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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>While it is clear that the original plan
called for taking just betulot (Esther 2:2-3), it seems from a later reference
that the 'pekidim' who circulated around grabbing women for the palace, did not
hesitate to take married women as well (Esther 2:17)--'mikol hanashim...umikol
habetulot...'. Ahashverosh had absolute power and absolutely no
scruples. In a society which viewed people as essentially dispensable,
it's not hard to see how one of his officers might hear about a
beautiful woman and simply take her in to the palace without worrying too much
about her status. Consider that in the flood of women being shlepped to
the harem, Esther had no difficulty concealing her identity--it's not like
they were checking people's personal information on a computerized
data base. </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Ahashverosh's paranoia about
enemies may have been grounded partially in the fact that he was taking
women indiscriminately, married or not. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Kol tuv,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Simi Peters</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>