Bible Dictionaries
Vashti

Holman Bible Dictionary

(vassh' ti) Personal name meaning, “the once desired, the beloved.” Wife of King Ahasuerus and queen of Persia and Media (Esther 1:9 ). The king called for her to show off her beauty to a group he was entertaining, but she refused. Vashti was deposed as queen (Esther 1:19 ), and a beauty contest was arranged to select a new queen. Esther was chosen as the new queen (Esther 2:16 ). No records yet have been recovered which name Vashti as the queen of any king of the Medo-Persian Empire, leading some to speculate whether she was a historical person. The only other queen with Ahasuerus (also called Xerxes) was named Amestris. See Ahasuerus; Esther; Persia; Xerxes .