drinking and accompanying unwise language and behavior, it’s no wonder she refused. She didn’t want to be put on drunken display. The result of Vashti’s refusal to come out before drunken men is that she was set aside, making room for Esther later to be chosen as new Queen.

Than said, elsewhere in the Bible there was another banquet from another ‘king’ and another parading around of a young, beautiful woman.

In Mark 6 we read of King Herod, who was not really a king but liked to call himself that, puffed up with self-importance as he was. Herod was just a Tetrarch, a ruler over a fourth of a region. It came to mean a lower level governor and not truly a king.

Mark 6:21-22 says “on his birthday, held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders, and the leading people of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests;

The daughter of Herodius was Salome. Not the same Saolme, mother of James and John and who was at the crucifixion, but a different Salome. A very different woman. I wrote about the righteous Salome here.

The dancing. It wasn’t innocent, by any means. Here, I excerpt the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges quote of Farrar from his “Life of Christ”-

 “A luxurious feast of the period was not regarded as complete unless it closed with some gross pantomimic representation; and doubtless Herod had adopted the evil fashion of his day. But he had not anticipated for his guests the rare luxury of seeing a princess—his own niece, a granddaughter of Herod the Great and of Mariamne, … honouring them by degrading herself into a scenic dancer.”

The verse says that Salome came out and danced. It doesn’t say she was reluctant or hesitated, she came right out and you KNOW it wasn’t a waltz. Dances like that are salacious. My pastor said,

Mark doesn’t describe her dancing in detail because the implication is clear. We need not soil our imaginations, but suffice it to say that it was perverse and provocative. There was nothing pure about  how she danced before the men, and they were captivated by her gyrations.

That a princess, a woman of stature would degrade herself so readily before a drunken slate of men leering at her just shows her low character. She did not know at the time that Herod would give her anything as a result. There was no enticement, only a request. So Salome when asked unhesitatingly gave the men a show.

I am pondering the similarities and differences in Queen Vashti’s reluctance to come be a beauty display before the banquet of drunken men, and Salome’s eagerness to be a lascivious display before a banquet of drunken men.

Character counts. But our decisions have consequences. Vashi’s is that she was deposed. Some historians allege that she was permanently banished and lived in a much reduced lifestyle. Others surmise she was beheaded. The Bible doesn’t say, so we can’t say. But refusing to become a lascivious morsel for drunken men is always a good decision. Ladies, please do not dress in such a way that encourages such ogling. Nor dance in public that invites drunken cheers.

The root in both situations was alcohol. The most obvious parallel is that the alcohol made each king unwise and rash with their actions. Christians in today’s times are warned not to become drunk. The New Testament does not warn off wine completely, but it does advise that drunkenness is a poor choice.

It is not for kings to drink wine,
Or for rulers to desire intoxicating drink,
5 Otherwise they will drink and forget what is decreed,
And pervert the rights of all the needy.
Proverbs 31:4b-5

Here are a few comments on the Vashti situation-

The refusal of Vashti to obey an order which required her to make an indecent exposure of herself before a company of drunken revellers, was becoming both the modesty of her sex and her rank as queen; for, according to Persian customs, the queen, even more than the wives of other men, was secluded from the public gaze. Had not the king’s blood been heated with wine, or his reason overpowered by force of offended pride, he would have perceived that his own honor, as well as hers, was consulted by her dignified conduct. Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.

Commentary on the Salome situation-

The Jews would not have permitted a woman to dance before a group of men, and most Gentile mothers would have forbidden a daughter to do what the daughter of Herodias did. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary

to emphasize the fact that Herodias’ own daughter was put forward instead of a professional dancer. Hence correctly, “the daughter of Herodias herself.” Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament.

Verses advising of the evils of drunkenness-

Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:10
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:21
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Drunkenness dims the mind and loosens a person’s self-control. Both Ahasuerus and Herod made rash statements and later reaped the devastating consequences. But God, turned them to His good. Esther became queen and through her He saved the Jews. Herod’s waffling between moral curiosity with John the Baptist’s preaching and licentious living in an incestuous marriage was finally decided- Herod finally decided for injustice and immorality and paid an eternal price.

CONCLUSION