Exposition of the Whole Bible

ride on, but to’ be led in ftate before him; though it is afterwards faid that Mordecai re horfeback, yet it might not be en the king” which might be only led; and what folloy to confirm it: and the crown royal which is bis bead; or, let it be fet, &c. not onthe hi the man, but on the head of.the horfe; Aben Ezra; and which -fenfé is countenance the Targum, and by the Syriae verfion, and proved of by Hatablus and De Dieu; and w:% order of the words require, the horte being mediate antecedent; and no mention is 1 | the crown afterwards, as fet on the head of Mor-. decai; nor would Haman have dared to advifeto — that, nor could it be granted; but this was what. was wont to be done, to put the crown royal.on the head-of a horfe Jed in flate; and this we are affured was a cuftom in Perfia *, as it is with the’ Ethiopians to this day *; and fo with the Romans, horfes drawing triamphal chariots were crowned 7; which Tertullian calls* public horfes with their crowns. ed ' ¥. 9. And let this apparel and horfe be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s moft noble sprinces, — &c.] The one, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour’, and the other to-be led in ftate before him: and bring bim on horfeback through the fireet of the city; on another horfe, that all might fee what honour was done him: and proclaim before him; as before Fofepb, - when advanced next to Pharaoh, Gen. xli. 43. this. was not to be done by an_herald, but by a nobleman, to whom the apparel and horfe were to be delivered, and was done by Haman, ¥. a1. Thus + Joall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour; thefe were the words faid in the proclamation, fignifying this was the man the king de-’ lighted to honour, and this the manner in which he would have it done. °

¥. 10. Then the king faid to Haman, Make bafie, &c-] And without delay go into. the royal treafury, or wardrobe, as the Targum adds: and take - the apparel, the royal robe, the purple one, or one of the precious purple robes; and then, ag the fame Targum, go to the king’s’ ftable, and take would not wear it, it being contrary to the laws of place in the ftable, whofe name is Shiphregaz; but.

Perfia, but he, regardlefs of the order, appeared in it at court; which affront to the king was fo refented by the Pexfians, that they were for punifhing him rigoroufly, according to the law, had not /rtaxerxes declared, that he had ordered him to appear in that drefs as his fool 1; hence Artabanus,

, though uncle to Xerxes, was very unwilling to obey /itteth at the king’s gate, the perfon he meant this’

his orders, to pet on his royal robes, fit on his throne, and fleep on his bed-*; fo that this was a daring propofal in Haman,-which he would never have ventured to have made, had it not been for. the great confidence he had in the king’s favour: and the horse that the king rideth upon; the kings of Perfia, as Herodotus * relates, had horfes peculiar to them, and thofe were Nifean horfes, which were brought from Armenia, as Strabo fays', and were remarkable for their beauty “; and if the fame law obtained in Perfia as did in Fudea, no man| might ride on the king’s horfe any more than fit on his throne, or hold his fceptre ”; and perhaps this horfe here was not propofed for the perfon to

Jother out of the flable, and th thence the king’s Aorfe, that ftands in rey ba Ww how the Targumif? came by the name of it, I not; however, it was not unvfual for kings to give’ a name to their favourite horfe, as Meas the great did to his called Bucephalus, and even for all’ kings of Perfia, as Darius Hy/ftafpis”: as thou baft Jaid, and do even fo to Mordecai the Few, that honour for he deicribes by name, by nation, by office, that there might be no-mittake + Jef -nething fail of all that thou baft /poken; the king objected not to any thing that had been ¢ d, and infifted on it, that every thing be de tually by Haman as he had adviled, and fror he could not with honour recede; tho could be more mortifying to him to « he catrie to court, to doubt, though no mention is m \y '. je ae ey tame «f king made no objection to it, yea, commanded that nothing fail of what had been fpoken; but this was included in the pomp and ftate of the led, horfe: and brought him on horjeback through the treet of the city; the moft grand and public part of it, thus arrayed, and in this ftate: and proclaimed before him, Thus foall it be done to the man whom the king delizbteth to honour, fee the note on ¥. g.

