2.8–18 Esther becomes queen.
2.9 Esther’s success with those charged with custody of the king’s women anticipates her future success with the king himself. Receiving her portion of food, she appears not to observe Jewish dietary laws, a concern to early interpreters. In this she stands in contrast to Daniel (Dan 1.8–20). See also Addition C in the Greek version.
2.10 Secrecy regarding her kindred is necessary for the plot and also hints at an underlying anti-Semitism in the court.
2.12 Myrrh was a resin used as an incense and in ointments and perfumes.
2.14 After their first evening with the king, these women became his concubines, were placed under the charge of another eunuch, and resided in a second harem.
2.16 Tebeth, December-January in the Babylonian calendar. It took four years to find a new queen.
2.17 Although Esther’s success is anticipated (see vv. 9, 15), readers must wait through nine verses of information about harem protocol to be assured that she wins the favor of the man who matters most. Her beauty and charm seem enough to please him, for he inquires no further about her background.
2.18 This wedding banquet that includes benefits for the king’s subjects is next in a series of feasts punctuating this story.
2.19–23 Mordecai discovers a plot.
2.19 Sitting in the king’s gate, Mordecai is an official of undetermined rank.
2.20 This repetitive stress on Esther’s obedience to Mordecai (v. 10) emphasizes Esther’s obedience to the men controlling her (see v. 15).
2.21 Xerxes actually fell victim to a plot by his chamber guards.
2.23 Hanged, or “impaled on the stake.” The book of the annals, lit. “the book of the things of the days,” was the official record of royal actions. The king’s failure to reward Mordecai becomes an important plot device.
ESTHER 3
Haman Undertakes to Destroy the Jews
1After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the officials who were with him. 2And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and did obeisance to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance. 3Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” 4When they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance to him, Haman was infuriated. 6But he thought it beneath him to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, having been told who Mordecai’s people were, Haman plotted to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur—which means “the lot”—before Haman for the day and for the month, and the lot fell on the thirteenth daya of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them. 9If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued for their destruction, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, so that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” 10So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11The king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, and the people as well, to do with them as it seems good to you.”
12Then the king’s secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language; it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s ring. 13Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, giving orders to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation, calling on all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15The couriers went quickly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.
next chapter
* * *
a Cn Compare Gk and verse 13 below: Heb the twelfth month
3.1–15 Haman undertakes to destroy the Jews.
3.1 As an Agagite, Haman is an Amalekite, the natural enemy of the Jews (Ex 17.8–16; Num 24.20; Deut 25.17–19) and especially of the Benjaminite Mordecai (1 Sam 15). Ironically Haman is rewarded for no stated reason, while Mordecai is not rewarded in 2.19–23 for service to the king.
3.4 That he was a Jew does not explain Mordecai’s refusal, for elsewhere Jews are depicted as bowing before those in authority (Gen 23.7; 42.6; 2 Sam 14.4; 1 Kings 1.16). The real reason may be that Haman is an Agagite, thus a hereditary enemy of the Jews.
3.5–6 Haman’s disproportionate response turns the conflict into an ethnic contest. The verb to destroy occurs twenty-five times in this short book, stressing an ever present threat of violence.
3.7 Nisan (March-April) is the first month in the Babylonian calendar, the time of Passover. The start of a new year was an appropriate time to cast lots to determine the future. Pur, an Akkadian word for lot, provides the name for the festival Purim (see ch. 9). Adar (February-March) is the twelfth month in the Babylonian calendar; the date for the pogrom is fixed well in advance.
3.8 Haman’s accusation against the Jews, who are never named by him, moves from truth (scattered and separated) to lies (do not keep the king’s laws). It is necessary for the story that Esther’s ability to conceal her Jewish identity not be hampered by these laws that are different.
3.9 Ten thousand talents of silver is a huge sum. Inflated figures like this one, the height of Haman’s gallows (5.14), and numbers slain by the Jews (9.5–16) give the story an air of the fantastic.
3.10 The signet ring gives Haman authority to issue the decree (see 8.8, 10; Gen 41.42).
3.11 The money is given to you may mean the king returns Haman’s bribe, or it may mean the money is Haman’s to use as he wishes. The king authorizes the pogrom with no further inquiry about the people to be destroyed.
3.12 Ironically, the thirteenth day of the first month is the day before Jews celebrate Passover (Lev 23.5–8), in which they remember how God delivered them in Egypt.
3.13 Couriers formed the heart of the famed Persian postal service (1.22; 8.9–14; Herodotus, History 5.14; 8.98). The piling up of the terms to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate and the list of victims, emulating legal language, ensures that the pogrom will be thorough. The Greek version provides a copy of the decree (Addition B).
3.14 Proclamation so far in advance also gives notice to the Jews of the danger, allowing Mordecai and Esther time to act.
3.15 A striking contrast between the leaders and populace ends the scene with another drinking feast that contrasts with those in ch. 1; 2.18.
