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Texts -- Esther 8:1-17 (NET)

Context
The King Acts to Protect the Jews
8:1 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate of Haman , that adversary of the Jews , to Queen Esther . Now Mordecai had come before the king , for Esther had revealed how he was related to her. 8:2 The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman ) and gave it to Mordecai . And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate . 8:3 Then Esther again spoke with the king , falling at his feet . She wept and begged him for mercy , that he might nullify the evil of Haman the Agagite which he had intended against the Jews . 8:4 When the king extended to Esther the gold scepter , she arose and stood before the king . 8:5 She said , “If the king is so inclined and if I have met with his approval and if the matter is agreeable to the king and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha , the Agagite , which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces . 8:6 For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people , and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives ?” 8:7 King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew , “Look , I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther , and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action against the Jews . 8:8 Now you write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring . Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded . 8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan ), on the twenty-third day. They wrote out everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all– to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language , and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language . 8:10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring . He then sent letters by couriers on horses , who rode royal horses that were very swift. 8:11 The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves – to destroy , to kill , and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries , including their women and children , and to confiscate their property. 8:12 This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus – namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar ). 8:13 A copy of the edict was to be presented as law throughout each and every province and made known to all peoples , so that the Jews might be prepared on that day to avenge themselves from their enemies . 8:14 The couriers who were riding the royal horses went forth with the king’s edict without delay . And the law was presented in Susa the citadel as well. 8:15 Now Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in purple and white royal attire , with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle . The city of Susa shouted with joy . 8:16 For the Jews there was radiant happiness and joyous honor . 8:17 Throughout every province and throughout every city where the king’s edict and his law arrived , the Jews experienced happiness and joy , banquets and holidays . Many of the resident peoples pretended to be Jews , because the fear of the Jews had overcome them.

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Haman

    [nave] HAMAN Prime minister of Ahasuerus, Esth. 3:1. Plotted against Esther and the Jews, thwarted by Esther and Mordecai, hanged, Esth. 3-9.

  • Esther

    [nave] ESTHER, called also Hadassah. Niece of Mordecai, Esth. 2:7, 15. Chosen queen, Esth. 2:17. Tells the king of the plot against his life, Esth. 2:22. Fasts on account of the decree to destroy the Israelites; accuses Haman to ...

  • Mordecai

    [nave] MORDECAI A Jewish captive in Persia, Esth. 2:5, 6. Foster father of Esther, Esth. 2:7. Informs Ahasuerus of a conspiracy against his life, and is rewarded, Esth. 2:21-23; Esth. 6:1-11. Promoted in Haman's place, Esth. 8:1...

  • 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...

  • Minister

    [nave] MINISTER An officer in civil government. Joseph, Gen. 41:40-44; Ira, 2 Sam. 20:26; Zabud, 1 Kin. 4:5; Ahithophel, 1 Chr. 27:33; Zebadiah, 2 Chr. 19:11; Elkanah, 2 Chr. 28:7; Haman, Esth. 3:1; Mordecai, Esth. 10:3; 8-9; Danie...

  • 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...

  • 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...
    [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.

  • Seal

    [ebd] commonly a ring engraved with some device (Gen. 38:18, 25). Jezebel "wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal" (1 Kings 21:8). Seals are frequently mentioned in Jewish history (Deut. 32:34; Neh. 9:38; 10:1...
    [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...
    [nave] SEAL 1. A stamp used for signifying documents. Given as a pledge, Gen. 38:18. Engraved, Ex. 28:11, 21, 36; 39:6, 14, 30; 2 Tim. 2:19. Decrees signified by, 1 Kin. 21:8; Esth. 8:8. Documents sealed with: Ahab's letter, 1 K...

  • Post

    [ebd] (1.) A runner, or courier, for the rapid transmission of letters, etc. (2 Chr. 30:6; Esther 3:13, 15; 8:10, 14; Job 9:25; Jer. 51:31). Such messengers were used from very early times. Those employed by the Hebrew kings had a...
    [isbe] POST - post (ruts, "to run," ratsim, "runners"): The "runners" formed the royal guard (1 Sam 22:17; 1 Ki 14:27; 2 Ki 11:4,13; see GUARD). From them were chosen the couriers who carried royal letters and dispatches throughout...
    [nave] POST A bearer of message, Job 9:25; Jer. 51:31. Of Hezekiah, 2 Chr. 30:6, 10; Ahasuerus, Esth. 3:13, 14; 8:10, 14.

