CHAS Bini Me
ff HIS chapter gives an. account’ of E/ther’s going in to the king, and of his holding out the golden fceptre to her, on which fhe-invited him and Haman to a banquet of wine that day, and to| another the next day, ¥.1.—8. which highly delighted Haman; and he went to his houfe and family with great joy, and yet chagrined at Mordecai’s not bowing to him; wherefore, at the advice of his wife and friends, he erected a gallows to _ hang him upon, propofing to get a grant for it from the king the next day; ¥.g —14.
Of the faft; though the former Targum paraphrafes it the third day of the'paffover, the 16th of Nifen, fee the note on ch. iv.17. though it is probable this was nearer the time fixed for the deftruction of the feaws, fee ch. viii. g. yet the Fews have fixed the faft of Ether on that very day, the 13th of Adar’: that Ejther put on her royal apparel; in order to go in to the king, and appear before him%3 which to do in a mournful habit, fuch as fhe had on when _. fafting, was not proper; for then fhe put off her crown royal, as is intimated in the additions tothe ya hy Met eS book of Ejther, ch. xix. 11. and as was ufual for _ ¥. 1, Now it came to pafs on the third day, 8&c. jprinces to do in times of mourning’;
166 ESTHER’ <Chvix2 fhe put it on, as both Ben Gerion® and the Targum affirm: and ficod in ibe inner, court of the king’s hou,e, over againft the king’s houfe; into which none might go but fach as were called; yet Efiber being queen, the*keepers of the door could ‘not forbid her, as Alen Ezra obferves: and the hing, fet upon bis royal throne, in the royal againft the gate of the boufe, fo that he could whoever came in at it, into the inner court.
¥.2. And it was fo when the king faw Efther the queen fianding in the court, that foe obtained in his fight, &cc.] Which no doubt was of God, who has the hearts of kings in his hand, and them as he pleafes; the king had not called her for thirty days paft, or more, which fhewed coolnefs of affection to -her, and now fhe a law by coming uncalled for, which might have king, &c. provoked his wrath, and for a leffer matter than this was Va/bti divorced; but yet his mind was inclined ‘to her, and fhe appeared very amiable pleafing to him: and the king held out to Efther the golden fceptre that was in his band, as a token of his well pleafeinefs in her, and acceptance of and that no harm fhould come to her for tranfgreffing the law: So Ejther drew near, and touched top of the feeptre; as acknowledging his kindnefs, and her thankfulnefs for it, as well as fubjection and obedience to him. las the king bath faid; y¥. 3. Then faid the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Fiftber? &c.}] He fuppofed the had fome bufinefs with him, fome fuir to make to him, by her coming in in this manner: and what is thy re« queft? fignitying he was ready.to grant it, be it what it would: zt hall be even given thee to tke latter,he began to be chearful with it. The Perfans their meals had two courfes; the firit confifted o meats, &e. at which they drank water, the of fruits, when they drank wine; Az lianus* fa the Perfians, after they are filled with food, indulg themfelves in drinking wine: What is*thy petition 2 houfe, over \and it fhall be granted thee: and what is thy requeft? feejeven to the half of the kingdom it foall be performed; — __ by which it appears he retained the fame affeétion for Ejfther, and the fame difpofition to fhew her favour kindnefs. See ¥. 3. Leer. |
¥. 7. Then anfwered Ether and faid, My petition =~ turns and my requeft is;] What fhe fhould for the prefent. make; the principal one fhe had to afk, for wife reafons, fhe ftill deferred.;
tranfgrefled y. 8 If I have found favour in the fight of the Or, feeing fhe had; for it was a clear cafe fhe had, both by his holding out the golden ceptre to her, and by accepting her invitation to andjher banquet: and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my requeft; as he had been lo gracious as to promife in fuch a large and liberal her;)manner as before exprefled: let the king and Ha-. man come to the banquet that I fhall prepare for the them the Targum fays, in the evening; but from
¥. 12. it appears to be on the morrow; and which agrees with what follows: and I will do to-morrow make her petition and requeft to him; which the had deferred, partly in hope of ftill increafing his affection to her, and partly to prepare him to expect fomething of moment and importance to be afked of him. archi reftrains this to what he fuppofes the king had often imporhalf tuned her to tell, namely, who were her people of the kingdom; as it was ufual with the Perfanjand her kindred, kings to give their wives cities for certain fee the note on ch. ii. 18. here Aba/uerus, out of his great affection to Ether, offers half of his dominions, his 127 provinces; meaning that he would grant her any thing, and every thing that was reafonable, and even magnificent; it is an hyperbolical and courtly way of fpeaking, and which has been ufed in after times, and in other countries; fee purpofes, ¥. g. Then went Haman forth that day, joyful, and with a glad heart, &c.] From court to his own houfe: but when Haman faw Mordecai in the king’s g4/e, that he ftocd not up, nor moved for him, did not fhew him the leaft degree even of civil refpeét 5 which he refufed to do, partly left it fhould be interpreted an adoration of him, and partly becaufe it was well known to him he had formed a fcheme
