Discovery BoxNumbers 23:24
Context23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,
and like a lion raises himself up;
they will not lie down until they eat their 1 prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.” 2
Esther 8:7
Context8:7 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 3 against the Jews.
Esther 8:9
Context8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly 4 summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. 5 They wrote out 6 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 7 – 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.
Esther 8:11
Context8:11 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, 8 and to confiscate their property.
Esther 9:1--10:3
Context9:1 In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies. 9:2 The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples. 9:3 All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who performed the king’s business were assisting the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them. 9:4 Mordecai was of high rank 9 in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence 10 continued to become greater and greater.
9:5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, bringing death and destruction, and they did as they pleased with their enemies. 9:6 In Susa the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 9:7 In addition, they also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 9:8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9:9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 9:10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not confiscate their property.
9:11 On that same day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was brought to the king’s attention. 9:12 Then the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman! What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? What is your request? It shall be given to you. What other petition do you have? It shall be done.”
9:13 Esther replied, “If the king is so inclined, let the Jews who are in Susa be permitted to act tomorrow also according to today’s law, and let them hang the ten sons of Haman on the gallows.”
9:14 So the king issued orders for this to be done. A law was passed in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. 9:15 The Jews who were in Susa then assembled on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred men in Susa. But they did not confiscate their property.
9:16 The rest of the Jews who were throughout the provinces of the king assembled in order to stand up for themselves and to have rest from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand 11 of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property. 9:17 All of this happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. They then rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day for banqueting and happiness.
9:18 But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth days, and rested on the fifteenth, making it a day for banqueting and happiness. 9:19 This is why the Jews who are in the rural country – those who live in rural cities – set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a holiday for happiness, banqueting, holiday, and sending gifts to one another.
9:20 Mordecai wrote these matters down and sent letters to all the Jews who were throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 9:21 to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year 9:22 as the time when the Jews gave themselves rest from their enemies – the month when their trouble was turned to happiness and their mourning to a holiday. These were to be days of banqueting, happiness, sending gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.
9:23 So the Jews committed themselves to continue what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them. 9:24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised plans against the Jews to destroy them. He had cast pur (that is, the lot) in order to afflict and destroy them. 9:25 But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king 12 gave written orders that Haman’s 13 evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows. 9:26 For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur. 9:27 Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis. 9:28 These days were to be remembered and to be celebrated in every generation and in every family, every province, and every city. The Jews were not to fail to observe these days of Purim; the remembrance of them was not to cease among their descendants.
9:29 So Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second 14 letter about Purim. 9:30 Letters were sent 15 to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus – words of true peace 16 – 9:31 to establish these days of Purim in their proper times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as they had established both for themselves and their descendants, matters pertaining to fasting and lamentation. 9:32 Esther’s command established these matters of Purim, and the matter was officially recorded. 17
10:1 King Ahasuerus then imposed forced labor on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. 10:2 Now all the actions carried out under his authority and his great achievements, along with an exact statement concerning the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king promoted, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? 10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking 18 Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. 19 He worked enthusiastically 20 for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of 21 all his descendants. 22
Ezekiel 39:8-10
Context39:8 Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.
39:9 “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling 23 – the shields, 24 bows and arrows, war clubs and spears – they will burn them for seven years. 39:10 They will not need to take 25 wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, 26 declares the sovereign Lord.
Zechariah 14:1-7
Context14:1 A day of the Lord 27 is about to come when your possessions 28 will be divided as plunder in your midst. 14:2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem 29 to wage war; the city will be taken, its houses plundered, and the women raped. Then half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be taken away. 30
14:3 Then the Lord will go to battle 31 and fight against those nations, just as he fought battles in ancient days. 32 14:4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, leaving a great valley. Half the mountain will move northward and the other half southward. 33 14:5 Then you will escape 34 through my mountain valley, for the mountains will extend to Azal. 35 Indeed, you will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah 36 of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come with all his holy ones with him. 14:6 On that day there will be no light – the sources of light in the heavens will congeal. 37 14:7 It will happen in one day (a day known to the Lord); not in the day or the night, but in the evening there will be light. 38
[23:24] 1 tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.
[23:24] 2 sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.
[8:7] 3 tn Heb “sent forth his hand”; NAB, NIV “attacked”; NLT “tried to destroy.” Cf. 9:2.
[8:9] 4 tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”
[8:9] 5 sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.
[8:9] 6 tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[8:9] 7 tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”
[8:11] 8 tn Heb “children and women.” As in 3:13, the translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
[9:4] 9 tn Heb “great”; NRSV “powerful”; NIV “prominent”; NCV “very important.”
[9:4] 10 tn Heb “the man Mordecai” (so NASB, NRSV).
[9:16] 11 tc For this number much of the Greek
[9:25] 12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:25] 13 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:29] 14 tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta omit the word “second.”
[9:30] 15 tc The present translation is based on the Niphal form וַיּשָּׁלַח (vayyishalakh, “were sent”; so also NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) rather than the reading of the MT וַיּשְׁלַח (vayyishlakh, Qal, “and he sent”). The subject of the MT verb would have to be Mordecai (cf. NAB, NIV, NCV), but this is problematic in light of v. 29, where both Esther and Mordecai are responsible for the letters.
[9:30] 16 tn Heb “peace and truth.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).
[9:32] 17 tn Heb “written in the book” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “written down in the records”; NRSV “recorded in writing.”
[10:3] 18 tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”
[10:3] 19 tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”
[10:3] 20 tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”
[10:3] 21 tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”
[10:3] 22 sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).
[39:9] 23 tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”
[39:9] 24 tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.
[39:10] 25 tn Heb “they will not carry.”
[39:10] 26 tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”
[14:1] 27 sn The eschatological day of the
[14:1] 28 tn Heb “your plunder.” Cf. NCV “the wealth you have taken.”
[14:2] 29 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:2] 30 tn Heb “not be cut off from the city” (so NRSV); NAB “not be removed.”
[14:3] 31 sn The statement the
[14:3] 32 tn Heb “as he fights on a day of battle” (similar NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[14:4] 33 sn This seismic activity provides a means of escape from Jerusalem so that the Messiah (the
[14:5] 34 tc For the MT reading נַסְתֶּם (nastem, “you will escape”) the LXX presupposes נִסְתַּם (nistam, “will be stopped up”; this reading is followed by NAB). This appears to derive from a perceived need to eliminate the unexpected “you” as subject. This not only is unnecessary to Hebrew discourse (see “you” in the next clause), but it contradicts the statement in the previous verse that the mountain will be split open, not stopped up.
[14:5] 35 sn Azal is a place otherwise unknown.
[14:5] 36 sn The earthquake in the days of King Uzziah, also mentioned in Amos 1:1, is apparently the one attested to at Hazor in 760
[14:6] 37 tn Heb “the splendid will congeal.” This difficult phrase (MT יְקָרוֹת יְקִפָּאוֹן, yÿqarot yÿqippa’on) is not clarified by the LXX which presupposes וְקָרוּת וְקִפָּאוֹן (vÿqarut vÿqippa’on, “and cold and ice,” a reading followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV). Besides the fact that cold and ice do not necessarily follow the absence of light, the idea here is that day will be night and night day. The heavenly sources of light “freeze up” as it were, and refuse to shine.
[14:7] 38 sn In the evening there will be light. The normal pattern is that light breaks through in the morning (Gen 1:3) but in the day of the
