A land located east of Persia, which formed the eastern boundary of the kingdom ruled by Ahasuerus (Esther 1:1).
About India
An eastern land of inconsistent geographical borders in Bible times. The Bible only mentions India in Esther 1:1 and 8:9. Ahasuerus's empire stretched from Hoddu to Kush. The term "Hoddu" seems to come from an Old Persian word, Hindush. It was related to a Sanskrit word, Sindhu, meaning "stream," that is, the Indus River. Inscriptions from Persia show that India was a province of the Achaemenid Empire from 559 to 330 BC. This supports the biblical statements in Esther. Even the Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC seems to have been poorly informed about India (Persian Wars 3.94–106; 4.40, 44). Some Hebrew legends and traditions mention Jews in India in the days of King Solomon. Some interpreters have suggested that the Pishon river in the land of Havilah may refer to India (Genesis 2:11). Some say that goods from Ophir, like sandalwood (“almug wood,” 1 Kings 10:11; 2 Chronicles 2:8), ivory, and apes, were Indian in origin. Also, some of the items carried by merchants to Tyre, such as ivory tusks and ebony (Ezekiel 27:15), may have come from India.
The New Testament does not reference India. However, Jewish writings from before and after the New Testament refer to the land. These include the Targums on Esther, the Midrashim, and the Talmud. It was only after Alexander the Great died in 323 BC that Palestine and Europe began to write about India. 1 Maccabees 6:37 says the Seleucid armies used war elephants (who were possibly from India), mounted by Indian drivers in the second century BC. 1 Maccabees 8:8 states that the Romans forced Antiochus III to surrender.
Key References
At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush—writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.
This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
All Scripture References (2)
Esther (2)
This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush—writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.