Esther 3:1–15
3 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained1 to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy2 all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. 9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents3 of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”
12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.
1 Hebrew disdained in his eyes 2 Or annihilate 3 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
Section Overview
With the main characters in place, the main action of the story begins to unfold. When Mordecai slights Haman’s pride, he plots the death of every Jew in Persia. Much to the consternation of the general populace, the king unthinkingly agrees to this.
Section Outline
III. Haman’s Plot against the Jews (3:1–15)
A. Mordecai’s Refusal to Bow to Haman (3:1–6)
B. The King Approves Haman’s Plan to Exterminate the Jews (3:7–11)
C. The Statute against the Jews (3:12–15)
Response
As mentioned above, Persia is not an inherently anti-Semitic place. In fact, Mordecai’s ethnic identity is only incidental to his slight of Haman’s bottomless ego. If a member of another people group had acted as Mordecai did, Haman would have focused his murderous revenge just as easily on that group. At the same time, the book of Esther focuses repeatedly on the Jewish people as an object of persecution (3:4, 6, 10, 13; 4:7, 13–14, 16; 5:13; 6:10, 13; 8:1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 17; 9:1–3, 10). The text’s highlighting Haman’s Amalekite ancestry recalls the Amalekites’ persecution of Israel early in their history (Ex. 17:8–16), and one cannot help but think of the long and sad history of Jewish persecution ever since, a history that found a terrifying climax in Europe in the last century and continues yet today. “Their laws are different from ours” (cf. Est. 3:8); how many times has Jewish distinctiveness been the basis for suspicion, prejudice, or violence? And sometimes the church has participated. As Christians, we must ask ourselves if we have ever engaged in anti-Semitic attitudes or behavior, or have stood by and done nothing while anti-Semitism has flourished around us. The book of Esther makes it clear that God is a dread defender of Abraham’s seed.
But this passage does not apply only to Abraham’s physical offspring. Jesus clearly warns that the world will hate Christians with the same hatred it showed him, because of our allegiance to him (John 15:18). Modern disciples of Jesus will inevitably find themselves in situations in which they have no choice but to incur the violent and murderous hatred of the world, because we will not bow. The book of Esther shows how God is at work to deliver his people—in this case, through a string of providential coincidences. The same promise emboldens us not to fear the wrath of any modern-day persecutor of God’s people, regardless of its authority or power, as we pledge open allegiance not just to a particular ethnic heritage but to the Lord Jesus himself.
Hebrew disdained in his eyes
Or annihilate
A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
3:1 We are not told why the king promotes Haman, but in a sense it does not matter to the story. (After reading Haman’s rhetorical manipulation of the king in vv. 8–9, one perhaps wonders if he engineered his own promotion.) The first-time reader knows nothing about Haman and so will probably not think much of his promotion—but we will quickly learn what kind of person he is and again question Ahasuerus’s judgment in promoting such a person to a high position. Haman’s new position is also important because being set above all other officials means no one has the authority to counteract his plan against the Jews.
3:2 Why does Mordecai refuse to join the other bureaucrats in bowing before Haman? Commentators offer a number of suggestions. Some think Mordecai is avoiding idolatrous worship; but Mordecai is not being asked to worship a foreign god, only recognize someone in authority over him. (Why would the king have a subordinate treated like a god when the king himself is not?) The ESV nicely translates this verse as “bowed down and paid homage,” but the verbs could be rendered more woodenly as “kneeled” and “prostrated/genuflected”; no worship is involved. (Naaman’s request in 2 Kings 5:18 shows the physical action of the second verb.) Others wonder if Mordecai is acting in pride, but Mordecai has done well as a royal servant thus far; bowing to those in authority over him was probably a regular part of his job. It is implausible to imagine that the mere action of bowing before a superior grated Mordecai somehow.
It makes more sense to posit something particular about Haman that kept Mordecai from bowing. Mordecai may well have been exposed to Haman already and may well have understood what a dangerous man he was to hold the second highest position of authority in Persia. The fact that Haman was an Agagite, and thus an Amalekite, also surely rankled a man with such a strong sense of Jewish identity. This is, in fact, the reason Mordecai gives when the other officials ask why he disobeys the king in this matter (Est. 3:4). Thus, Mordecai’s action is not to be attributed to some general churlishness or arrogance.
And yet, even if Mordecai’s reasons are understandable—even if Haman is totally unworthy of respect and descended from an ancient enemy of Israel—he probably has had to bow in the past to many officials unworthy of such respect. Furthermore, although it would be completely inappropriate to “blame the victim,” Mordecai’s actions eventually put all the Persian Jews at risk. We have already learned from chapter 1 that this is a culture obsessed with giving and receiving honor. Even if the reader understands why Mordecai does not bow, it is difficult to admire him for it.
3:3–4 Haman apparently does not notice Mordecai’s disrespect until told of it by other servants. Author Michael Fox notes that this adds a touch of realism to Haman’s self-involved pride, as if he is too taken up with the honor being shown him to notice one dissident. The sequence of events in these verses is difficult to follow. It appears the question from the other servants in verse 3 implies a command to bow like everyone else—but when Mordecai repeatedly refuses to listen to them (v. 4a), the servants draw Haman’s attention to Mordecai. They are trying to determine if “Mordecai’s words would stand”—they want to see if Mordecai can get away with defying someone in authority over him on the basis of a prior ethnic hostility (between Israel and Amalek) that the other servants probably did not know about.
3:5–6 Haman’s plan to compensate himself for this insult reveals a terrifying and insatiable level of evil in him. The Persian court probably saw any number of insults and petty reprisals in the normal course of events. But the only thing that will pacify Haman is not only Mordecai’s death but the death of everyone related to him! After so many questions regarding the characters’ inner motivations so far in the story, this exposure of Haman’s character is chilling. And he holds the greatest authority in the empire beneath a fickle and unwise king.
3:7 Haman casts lots to find the most propitious time to launch his revenge. This is an interesting insight into his superstitious cast of mind, as well as another hint that God is providentially at work even in the hatred of the enemies of his people (Prov. 16:33).
3:8–9 Haman’s framing of the “problem” he puts before Ahasuerus is a skillful sleight of hand, mixing half-truths with lies to deflect the king’s attention from the important questions he should be asking. Haman presents himself as a friend to the king, informing him of a vague danger, “a certain people,” of which the king is unaware. The anonymity will make it easier for the king to sign the decree of execution. According to Haman, this people is “scattered abroad and dispersed.” This seemingly innocuous phrase is calculated to arouse suspicion and antipathy in Ahasuerus. The image is of a lurking threat, spread everywhere but never easily identifiable. Haman’s next statement, that this people has a unique set of laws, is correct, but Haman spins it to portray the Jews as traitors: they have different laws, and therefore they rebel against the king’s laws. This is, of course, entirely untrue; the last chapter ended with Mordecai risking his life to save the king. But the mere fact of this people being different is enough to make the suggestion of rebellion plausible and their extermination easier to swallow. Haman is trying to create prejudice where none exists.
Haman then says it is not profitable for the king to leave this certain people alone, which, at first glance, is a bit strange. Why not say it is profitable for the king to destroy them? But if Haman said that, the king may try to learn for himself what this supposed disturbance is all about. Haman must invent a problem to manipulate the king to sign this people’s death warrant without making him curious enough to ask questions and expose Haman’s lies. So Haman in effect says he’s bringing a certain problem to light that the king did not know about, but he doesn’t want to trouble the king with all the details and can take care of it himself, if only the king agrees. The passive “let it be decreed” distances the king from the killing, and the offer to pay the staggering cost of the extermination presents Haman as generously putting interests of state first when, of course, he is really advancing his own agenda. But the king will not notice this.
3:10–11 Without a moment’s reflection on the morality of his decision, without a single question about Haman’s claims, the king gives Haman carte blanche to do as he wishes. His support is substantiated by his refusal of Haman’s “generosity” and commitment to pay for the extermination of Esther’s people with state funds. In light of 4:7, however, this may be only polite convention, part of an elaborate system of offers and refusals as deals are made, meant to show the king’s support.
Haman is identified again as an Amalekite, a descendant of Agag, and as the “enemy of the Jews.” An ancient hatred has been revived. The lines have been drawn; this is now Haman’s role in the story.
3:12–14 The massive Persian bureaucracy grinds into action to destroy the Jews, as the king’s edict is published everywhere. While Haman’s statement in verse 9 concerning paying for the extermination implies government servants will do the work, verse 13 suggests the populace at large is participating in the massacre. Since Haman now has free reign to do as he wishes, he may have changed the edict to allow anyone in Persian society to participate in the massacre. Verse 12 echoes tragically the edict ending chapter 1: while the earlier edict was merely ridiculous, communicating the buffoonery of the Persian royal elite, this one is terrifying. A second echo of chapter 1 is found in the way a personal insult is magnified into a national crisis; but again, where the first part of the narrative was humorous, this one is deadly serious.
3:15 As the edict is proclaimed at a national level, Ahasuerus enjoys another miniature feast with Haman, as if celebrating their accomplishment. This is the book’s third feast, after the nationwide parties beginning the book and the feast at Esther’s coronation. This latest feast rankles the reader as Ahasuerus relaxes and enjoys himself, oblivious to the tumult outside.
The popular response to the edict shows that, at least in general, Persia is not in favor of the edict or inherently anti-Semitic. While 9:1–5 will show some participating in an attack on the Jews, the city as a whole is in chaos as a result of this decision.