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Esther 7

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The Queen’s Second Banquet 1–2

1
So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen.
2
And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. ​

Esther Accuses Haman 3–6

3
Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: ​
4
for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king’s damage. ​
5
Then spake the king Ahasuerus and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
6
And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. ​

Haman’s Immediate Execution Ordered 7–10

7
And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. ​
8
Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the couch whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he even force the queen before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. ​
9
Then said Harbonah, one of the chamberlains that were before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman hath made for Mordecai, who spake good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. And the king said, Hang him thereon. ​
10
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified. ​

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

Study Notes for Esther 7

Verse 2

the banquet of wine — Mishteh hayyayin, the phrase of 5:6 and 7:7–8. This is the third time the king asks, after 5:3 and 5:6, in nearly the same words: 'What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request?' Esther's petition (she'elah) and request (baqqashah) are answered in v.3.

Verse 3

let my life be given me — Esther's request names her own 'life' (nephesh) first and 'my people' second, using the formula 'If I have found favour in thy sight' that she has used since 5:8. At 4:16 she had said, 'if I perish, I perish'; now she asks that her life be given. The people are named only at the end of the verse.

Verse 4

we are sold — Makar, to sell. The word looks back to Haman's ten thousand talents (3:9) and the king's 'The silver is given to thee' (3:11). The threefold 'destroyed… slain… perish' is the language of the decree (3:13). Slavery, Esther says, she would have borne in silence (charash, as in 4:14); Deut 28:68 lists being 'sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen'.

Verse 6

The adversary and enemy — Tsar and oyeb, two words for an opponent, with 'wicked' (ra). Esther names Haman only after the king asked, 'Who is he, and where is he?' (v.5). Haman 'was afraid' (ba'ath, to be terrified), the verb of Job 18:11, 'Terrors shall make him afraid on every side'. He is called the Jews' 'enemy' in 3:10 and 9:24.

Verse 7

in his wrath — Chemah, the word of Haman's own wrath at 3:5 and 5:9, now the king's. 'The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion' (Prov 19:12). While the king is in the 'palace garden', Haman 'stood up to make request for his life', for he saw 'that there was evil determined against him' (kalah, the verb of David's 'evil is determined by him', 1 Sam 20:7).

Verse 8

they covered Haman's face — Chaphah, the verb of 6:12, where Haman went home with 'his head covered'. Haman had 'fallen' (naphal) upon the couch, as his wife and wise men had foretold (6:13). The king's 'force' is kabash, to tread down, the verb of 'subdue it' in Gen 1:28. The covering follows the king's word at once.

Verse 9

Harbonah — One of the seven chamberlains of 1:10, where he is called Harbona. He tells of the gallows 'fifty cubits high' (5:14), standing in Haman's house for 'Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king', the deed of 2:22. The king answers, 'Hang him thereon.' 'Transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness' (Prov 11:6).

Verse 10

they hanged Haman — The verb is talah and the gallows are ets, the word of 2:23 and 5:14. 'Pacified' (shakak) is the verb used for Ahasuerus's wrath at 2:1 and for the waters that 'asswaged' after the flood (Gen 8:1). The decree on the Jews' lives remains (8:5–8); what Haman planned 'should return upon his own head' (9:25).