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3:1 Some time later <0310> King <04428> Ahasuerus <0325> promoted <01431> Haman <02001> the son <01121> of Hammedatha <04099>, the Agagite <091>, exalting <05375> him and setting <07760> his position <03678> above <05921> that of all <03605> the officials <08269> who <0834> were with <0854> him. 3:2 As a result, all <03605> the king’s <04428> servants <05650> who <0834> were at the king’s <04428> gate <08179> were bowing <03766> and paying homage <07812> to Haman <02001>, for <03588> the king <04428> had so <03651> commanded <06680>. However, Mordecai <04782> did not <03808> bow <03766>, nor <03808> did he pay <07812> him homage <07812>. 3:3 Then the servants <05650> of the king <04428> who <0834> were at the king’s <04428> gate <08179> asked <0559> Mordecai <04782>, “Why <04069> are you <0859> violating <05674> the king’s <04428> commandment <04687>?” 3:4 And after they had spoken <0559> to <0413> him day after day <03117> <03117> without <03808> his paying <08085> any attention <08085> to <0413> them, they informed <05046> Haman <02001> to see <07200> whether this attitude <01697> on Mordecai’s <04782> part would be permitted <05975>. Furthermore <03588>, he had disclosed <05046> to them <01992> that <0834> he <01931> was a Jew <03064>. 3:5 When Haman <02001> saw <07200> that <03588> Mordecai <04782> was not <0369> bowing <03766> or paying homage <07812> to him, he <02001> was filled <04390> with rage <02534>. 3:6 But the thought <05869> <0959> of striking out <03027> <07971> against Mordecai <04782> alone <0905> was repugnant <05869> <0959> to him, for <03588> he had been informed <05046> of the identity of Mordecai’s <04782> people <05971>. So Haman <02001> sought <01245> to destroy <08045> all <03605> the Jews <03064> (that is, the people <05971> of Mordecai <04782>) who <0834> were in all <03605> the kingdom <04438> of Ahasuerus <0325>. 3:7 In the first <07223> month <02320> (that <01931> is, the month <02320> of Nisan <05212>), in the twelfth <06240> <08147> year <08141> of King <04428> Ahasuerus <0325>’ reign, pur <06332> (that <01931> is, the lot <01486>) was cast <05307> before <06440> Haman <02001> in order to determine a day <03117> <03117> and a month <02320> <02320>. It turned out to be the twelfth <06240> <08147> month (that <01931> is, the month <02320> of Adar <0143>). 3:8 Then Haman <02001> said <0559> to King <04428> Ahasuerus <0325>, “There is <03426> a particular <0259> people <05971> that is dispersed <06340> and spread <06504> among <0996> the inhabitants <05971> throughout all <03605> the provinces <04082> of your kingdom <04438> whose laws <01881> differ <08138> from those of all <03605> other peoples <05971>. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s <04428> laws <01881>. It is not <0369> appropriate <06213> for the king <04428> to provide a haven for them. 3:9 If <0518> the king <04428> is so inclined <02895>, let an edict be issued <03789> to destroy <06> them. I will pay <08254> ten <06235> thousand <0505> talents <03603> of silver <03701> to <05921> be conveyed <0935> to <0413> the king’s <04428> treasuries <01595> for the officials <03027> who carry out <06213> this business <04399>.” 3:10 So the king <04428> removed <05493> his signet ring <02885> from <05921> his hand <03027> and gave <05414> it to Haman <02001> the son <01121> of Hammedatha <04099>, the Agagite <091>, who was hostile <06887> toward the Jews <03064>.

• Est 3:1-15 -- Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

• Haman

  [ebd] (of Persian origin), magnificent, the name of the vizier (i.e., the prime minister) of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Esther 3:1, etc.). He is called an "Agagite," which seems to denote that he was descended from the royal fami...
  [smith] (magnificent), the chief minister or vizier of King Ahasuerus. (Esther 3:1) (B.C. 473.) After the failure of his attempt to cut off all the Jews in the Persian empire, he was hanged on the gallows which he had erected for Mor...
  [nave] HAMAN Prime minister of Ahasuerus, Esth. 3:1. Plotted against Esther and the Jews, thwarted by Esther and Mordecai, hanged, Esth. 3-9.
  

