Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Esther 3:11

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

3:1-7:10 PLAN TO DESTROY THE JEWS

Haman plots evil (3:1-15)

Some time later, a proud and ambitious man named Haman was promoted to the position of chief minister in the Empire. He apparently demanded that people honour him almost as if he were a god. Mordecai refused, letting it be known that he was a Jew, and claiming that to give Haman such honour was against his Jewish religion. Haman was furious, and decided to get his revenge by killing all the Jews in the Empire (3:1-6). (Esther had now been queen just over four years; cf. 2:16; 3:7).
Being superstitious, Haman cast lots to find out the best day on which to carry out his murderous plan. He gained the king’s permission by pointing out how the wealth seized from the Jews would enrich the royal treasury. The king even gave his ring to Haman, which meant that Haman could put the royal seal on any order he wished to make. However, God was clearly in control of the casting of the lots, with the result that Haman would have to wait eleven months before he could carry out his plan (7-11).
Haman dared not bring forward the date of his ‘lucky day’. He therefore went ahead and issued the decree, announcing that in eleven months time all Jews would be destroyed. God, meanwhile, could work in the affairs of the government and reverse the force of the decree (12-15).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

HAMAN RECEIVES THE KING'S PERMISSION TO DESTROY ISRAEL

"In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahashuerus, they cast Put, that is, the lot, from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. And Haman said unto king Ahashuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from the laws of every people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those that have charge of the king's business, to bring it into the king's treasuries. And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy. And the king said unto Haman, the silver is given thee, and the people also, to do with them as seemeth good to thee."

Critical enemies of the Bible, having no other grounds upon which they may deny or object to the text, sometimes must fall back upon their subjective imaginations that this or that Biblical statement is "unrealistic, unreasonable, or unlikely to have occurred." One may find plenty of such subjective objections to what is written here.

Some ask, "Would any king have given blanket permission to anyone to destroy a considerable percentage of the people in his whole kingdom"? The answer to that is that, "Xerxes certainly did so." And even that was not any more unreasonable or stupid than some other actions of that evil king as reported by Herodotus.

Others have pointed out that it was a terribly foolish thing for Haman to have published a whole year in advance his intention of exterminating the Jews. Archaeology, however, has uncovered dramatic information on how this happened. "Haman's method for fixing the date for the destruction of the Jews has been revealed by excavations at Susa (Shushan) by M. Dieulafoy, who actually recovered one of those quadrangular prisms engraved with the Numbers 1, 2, 5, 6. The word `pur' is derived from the Persian puru, that is, `lot'; and it is now known that `they cast Pur' (Esther 3:7) means that they cast lots."Archeology and the Old Testament, p. 309. This fully explains why almost a year elapsed between Haman's decision to massacre the Jews, which he published at once, and the date set for the execution of his ruthless plan.

Significantly, Haman was so sure of receiving the king's permission, that he actually cast lots for the day he would do it before mentioning the matter to the king. Also, that tremendous promise of ten thousand talents of silver, which was well over $10,000,000.00, which Haman promised to pay into the king's treasury, was also most likely based upon the presumption by Haman that the king would not accept it.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The silver is given to thee - Some understand this to mean that Xerxes refused the silver which Haman had offered to him; but the passage is better explained as a grant to him of all the property of such Jews as should be executed Esther 3:13.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 3

And as we get into Chapter 3,

After these things the king Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And the king's servants, that were with the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why do you transgress the king's commandment? Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matter would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. And so when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, and did not give him reverence, he was full of wrath. And thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shown him the people of Mordecai: and he sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. So in the first month, that is, the month of Nisan [or April], in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and month to month, to the twelfth month, and that is the month Adar ( Esther 3:1-7 ).

In other words, he was wanting to set a day for the extermination of the Jews (this was in the first month), and they began to cast month by month the lot to see what month they should exterminate them, sort of following a superstition, and the lot fell on the twelfth month, which would be the month of March, because they started with the month of April. So it brought them around to the month of March that the lot finally fell on that month, the month for the extermination of the Jews.

