SHETHAR

she'-thar (~shethar]; Codex Vaticanus and Lucian, Sarsathaios; Codex Alexandrinus Sarestheos): One of the "seven princes" at the court of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:14); these princes "sat first in the kingdom" and had the right of entrance to the king's presence at any time, except when he was in the company of one of his wives. (According to Marquart, Fund., 69, Shethar comes from sh-r-sh-th-y with which the Persian siyatis, "joy," is to be compared.) The word has never really been satisfactorily explained; it is presumably Persian.

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.