"Here the early bird is gotten by the worm."85
Haman's pride preceded his fall (v. 6; cf. Prov. 16:18). He wanted to appear as much like the king himself as possible in the honors he recommended for the person he thought would be himself (v. 8; cf. Gen. 41:39-45; 1 Sam. 18:4; 1 Kings 1:33). The crown was on the head of the horse, not its rider (v. 8; cf. v. 9).
It was evidently "a special arrangement of the horse's hair to form a topknot between the ears."86
The king knew by now that Mordecai was a Jew (v. 10). However the writer did not say Ahasuerus understood that Haman had aimed his pogrom against the Jews until Esther revealed that fact (7:4). Of course he may have known it already. It seems incredible that Ahasuerus would issue such a decree without finding out whom it would eliminate. Perhaps he planned to make Mordecai an exception and spare his life.
