Encyclopedia entry · Person
Abagtha
Curator's research file
Subject · person
Abagtha
Identity
- Name meaning
- uncertain · possibly Persian bagadāta — *god-given* — or from the root bag (god, lord)
Family
- Parent(s)
- —
- Spouse
- —
- Children
- —
- Tribe / people
- —
Era & origin
- Era
- 5th century BC — reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), c. 486–465 BC
- Region
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- Contemporary of
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Role
- Role
- One of the seven eunuchs serving King Ahasuerus
- Notable for
- Abagtha appears once in scripture, named in Esther 1:10 as one of the seven eunuchs *that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king.* The list — Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas — names the royal chamberlains sent on the seventh day of the king's feast to bring Queen Vashti before the assembled nobles.
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Abagtha appears once in scripture, named in Esther 1:10 as one of the seven eunuchs *that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king.* The list — Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas — names the royal chamberlains sent on the seventh day of the king's feast to bring Queen Vashti before the assembled nobles. Her refusal triggered the chain of events that opened the throne to Esther.
The name is Persian, and its precise etymology is uncertain — possibly bagadāta (god-given) or related to the Persian root bag (god, lord). Nothing further is recorded of him. The naming itself, however, attests to the historical specificity of Esther: a real Persian court, a roster of named officials, the small mechanics of empire.
Key passages
Source · AI-drafted from biblical text and standard reference works (Smith's, Easton's, ISBE) — verify and refine against authoritative sources before publication.