¥.12. And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate, &c.| To attend his poft and office at court; which confirms what has been already hinted, that he was in fome office in the court, which this phrafe is expreffive of, and not a porter at the gate; for it is not probable he fhould return to fuch a ftation, after fo much honour had been done him; and much lefs that he returned to his fackcloth and fafting, as Farchi and the former Targum; fince he might, realonably conclude things were taking a turn in his favour, and thatof his people; though as yet he knew nor what fuccefs E/fber had had, to wait for which he returned to court: but Haman bafted to bis boufe,; puthed forward as faft as he could: mourning, at his fad difappointment: and having his head covered, through grief and forrow, confufion and fhame; fo Demojibenes, being hifled, went home with his head covered ‘, as contounded and afhamed to be feen *.

v.13. And Haman told Zerefh his wife, and all bis friends, every thing that had befallen him, &c.

How he was prevented fpeaking to the king on the errand he went; inftead of which, he had the mortification of being obliged to do the honour to Mordecai which he thought would never have been given to any buthim/elf, and fo related the whole affair as above: then faid bis wife men; before

16g called his friends; perhaps they were magicians and footh-fayers he kept in his houfe, to advife with about the proper methods and times of advancing himfelf, and deftroying his enemies: and Zerg bis wife unto him; who joined with the wife men in giving her opinion, and who fet up for 4 knowing woman, and of whom Hamen thought highly: if Mordecai be of the feed of the Fews; as it was faid he was; and therefore Haman had vowed and plotted revenge on the people of the Jews for his fake: before whom thou haft begun to fall, ashe did, by being obliged to execute the king’s will in doing him fo much honour: thou shalt not prevail againft him, to.get him hanged, or his people deftroyed, though he had prepared a gallows for the one, and had got an edict for the other: dt /halt furely fall before him; which might be concluded from his being fet above him, who would not fail of ufing his power and intereft to crufh him, who had fhewed himfelf to be fuch an implacable enemy to him; or they might have fome knowledge of the hiftory of the Jews, and of what wonderful things God often did for them, in defeating the defigns of their enemies; and in raifing them up from a low to an high eftate.

¥. 14. And while they were yet talking with him, &c.]. About thefe things, and giving their opinion of the iffue of them, upon the pre:ent appearance of them: came the king’s chamberlains, and hafted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Efther had prepared, the time appointed for it being very near, or quite up, and Haman being backward and dilatory, having no ftomach to go to it, and perhaps fearing worfe things were coming upon him he fhould hear of there,

ESTHER, being folicited by the king to tell him her petition, afks for her life and the lives of her people, who were fold to be deftroyed, y. 1—4. the king, amazed at her requeft, enquires who was the perfon that dared to do fo vile a thing; and was told by her, it was Haman there prefent, ¥. 5, 6, on which the king went out into the garden in wrath, and returning, found Haman on Efther’s bed, which {till more incenfed him; and being told that Haman had prepared a gallows for Mordecai, the king ordered that he himfelf fhould be hanged upon it, which was done accordingly,

¥. 1, So the king and Haman came to banquet with Efther the queen.) Or, to drink with her *, that is, wine; for in the next verfe it is called a banquet of wine; fo they did according to the invitation the queen had given them, ch. v. 8.

y.2. And the king faid again to Efther on thet fecond day, at the banquet of wine, &c.} This was, the third time he put the following queftion to her, being very defirous of knowing what fhe had to afk of him; and it was of God that this was kept upon his mind, and he was moved to folicit her petition, or otherwife it would not have been fo eafy for her to have introduced it: What is thy pe-

© Plutarch in Demofthene.

tition, queen Efther? and it foall be granted thee é and what is thy requefi? and it fhall be performed, even 40 the half of my kingdom, {ee ch. v. 3. 6.

