H1912 H1912
India (Hodu), the eastern boundary of the Persian Empire
This is the Hebrew name for India, marking the eastern extent of the Persian Empire. Both occurrences in Esther (1:1, 8:9) describe King Ahasuerus's vast domain: 'from India to Cush,' spanning from modern Pakistan/India to Ethiopia/Sudan. This phrase emphasizes the unprecedented scope of Persian power, encompassing 127 provinces. For the Jewish audience, it underscores how Haman's decree would have affected Jews across the known world, and how Esther's intervention saved them throughout this vast empire.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The glosses ('India, Hodu') transliterate or translate this geographic term. Both Esther passages use the formula 'from India to Cush' to define the empire's extent—the ultimate expression of imperial reach in the ancient Near East. The mention of India (Persian 'Hindu,' from the Indus region) shows the author's awareness of the Persian Empire's eastern frontier, lending historical credibility to the narrative and magnifying the scope of the Jewish peril and deliverance. 2×
AR["مِنَ-الْهِنْدِ"]·ben["-থেকে-হোদ্দু", "-ভারত-থেকে"]·DE["Indien"]·EN["from-Hodu", "from-India"]·FR["[מהדו]"]·heb["מ-הדו"]·HI["भारत-से"]·ID["dari-India"]·IT["India"]·jav["saking-Hindustan"]·KO["에서-인도"]·PT["da-Índia", "desde-Hodu"]·RU["от-Индии", "от-Ходу"]·ES["desde-India"]·SW["kutoka-Uhindi", "na-hadi"]·TR["Hindistan'dan-"]·urd["سے-ہند"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† הֹ֫דּוּ n.pr.loc. India (Old Pers. Hiñdʾu SpiegAltpers. Kellinschr. 246 Skr. Sindhu, sea, great river, v. reff. in RöThes Add 83, YuleAnglo-Indian Glossary, 329 ff.; cf. in Arabic هِنْدٌ, Aramaic ܗܶܢܕܽܘ etc.) only (הַמֹּלֵךְ) מֵהֹ֫דּוּ וְעַד־כּוּשׁ Est 1:1; 8:9 (𝔊 in both ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς).