Overview
Shaashgaz served as a custodian or keeper of the women in King Ahasuerus's harem during the Persian Empire. His role was administrative, overseeing the concubines and managing their care and quarters. Though his name appears only once in Scripture, it illustrates the hierarchical structure of the ancient Persian court and the customs of that era.
Key Scriptures
"Now when the turn of each young woman came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, with oil of myrrh and other cosmetics for women—when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king's palace. In the evening she went in, and in the morning she returned to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines" (Esther 2:12-14, ESV).
Application
Reflect on how God's providence works through ordinary people in positions of authority, even in pagan kingdoms, to accomplish His sovereign purposes.