¥. 3. Then kifther the queen anfwered and /aid, &c.] Not rolling herfelf at the king’s knees, as Severus ‘ writes; but rather, as the former Zergum, lifting up her eyes to heaven, and perhaps putting up a fecret ejaculation for direction and fuccefs: if I have found favour in thy fight, O king; as fhe certainly had heretofore, and even now: and if it pleafe the king, let my life be given me at my petition; not riches, nor honour, nor, any place, or poft at court, or in any of the king’s dominions for any friend of her’s, was lier petition; but for her own life, that that might not be taken away, which was included in the grant the king had made to Haman, though ignorantly, to flay all the Fezws, fhe being one of them: and my people at my requeft; that is, the lives of her people alfo, that was her requeft; her own life and her people’s were all the had to afk.

y. 4. For we are fold, I and my people, to be deftroyed, to be flain, and to perifo, &c.] She makes ufe of thefe feveral words, to exprefs the utter deftruétion of her and her people, without any exception; notonly the more to imprefs the king’s mind with it, but fhe has refpect to the precife words of talents of filver Haman offered: to pay the king for the grant of it, when fhe fays, we are fold, or delivered to be deftroyed: éut if we bad been fold for bond-men, and bond-women, I bad held my tongue fhould never have afked for deliverance from bondage, but have patiently fubmitted to it, however unreafonable, unjuft, and afflictive it would have been; becaufe it might have been borne, and there ‘might be hope of deliverance from it at one time or another; though it is faid, flaves with the Perfians were never made free®; but that being the cafe, would not have been fo great ‘a lofs to the king, who would have reaped fome advantage by their fervitude; whereas, by the death of them, he mutt fuftain a lofs which the enemy was not equal to, and which he could not compenfate with all his riches; which, according to Ben Melech, is the fenfe of the next claufe: although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage, or, for the enemy cannot, &c. the 10,000 talents offered by him, and all the riches that he has, are not an equiva- Jent to the lof the king would fuftain by the death of fuch a multitude of people, from whom he received fo large a tribute; but this the enemy regarded not; and fo Yarchi interprets it, the enemy took no care of, or was concerned about the king’s damage; but there is another fenfe, which ben ‘zra mentions, and is followed by fome learned men, who take the word for exemy to fignify dtfrefs, trouble, and anguifh, asin Pfiv. 1. and cxix. 143. and read the words, for this diftrefs would not be reckoned the king’s damage*, or lofs; though it would have been a diftrefs to the ews to have been fold for flaves, yet the lofs to the king would not,be fo great as their death, fince he would receive benefit by their fervice..

¥. 5. Then the king Akafuerus anfwered and faid unto Lfther the queen, &c.| The words in the ori- ‘ginal text lie thus, and the king Aba/uerus faid, and be faid to Ether the queen, which doubling of the word does not fignify, as Farchi fuggetts, that before he fpoke to her by a meffenger, or middle perfon, but now he knew fhe was of a royal family, he fpoke to her himfelf; but it is expreffive of the ruffle of his mind, and the wrath and fury he was in, that he faid it again and again, with a ftern countenance and great vehemence of fpeech: who is be? and where is he? who is the man? and where does he live? that durft prefume in bis heart to do fo; that has boldnefs, impudence, and courage enough to perpetrate fo vile an aCtion: or that has filled bis heart *; the devil no doubt filled his heart to do it, fee 4s v. 3. but the king had either forgot the decree he had granted, and the countenance he had given him to execute it; or if he remembred it, he was now enraged that he fhould be drawn in to fuch an aétion by him; and perhaps till now was ignorant of E/ther’s defcent, and knew not that fhe would be involved in the decree.

y. 6. And Efther faid, The adverfary and enemy is this wicked Haman, &c.] Who was not only an enemy to her and her people, but an adverfary to the king, by advifing and perfuading him to that which was to the lois of: his revenues, as Well as of his reputation; alfo, fhe pointed at him, and gave him his juft character; her charge of wicked-.

he decree, ch. iii. 13. as fhe has alfo to the 10,000 fnefs upon him, as it was true, it was honourably sales BC OF j made to his face before the king, of which, if he could, ~he had the opportunity of exculpating himfelf: then Haman was afraid before the king and the.

cueen, gave vifible figns of his confufion, confternation, and trouble of mind, by the fall of his % countenance, his pale looks, his trembling limbs, — and quivering lips, being ftruck dumb, and not ~ able to fpeak one word for himfelf... y.7. And. the king arifing from the banquet of — wine in bis wrath, went into the palace-garden, &c.