• Rulers

  [nave] RULERS Appointed and removed by God. See: Government, God in. Chastised, Dan. 4. See: Nation. Monarchical, See: Kings. Patriarchal, Gen. 27:29, 37. Instances of Nimrod, Gen. 10:8-10. Abraham, Gen. 14:13-24; 17:6; 21:2...
  

• Israel

  [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...
  

• Servant

  [nave] SERVANT Distinguished as bond servant, who was a slave, and hired servant. Bond Laws of Moses concerning, Ex. 21:1-11, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32; Lev. 19:20-22; 25:6, 10, 35-55; Deut. 15:12, 14, 18; 24:7. Kidnapping forbidden, D...
  

• Politics

  [nave] POLITICS, statecraft. Corruption in Psa. 12:8; in the court of Ahasuerus, Esth. 3; of Darius, Dan. 6:4-15. Instances of: Absalom, electioneering for the throne, 2 Sam. 15:2-6. Pilate, condemning Jesus to gratify popular ...
  

• Government

  [nave] GOVERNMENT Paternal functions of, Gen. 41:25-57. Civil service school provided by, Dan. 1:3-20. Maintains a system of public instruction, 2 Chr. 17:7-9. Executive departments in. See: Cabinet; King; Ruler; Statecraft. Ju...
  

• Massacre

  [nave] MASSACRE Authorized by Moses, Deut. 20:13, 16. Decree to destroy the Jews, Esth. 3. Instances of Inhabitants of Heshbon, Deut. 2:34; of Bashan, Deut. 3:6; of Ai, Josh. 8:24-26; of Hazor, Josh. 11:11, 12; of the cities of ...
  

• Hammedatha

  [ebd] father of Haman, designated usually "the Agagite" (Esther 3:1, 10; 8:5).
  [isbe] HAMMEDATHA - ham-e-da'-tha (hammedhatha'): The father of Haman (Est 3:1). He is generally termed the "Agagite"; the name is of Persian etymology, signifying "given by the moon."
  [smith] (double), father of the infamous Haman. (Esther 3:1,10; 8:5; 9;24)
  [nave] HAMMEDATHA, father of Haman, Esth. 3:1, 10; 8:5; 9:10, 24.
  

• Malice

  [nave] MALICE. Gen. 3:15; Lev. 19:14, 17, 18; Deut. 27:17, 18; Deut. 32:32, 33; 2 Kin. 6:21, 22; Job 31:29, 30; Psa. 4:2; Psa. 7:14-16 Job 15:35. Psa. 10:7-10, 14; Psa. 21:11; Psa. 22:7, 8; Psa. 35:15, 16, 19-21; Psa. 38:16, 19; P...
  

• Ring

  [ebd] Used as an ornament to decorate the fingers, arms, wrists, and also the ears and the nose. Rings were used as a signet (Gen. 38:18). They were given as a token of investment with authority (Gen. 41:42; Esther 3:8-10; 8:2), a...
  [isbe] RING - (Anglo-Saxon, Hring, "ring"): The word renders (the American Standard Revised Version) two Hebrew words (in the King James Version and the English Revised Version three) and two Greek words. Tabba`ath, the principal H...
  [smith] The ring was regarded as an indispensable article of a Hebrew?s attire, inasmuch as it contained his signet. It was hence the symbol of authority. (Genesis 41:42; Esther 3:10) Rings were worn not only by men, but by women. (I...
  [nave] RING Of gold, Num. 31:50. Worn as a badge of office, Gen. 41:42. Given as a token, Esth. 3:10, 12; 8:2-10. Worn in the nose, Prov. 11:22; Isa. 3:21. Offerings of, to the tabernacle, Ex. 35:22; Num. 31:50.
  

• Babylon

  [nave] BABYLON City of Built by Nimrod, Gen. 10:10. In the land of Shinar, Gen. 10:10; 11:2. Tower of, Gen. 11:1-9. Capital of the kingdom of Babylon, Dan. 4:30; 2 Kin. 25:13; 2 Chr. 36:6, 7, 10, 18, 20. Gates of, Isa. 45:1, 2...
  