  • Proclamation

    [nave] PROCLAMATION Imperial, 2 Chr. 30:1-10; Esth. 1:22; 6:9; 8:10-14; Isa. 40:3, 9; Dan. 3:4-7; 4:1; 5:29. Emancipation, 2 Chr. 36:23; Ezra 1:1-4.

  • 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...

  • Camel

    [isbe] CAMEL - kam'-el (gamal; kamelos; bekher, and bikhrah (Isa 60:6; Jer 2:23 "dromedary," the American Revised Version, margin "young camel"), rekhesh (1 Ki 4:28; see HORSE), kirkaroth (Isa 66:20, "swift beasts," the American St...
    [nave] CAMEL, herds of, Gen. 12:16; 24:35; Gen. 30:43; 1 Sam. 30:17; 1 Chr. 27:30; Job 1:3, 17; Isa. 60:6. Docility of, Gen. 24:11. Uses of: For riding, Gen. 24:10, 61, 64; 31:17; posts, Esth. 8:10, 14; Jer. 2:23; drawing chariots...

  • India

    [ebd] occurs only in Esther 1:1 and 8:9, where the extent of the dominion of the Persian king is described. The country so designated here is not the peninsula of Hindustan, but the country surrounding the Indus, the Punjab. The p...
    [isbe] INDIA - in'-di-a (hoddu: he Indike): The name occurs in canonical Scripture only in Est 1:1; 8:9, of the country which marked the eastern boundary of the territory of Ahasuerus. The Hebrew word comes from the name of the Ind...
    [smith] The name of India does not occur in the Bible before the book of Esther where it is noticed as the limit of the territories of Ahasuerus in the east, as Ethiopia was in the west. (Esther 1:1; 8:9) The India of the book of Est...
    [nave] INDIA, probably the eastern limit of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, Esth. 1:1; 8:9.

  • King

    [nave] KING Called King of kings, Ezra 7:12; Ezek. 26:7; Dan. 2:37. Divinely authorized, Deut. 17:15; 1 Sam. 9:16, 17; 16:12; 1 Chr. 22:10; 2 Chr. 2:11, 12; Prov. 8:15; Dan. 2:21, 37; 4:17; 5:20; Hos. 8:4; 13:11. How chosen: By d...

  • Mule

    [isbe] MULE - mul (peredh (1 Ki 10:25; 18:5; Ezr 2:66; Isa 66:20; Zec 14:15), the feminine pirdah (1 Ki 1:33,38,44), rekhesh, "swift steeds," the King James Version "mules" (Est 8:10,14), 'achashteranim, "used in the king's service...
    [nave] MULE Uses of: For royal riders, 2 Sam. 13:29; 18:9; 1 Kin. 1:33, 38; ridden by posts, Esth. 8:10, 14; by saints in Isaiah's prophetic vision of the kingdom of Christ, Isa. 66:20; as pack animals, 2 Kin. 5:17; 1 Chr. 12:40. ...

  • 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...

  • Hammedatha

    [ebd] father of Haman, designated usually "the Agagite" (Esther 3:1, 10; 8:5).
    [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.

  • Joy

    [isbe] JOY - joi (simchah; chara): 1. Terms: The idea of joy is expressed in the Old Testament by a wealth of synonymous terms that cannot easily be differentiated. The commonest is simchah (1 Sam 18:6, etc.), variously translated ...
    [nave] JOY Attributed to God, Deut. 28:63; 30:9; Jer. 32:41. In heaven, Luke 15:10-32. See: Shouting. Unclassified Scriptures Relating to Deut. 12:18; 1 Sam. 2:1; 1 Chr. 16:27; 2 Chr. 7:10; Ezra 6:22; Neh. 8:10, 12; Neh. 12:43;...