ESTHER 4
Esther Agrees to Help the Jews
1When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went through the city, wailing with a loud and bitter cry; 2he went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3In every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and most of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4When Esther’s maids and her eunuchs
came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed; she sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth; but he would not accept them. 5Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what was happening and why. 6Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and charge her to go to the king to make supplication to him and entreat him for her people.
9Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mordecai, saying, 11“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—all alike are to be put to death. Only if the king holds out the golden scepter to someone, may that person live. I myself have not been called to come in to the king for thirty days.” 12When they told Mordecai what Esther had said, 13Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” 15Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai, 16“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” 17Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
next chapter
* * *
4.1–17 Esther agrees to help the Jews.
4.1–3 Torn clothing, sackcloth, ashes, and wailing are all traditional signs of distress and grief (Neh 9.1; Jon 3.6) and are often accompanied by fasting (4.16) and prayer, the last markedly absent from this story (cf. Addition C in the Greek version).
4.4–9 Mordecai’s carefully staged demonstration and documentary evidence are designed to inform Esther, isolated within the harem, and urge her to take advantage of her strategic position.
4.11 Whether this ban on unsummoned appearances reflects actual Persian custom or not, it serves to heighten the narrative tension. Esther’s influence with the king is at a low point.
4.14 Another quarter is interpreted by some as an oblique reference to the deity, who is so strikingly absent from this story. Many understand Mordecai’s statement as an assertion of divine providence. The reference is more allusive than direct and does not lessen the strongly secular character of the story. The choice to act remains with Esther.
4.16 From this point Esther is transformed from one who is passive and obedient to one who takes charge and directs actions to save her people. Mordecai, by contrast, now becomes passive and obedient to her. The Greek version here has prayers by both Mordecai and Esther (Addition C).
ESTHER 5
Esther’s Banquet
1On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, opposite the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne inside the palace opposite the entrance to the palace. 2As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won his favor and he held out to her the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter. 3The king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” 4Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet that I have prepared for the king.” 5Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 7Then Esther said, “This is my petition and request: 8If I have won the king’s favor, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and then I will do as the king has said.”
Haman Plans to Have Mordecai Hanged
9Haman went out that day happy and in good spirits. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and observed that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was infuriated with Mordecai; 10nevertheless Haman restrained himself and went home. Then he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh, 11and Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the ministers of the king. 12Haman added, “Even Queen Esther let no one but myself come with the king to the banquet that she prepared. Tomorrow also I am invited by her, together with the king. 13Yet all this does me no good so long as I see the Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.” 14Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go with the king to the banquet in good spirits.” This advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.
next chapter
* * *
5.1–8 Esther’s first banquet.
5.2 The Greek makes this scene more suspenseful and overtly refers to divine providential direction of events (Addition D).
5.3 Herod makes just this exaggerated promise to Salome (Mk 6.23), and Herodotus (History 9.109–11) tells of a similar one that Xerxes offered his mistress Artaynte, which came to haunt him.
5.4–5 Esther’s invitation to the king and his acceptance obligate him to her. Haman’s inclusion disarms and neutralizes him.
5.6 See note on 5.3.
5.8 In light of what might have happened to Mordecai between Esther’s first and second banquets, her second delay tempts fate; however, the delay heightens the literary suspense.
5.9–14 Haman plans to have Mordecai hanged.
5.9–13 Dining alone with the king and queen confirms Haman’s elevated position in his own eyes; by contrast the sight of unrepentant Mordecai calls his position into question.
5.10–11 Haman has reached the pinnacle of his glory, possessing wealth, position, and many sons.
5.14 Fifty cubits is 75 feet! Haman, Zeresh, and his friends can plot to execute Mordecai, but only the king can condemn someone to death. Hanged. See 2.23.
ESTHER 6
The King Honors Mordecai
1On that night the king could not sleep, and he gave orders to bring the book of records, the annals, and they were read to the king. 2It was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had conspired to assassinatea King Ahasuerus. 3Then the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5So the king’s servants told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” The king said, “Let him come in.” 6So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” 7So Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king wishes to honor, 8let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and a horse that the king has ridden, with a royal crown on its head. 9Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officia
ls; let himb robe the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let himc conduct the man on horseback through the open square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor.’” 10Then the king said to Haman, “Quickly, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to the Jew Mordecai who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” 11So Haman took the robes and the horse and robed Mordecai and led him riding through the open square of the city, proclaiming, “Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor.”
12Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. 13When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is of the Jewish people, you will not prevail against him, but will surely fall before him.”
Haman’s Downfall and Mordecai’s Advancement
14While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman off to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
next chapter
* * *
a Heb to lay hands on
b Heb them
c Heb them
6.1–11 The king honors Mordecai.
6.1 That the king could not sleep is the first of several coincidences, interpreted by some as providential, that make this an especially fortunate night for Esther and Mordecai. The Greek version attributes the king’s insomnia to God.
6.2 See 2.23.
6.4–5 Ironically, Haman’s eagerness to be rid of Mordecai immediately brings him early to court, just at the moment the king needs advice on how to reward one who saved his life.
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 193
