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Esther 9

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The Jews Defend Themselves 1–11

1
Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them (whereas it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them), ​
2
the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them was fallen upon all the peoples.
3
And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and they that did the king’s business, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai was fallen upon them. ​
4
For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went forth throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
5
And the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they would unto them that hated them.
6
And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.
7
And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
8
and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
9
and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vaizatha,
10
the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. ​
11
On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.

Esther Requests an Extension 12–16

12
And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done.
13
Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews that are in Shushan to do to-morrow also according unto this day’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged upon the gallows. ​
14
And the king commanded it so to be done: and a decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.
15
And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.
16
And the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of them that hated them seventy and five thousand; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. ​

Feasting and Rest Established 17–19

17
This was doneon the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. ​
18
But the Jews that were in Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
19
Therefore do the Jews of the villages, that dwell in the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

The Ordinance of Purim Established 20–32

20
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, ​
21
to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
22
as the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. ​
23
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
24
because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;
25
but when the matter came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26
Wherefore they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur. Therefore because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come unto them, ​
27
the Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to the writing thereof, and according to the appointed time thereof, every year; ​
28
and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the remembrance of them perish from their seed.
29
Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim. ​
30
And he sent letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
31
to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had ordained for themselves and for their seed, in the matter of the fastings and their cry. ​
32
And the commandment of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.

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

Study Notes for Esther 9

Verse 1

turned to the contrary — Haphak, to turn over, the verb of 9:22, where the month 'was turned unto them from sorrow to joy', and of Ps 30:11, 'Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing'. The thirteenth of Adar is the day fixed by the decree (3:13; 8:12). The Jews now 'had rule over them that hated them', not their enemies over them.

Verse 3

the fear of Mordecai fell upon them — The rulers, 'lieutenants' (achashdarpan, a Persian title also in Ezra 8:36; Esth 3:12; 8:9) and 'deputies' (pechah) all 'helped' the Jews. In 3:2 the king's servants had bowed to Haman by command, and Mordecai alone would not. Now the officers of the provinces are moved by 'the fear of Mordecai', who 'waxed greater and greater' (v.4).

Verse 10

on the spoil laid they not their hand — Haman's ten sons, named in vv.7–9, are slain, the sons of the man who had boasted of 'the multitude of his children' (5:11). The Jews take no spoil here, nor in vv.15–16, though 8:11 had allowed it. Saul had taken the spoil of Amalek and was told that he 'didst fly upon the spoil' (1 Sam 15:19).

Verse 13

let Haman's ten sons be hanged — Esther asks for one more day in Shushan, 'to morrow also', and for the hanging of the sons already slain (v.10). 'Gallows' is ets, the 'tree' of 5:14 and 7:10, and v.14 records it done. The Law says a man hanged on a tree 'is accursed of God' and is not to remain there all night (Deut 21:22–23).

Verse 16

had rest from their enemies — Nuach, to rest, the word of Deut 25:19: 'when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about', the verse that commands the blotting out of Amalek. The provincial Jews 'stood for their lives' (the phrase of 8:11), slew 'seventy and five thousand', and again 'laid not their hands on the prey'.

Verse 17

rested they — The provinces fought on the thirteenth and 'rested' (nuach) on the fourteenth, making it 'a day of feasting and gladness'. The Jews of Shushan fought on both days and rested on the fifteenth (v.18). The two days are later joined in one observance for all (vv.21, 27). 'Feasting' is mishteh, the word for the banquets of Esther's story.

Verse 20

Mordecai wrote these things — These are the third set of letters sent to the provinces, after Haman's (3:13) and the king's counter-letters (8:10). They go to Jews 'both nigh and far', the people whom Haman had described as 'scattered abroad and dispersed' (3:8). Mordecai's letter binds them to keep the two days (v.21).

Verse 22

from sorrow to joy — Three pairs show the reversal: yagon (sorrow) to simchah (joy), ebel (mourning, the word of 4:3) to a 'good day', and the verb haphak, turned. The days are for 'feasting and joy', 'sending portions one to another', and 'gifts to the poor'. The Jews 'rested from their enemies' (nuach), as in v.16.

Verse 26

Purim after the name of Pur — Purim is the plural of Pur, the lot Haman cast (3:7; 9:24), so the festival is named for the instrument of the plan that was overturned. 'This letter' is the letter of v.20. The sentence runs on into v.27: because of 'all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen', the Jews 'ordained' the days.

Verse 27

all such as joined themselves unto them — Lavah, to join, the verb used of 'the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD' (Isa 56:3) and of the nations that 'shall be joined to the LORD' (Zech 2:11). It echoes 8:17, where 'many of the people of the land became Jews'. The days are kept 'every year', 'according to their writing, and according to their appointed time'.

Verse 29

with all authority — Tokeph, power, found elsewhere in Esther only at 10:2, 'the acts of his power'. Esther is named first here, 'the daughter of Abihail' (2:15), and Mordecai second, 'the Jew'; in v.31 the order is reversed. They write to confirm 'this second letter of Purim', the first being Mordecai's of v.20.

Verse 31

the fastings and their cry — The fasts recall 4:3 and 4:16, when the Jews fasted in sackcloth, and 'their cry' (ze'aqah) is the noun of Mordecai's 'bitter cry' in 4:1. The days of Purim are fixed 'in their times appointed' (zeman), as Mordecai and Esther 'had enjoined them' and as the Jews 'had decreed for themselves and for their seed'.