Esther3

King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, who was given supreme authority, and all were commanded to bow before him. However, Mordecai, a Jew, refused to bow, which filled Haman with wrath. In retaliation, Haman plotted to destroy all Jews throughout the kingdom, obtaining the king's decree to accomplish this widespread extermination.

Haman's Promotion and Mordecai's Refusal

1
Some time later King Achashverosh began to single out Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi for advancement; eventually he gave him precedence over all his fellow officers. ​
2
All the king's servants at the King's Gate would kneel and bow down before Haman, because the king had so ordered. But Mordekhai would neither kneel nor bow down to him. ​
3
The king's servants at the King's Gate asked Mordekhai, "Why don't you obey the king's order?"
4
But after they had confronted him a number of times without his paying attention to them, they told Haman, in order to find out whether Mordekhai's explanation that he was a Jew would suffice to justify his behavior.
5
Haman was furious when he saw that Mordekhai was not kneeling and bowing down to him.
6
However, on learning what people Mordekhai belonged to, it seemed to him a waste to lay hands on Mordekhai alone. Rather, he decided to destroy all of Mordekhai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole of Achashverosh's kingdom. ​

Haman Casts the Lot (Pur)

7
In the first month, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of Achashverosh, they began throwing pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman every day and every month until the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. ​
8
Then Haman said to Achashverosh, "There is a particular people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people; moreover, they don't observe the king's laws. It doesn't befit the king to tolerate them.
9
If it please the king, have a decree written for their destruction; and I will hand over 330 tons of silver to the officials in charge of the king's affairs to deposit in the royal treasury." ​
10
The king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi, the enemy of the Jews. ​
11
The king said to Haman, "The money is given to you, and the people too, to do with as seems good to you."

The Genocide Decree Is Published

12
The king's secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month. They wrote down all Haman's orders to the king's army commanders and governors in all the provinces and to the officials of every people, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language; everything was written in the name of King Achashverosh and sealed with the king's signet ring.
13
Letters were sent by courier to all the royal provinces "to destroy, kill and exterminate all Jews, from young to old, including small children and women, on a specific day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to seize their goods as plunder." ​
14
A copy of the document to be issued as a decree in every province was to be publicly proclaimed to all the peoples, so that they would be ready for that day.
15
At the king's order the runners went out quickly, and the decree was issued in Shushan the capital. Then the king and Haman sat down for a drink together, but the city of Shushan was thrown into confusion. ​

Study Notes for Esther 3

Verse 1

Haman is identified as 'the Agagite,' strongly suggesting he is a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites (1 Sam 15). This ancient, deep-seated ethnic enmity between Amalekites and Israel likely fuels Haman’s intense hatred for Mordecai and the Jewish people.

Verse 2

Mordecai’s refusal to bow is the catalyst for the entire crisis. While the text does not state the reason, it may stem from the Jewish prohibition against giving divine honor to humans, or it could be a specific refusal to honor a descendant of Israel’s ancient enemy, the Amalekites.

Verse 6

Haman’s vengeance escalates from a personal dispute with Mordecai to a plan for ethnic cleansing. This decision sets the stage for the book’s central conflict: the existential threat to the Jewish diaspora.

Verse 7

The casting of the *Pur* (a Babylonian/Persian word for 'lot') was done to determine a propitious date for the mass slaughter. The time gap between the casting (Nisan) and the execution date (Adar, 11 months later) provides the necessary window for Esther and Mordecai to intervene, showing God's providence at work despite the seemingly random process.

Verse 9

The bribe of ten thousand talents of silver was an astronomical sum, estimated to be more than half the Persian Empire's annual revenue. This demonstrates Haman’s immense wealth and his obsessive commitment to the destruction of the Jews.

Verse 10

Giving Haman the royal signet ring transferred the king’s absolute administrative authority, allowing Haman to seal the decree. This action effectively made the decree irrevocable under Persian law, cementing the danger.

Verse 13

The decree’s language is comprehensive and absolute, targeting all Jews regardless of age or gender. The date, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (Adar), becomes the focus of the subsequent conflict and the eventual reason for the celebration of Purim.

Verse 15

This verse presents a sharp contrast: the king and Haman are indifferent, celebrating their political success with a banquet, while the capital city of Shushan is thrown into confusion and despair by the genocidal edict.

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