  • Linen

    [ebd] (1.) Heb., pishet, pishtah, denotes "flax," of which linen is made (Isa. 19:9); wrought flax, i.e., "linen cloth", Lev. 13:47, 48, 52, 59; Deut. 22:11. Flax was early cultivated in Egypt (Ex. 9:31), and also in Palestine (Jo...
    [isbe] LINEN - lin'-en (badh, "white linen," used chiefly for priestly robes, buts, "byssus," a fine white Egyptian linen, called in the earlier writings shesh; pesheth, "flax," cadhin; bussos, othonion, linon, sindon): Thread or c...
    [nave] LINEN Exported from Egypt, 1 Kin. 10:28; Ezek. 27:7; from Syria, Ezek. 27:16. Curtains of the tabernacle made of, Ex. 25:4; 26:1; 27:9. Vestments of priests made of, Ex. 28:5-8, 15, 39-42. Robes of royal households made o...

  • Sivan

    [ebd] a Persian word (Assyr, sivanu, "bricks"), used after the Captivity as the name of the third month of the Jewish year, extending from the new moon in June to the new moon in July (Esther 8:9).
    [isbe] SIVAN - se-van', si'-van (ciwan): The third month of the Jewish year, corresponding to June (Est 8:9). See CALENDAR.
    [nave] SIVAN, third month (June), Esth. 8:9.
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • "In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
  • I. God's preparations 1:1-2:20A. Vashti deposed ch. 11. The king's feast 1:1-92. The queen's dismissal 1:10-22B. Esther elevated 2:1-201. The plan to replace Vashti 2:1-42. Esther's selection 2:5-113. The choice of Esther as ...
  • This chapter records the providential circumstances whereby Esther was able to rise to her influential position with the Persian king."Though no mention is made of God's providence, it nevertheless plays a prominent part, and...
  • Ahasuerus is the Hebrew name of the Persian king, Khshayarsha, whom we know better in ancient history by his Greek name, Xerxes.22He reigned over the Persian Empire from 486 to 464 B.C. and was the son of Darius I (521-486 B....
  • The Persian kings castrated many of the men who served the king and his family (v. 10) so they could not have sexual relations with the female members of the royal court and start dynasties of their own."Vashti"("best,""the b...
  • The imprint of an official's signet ring (v. 10) was the equivalent of his signature in ancient times (cf. Gen. 41:42; Esth. 8:2, 8, 10). Ahasuerus gave permission to Haman to confiscate the Jews' wealth and to put them to de...
  • Haman's "house"(v. 1) was his estate. Esther received this probably to compensate her for her suffering. The king gave Mordecai Haman's place as second in authority (cf. Joseph, Gen. 41:42; Daniel, Dan. 5:7, 29; 6:3; and Nehe...
  • Esther again had to argue her case, this time for clemency for the Jews. Her request involved expense to the king. Esther would not have been sure he would grant it. Ahasuerus could have spared the life of the queen and Morde...
  • The first decree to destroy the Jews had gone out on April 17, 474 B.C. (3:12).93Ahasuerus published this one allowing the Jews to defend themselves on June 25, 474 B.C. The Jews had over eight months to prepare for the day t...
  • "Crown"(v. 15) should be "turban."Mordecai's clothing reflected his important position in the government.Evidently Mordecai read the second decree at a public meeting in Susa. Contrast the Jews' reaction here with their respo...
  • 106:6 The psalmist confessed that Israel had been unfaithful to God. This was true of his own generation as it had been true of former generations. This confession introduced a review of specific iniquities and wickedness.106...
  • Now the relationship of the nations to Israel becomes even clearer. The Gentiles will come to Israel because of her God, will submit themselves to Israel because of what the Lord will do for her, and will serve the Lord with ...
  • 5:5 Like Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar received an omen from God. In Nebuchadnezzar's case it was two dreams (chs. 1; 4). In Belshazzar's it was a hand writing on a wall. The night of revelry became a night of revelation.176"In ...
  • 6:1-2 When the Medo-Persian alliance overthrew the Neo-Babylonian Empire, it acquired much geographic territory that it proceeded to incorporate into its kingdom. The Persian Empire became the largest that the world had yet s...
  • 6:4 The text does not say why the other officials wanted to get rid of Daniel. Perhaps his integrity made it difficult for them to get away with graft and political corruption. Maybe since he was quite old they wanted to elim...
  • 2:20 The Lord gave Haggai a second message on the same day as the previous message (v. 10), the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (Kislev 24, December 18).2:21 Haggai was to tell Zerubbabel that Yahweh was going to shake t...
  • 15:11-12 The man in the story had two sons, a younger and an older one (v. 25). Therefore the younger son's inheritance would normally have been one-third of his father's estate since the older son would have received a doubl...

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