Now, before we go any further, I want to point out something that to me is fascinating. This fellow Haman, notice it says of him that he was an Agagite. Now, Agag was of the nation of the Amaleks. The Amalekites were always a type of the flesh in the Old Testament. Now you remember when Samuel came to King Saul, he said, "God wants you to go down and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all of these people. Don't leave anyone alive of the women of the children, and don't take any prey or any loot, not even their cattle or sheep. Don't take anything; utterly destroy everything." And so Saul went down against the Amalekites and God gave to him a victory over the Amalekites. However, he did not obey the voice of the Lord. But he saved the lives of the best cattle and the best sheep, and he save the life of Agag the king, and no doubt others of the king's family. So as Saul was coming back from the battle, Samuel went out to meet him. And Saul greeted Samuel saying, "As the Lord liveth I have done all that God has told me to do." And the prophet Samuel said, "If you did all that God told you to do, how come I hear the cattle, and how come I hear the sheep?" He said, "Oh, well, you see, they were so nice. Fat, good animals. We decided that we would bring them back and sacrifice them unto our God." And Samuel said, "To obey is better than to sacrifice, and to hearken more than the fat of lambs." And he said, "You have done foolishly, and because you have rejected God from ruling over you, so God now has rejected you from ruling over His people, and the kingdom is going to be taken away from you." Because of his disobedience, not utterly destroying Amalek, saving Agag alive.

Now here, interestingly enough, this fellow Haman who several years later, some six hundred years or so later, Haman now is seeking to exterminate the Jews.

Now why would God make, first of all, such a horrible kind of a command to utterly destroy them all? Looking at the picture in Samuel, it seems like maybe God is very cruel in his demand, yet because God can look down the road and see what lies in the future. He realized that if He didn't destroy them all there would arise one day one of the descendants that would seek to destroy all of God's people. Had Saul been obedient to God, Haman would have never existed, and his edict and his attempt to destroy God's people would have never been. God could see that far in advance. But when you get into the type it becomes even more obvious, because Amalek is a type of our flesh, the flesh life, living after the flesh. God has ordered that our flesh be put to death. "If ye by the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh then ye shall live" ( Romans 8:13 ). "Know ye not that your old man was crucified with Christ?" ( Romans 6:6 ) God does not have any program of reform for your flesh.

Paul said, "I know in me (that is, in my flesh,) there dwelleth no good thing" ( Romans 7:18 ). And God has ordered the complete extermination of the flesh; not to live after the flesh; not to walk after the flesh; but to reckon that old man, the old nature, to be dead and to give no place to the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. And God has provided that through the cross of Jesus Christ I might be able to reckon my old man to be dead with Christ. As Paul wrote, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" ( Galatians 2:20 ).

The truth is this: God has ordered your flesh to be put to death, crucified, reckon it to be dead, give no place for it. If you, as Saul, fail to obey the command of God and you continue to make provisions for your flesh, that is, you continue to live after the flesh or you allow an area, "Well, it's just a little area that I'm indulging my flesh," you can be sure that your incomplete obedience to God's command of the destruction of the flesh will come back someday to destroy you, and to destroy your spiritual walk in life. We are to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its desires, its lust. We're to walk after the Spirit; we're to live after the Spirit, making no provisions for the flesh.

So here Saul's disobedience, allowing the flesh to still remain, is now coming back to haunt his descendants years later, as Haman the Agagite was placed in this position of prominence by Ahasuerus, and the command given that whenever he walks by everybody should bow and give him obeisance. But this Mordecai refused to do it.

Now, the Jews took very literally the law of God that you're not to bow down and do reverence to any graven image or any likeness. And Mordecai was carrying that one step further; he wasn't going to bow to any man. He would only bow to God, only bow his knee before God. He would only show that kind of reverence to God. And so, those that were standing around said, "Hey, man. How come you are not bowing? It's the law." And he just would say, "I'm a Jew. We don't bow to anybody. We only bow to God." And so someone called Haman's attention to it, because they wanted to have a test case to see if the law would stand. And so they called Haman's attention to the fact that this Jew wouldn't bow. And so Haman then took notice of it and he became extremely angry, and there is where he plotted to put to death all of the Jews. Not just Mordecai, he was going to kill them all. And so, seeking then the guidance of the spirits, they cast lots to see what would be the most appropriate month to carry out this edict. And so they cast Pur; it fell on the twelfth month, which is in the Jewish calendar the month of March.

And Haman said unto the king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people that are scattered abroad and dispersed among the people of all the provinces of your kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people, and neither do they keep the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to allow them to remain. [And he said,] If it pleases the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the kings treasury ( Esther 3:8-9 ).

Actually, he was offering here a bribe of about nineteen million dollars. Now, what he was planning to do was kill the Jews and confiscate all their goods, and so he was going to pay it with that. He was just going to rip them all off after he killed them.

So the king took off his ring [that had the signet], and he gave it to Haman. [And he said, Make the proclamation and sign it.] And let the post of the messengers go out throughout all the provinces ( Esther 3:10-11 , Esther 3:13 ),

Now Darius is the Persian king who set up an excellent postal system throughout the Persian Empire. And so, "Go ahead and proclaim it throughout the empire that these people are to be put to death on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month."

And so the letters were sent by the post throughout all the king's provinces, to destroy, and to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children, women, in one day, even the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of March, to take the spoil of them for a prey ( Esther 3:13 ).

So go ahead and kill them and you can have whatever they have.

The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all the people, that they should be ready against that day. And the post went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed ( Esther 3:14-15 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

B. Haman’s Proposal 3:7-15

His pride having been wounded, Haman set about to take revenge, not only on Mordecai, but also on all of Mordecai’s relatives.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. The king’s permission 3:10-15

The imprint of an official’s signet ring (Esther 3:10) was the equivalent of his signature in ancient times (cf. Genesis 41:42; Esther 8:2; Esther 8:8; Esther 8:10). Ahasuerus gave permission to Haman to confiscate the Jews’ wealth and to put them to death (Esther 3:11; cf. Proverbs 18:13). Merrill suggested that Ahasuerus viewed the Jews as a scapegoat to blame for his humiliating losses to the Greeks. [Note: Eugene H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, p. 502.] The words "to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate" (Esther 3:13) probably translate the legal formula used in the decree that would have been as specific as possible. Probably the government officials and army were those who were to seize the Jews’ property (Esther 3:13) and then send some of it up the line to Haman.

"There is a skillful use of contrast in the last sentence of the chapter. While the collaborators celebrate, the city of Susa is aghast. The author is sensitive to popular reactions and notes that the ordinary citizen asked himself what lay behind such a drastic scene." [Note: Baldwin, p. 76.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And the king said unto Haman, the silver is given unto thee,.... The 10,000 talents of silver Haman proposed to pay into the treasury were returned to him, or the king out of his great munificence refused to take them:

the people also, to do with them as seemeth good unto thee; that is, the people of the Jews; he gave him full power to do with them as he thought fit, and who breathing revenge upon them, would not spare them.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.   8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them.   9 If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.   10 And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.   11 And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.   12 Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.   13 And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.   14 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day.   15 The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.

      Haman values himself upon that bold and daring thought, which he fancied well became his great spirit, of destroying all the Jews--an undertaking worthy of its author, and which he promised himself would perpetuate his memory. He doubts not but to find desperate and bloody hands enough to cut all their throats if the king will but give him leave. How he obtained leave, and commission to do it, we are here told. He had the king's ear, let him alone to manage him.

      I. He makes a false and malicious representation of Jews, and their character, to the king, Esther 3:8; Esther 3:8. The enemies of God's people could not give them such bad treatment as they do if they did not first give them a bad name. He would have the king believe, 1. That the Jews were a despicable people, and that it was not for his credit to harbour them:"A certain people there is," without name, as if nobody knew whence they came and what they were; "they are not incorporated, but scattered abroad and dispersed in all the provinces as fugitives and vagabonds on the earth, and inmates in all countries, the burden and scandal of the places where they live." 2. That they were a dangerous people, and that it was not safe to harbour them. "They have laws and usages of their own, and conform not to the statutes of the kingdom and the customs of the country; and therefore they may be looked upon as disaffected to the government and likely to infect others with their singularities, which may end in a rebellion." It is no new thing for the best of men to have such invidious characters as these given of them; if it be no sin to kill them, it is no sin to belie them.

      II. He bids high for leave to destroy them all, Esther 3:9; Esther 3:9. He knew there were many that hated the Jews, and would willingly fall upon them if they might but have a commission: Let it be written therefore that they may be destroyed. Give but orders for a general massacre of all the Jews, and Haman will undertake it shall be easily done. If the king will gratify him in this matter, he will make him a present of ten thousand talents, which shall be paid into the king's treasuries. This, he thought, would be a powerful inducement to the king to consent, and would obviate the strongest objection against him, which was that the government must needs sustain loss in its revenues by the destruction of so many of its subjects; so great a sum, he hoped, would be equivalent for that. Proud and malicious men will not stick at the expenses of their revenge, nor spare any cost to gratify it. Yet no doubt Haman knew how to re-imburse himself out of the spoil of the Jews, which his janizaries were to seize for him (Esther 3:13; Esther 3:13), and so to make them bear the charges of their own ruin; while he himself hoped to be not only a saver but a gainer by the bargain.

      III. He obtains what he desired, a full commission to do what he would with the Jews, Esther 3:10; Esther 3:11. The king was so inattentive to business, and so bewitched with Haman, that he took no time to examine the truth of his allegations, but was as willing as Haman could wish to believe the worst concerning the Jews, and therefore he gave them up into his hands, as lambs to the lion: The people are thine, do with them as it seemeth good unto thee. He does not say, "Kill them, slay them" (hoping Haman's own cooler thoughts would abate the rigour of that sentence and induce him to sell them for slaves); but "Do what thou wilt with them." And so little did he consider how much he should lose in his tribute, and how much Haman would gain in the spoil, that he gave him withal the ten thousand talents: The silver is thine. Such an implicit confidence likewise he had in Haman, and so perfectly had he abandoned all care of his kingdom, that he gave Haman his ring, his privy-seal, or sign-manual, wherewith to confirm whatever edict he pleased to draw up for this purpose. Miserable is the kingdom that is at the disposal of such a head as this, which has one ear only, and a nose to be led by, but neither eyes nor brains, nor scarcely a tongue of its own.

      IV. He then consults with his soothsayers to find out a lucky day for the designed massacre, Esther 3:7; Esther 3:7. The resolve was taken up in the first month, in the twelfth year of the king, when Esther had been his wife about five years. Some day or other in that year must be pitched upon; and, as if he doubted not but that Heaven would favour his design and further it, he refers it to the lot, that is, to the divine Providence, to choose the day for him; but that, in the decision, proved a better friend to the Jews than to him, for the lot fell upon the twelfth month, so that Mordecai and Esther had eleven months to turn themselves in for the defeating of the design, or, if they could not defeat it, space would be left for the Jews to make their escape and shift for their safety. Haman, though eager to have the Jews cut off, yet will submit to the laws of his superstition, and not anticipate the supposed fortunate day, no, not to gratify his impatient revenge. Probably he was in some fear lest the Jews should prove too hard for their enemies, and therefore durst not venture on such a hazardous enterprise but under the smiles of a good omen. This may shame us, who often acquiesce not in the directions and disposals of Providence when they cross our desires and intentions. He that believeth the lot, much more that believeth the promise, will not make haste. But see how God's wisdom serves its own purposes by men's folly. Haman has appealed to the lot, and to the lot he shall go, which, by adjourning the execution, gives judgment against him and breaks the neck of the plot.

      V. The bloody edict is hereupon drawn up, signed, and published, giving orders to the militia of every province to be ready against the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, and, on that day, to murder all the Jews, men, women, and children, and seize their effects, Esther 3:12-14; Esther 3:12-14. Had the decree been to banish all the Jews and expel them out of the king's dominions, it would have been severe enough; but surely never any act of cruelty appeared so barefaced as this, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all the Jews, appointing them as sheep for the slaughter without showing any cause for so doing. No crime is laid to their charge; it is not pretended that they were obnoxious to the public justice, nor is any condition offered, upon performance of which they might have their lives spared; but die they must, without mercy. Thus have the church's enemies thirsted after blood, the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus, and drunk of it till they have been perfectly intoxicated (Revelation 17:6); yet still, like the horse-leech, they cry, Give, give. This cruel offer is ratified with the king's seal, directed to the king's lieutenants, and drawn up in the king's name, and yet the king knows not what he does. Posts are sent out, with all expedition, to carry copies of the decree to the respective provinces, Esther 3:15; Esther 3:15. See how restless the malice of the church's enemies is: it will spare no pains; it will lose no time.

      VI. The different temper of the court and city hereupon. 1. The court was very merry upon it: The king and Haman sat down to drink, perhaps to drink "Confusion to all the Jews." Haman was afraid lest the king's conscience should smite him for what he had done and he should begin to wish it undone again, to prevent which he engrossed him to himself, and kept him drinking. This cursed method many take to drown their convictions, and harden their own hearts and the hearts of others in sin. 2. The city was very sad upon it (and the other cities of the kingdom, no doubt, when they had notice of it): The city Shushan was perplexed, not only the Jews themselves, but all their neighbours that had any principles of justice and compassion. It grieved them to see their king so abused, to see wickedness in the place of judgment (Ecclesiastes 3:16), to see men that lived peaceably treated so barbarously; and what would be the consequences of it to themselves they knew not. But the king and Haman cared for none of these things. Note, It is an absurd and impious thing to indulge ourselves in mirth and pleasure when the church is in distress and the public are perplexed.