And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.
They gave them drink in vessels of gold. There is reason to believe from this account, as well as from Esther 5:6; Esther 7:2; Esther 7:7-8, where the drinking of wine occupies by far the most prominent place in the description that this was a banquet rather than a feast, From accounts of travelers in modern Persia the same practice prevails. Della Valle gives an account of a royal banquet, which furnishes an exact parallel to the, one that was held at Shushan the palace, 'where,' says that accurate reporter, 'though the wine-cup was always going round, no one was compelled to drink more than be pleased.' Notwithstanding this freedom from bacchanalian revelry and compulsion, 'banquets of wine' are more prominently notices in this history than feasts. What number of guests were entertained at this feast in Shushan we are not informed. But if the rulers of all the 127 provinces, with their principal attendants, and the officers of Ahasuerus' court, were all present, the company must have been immense. And yet every guest drank out of a golden goblet different in design and form from the rest-a prodigal display of art which almost transcends imagination.