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
After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. ​
2
All the king’s servants who were in the king’s gate bowed down, and paid homage to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai didn’t bow down or pay him homage. ​
3
Then the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate, said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s commandment?”
4
Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he didn’t listen to them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.
5
When Haman saw that Mordecai didn’t bow down, nor pay him homage, Haman was full of wrath.
6
But he scorned the thought of laying hands on Mordecai alone, for they had made known to him Mordecai’s people. Therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even Mordecai’s people. ​

Haman Casts the Lot (Pur)

7
In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, and chose the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. ​
8
Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom, and their laws are different than other people’s. They don’t keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not for the king’s profit to allow them to remain.
9
If it pleases the king, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who are in charge of the king’s business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.” ​
10
The king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. ​
11
The king said to Haman, “The silver is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”

The Genocide Decree Is Published

12
Then the king’s scribes were called in on the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month; and all that Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the princes of every people, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus, and it was sealed with the king’s ring.
13
Letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to plunder their possessions. ​
14
A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that they should be ready against that day.
15
The couriers went out in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed. ​

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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