Bigthana is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Bigthana was one of the eunuchs who conspired against King Ahasuerus. He is identified in the source note as a eunuch, and in the biblical text he is named alongside Teresh as “two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door.” These men held a position of trust in the royal court, guarding the entrance to the king’s presence, yet they abused that trust by seeking to lay hands on the king.
The setting is the Persian court during the reign of Ahasuerus, the king who took Esther as his queen. The conspiracy of Bigthana and Teresh is not narrated when it happened; it comes to light only later, when the king cannot sleep and calls for the book of records to be read to him. There it is found written that Mordecai had reported the plot. This discovery sets in motion the events that lead to Mordecai’s honor and, eventually, to the downfall of Haman.
Scripture says of Bigthana only that he was one of the two chamberlains who “sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus,” and that Mordecai told of him. The plot failed, and his name survives in the record only as a traitor exposed. The text records nothing of his motives, his fate, or his later life beyond this single mention.
The Name
The name Bigthana appears in the Hebrew text of Esther as בִּגְתָן (Bigthan), and the form “Bigthana” reflects the KJV’s rendering. Its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the Hebrew with certainty. It appears to be a Persian name rather than a Hebrew one, as is fitting for a court official of the Persian empire, and scholars have proposed various possible derivations without firm agreement. Because the meaning is not well established, it is best to say so plainly rather than assign it a meaning the text does not give.
A Closing Thought
Bigthana’s story is a quiet warning about the distance between position and character. He stood at the king’s door, trusted with access few others had, and used that access to plot against the very king he served. Yet his name survives only because his scheme was found out and recorded. There is a sober lesson here: what is done in secret does not stay secret forever, and faithfulness in small trusts matters more than the honor of a high place. The Lord who kept the king safe also kept the record that exposed the traitor.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Esther 6:2 — And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.