Charles Ellicott Commentary Esther 1:6

"[There were hangings of] white [cloth], [of] green, and [of] blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and white, and yellow, and black marble." — Esther 1:6 (ASV)

Where were white... —This should be [hangings of] “white cotton and blue.” The word translated “cotton” (Hebrew, carpas) occurs only here. Canon Rawlinson remarks that “white and blue (or violet) were the royal colors of Persia.”

Linen. —White linen; so the word is used, e.g., in 2 Chronicles 5:12.

Marble. —White marble, as in the last clause of the verse.

Beds. —That is, the couches. The gold is not to be referred simply to the gold-embroidered coverings, but to the framework of the couch.

Red and blue ... —These words are not names of colors, but of actual stones, although the meaning of most is doubtful enough. The first (bahat) is rendered by the Septuagint as a stone of emerald color, and may perhaps be malachite. The second (shesh) is white marble, the third (dar) is pearly, and the last (sokhereth) black.