Esther 3


Esther 3 is the third chapter of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The author of the book is unknown and modern scholars have established that the final stage of the Hebrew text would have been formed by the second century BCE. Chapters 3 to 8 contain the nine scenes that form the complication in the book. This chapter introduces Haman the Agagite, who is linked by his genealogy to King Agag, the enemy of Israel's King Saul, from whose father, Kish, Mordecai was descended. The king Ahasuerus elevated Haman to a high position in the court, and ordered everyone to bow down to him, but Mordecai refuses to do so to Haman, which is connected to Mordecai's Jewish identity ; this indirectly introduced the religious dimension of the story. Haman reacted by a vast plan to destroy not simply Mordecai, but his entire people, getting the approval from the king to arrange for a particular date of genocide, selected by casting a lot, or pur to fall on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar. The chapter ends with the confused reaction of the whole city of Susa due to the decree.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and since the 16th century is divided into 15 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Alexandrinus.

Haman's promotion and Mordecai's refusal to honor him (3:1–6)

Shifting the focus from Esther and Mordecai, this section describes Haman the Agagite which would be "the enemy of the Jews". Haman's displeasure of Mordecai's refusal to bow down to him turns into an evil design to wipe out the whole people of Mordecai.

Verse 1

  • "Did... promote": or from Hebrew "made great"; NAB "raised...to high rank"; NIV "honored." The promotion of Haman here has a striking irony to the contribution of Mordecai to saving the king's life, which goes unnoticed.

    Verse 4

  • "Mordecai": a name that reflects the name of the Babylonian deity Marduk; a possible common custom of many Jews at that time to have 'two names: one for secular use and the other for use especially within the Jewish community', but there is no record of Mordecai's Jewish name in the biblical text.

    Verse 6

  • "Disdained": Hebrew: "disdained in his eyes".
  • "Destroy": or "annihilate".

    Haman's plot against the Jews gains the king's consent (3:7–15)

Haman carried out his design by first casting lots to choose the suitable day for execution and then persuading the king to issue a decree to assure the implementation of it.

Verse 7

  • "The twelfth year of king Ahasuerus": This year refers to ca. 474 BC.
  • "Pur": The term פּוּר is an Akkadian loanword, so the narrator explains it in Hebrew . The plural form of this word later refers to the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews. The Greek historian Herodotus attested the casting of lots to determine a suitable day for carrying out a task by an astrologer among the Persians.

    Verse 9

  • "Talent": Each was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms. By comparing the value of 10,000 talents of silver to the annual income of the Persian empire, which according to Herodotus was "14,500 Euboic talents", it seems that Haman is offering the king a bribe equal to two-thirds of the royal income. Doubtless this huge sum of money would come from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been annihilated. The mentioned large sum of money may indicate 'something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus'.

    Verse 12

  • "The first month": refers to the month Nisan of the Hebrew lunar calendar.

    Verse 13

This first edict can be compared and contrasted to the second one as recorded in Esther 8:11:
Esther 3:13Esther 8:11
First edictSecond edict
Order to

to destroy, kill, and annihilate		Permission to

to destroy, kill, and annihilate
Undisguised aggressionSelf-defense
Violence against

general Jewish population		Violence in response to

"any armed force...that might attack" the Jewish population

Verse 15

  • "The couriers": in Hebrew literally "the runners"; also in Esther 8:10, 14.
  • "Shushan": or "Susa".
  • "Citadel": or "palace". Archaeological works have identified the site of "Shushan the citadel" in relation to the site of the "city of Shushan".
  • "Perplexed": or "in confusion".
This verse can be compared and contrasted to Esther 8:17:
Bible verseEsther 3:15Esther 8:17
After the issue ofFirst edictSecond edict
CelebrationThe king and Haman sat down to drinkThe Jews had... a feast and a good day
ConfusionThe city of Susa was in uproarMany people of the land became Jews