• AGAGITE

  [ebd] a name applied to Haman and also to his father (Esther 3:1, 10; 8:3, 5). Probably it was equivalent to Amalekite.
  [isbe] AGAGITE - a'-gag-it, ('aghaghi, from, 'aghagh, "a member of the house of Agag"): A title of opprobrium given to Haman (Est 3:1,10; 8:3,5; 9:24). Jewish tradition always assigned the arch-enemies of Israel membership in the h...
  

• Revenge

  [nave] REVENGE Forbidden, Lev. 19:18; Prov. 24:29; Rom. 12:17, 19; 1 Thess. 5:15; 1 Pet. 3:9. Jesus an example of forbearing, 1 Pet. 2:23. Rebuked by Jesus, Luke 9:54, 55. Inconsistent with a Christian spirit, Luke 9:55. Procee...
  

• Mordecai

  [ebd] the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. It has been alleged that he was carried into captivity with Jeconiah, and hence that he must have been at least one hundred and twenty-nine years old in the twelfth year of Ahasueru...
  

• SEAL

  [isbe] SEAL - sel (substantive chotham, "seal," "signet," Tabba`ath, "signet-ring"; Aramaic `izqa'; sphragis; verb chatham, (Aramaic chatham); (sphragizo), (katasphragizomai, "to seal"): I. Literal Sense. A seal is an instrument of...
  [smith] The importance attached to seals in the East is so great that without one no document is regarded as authentic. Among the methods of sealing used in Egypt at a very early period were engraved stones, graved stones, pierced th...
  

• AGAG

  [smith] (flame), possibly the title of the kings of Amalek, like Pharaoh of Egypt. One king of this name is mentioned in (Numbers 24:7) and another in 1Sam 15:8,9,20,32 The latter was the king of the Amalekites, whom Saul spared cont...
  

• Adar

  [ebd] large, the sixth month of the civil and the twelfth of the ecclesiastical year of the Jews (Esther 3:7, 13; 8:12; 9:1, 15, 17, 19, 21). It included the days extending from the new moon of our March to the new moon of April. ...
  [nave] ADAR 1. Twelfth month in Jewish calendar, Ezra 6:15; Esth. 3:7; 8:12; 9:1. 2. Son of Bela, 1 Chr. 8:3. 3. See: Hazar-Addar.
  

• Month

  [smith] From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law downward the religious feasts commencing with the passover depended not simply on the month, but on the moon; the 14th of Abib was coincident with the full moon; and the new ...
  [nave] MONTH Ancient use of, Gen. 7:11; 8:4. Twelve months reckoned to a year, 1 Chr. 27:1-15. 1. Abib (April). The Jewish calendar began with, Ex. 12:2; 13:4; Deut. 16:1. Passover instituted and celebrated in, Ex. 12:1-28; 23:1...
  

• PURIM; PUR

  [isbe] PURIM; PUR - pur'-rim, pur (purim, "lots"; Septuagint Phrourai): The name of a Jewish festival celebrated on the 14th and 15th days of the month Adar, the final month of the Biblical year, corresponding to February-March. 1....
  

• Homage

  [nave] HOMAGE Refused by Peter, Acts 10:26; Paul and Barnabas, Acts 14:11-18. By the angel seen by John in his vision, Rev. 19:10; 22:8, 9. See: Worship. Rendered to kings, 1 Kin. 1:16, 23, 31; princes, Esth. 3:2, 5.
  

• Haman's Plot to Destroy the Jews

  

• Was it realy feasible for Mordecai or Ester to return to Jerusalem during their time in Persia? (Since it seems that they fall between the returns of Zerubbabel and Ezra.) How does this affect their disobedience for not returning?
  I found these remarks in the Bible Knowledge Commentary, which may be of interest: Historical Setting. The Book of Esther is unique in several ways. For one thing it is a book with several historical problems. The book ...

1 Samuel 15; Reverend

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