When Esther’s parents died, one of her relatives, a kindly man named Mordecai, took pity on the child. He was her cousin, but Mordecai was much older. He brought Esther into his home and treated her as his own daughter.​—Esther 2:5-7, 15.

5, 6. (a) How did Mordecai raise Esther? (b) What kind of life did Esther and Mordecai lead in Shushan?

⁵ Mordecai and Esther lived as Jewish exiles in that Persian capital, where they probably had to deal with a measure of disdain because of their religion and the Law they tried to follow. But Esther surely drew closer to her cousin as he taught her about Jehovah, the merciful God who had rescued His people from trouble many times in the past​—and would do so again. (Lev. 26:44, 45) Clearly, a loving and loyal bond grew between Esther and Mordecai.

9. (a) What happened when the king’s servants noticed Esther, and why must her parting from Mordecai have been difficult? (b) Why did Mordecai allow Esther to marry a pagan unbeliever? (Include the box.)

⁹ The king’s servants noticed Esther. They gathered her up in their search, taking her away from Mordecai and off to the grand palace across the river. (Esther 2:8) It must have been a difficult parting, for the two were like father and daughter. Mordecai would not have wanted his adopted daughter to marry any unbeliever, even a king, but events were out of his control.b How eagerly Esther must have listened to Mordecai’s words of advice before she was taken away!

¹¹ No one on earth could have been more concerned about Esther than Mordecai was. We read that day by day, he made his way as near as he could to the house of the women and endeavored to learn of Esther’s welfare. (Esther 2:11) As bits of information trickled out to him, perhaps through cooperative servants in the household, he must have beamed with fatherly pride.

¹³ For instance, we read: “Esther had not told about her people or about her relatives, for Mordecai himself had laid the command upon her that she should not tell.” (Esther 2:10) Mordecai had instructed the girl to be discreet about her Jewish heritage; he no doubt saw that among Persian royalty, there was much prejudice against his people. What a pleasure it was for him to learn that now, even though Esther was out of his sight, she still showed the same wise and obedient spirit!

17. (a) In what ways did Esther remain obedient to her adoptive father? (b) Why is Esther’s example an important one for us today?

¹⁷ Esther remained obedient to her adoptive father, Mordecai. She kept her connection to the Jewish people a secret. Further, when Mordecai uncovered a plot to assassinate Ahasuerus, Esther obediently passed his warning along to the king, and the plotters were foiled. (Esther 2:20-23)