Esther 3
3
III. HAMAN’S PLOT AGAINST THE JEWS
Mordecai Refuses to Honor Haman. 1After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, to high rank, seating him above all his fellow officials.#a. [3:1] Est B:3; 5:11; E:11. 2All the king’s servants who were at the royal gate would kneel and bow down to Haman, for that is what the king had ordered in his regard.#b. [3:2] Est C:5; 5:9, 13; 6:10, 12. Mordecai, however, would not kneel and bow down.#We are not told the reasons for Mordecai’s refusal to bow. It may be the result of a form of Jewish piety that refuses to offer such homage to any mortal; see also Greek addition C:5–7. 3The king’s servants who were at the royal gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s order?”#c. [3:3] Est 4:16. 4When they had reminded him day after day and he would not listen to them, they informed Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s explanation would prevail, since he had told them that he was a Jew.
Haman’s Reprisal. 5When Haman observed that Mordecai would not kneel and bow down to him, he was filled with anger. 6But he thought it was beneath him to attack only Mordecai. Since they had told Haman of Mordecai’s nationality, he sought to destroy all the Jews, Mordecai’s people, throughout the realm of King Ahasuerus. 7In the first month, Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, the pur, or lot,#The pur, or lot: the Hebrew text preserves the Akkadian word pur because its plural, purim, became the name of the feast of Purim commemorating the deliverance of the Jews; cf. 9:24, 26. The lot functions as a kind of horoscope to determine the most favorable day for the pogrom. was cast in Haman’s presence to determine the day and the month for the destruction of Mordecai’s people on a single day, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar.#d. [3:7] Est 9:24–32; F:10.
Decree Against the Jews. 8Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus: “Dispersed among the nations throughout the provinces of your kingdom, there is a certain people living apart. Their laws differ from those of every other people and they do not obey the laws of the king; so it is not proper for the king to tolerate them.#e. [3:8] Est 3:13; B:4; E:24; Wis 2:14–15; Dn 3:8–12. 9If it please the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them; and I will deliver to the procurators ten thousand silver talents for deposit in the royal treasury.”#f. [3:9] Est 7:4. 10The king took the signet ring#Signet ring: a ring containing a seal that was impressed on documents to authenticate them. With this ring, Haman can issue decrees in the king’s name. from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.#g. [3:10] Gn 41:42. 11The king said to Haman, “The silver is yours, as well as the people, to do with as you please.”#Although Ahasuerus seems to refuse the bribe, this is probably a polite way of accepting it that makes him appear munificent (compare Gn 23:11–15, where Ephron tells Abraham that he “gives” him the field and, after a few more pleasantries, sets a very high price for it). Both 4:7 and 7:4 seem to assume Ahasuerus has accepted the money.
12So the royal scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and they wrote, at the dictation of Haman, an order to the royal satraps, the governors of every province, and the officials of every people, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring. 13Letters were sent by couriers to all the royal provinces, to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, including women and children in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, and to seize their goods as spoil.#h. [3:13] Est B:6; 7:4.
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Esther 3: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc