Chapter 6.
- Antiquities of the Jews -- Preface
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Search Results
- Results
- Related
- Featured
- Weighted Relevancy
- Content Sequence
- Relevancy
- Earliest First
- Latest First
- Exact Match First, Root Words Second
- Exact word match
- Root word match
- EGW Collections
- All collections
- Lifetime Works (1845-1917)
- Compilations (1918-present)
- Adventist Pioneer Library
- My Bible
- Dictionary
- Reference
- Short
- Long
- Paragraph
No results.
EGW Extras
Directory
Chapter 6.
CONCERNING ESTHER AND MORDECAI AND HAMAN; AND HOW IN THE REIGN OF ARTAXERXES THE WHOLE NATION OF THE JEWS WAS IN DANGER OF PERISHING. FJAJ 11.47
1. AFTER the death of Xerxes, the kingdom came to be transferred to
his son Cyrus, whom the Greeks called Artaxerxes
When this man had obtained
the government over the Persians, the whole nation of the Jews, (15)
Since some skeptical persons are willing to discard this Book of Esther
as no true history; and even our learned and judicious Dr. Wall, in his
late posthumous Critical Notes upon all the other Hebrew books of the Old
Testament, gives none upon the Canticles, or upon Esther, and seems thereby
to give up this book, as well as he gives up the Canticles, as indefensible;
I shall venture to say, that almost all the objections against this Book
of Esther are gone at once, if, as we certainly ought to do, and as Dean
Prideaux has justly done, we place this history under Artsxerxes Longimanus,
as do both the Septuagint interpretation and Josephus. The learned Dr.
Lee, in his posthumous Dissertation on the Second Book of Esdras, p. 25,
also says, that "the truth of this history is demonstrated by the
feast of Purlin, kept up from that time to this very day. And this surprising
providential revolution in favor of a captive people, thereby constantly
commemorated, standeth even upon a firmer basis than that there ever was
such a man as king Alexander [the Great] in the world, of whose reign there
is no such abiding monument at this day to be found any where. Nor will
they, I dare say, who quarrel at this or any other of the sacred histories,
find it a very easy matter to reconcile the different accounts which were
given by historians of the affairs of this king, or to confirm any one
fact of his whatever with the same evidence which is here given for the
principal fact in this sacred book, or even so much as to prove the existence
of such a person, of whom so great things are related, but. upon granting
this Book of Esther, or sixth of Esdras, (as it is placed in some of the
most ancient copies of the Vulgate,) to be a most true and certain history,"
etc.
with their wives and children, were in danger of perishing; the occasion
whereof we shall declare in a little time; for it is proper, in the first
place, to explain somewhat relating to this king, and how he came to marry
a Jewish wife, who was herself of the royal family also, and who is related
to have saved our nation; for when Artaxerxes had taken the kingdom, and
had set governors over the hundred twenty and seven provinces, from India
even unto Ethiopia, in the third year of his reign, he made a costly feast
for his friends, and for the nations of Persia, and for their governors,
such a one as was proper for a king to make, when he had a mind to make
a public demonstration of his riches, and this for a hundred and fourscore
days; after which he made a feast for other nations, and for their ambassadors,
at Shushan, for seven days
Now this feast was ordered after the manner
following: He caused a tent to be pitched, which was supported by pillars
of gold and silver, with curtains of linen and purple spread over them,
that it might afford room for many ten thousands to sit down
The cups
with which the waiters ministered were of gold, and adorned with precious
stones, for pleasure and for sight
He also gave order to the servants
that they should not force them to drink, by bringing them wine continually,
as is the practice of the Persians, but to permit every one of the guests
to enjoy himself according to his own inclination
Moreover, he sent messengers
through the country, and gave order that they should have a remission of
their labors, and should keep a festival many days, on account of his kingdom.
In like manner did Vashti the queen gather her guests together, and made
them a feast in the palace
Now the king was desirous to show her, who
exceeded all other women in beauty, to those that feasted with him, and
he sent some to command her to come to his feast
But she, out of regard
to the laws of the Persians, which forbid the wives to be seen by strangers,
did not go to the king (16)
If the Chaldee paraphrast be in the right, that Artaxerxes intended to
show Vashti to his guests naked, it is no wonder at all that she would
not submit to such an indignity; but still if it were not so gross as that,
yet it might, in the king's cups, be done in a way so indecent, as the
Persian laws would not then bear, no more than the common laws of modesty.
And that the king had some such design seems not improbable, for otherwise
the principal of these royal guests could be no strangers to the queen,
nor unapprized of her beauty, so far as decency admitted. However, since
Providence was now paving the way for the introduction of a Jewess into
the king's affections, in order to bring about one of the most wonderful
deliverances which the Jewish or any other nation ever had, we need not
be further solicitous about the motives by which the king was induced to
divorce Vashti, and marry Esther.
and though he oftentimes sent the eunuchs to her, she did nevertheless
stay away, and refused to come, till the king was so much irritated, that
he brake up the entertainment, and rose up, and called for those seven
who had the interpretation of the laws committed to them, and accused his
wife, and said that he had been affronted by her, because that when she
was frequently called by him to his feast, she did not obey him once
He
therefore gave order that they should inform him what could be done by
the law against her
So one of them, whose name was Memucan, said that
this affront was offered not to him alone, but to all the Persians, who
were in danger of leading their lives very ill with their wives, if they
must be thus despised by them; for that none of their wives would have
any reverence for their husbands, if they had" such an example of
arrogance in the queen towards thee, who rulest over all." Accordingly,
he exhorted him to punish her, who had been guilty of so great an affront
to him, after a severe manner; and when he had so done, to publish to the
nations what had been decreed about the queen
So the resolution was to
put Vashti away, and to give her dignity to another woman.FJAJ 11.48
2. But the king having been fond of her, did not well bear a separation,
and yet by the law he could not admit of a reconciliation; so he was under
trouble, as not having it in his power to do what he desired to do
But
when his friends saw him so uneasy, they advised him to cast the memory
of his wife, and his love for her, out of his mind, but to send abroad
over all the habitable earth, and to search out for comely virgins, and
to take her whom he should best like for his wife, because his passion
for his former wife would be quenched by the introduction of another, and
the kindness he had for Vashti would be withdrawn from her, and be placed
on her that was with him
Accordingly, he was persuaded to follow this
advice, and gave order to certain persons to choose out of the virgins
that were in his kingdom those that were esteemed the most comely
So when
a great number of these virgins were gathered together, there was found
a damsel in Babylon, whose parents were both dead, and she was brought
up with her uncle Mordecai, for that was her uncle's name
This uncle was
of the tribe of Benjamin, and was one of the principal persons among the
Jews
Now it proved that this damsel, whose name was Esther, was the most
beautiful of all the rest, and that the grace of her countenance drew the
eyes of the spectators principally upon her
So she was committed to one
of the eunuchs to take the care of her; and she was very exactly provided
with sweet odors, in great plenty, and with costly ointments, such as her
body required to be anointed withal; and this was used for six months by
the virgins, who were in number four hundred
And when the eunuch thought
the virgins had been sufficiently purified, in the fore-mentioned time,
and were now fit to go to the king's bed, he sent one to be with the king
ever day
So when he had accompanied with her, he sent her back to the
eunuch; and when Esther had come to him, he was pleased with her, and fell
in love with the damsel, and married her, and made her his lawful wife,
and kept a wedding feast for her on the twelfth month of the seventh year
of his reign, which was called Adar
He also sent angari, as they are called,
or messengers, unto every nation, and gave orders that they should keep
a feast for his marriage, while he himself treated the Persians and the
Medes, and the principal men of the nations, for a whole month, on account
of this his marriage
Accordingly, Esther came to his royal palace, and
he set a diadem on her head
And thus was Esther married, without making
known to the king what nation she was derived from
Her uncle also removed
from Babylon to Shushan, and dwelt there, being every day about the palace,
and inquiring how the damsel did, for he loved her as though she had been
his own daughter.FJAJ 11.49
3. Now the king had made a law, (17)
Herodotus says that this law [against any one's coming uncalled to the
kings of Persia when they were sitting on their thrones] was first enacted
by Deioces [i.e. by him who first withdrew the Medes from the dominion
of the Assyrians, and himself first reigned over them]. Thus also, lays
Spanheim, stood guards, with their axes, about the throne of Tenus, or
Tenudus, that the offender might by them be punished immediately.
that none of his own people should approach him unless he were called,
when he sat upon his throne and men, with axes in their hands, stood round
about his throne, in order to punish such as approached to him without
being called
However, the king sat with a golden scepter in his hand,
which he held out when he had a mind to save any one of those that approached
to him without being called, and he who touched it was free from danger.
But of this matter we have discoursed sufficiently.FJAJ 11.50
4. Some time after this [two eunuchs], Bigthan and Teresh, plotted against
the king; and Barnabazus, the servant of one of the eunuchs, being by birth
a Jew, was acquainted with their conspiracy, and discovered it to the queen's
uncle; and Mordecai, by the means of Esther, made the conspirators known
to the king
This troubled the king; but he discovered the truth, and hanged
the eunuchs upon a cross, while at that time he gave no reward ]: to Mordecai,
who had been the occasion of his preservation
He only bid the scribes
to set down his name in the records, and bid him stay in the palace, as
an intimate friend of the king.FJAJ 11.51
5. Now there was one Haman, the son of Amedatha, by birth an Amalekite,
that used to go in to the king; and the foreigners and Persians worshipped
him, as Artaxerxes had commanded that such honor should be paid to him;
but Mordecai was so wise, and so observant of his own country's laws, that
he would not worship the man (18)
Whether this adoration required of Mordecai to Haman were by him deemed
too like the adoration due only to God, as Josephus seems here to think,
as well as the Septuagint interpreters also, by their translation of Esther
13:12-14, or whether he thought he ought to pay no sort of adoration to
an Amalekite, which nation had been such great sinners as to have been
universally devoted to destruction by God himself, Exodus 17:14-16; 1 Samuel
15:18, or whether both causes concurred, cannot now, I doubt, be certainly
determined.
When Haman observed this, he inquired whence he came; and when he understood
that he was a Jew, he had indignation at him, and said within himself,
that whereas the Persians, who were free men, worshipped him, this man,
who was no better than a slave, does not vouchsafe to do so
And when he
desired to punish Mordecai, he thought it too small a thing to request
of the king that he alone might be punished; he rather determined to abolish
the whole nation, for he was naturally an enemy to the Jews, because the
nation of the Amalekites, of which he was; had been destroyed by them.
Accordingly he came to the king, and accused them, saying, "There
is a certain wicked nation, and it is dispersed over all the habitable
earth the was under his dominion; a nation separate from others, unsociable,
neither admitting the same sort of Divine worship that others do, nor using
laws like to the laws of others, at enmity with thy people, and with all
men, both in their manners and practices
Now, if thou wilt be a benefactor
to thy subjects, thou wilt give order to destroy them utterly, and not
leave the least remains of them, nor preserve any of them, either for slaves
or for captives." :But that the king might not be damnified by the
loss of the tributes which the Jews paid him, Haman promised to give him
out of his own estate forty thousand talents whensoever he pleased; and
he said he would pay this money very willingly, that the kingdom might.
be freed from such a misfortune.FJAJ 11.52
6. When Haman had made this petition, the king both forgave him the
money, and granted him the men, to do what he would with them
So Haman,
having gained what he desired, sent out immediately a decree, as from the
king, to all nations, the contents whereof were these: "Artaxerxes,
the great king, to the rulers of the hundred twenty and seven provinces,
from India to Ethiopia, sends this writing
Whereas I have governed many
nations, and obtained the dominions of all the habitable earth, according
to my desire, and have not been obliged to do any thing that is insolent
or cruel to my subjects by such my power, but have showed myself mild and
gentle, by taking care of their peace and good order, and have sought how
they might enjoy those blessings for all time to come
And whereas I have
been kindly informed by Haman, who, on account of his prudence and justice,
is the first in my esteem, and in dignity, and only second to myself, for
his fidelity and constant good-will to me, that there is an ill-natured
nation intermixed with all mankind, that is averse to our laws, and not
subject to kings, and of a different conduct of life from others, that
hateth monarchy, and of a disposition that is pernicious to our affairs,
I give order that all these men, of whom Haman our second father hath informed
us, be destroyed, with their wives and children, and that none of them
be spared, and that none prefer pity to them before obedience to this decree.
And this I will to be executed on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month
of this present year, that so when all that have enmity to us are destroyed,
and this in one day, we may be allowed to lead the rest of our lives in
peace hereafter." Now when this decree was brought to the cities,
and to the country, all were ready for the destruction and entire abolishment
of the Jews, against the day before mentioned; and they were very hasty
about it at Shushan, in particular
Accordingly, the king and Haman spent
their time in feasting together with good cheer and wine, but the city
was in disorder.FJAJ 11.53
7. Now when Mordecai was informed of what was done, he rent his clothes,
and put on sackcloth, and sprinkled ashes upon his head, and went about
the city, crying out, that "a nation that had been injurious to no
man was to be destroyed." And he went on saying thus as far as to
the king's palace, and there he stood, for it was not lawful for him to
go into it in that habit
The same thing was done by all the Jews that
were in the several cities wherein this decree was published, with lamentation
and mourning, on account of the calamities denounced against them
But
as soon as certain persons had told the queen that Mordecai stood before
the court in a mourning habit, she was disturbed at this report, and sent
out such as should change his garments; but when he could not be induced
to put off his sackcloth, because the sad occasion that forced him to put
it on was not yet ceased, she called the eunuch Acratheus, for he was then
present, and sent him to Mordecai, in order to know of him what sad accident
had befallen him, for which he was in mourning, and would not put off the
habit he had put on at her desire
Then did Mordecai inform the eunuch
of the occasion of his mourning, and of the decree which was sent by the
king into all the country, and of the promise of money whereby Haman brought
the destruction of their nation
He also gave him a copy of what was proclaimed
at Shushan, to be carried to Esther; and he charged her to petition the
king about this matter, and not to think it a dishonorable thing in her
to put on a humble habit, for the safety of her nation, wherein she might
deprecate the ruin of the Jews, who were in danger of it; for that Haman,
whose dignity was only inferior to that of the king, had accused the Jews,
and had irritated the king against them
When she was informed of this,
she sent to Mordecai again, and told him that she was not called by the
king, and that he who goes in to him without being called, is to be slain,
unless when he is willing to save any one, he holds out his golden scepter
to him; but that to whomsoever he does so, although he go in without being
called, that person is so far from being slain, that he obtains pardon,
and is entirely preserved
Now when the eunuch carried this message from
Esther to Mordecai, he bade him also tell her that she must not only provide
for her own preservation, but for the common preservation of her nation,
for that if she now neglected this opportunity, there would certainly arise
help to them from God some other way, but she and her father's house would
be destroyed by those whom she now despised
But Esther sent the very same
eunuch back to Mordecai [to desire him] to go to Shushan, and to gather
the Jews that were there together to a congregation, and to fast and abstain
from all sorts of food, on her account, and [to let him know that] she
with her maidens would do the same: and then she promised that she would
go to the king, though it were against the law, and that if she must die
for it, she would not refuse it.FJAJ 11.54
8. Accordingly, Mordecai did as Esther had enjoined him, and made the
people fast; and he besought God, together with them, not to overlook his
nation, particularly at this time, when it was going to be destroyed; but
that, as he had often before provided for them, and forgiven, when they
had sinned, so he would now deliver them from that destruction which was
denounced against them; for although it was not all the nation that had
offended, yet must they so ingloriously be slain, and that he was himself
the occasion of the wrath of Haman, "Because," said he, "I
did not worship him, nor could I endure to pay that honor to him which
I used to pay to thee, O Lord; for upon that his anger hath he contrived
this present mischief against those that have not transgressed thy laws."
The same supplications did the multitude put up, and entreated that God
would provide for their deliverance, and free the Israelites that were
in all the earth from this calamity which was now coming upon them, for
they had it before their eyes, and expected its coming
Accordingly, Esther
made supplication to God after the manner of her country, by casting herself
down upon the earth, and putting on her mourning garments, and bidding
farewell to meat and drink, and all delicacies, for three days' time; and
she entreated God to have mercy upon her, and make her words appear persuasive
to the king, and render her countenance more beautiful than it was before,
that both by her words and beauty she might succeed, for the averting of
the king's anger, in case he were at all irritated against her, and for
the consolation of those of her own country, now they were in the utmost
danger of perishing; as also that he would excite a hatred in the king
against the enemies of the Jews, and those that had contrived their future
destruction, if they proved to be contemned by him.FJAJ 11.55
9. When Esther had used this supplication for three days, she put off
those garments, and changed her habit, and adorned herself as became a
queen, and took two of her handmaids with her, the one of which supported
her, as she gently leaned upon her, and the other followed after, and lifted
up her large train (which swept along the ground) with the extremities
of her fingers
And thus she came to the king, having a blushing redness
in her countenance, with a pleasant agreeableness in her behavior; yet
did she go in to him with fear; and as soon as she was come over against
him, as he was sitting on his throne, in his royal apparel, which was a
garment interwoven with gold and precious stones, which made him seem to
her more terrible, especially when he looked at her somewhat severely,
and with a countenance on fire with anger, her joints failed her immediately,
out of the dread she was in, and she fell down sideways in a swoon: but
the king changed his mind, which happened, as I suppose, by the will of
God, and was concerned for his wife, lest her fear should bring some very
ill thing upon her, and he leaped from his throne, and took her in his
arms, and recovered her, by embracing her, and speaking comfortably to
her, and exhorting her to be of good cheer, and not to suspect any thing
that was sad on account of her coming to him without being called, because
that law was made for subjects, but that she, who was a queen, as well
as he a king, might be entirely secure; and as he said this, he put the
scepter into her hand, and laid his rod upon her neck, on account of the
law; and so freed her from her fear
And after she had recovered herself
by these encouragements, she said, "My lord, it is not easy for me,
on the sudden, to say what hath happened, for as soon as I saw thee to
be great, and comely, and terrible, my spirit departed from me, and I had
no soul left in me." And while it was with difficulty, and in a low
voice, that she could say thus much, the king was in a great agony and
disorder, and encouraged Esther to be of good cheer, and to expect better
fortune, since he was ready, if occasion should require it, to grant her
the half of his kingdom
Accordingly, Esther desired that he and his friend
Haman would come to her to a banquet, for she said she had prepared a supper
for him
He consented to it; and when they were there, as they were drinking,
he bid Esther to let him know what she desired; for that she should not
be disappointed though she should desire the half of his kingdom
But she
put off the discovery of her petition till the next day, if he would come
again, together with Haman, to her banquet.FJAJ 11.56
10. Now when the king had promised so to do, Haman went away very glad,
because he alone had the honor of supping with the king at Esther's banquet,
and because no one else partook of the same honor with kings but himself;
yet when he saw Mordecai in the court, he was very much displeased, for
he paid him no manner of respect when he saw him
So he went home and called
for his wife Zeresh, and his friends, and when they were come, he showed
them what honor he enjoyed not only from the king, but from the queen also,
for as he alone had that day supped with her, together with the king, so
was he also invited again for the next day; yet," said he, "am
I not pleased to see Mordecai the Jew in the court." Hereupon his
wife Zeresh advised him to give order that a gallows should be made fifty
cubits high, and that in the morning he should ask it of the king that
Mordecai might be hanged thereon
So he commended her advice, and gave
order to his servants to prepare the gallows, and to place it in the court,
for the punishment of Mordecai thereon, which was accordingly prepared.
But God laughed to scorn the wicked expectations of Haman; and as he knew
what the event would be, he was delighted at it, for that night he took
away the king's sleep; and as the king was not willing to lose the time
of his lying awake, but to spend it in something that might be of advantage
to his kingdom, he commanded the scribe to bring him the chronicles of
the former kings, and the records of his own actions; and when he had brought
them, and was reading them, one was found to have received a country on
account of his excellent management on a certain occasion, and the name
of the country was set down; another was found to have had a present made
him on account of his fidelity: then the scribe came to Bigthan and Teresh,
the eunuchs that had made a conspiracy against the king, which Mordecai
had discovered; and when the scribe said no more but that, and was going
on to another history, the king stopped him, and inquired "whether
it was not added that Mordecai had a reward given him?" and when he
said there was no such addition, he bade him leave off; and he inquired
of those that were appointed for that purpose, what hour of the night it
was; and when he was informed that it was already day, he gave order, that
if they found any one of his friends already come, and standing before
the court, they should tell him
Now it happened that Haman was found there,
for he was come sooner than ordinary to petition the king to have Mordecai
put to death; and when the servants said that Haman was before the court,
he bid them call him in; and when he was come in, he said, "Because
I know that thou art my only fast friend, I desire thee to give me advice
how I may honor one that I greatly love, and that after a manner suitable
to my magnificence." Now Haman reasoned with himself, that what opinion
he should give it would be for himself, since it was he alone who was beloved
by the king: so he gave that advice which he thought of all other the best;
for he said, "If thou wouldst truly honor a man whom thou sayest thou
dost love, give order that he may ride on horseback, with the same garment
on which thou wearest, and with a gold chain about his neck, and let one
of thy intimate friends go before him, and proclaim through the whole city,
that whosoever the king honoreth obtaineth this mark of his honor."
This was the advice which Haman gave, out of a supposal that such a reward
would come to himself
Hereupon the king was pleased with the advice, and
said, "Go thou therefore, for thou hast the horse, the garment, and
the chain, ask for Mordecai the Jew, and give him those things, and go
before his horse and proclaim accordingly; for thou art," said he,
"my intimate friend, and hast given me good advice; be thou then the
minister of what thou hast advised me to
This shall be his reward from
us, for preserving my life." When he heard this order, which was entirely
unexpected, he was confounded in his mind, and knew not what to do
However,
he went out and led the horse, and took the purple garment, and the golden
chain for the neck, and finding Mordecai before the court, clothed in sackcloth,
he bid him put that garment off, and put the purple garment on
But Mordecai,
not knowing the truth of the matter, but thinking that it was done in mockery,
said, "O thou wretch, the vilest of all mankind, dost thou thus laugh
at our calamities?" But when he was satisfied that the king bestowed
this honor upon him, for the deliverance he had procured him when he convicted
the eunuchs who had conspired against him, he put on that purple garment
which the king always wore, and put the chain about his neck, and got on
horseback, and went round the city, while Haman went before and proclaimed,
"This shall be the reward which the king will bestow on every one
whom he loves, and esteems worthy of honor." And when they had gone
round the city, Mordecai went in to the king; but Haman went home, out
of shame, and informed his wife and friends of what had happened, and this
with tears; who said, that he would never be able to be revenged of Mordecai,
for that God was with him.FJAJ 11.57
11. Now while these men were thus talking one to another, Esther's eunuchs
hastened Haman away to come to supper; but one of the eunuchs, named Sabuchadas,
saw the gallows that was fixed in Haman's house, and inquired of one of
his servants for what purpose they had prepared it
So he knew that it
was for the queen's uncle, because Haman was about to petition the king
that he might be punished; but at present he held his peace
Now when the
king, with Haman, were at the banquet, he desired the queen to tell him
what gifts she desired to obtain, and assured her that she should have
whatsoever she had a mind to
She then lamented the danger her people were
in; and said that "she and her nation were given up to be destroyed,
and that she, on that account, made this her petition; that she would not
have troubled him if he had only given order that they should be sold into
bitter servitude, for such a misfortune would not have been intolerable;
but she desired that they might be delivered from such destruction."
And when the king inquired of her whom was the author of this misery to
them, she then openly accused Haman, and convicted him, that he had been
the wicked instrument of this, and had formed this plot against them
When
the king was hereupon in disorder, and was gone hastily out of the banquet
into the gardens, Haman began to intercede with Esther, and to beseech
her to forgive him, as to what he had offended, for he perceived that he
was in a very bad case
And as he had fallen upon the queen's bed, and
was making supplication to her, the king came in, and being still more
provoked at what he saw, "O thou wretch," said he, "thou
vilest of mankind, dost thou aim to force in wife?" And when Haman
was astonished at this, and not able to speak one word more, Sabuchadas
the eunuch came in and accused Haman, and said," He found a gallows
at his house, prepared for Mordecai; for that the servant told him so much
upon his inquiry, when he was sent to him to call him to supper."
He said further, that the gallows was fifty cubits high: which, when the
king heard, he determined that Haman should be punished after no other
manner than that which had been devised by him against Mordecai; so he
gave order immediately that he should be hung upon those gallows, and be
put to death after that manner
And from hence I cannot forbear to admire
God, and to learn hence his wisdom and his justice, not only in punishing
the wickedness of Haman, but in so disposing it, that he should undergo
the very same punishment which he had contrived for another; as also because
thereby he teaches others this lesson, that what mischiefs any one prepares
against another, he, without knowing of it, first contrives it against
himself.FJAJ 11.58
12. Wherefore Haman, who had immoderately abused the honor he had from
the king, was destroyed after this manner, and the king granted his estate
to the queen
He also called for Mordecai, (for Esther had informed him
that she was akin to him,) and gave that ring to Mordecai which he had
before given to Haman
The queen also gave Haman's estate to Mordecai;
and prayed the king to deliver the nation of the Jews from the fear of
death, and showed him what had been written over all the country by Haman
the son of Ammedatha; for that if her country were destroyed, and her countrymen
were to perish, she could not bear to live herself any longer
So the king
promised her that he would not do any thing that should be disagreeable
to her, nor contradict what she desired; but he bid her write what she
pleased about the Jews, in the king's name, and seal it with his seal,
and send it to all his kingdom, for that those who read epistles whose
authority is secured by having the king's seal to them, would no way contradict
what was written therein
So he commanded the king's scribes to be sent
for, and to write to the nations, on the Jews' behalf, and to his lieutenants
and governors, that were over his hundred twenty and seven provinces, from
India to Ethiopia
Now the contents of this epistle were these: "The
great king Artaxerxes to our rulers, and those that are our faithful subjects,
sendeth greeting.FJAJ 11.59
(19)
The true reason why king Artaxerxes did not here properly revoke his former
barbarous decree for the universal slaughter of the Jews, but only empowered
and encouraged the Jews to fight for their lives, and to kill their enemies,
if they attempted their destruction, seems to have been that old law of
the Medes and Persians, not yet laid aside, that whatever decree was signed
both by the king and his lords could not be changed, but remained unalterable,
Daniel 6:7-9, 12, 15, 17; Esther 1:19; 8:8. And Haman having engrossed
the royal favor might perhaps have himself signed this decree for the Jews'
slaughter instead of the ancient lords, and so might have rendered it by
their rules irrevocable.
Many men there are who, on account of the greatness of the benefits bestowed
on them, and because of the honor which they have obtained from the wonderful
kind treatment of those that bestowed it, are not only injurious to their
inferiors, but do not scruple to do evil to those that have been their
benefactors, as if they would take away gratitude from among men, and by
their insolent abuse of such benefits as they never expected, they turn
the abundance they have against those that are the authors of it, and suppose
they shall lie concealed from God in that case, and avoid that vengeance
which comes from him
Some of these men, when they have had the management
of affairs committed to them by their friends, and bearing private malice
of their own against some others, by deceiving those that have the power,
persuade them to be angry at such as have done them no harm, till they
are in danger of perishing, and this by laying accusations and calumnies:
nor is this state of things to be discovered by ancient examples, or such
as we have learned by report only, but by some examples of such impudent
attempts under our own eyes; so that it is not fit to attend any longer
to calumnies and accusations, nor to the persuasions of others, but to
determine what any one knows of himself to have been really done, and to
punish what justly deserves it, and to grant favors to such as are innocent.
This hath been the case of Haman, the son of Ammedatha, by birth an Amalekite,
and alien from the blood of the Persians, who, when he was hospitably entertained
by us, and partook of that kindness which we bear to all men to so great
a degree, as to be called my father, and to be all along worshipped, and
to have honor paid him by all in the second rank after the royal honor
due to ourselves, he could not bear his good fortune, nor govern the magnitude
of his prosperity with sound reason; nay, he made a conspiracy against
me and my life, who gave him his authority, by endeavoring to take away
Mordecai, my benefactor, and my savior, and by basely and treacherously
requiring to have Esther, the partner of my life, and of my dominion, brought
to destruction; for he contrived by this means to deprive me of my faithful
friends, and transfer the government to others: (20)
These words give an intimation as if Artaxerxes suspected a deeper design
in Haman than openly appeared, viz. that knowing the Jews would be faithful
to him, and that he could never transfer the crown to his own family, who
was an Agagite, Esther 3:1, 10, or of the posterity of Agag, the old king
of the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15:8, 32, 33, while they were alive, and spread
over all his dominions, he therefore endeavored to destroy them. Nor is
it to me improbable that those seventy-five thousand eight hundred of the
Jews' enemies which were soon destroyed by the Jews, on the permission
of the king, which must be on some great occasion, were Amalekites, their
old and hereditary enemies, Exodus 17:14, 15; and that thereby was fulfilled
Balaam's prophecy, "Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter
end shall be, that he perish for ever" Numbers 24:20.
but since I perceived that these Jews, that were by this pernicious fellow
devoted to destruction, were not wicked men, but conducted their lives
after the best manner, and were men dedicated to the worship of that God
who hath preserved the kingdom to me and to my ancestors, I do not only
free them from the punishment which the former epistle, which was sent
by Haman, ordered to be inflicted on them, to which if you refuse obedience,
you shall do well; but I will that they have all honor paid to them
Accordingly,
I have hanged up the man that contrived such things against them, with
his family, before the gates of Shushan; that punishment being sent upon
him by God, who seeth all things
And I give you in charge, that you publicly
propose a copy of this epistle through all my kingdom, that the Jews may
be permitted peaceably to use their own laws, and that you assist them,
that at the same season whereto their miserable estate did belong, they
may defend themselves the very same day from unjust violence, the thirteenth
day of the twelfth month, which is Adar; for God hath made that day a day
of salvation instead of a day of destruction to them; and may it be a good
day to those that wish us well, and a memorial of the punishment of the
conspirators against us: and I will that you take notice, that every city,
and every nation, that shall disobey any thing that is contained in this
epistle, shall be destroyed by fire and sword
However, let this epistle
be published through all the country that is under our obedience, and let
all the Jews, by all means, be ready against the day before mentioned,
that they may avenge themselves upon their enemies."FJAJ 11.60
13. Accordingly, the horsemen who carried the epistles proceeded on
the ways which they were to go with speed: but as for Mordecai, as soon
as he had assumed the royal garment, and the crown of gold, and had put
the chain about his neck, he went forth in a public procession; and when
the Jews who were at Shushan saw him in so great honor with the king, they
thought his good fortune was common to themselves also, and joy and a beam
of salvation encompassed the Jews, both those that were in the cities,
and those that were in the countries, upon the publication of the king's
letters, insomuch that many even of other nations circumcised their foreskin
for fear of the Jews, that they might procure safety to themselves thereby;
for on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which according to the
Hebrews is called Adar, but according to the Macedonians, Dystrus, those
that carried the king's epistle gave them notice, that the same day wherein
their danger was to have been, on that very day should they destroy their
enemies
But now the rulers of the provinces, and the tyrants, and the
kings, and the scribes, had the Jews in esteem; for the fear they were
in of Mordecai forced them to act with discretion
Now when the royal decree
was come to all the country that was subject to the king, it fell out that
the Jews at Shushan slew five hundred of their enemies; and when the king
had told Esther the number of those that were slain in that city, but did
not well know what had been done in the provinces, he asked her whether
she would have any thing further done against them, for that it should
be done accordingly: upon which she desired that the Jews might be permitted
to treat their remaining enemies in the same manner the next day; as also
that they might hang the ten sons of Haman upon the gallows
So the king
permitted the Jews so to do, as desirous not to contradict Esther
So they
gathered themselves together again on the fourteenth day of the month Dystrus,
and slew about three hundred of their enemies, but touched nothing of what
riches they had
Now there were slain by the Jews that were in the country,
and in the other cities, seventy-five thousand of their enemies, and these
were slain on the thirteenth day of the month, and the next day they kept
as a festival
In like manner the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves
together, and feasted on the fourteenth day, and that which followed it;
whence it is that even now all the Jews that are in the habitable earth
keep these days festival, and send portions to one another
Mordecai also
wrote to the Jews that lived in the kingdom of Artaxerxes to observe these
days, and celebrate them as festivals, and to deliver them down to posterity,
that this festival might continue for all time to come, and that it might
never be buried in oblivion; for since they were about to be destroyed
on these days by Haman, they would do a right thing, upon escaping the
danger in them, and on them inflicting punishment on their enemies, to
observe those days, and give thanks to God on them; for which cause the
Jews still keep the forementioned days, and call them days of Phurim [or
Purim.] (21)
Take here part of Reland's note on this disputed passage: "In Josephus's
copies these Hebrew words, 'days of Purim,' or ' lots,' as in the Greek
copies of Esther, ch. 9:26, 28-32, is read 'days of Phurim,' or 'days of
protection,' but ought to be read' days of Parira,' as in the Hebrew; than
which creation," says he, "nothing is more certain." And
had we any assurance that Josephus's copy mentioned the "casting of
lots," as our other copies do, Esther 3:7, I should fully agree with
Reland; but, as it now stands, it seems to me by no means certain. As to
this whole Book of Esther in the present Hebrew copy, it is so very imperfect,
in a case where the providence of God was so very remarkable, and the Septuagint
and Josephus have so much of religion, that it has not so much as the name
of God once in it; and it is hard to say who made that epitome which the
Masorites have given us for the genuine book itself; no religious Jews
could well be the authors of it, whose education obliged them to have a
constant regard to God, and whatsoever related to his worship; nor do we
know that there ever was so imperfect a copy of it in the world till after
the days of Barchochab, in the second century.
And Mordecai became a great and illustrious person with the king, and assisted
him in the government of the people
He also lived with the queen; so that
the affairs of the Jews were, by their means, better than they could ever
have hoped for
And this was the state of the Jews under the reign of Artaxerxes.FJAJ 11.61