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Esther 6

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The King Reads the Chronicles 1–5

1
On that night could not the king sleep; and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king. ​
2
And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, of those that kept the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus. ​
3
And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been bestowed on Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him. ​
4
And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. ​
5
And the king’s servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.

Haman Advises the King 6–9

6
So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman said in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? ​
7
And Haman said unto the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honor,
8
let royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and on the head of which a crown royal is set: ​
9
and let the apparel and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man therewith whom the king delighteth to honor, and cause him to ride on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor.

Haman Honors Mordecai 10–11

10
Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. ​
11
Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor.

Shame and Foreboding 12–14

12
And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered. ​
13
And Haman recounted unto Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai, before whom thou hast begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him. ​
14
While they were yet talking with him, came the king’s chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Esther 6

Verse 1

could not the king sleep — Literally his sleep 'fled' (nadad), the verb of Jacob's 'my sleep departed from mine eyes' (Gen 31:40). The night falls between Esther's two banquets (5:8; 6:14). The 'book of records of the chronicles' (zikronoth, memorials) is the same record that already held Mordecai's act (2:23), and it is read aloud 'before the king'.

Verse 2

Bigthana and Teresh — The name is Bigthan in 2:21, where they 'kept the door' (saph, the threshold) and 'sought to lay hand on the king'. The record says that Mordecai 'had told', for Esther had 'certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name' (2:22). The deed was entered in the chronicles when the two men were hanged (2:23), and the king now hears it read.

Verse 3

honour and dignity — Yeqar, honour, and gedullah, greatness, the word used again of Mordecai in 10:2. Yeqar returns in vv.6, 7, 9 and 11, and the Jews are given it in 8:16: 'The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.' The king's servants answer, 'There is nothing done for him.'

Verse 4

Who is in the court? — Haman has come into the 'outward court' (chitson), not the inner court where Esther stood in 5:1, to speak about the gallows he 'had prepared' (5:14). The king asks who is there, and Haman, who has come for Mordecai's life, is the one called in to advise on Mordecai's honour (vv.5–6).

Verse 6

delighteth to honour — Chaphets, to take pleasure in, with yeqar, honour. The king's phrase, 'the man whom the king delighteth to honour', is repeated in vv.7, 9 and 11. Haman 'thought in his heart', 'To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?' His pride matches Prov 18:12: 'Before destruction the heart of man is haughty'.

Verse 8

the royal apparel — Lebush malkuth, with kether malkuth, 'the crown royal'. Kether is found only in Esther (1:11; 2:17; 6:8). Haman's list follows the pattern David ordered for Solomon: 'cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule' (1 Kings 1:33). The dress, the horse and the crown are all the king's own.

Verse 10

Make haste — Mahar, the verb of 5:5, 'Cause Haman to make haste', which brought him to Esther's banquet; the king's command now sends him on a different errand. 'Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate' repeats Haman's own words from 5:13. Haman carries out v.11: he arrays Mordecai and proclaims before him.

Verse 12

his head covered — Chaphah, to cover, as David went up Olivet with 'his head covered' (2 Sam 15:30) and the plowmen in the drought 'covered their heads' (Jer 14:4). 'Mourning' is abel, a mourner. Haman 'hasted' (dachaph), the verb used for the posts of 3:15, while Mordecai 'came again to the king's gate'.

Verse 13

shalt surely fall before him — Zeresh, who proposed the gallows (5:14), joins Haman's 'wise men' in saying that he has 'begun to fall' before Mordecai 'of the seed of the Jews'. Their words echo the LORD's promise to Abraham: 'I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee' (Gen 12:3).

Verse 14

hasted to bring Haman — Bahal, to hurry or be dismayed, a verb found in Esther at 2:9, here and in 8:14. The chamberlains arrive 'while they were yet talking'. The banquet is the one Esther 'had prepared' (5:4, 8). 'The things that shall come upon them make haste' (Deut 32:35).