Those closest to him [of these wise men] were
Karshena,
Shetar,
Admata,
Tarshish,
Meres,
Marsena [and]
Memochan,
seven princes of Persia and Media who had access to the king’s face (proximity) and were the highest ranking in the kingdom.
[The mention of seven eunuchs and seven princes symbolically indicates that the king wants to suggest that his kingdom is complete and perfect. The number seven stands for, among other things, perfection. Because it was a human kingdom, not subordinate to God, it was only humanly perfect, but there was also a blessing from God here as Ezra and Nehemiah received the king’s blessing to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and its temple. One of the eunuchs, Bigta (), is mentioned again in connection with a plot to kill the king, see ; .]
Then Memochan [one of the seven closest men, see ] answered before the king and the princes, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only to the king, but also to the princes and the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes),