Mark, vi. 23. for the deftruction of him and all his people; and y¥. 4. And Efther anfwered, If it feem good unto the king, &c.] She humbly fubmits it to his pleafure, fuggefting it would be exceeding grateful to her, could it be granted:
y. 5. Then the king faid, Caufe Haman to make hafte, that be may do as Efther bath faid, 8cc. is, he ordered fome of his fervants to make hafte and acquaint Haman with the queen’s invitation, and to prefs him to make hafte to comply with it: fo the king and Haman came to the banquet that Efther ' bad prepared; which was wifely done, to prepare for what fhe had to fay to the king, when chearful with wine, and when fhe had her adverfary with the rather he refufed it to him, as Eber was about to make interceffion with the king to revoke his decree, of the fuccefs of which he had no doubts, let the king and Haman and therefore had nothing to fear from him, but treated him with the utmoft contempt, as he deferved: be was full of wrath againff Mordecai; it Was a fad mortification to him, and a great allay of that joy and elation of mind on account of the favour he was ins not with the king only, but the queen alfo, as he imagined. oF _ y. 10. Neverthele/s Haman refrained himfelf, &c.] That| From fhewing any outward refentment to Mordecat, from laying hands upon him or taking reveng ‘on him, as being too much below him to avenge | imfelf on a fingle perfon, when the whole body of the people Mordecai belonged to would fhortly feel the power of his hand for fuch infolent treatment of him: and when he came home, he fent and cz bis friends, and Zerefh his wife, who, the come this day unto the banquet that I bave prepared for him; for the king; and fuppofing it would be acceptable to him, and the rather engage him to come to it, fhe invited his favourite; and chiefly, that fhe might have an opportunity of accufing him before the king to his face, and when alone.
him alone. fays, was the daughter of Ta/nai, the go
¥. 6. And the king faid unto Efther at the banquet of wine, &c.] For fuch it feems the banquet was fhe prepared; it was not properly a meal, neither dinner nor fupper, but a drinking-bout; or however, it was at that part of the banquet in which the other fide the river, Ezra, v. 3.
y. 11. 4nd Haman told them of the riches, &c.] Of the multitude of them; w did partly in a way of oftentation, and partly, could, to make his mind eafy under the mor wine was drank, that the king accofted E/ther, when'tion he received from Mordecai; and it m
Ch.vi, ¥. 1—5. EE SORE" chiefly to aggravate his rudenefs and ill behaviour towards him, a man of fo much wealth: and the multitude, of bis children; he had ten, as we learn from ch. ix. 10. but the former Targum- enlarges them beyond credit, to the number of 208, befides
H E R: 167° tisfaétion and contentment: /a long as I fee Mordecai” the Few fitting at the king’s gate; not rifing up to bow unto him; this fingle circumitance fpoiled all his joy and pleafure.
¥. 14. Then faid Lerefs bis wife, ‘and all his his ten fons, and Shim/bai the fcribe; fuch were had friends.unto him, &c.] His wife very probably firtt in great efteem with the Perfiazns who had many children; to fuch the king ufed to fend gifts annually*: and all the things wherein the king bad promoted him, the high offices of honour and truft he had put bim into: and bow be had advanced him above the princes and fervants of the king. See Ch. iit y. 12. Haman faid moreover, 8&c.] To all which he added, and what feemed to delight him moft of all, or however was a new additional honour done him: Yea, Efiber the. queen did let no man come in with the king unto the ban;uet that foe bad prepared, but myfelf, which he judged was doing him fingu- Jar honour; and, by the joint affection of the king and queen to him, he thought himfelf eftablifhed in his dignity and grandeur: and to-morrow am I invited unto her alfo with the king; had been invited, not by a.mefflenger, but by the queen herfelf, which was a double honour.
¥. 13. Yet all this availeth me nothing, &c.] Is not equal or fufficient for me; it gives me no a-
HASUERUS not being able to fleep in the night, ordered the book of records to be brought and read to him, where a fact of Mordecai’s was regiftred, and upon enquiry, it appeared that nothing had been done to him for it, ¥, 1, 2, 3. and Haman being in the outward court, was ordered in, with whom the king confulted what fhould be done to the man the king delighted to moved it, and all his friends prefent approved of it and united in it: Let a gallows be made of 50 cubits bigh; that the perfon hanged thereon might be fees at a diftance, and fo be a greater reproach to him, and a terror to others, to take care they were not guilty of the fame offence: Carta/o was ordered by his father to be fixed to the higheft crofs in the fight of the city’; and it was ufual for croffés to be erected very high", both for that purpofe, and for greater infamy and difgrace": and to-morrow [peak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be banged thereon, get a grant from him for it; of which they made no doubt, fince Haman had fuch an intereft in him, and had already obtained an order to deftroy all Jews in his dominions: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet; eafed of the burden of his mind, and honoured to be a gueft with the royal pair: and the thing pleafed Haman, and be caufed the gallows to be made; but it was for himfelf, as ic proved in the iffue. See ch. vii. 10.
