Abagtha

Abagtha (אבגתא) was a court official (likely a eunuch) of King Ahasuerus. He is mentioned once in the Book of Esther (Esther 1:10). According to this narrative, he and six other officials suggested that Queen Vashti parade before the king and his ministers in the crown jewels. Her refusal led to her demise and the selection of Esther as the new queen of the Persian Empire.

The Hebrew word סָרִיס (sarīs), translated eunuch, can mean a general court official, not only a castrated man. Since Abagtha and the other six officials are spoken of as attending to the king, not to royal women, it is possible that he was not a eunuch in the technical sense.

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