Not being able to bear the fight of Haman, wha. had done fuch an injury both to himfelf and to the ~ queen; as alfo that his wrath might fubfide, and._ he become more compofed and fedate, and be able coolly to deliberate what was fitting to be done in the prefent cafe: and Haman flood up to make requeft for his life to Ether the queen, hoping that her tender heart might be wrought upon to fhew mercy to him, and be prevailed on to intreat the king to {pare his life; and this requeft he made in the moft” fubmiffive manner: for be faw that there was evil determined againft bim by the king; he perceived it - both by the king’s countenance, by thé rage he went outin, and by the threatning words which he very — probably uttered as he went out. bow an 'y. 8. Then the king returned out of the palace-garden, into the place of the banquet of wine, Sec.} Being a little cooler, and more compofed in his mind, fee ch. 1. 5. and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Ffther was; not the bed:fhe lay on to fleep in the night 5 (for it cannot be thought that it was a bed-chamber in which the banquet was) but on the bed or couch on which fhe fat or reclined at the banquet, as was the cuftom in the eaftern countries; now, éy, or wear this, as the word may be rendered, Haman fell down, even at the feet of the queen, begging for mercy; and fome think he might embrace her feet or knees, as was the cuftom of the Greeks and Romans as they were fupplicating “; and fo it feems to have been with the jews, fee 2 Kings iv. 27. and being in this pofture, it might appear the more indecent, and give the king an opportunity to fay as follows: then faid the king, Will be force the queen alfo before me in the houfe? that is, ravifh her; not that he really thought fo; it was not a time nor place for fuch an action; nor can it be thought that Haman, in fuch terror and confufion he was in, could be fo difpofed; and befides there were others prefent, as the next claufe fhews: but this he faid, putting the worft conftruction on his actions, and plainly declaring his opinion of him, that he thought him a man capable of committing the vileft of crimes, and that his fupplications were not to be regarded: as the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face, the fervants prefent, as a man unworthy to fee the light; and they took what the king faid to amount to a fentence of condemnation, and that it was his will he fhould die; and: covered his face, as condemned malefaétors ufed to be; which was a cuftom among the Greeks and Romans, of which many inftances may be given’;

though Aben Ezra fays, it was the cuftom of the.

kings. of Perfia, that their fervants covered the face of him the king was angry with, that he might not fee his face any more, which was well y. 9.

known in the Perfian writings.

_¥. 9. And Harbonab, one of the chamberlains, faid before the king, &c.] One of the feven chamberlains, fee ch. 1. 10. his nathe, with Fo/epbus is Sabouchadas: bebold alfo the gallows 50 cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had fpoken good for the king, fiandeth in the houfe of Haman this man perhaps had feen it there, when he went with others to fetch Haman to the banquet, ch. vi. 14. the fin of Haman is aggravated by preparing a gallows for a man before he was accufed to the king, or condemned, or had a grant for his execution, and for a man that had well deferved of the king for difcovering a confpiracy againft him, and whom now’the king had delighted to honour: being ready prepared; the king’s word was enough, being a fovereign and tyrannical prince.; y. to. So they banged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, &c.] Not within his houte, y. g. but more probably in his courtyard, in the fight of his family and friends; or it may be, the gallows was taken from thence, and’ fet up without the city, where he was hanged; for fo’tis faid in the additions of the book of Efther, ch. xvi. 18. that he was hanged without the gates of Shujban, fee P/. vii. 1 5, 16. then was the king’s worath pacified; having inflicted punifhment on fuch a wicked counfellor of his, and the contriver of fuch mifchief..

then the king faid, Hang him thereon; immediately, '