Summary
Quick facts
- Strong’s Number
- H968
- Original Word
- בִּזְתָא
- Transliteration
- Bizthâʼ
- Pronunciation
- biz-thaw'
- Part of Speech
- name
- Root / Etymology
- of Persian origin;
- Frequency
- 1×
- Gematria
- 410
Where it appears
Loading distribution…
Definition
Strong 1890Biztha, a eunuch of Xerxes
Biztha.
of Persian origin;

Commentary
Contributors: · · · ·
The Hidden Servant in the King's Shadow
Only once does the name Bizthâʼ appear in all of Scripture, yet within that single utterance lies a universe of meaning. A Persian name carried into the Hebrew text, it stands as a testimony to the silent ones who serve in the corridors of power, whose lives become vessels for the purposes of HaShem. This name, rooted in the Persian tongue, speaks of one who was a eunuch in the court of King Ahasuerus, a man whose identity was bound to the will of an earthly sovereign. Yet the Hebrew scribes did not discard this foreign name; they preserved it in the scroll of Esther, teaching you that every soul, even one from a distant land, is recorded in the book of life. The single appearance of this word is not a mark of insignificance, but a reminder that the Holy One sees what men overlook, and He names what the world forgets.The Etymology of a Hidden Vessel
The root of Bizthâʼ is of Persian origin, and the ancient sages observed that names of foreign kings and their servants often carry meanings that the Spirit weaves into the Hebrew narrative. In the paleo-Hebrew letters, the name cannot be fully parsed, for it is a loanword, yet the rabbis of old taught that when a foreign name enters the sacred text, it is because the God of Israel has drawn that person into His story. The King James translators rendered it as Biztha, and the Strong's definition simply names him as a eunuch of Xerxes. But consider this: a eunuch in a Persian court was one who had no lineage, no children, no inheritance in the earthly sense. Yet in the kingdom of heaven, the prophet Isaiah declared, "For thus says the Lord: 'To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters'" (Isaiah 56:4-5). This Persian servant, though stripped of earthly legacy, is named in the eternal scroll.The Defining Moment in the King's Court
The appearance of Biztha is found in the first chapter of Esther, when King Ahasuerus commanded his seven eunuchs to bring Queen Vashti before him. The text reads, "On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus" (Esther 1:10). This is the defining moment for Biztha — not a word he spoke, not a deed he chose, but a command he was bound to obey. He stood at the threshold of a royal crisis, a silent witness to the collision between human pride and divine providence. Jewish tradition holds that these seven eunuchs were not mere servants; they were the king's trusted inner circle, the ones who saw the face of the monarch daily. Yet Biztha had no power to alter the king's decree. His role was to carry the message, even when the message led to upheaval.The Fall and Restoration of a Foreign Servant
There is no recorded failure for Biztha, nor a personal restoration, for his story is hidden in the collective movement of the Persian court. But the fall of Vashti, which he was compelled to announce, set in motion the rise of Esther. And in that divine reversal, the servant who carried the king's harsh command became part of the chain that led to the salvation of the Jewish people. The sages teach that even the smallest role in the scroll of Esther is woven into the fabric of Purim, the festival of hidden miracles. For you, this silence speaks loudly: not every servant of God receives a dramatic calling. Some are called to be faithful in the unseen places, to carry commands they do not understand, and to trust that the Holy One is writing a story larger than their own. The restoration of Biztha is not in his own life, but in the life of the people he served unknowingly — a picture of how your hidden obedience may bless generations you never meet.Get Your Certificate
Give a gift of $50 or more and receive a certificate, mailed to your door.
The Covenant Promise for the Dispossessed
Though Biztha was a eunuch, cut off from the covenant of Israel by birth and by station, the God of Abraham does not abandon the outsider. The Torah declares that no eunuch could enter the assembly of the Lord (Deuteronomy 23:1), yet the prophets saw a day when this barrier would be broken. "Let not the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree,'" the Lord spoke through Isaiah. "For thus says the Lord: 'To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters'" (Isaiah 56:3-5). This Persian servant, whose name means nothing in the genealogies of men, is named in the genealogy of grace. The covenant promise for Biztha is the promise for every soul who feels barren, forgotten, or foreign: the Holy One sees you, and He gives you a name that cannot be erased.The Gematria of 410 and the Mystery of the Holy
The numerical value of Bizthâʼ is 410, a number that carries deep resonance in the Hebrew Scriptures. The sages have noted that 410 is the gematria of the word qadosh, meaning "holy," when spelled in its fuller form. It is also the number of years the First Temple stood in Jerusalem, according to the ancient reckoning — a structure of stone and gold that housed the presence of the Almighty. This connection is no coincidence. Biztha, a foreign eunuch in a pagan court, bears in his very name the value of the Temple, the place where heaven met earth. The rabbis of old observed that the number 410 also corresponds to the phrase "ish Elohim," a man of God. How remarkable that a Persian servant, who never entered the Holy of Holies, carries the numerical signature of holiness in his name. This teaches you that the Holy One can dwell in the most unlikely vessels, and that your own life, however foreign to the sanctuary, may yet be a temple for His glory.Messianic Fulfillment: The Eunuch Who Points to the King
Biztha, the eunuch who served an earthly king, is a shadow of a greater truth revealed in Yeshua the Messiah. The prophet Isaiah spoke of eunuchs who would receive a name better than sons and daughters, and the apostolic tradition teaches that this promise is fulfilled in the Gospel. When the Ethiopian eunuch encountered Philip in the book of Acts, he was reading Isaiah and asked, "What hinders me from being baptized?" (Acts 8:36). Philip answered that if he believed with all his heart, he could. That Ethiopian official, like Biztha, was a foreigner, a servant of a queen, and cut off from the physical Temple. Yet he was grafted into the covenant through the blood of Yeshua. The Messiah Himself said, "In My Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2), and He promised that those who are considered last in this world would be first in the kingdom. Biztha, the silent eunuch, points you to the One who became a servant of all, who was stripped of His garments and nailed to a cross, and who now gives a new name to every foreigner who draws near.Your Place in the Unseen Scroll
You may feel like Biztha — a name spoken only once, a servant in the shadows, a person whose life seems small in the vast drama of history. But the Holy One who recorded this Persian eunuch in His Word has also recorded your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. The single verse that mentions Biztha is not an accident; it is a sign that God treasures the hidden ones. You are called not to seek the king's favor, but to serve the King of kings. Your obedience, even when it is silent, even when you carry messages you do not understand, is woven into the tapestry of redemption. The rabbis of old taught that every person has a purpose that only they can fulfill, and that the world was created for their sake. So take heart: the God who saw Biztha sees you. He gives you a name that no earthly power can erase, and He invites you to stand in His presence, not as a servant of a Persian king, but as a child of the Most High. Go in peace, and let your hidden service become your greatest glory.