Shimfbai the {cribe, who was ordered to bring the book and read, and who, according to the former Targum, was Haman’s fon, feeing what was recorded of Mordeca?, turned over the leaves of the book, being unwilling to read: it; but the leaves rolled back again, and he was obliged’ to read it: that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teréefh, two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who honour; to which Haman gave an{wer, and was fought to lay hand on the king Aba/uerus; fee ch. ii.
bid to do as he faid, ¥. 4—10. which he did, but went home after it confounded and forrowful, and told his mournful cafe to his wife and friends, who plainly forefaw his downfal, y. 11—14.
¥. 1. On that night could not the king fleep, &c.] The night after he had been at Efther’s banquet, which it might be thought would rather have caufed fleep; and therefore Farchi calls it a miracle; and no doubt it was owing to the over-ruling providence of God, and not to anxious thoughts about his neglect of Ether fo long, nor what fhould be her requeft to him, nor jealoufy of any amorous
21. and it was ufual in fuch diaries to record the names of perfons, who, by any actions, had deferved well of the king, that they might be rewarded as there was an opportunity for it; and fuch, in the Perfian language, were called Oro/anga, as Herodotus relates °.
¥. 3. And the king faid, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? &c.] He judged it an action worthy of regard, and what ought to be rewarded, as it was the faving of his life; but had forgot whether any royal favour had been fhewn to the perfon for it: then faid the king’s intrigue with Haman, nor of any confpiracy of fervants that minifired unto him, the lords of his theirs againft his life: aud he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; the diaries or journal, in which memorable facts were recorded; this he did to divert himfelf, and pafs away time; though here alfo the providence of God was {fpecially concerned; for otherwife he might have fent for any of his wives and concubines, or finging men and women, to have diverted him: and they were read before the king; until the morning, until
‘it was time to rife, as appears by what follows.
¥.2. And it was found written, &c.] Upon
_ reading, and in which there was alfo a peculiar hand of providence, dire€ting to the’ reading of that part of them, in which the affair of Mordecai was regiftered; and if what the latter Targum fays is true, it was the more remarkable, that when bed-chamber then in waiting: there is nothing done for him; not on that account, nothing more than what he had; he had an office at court before, but was not advanced to any thing higher on this account.
y.4. And the king faid, Who is in the court, &c.] Being in hafte to confer fome honour on Mordecai for what he had done: now Haman was come into thé outward court of the king’s houfe; tho’ it was early in the morning, being eager to get to the fpeech of the king before he was engaged in any bufinefs, to obtain a grant from him: to hang Mordecai on the gallows that be bad prepared for bim; of which he made no doubt of having, and therefore had prepared for it. *
¥. 5. And the king’s fervants faid unto kim, Be- hold, Haman flandeth in the court, &c.J In the outward court; for into the inward court none
« might enter without being called, for which he was waiting: and the king foid,, Let him come in; into his bed-chamber; and ic was of God, no doubt, that Haman fhould be on the fpot at this very time, when the king was in the humour to do honour to Mordecai, and by him. -..
y. 6. So Haman came in, &c.) But was prevented fpeaking to the king about the bufinels he came upon by the following fpeech of the king: What foall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to bonour? he mentions not the name of any man, that he might the more freely, and unbiafledly, and difintereftedly give his advice; nor might the king know of any refentment of Haman to Mordecai: (Now Haman thought in bis heart, To
‘qhom would the king delight to do honour more than to myfelf?) who had been advanced above all the princes and nobles of the realm, and was now in fuch high honour both with the king and queen, with whom he was to be at a banquet that day; and he might conclude, that by putting this queftion to him, he could have in view none but himfelf: Aben Ezra obferves, that fome from hence
: gather, that this book was written by the fpirit of prophecy, becaufe none could know the thoughts of the heart but God; but though he believes it to be written by the Holy Ghoft, yet, as he obferves, Haman might difclofe this thought of his heart to his friends afterwards. ¥. 7: And Haman anfwered the king, &c.] At once, being very prompt to fuggeft the honours he hoped to have done to himfelf: for the man whom the king delighteth to honour; \et the following things be done.
y. 8. Let the royal apparel be brought which the king ufeth to wear, &c.] Not a whole fuit of clothes, but a fingle garment; the purple robe, as both the Targums, fuch as kings-wore; that which Cyrus appeared in public in was half purple,.and half white, and no other perfon. befides might wear fuch an one’; it was a capital crime with the Perfians to wear any of the king’s apparel 5 Trebazus, an intimate of Artaxerxes, having begged an old gown of him, it was granted, on-condition that he