In the first month, which 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, and chose the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
Parallel Translations
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In the first month, which 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, and chose the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
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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.
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In the first month, which 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, which is the month Adar.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Esther 3:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezra 6:15 This house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
- Esther 9:24-26 because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast “Pur”, that is the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; but when this became known to the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked plan, which he had planned against the Jews, should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore they called these days “Purim”, from the word “Pur.” Therefore because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come to them,
- Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 21:21-22 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shook the arrows back and forth. He consulted the teraphim. He looked in the liver. In his right hand was the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, and to build forts.
- Nehemiah 2:1 In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, I picked up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence.
- Esther 1:3 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast for all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him.
- Esther 2:16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus into his royal house in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
- Esther 9:1 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the month, when the king’s commandment and his decree came near to be put in execution, on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to conquer them, (but it was turned out the opposite happened, that the Jews conquered those who hated them),
- Esther 9:5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they wanted to those who hated them.
- Esther 9:17-19 This was done on the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of that month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness. But the Jews who were in Susa assembled together on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth days of the month; and on the fifteenth day of that month, they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, a good day, and a day of sending presents of food to one another.
- Esther 9:21 to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar yearly,
- Matthew 27:35 When they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among them, casting lots,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Containing part of February and part of March.
Containing part of February and part of March.
Which answereth to part of March and part of April.
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To know what month and day should be good to enterprise this thing, that it might have good success: but God disappointed their lots, and expectation.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Est 3:7 In the first month, that [is], the…
Est 3:7 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.
Ver. 7. In the first month] The time is thus noted, ad maiorem historiae fidem et lucern, to give more credit to the history, and to lend some light to it.
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That is, the month Nisan] The Chaldees call it Abib, from the new fruits or ears of grain then first appearing. It was the first month unto Israel, in respect of sacred, not civil, affairs, because of their coming out of Egypt therein. It answereth to part of March with us, and part of April.
In the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus] When Esther had now been queen for over four years, and, being greatly beloved, was in a capacity to do her people good. This was a sweet providence, the remedy was ready before the disease broke out. No country hath more venomous creatures than Egypt, none more antidotes. So godliness hath many troubles, and as many helps against trouble.
They cast Pur, that is, the lot] The old interpreter addeth in urnam, into the pitcher. And the new annotations tell us that, about casting lots, there was a pitcher into which papers, with names of the several months written on them, and rolled up, were cast; yea, also papers with the names of every day and of every month were cast in; then one, blindfolded, put in his hand and pulled out a paper, and according to the marks which they had set down, such a month proved lucky, and such a day in the month; and, by God’s providence, it so fell out that their supposed lucky day was on the twelfth month, whereby it came to pass that their plot was defeated before the time of accomplishing thereof, Est 9:1-11.
From day to day, &c.] This is not to be taken as if they had continued twelve months about in casting of these lots; but as in the note next above.
That is, the month Adar] In all which time that wicked Haman might have bethought himself (as one noteth), and returned to a better mind toward God’s people. But he, after the hardness of his heart, that could not repent, treasured up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath, &c., Rom 2:5.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The diviners cast lots, according to the custom of…
The diviners cast lots, according to the custom of those ancient and eastern people, what day and what month would be most lucky, not for his success with the king, (of whose compliance with his request he made no doubt,) but for the most effectual and universal extirpation of the Jews; wherein appears both his implacable malice, and unwearied diligence in seeking vengeance of them with so much and so long trouble to himself; and God’s singular providence in disposing the lot to that time, that so the Jews might have sufficient space of time to get the decree reversed, as they did.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Haman values himself upon that bold and daring thought,…
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, Est 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.
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II. He bids high for leave to destroy them all, Est 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 (Est 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, Est 3:10, Est 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, Est 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, Est 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 (Rev 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, Est 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 (Ecc 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.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain In the first month, that is the month Nisan,....…
In the first month, that is the month Nisan,.... Which was the first month of the sacred year of the Jews, by divine appointment, Exo 12:2, and there called Abib, and answers to part of February and part of March; from hence it is clear this book was written by a Jew, and very probably by Mordecai:
in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus; four years and near two months after his marriage of Esther, Est 2:16,
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they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman; being a Persian word, it is explained in Hebrew a lot, the word signifying "steel" in the Persian language. Reland (p) conjectures that this was that sort of lot called "sideromantia". Who cast this lot is not said; whether Haman himself, or one of his servants: perhaps a diviner. The latter Targum calls him Shimshai the scribe:
from day today, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is the month Adar; which answers to part of January and part of February; so that the lot was cast for every month and every day of the month throughout the year, to find out which was the most lucky month, and which the most lucky day in that month, to destroy the Jews in and none could be found till they came to the last month, and the thirteenth day of that month, Est 3:13, the providence of God so overruling the lot, that there might be time enough for the Jews, through the mediation of Esther to the king, to prevent their destruction; so in other nations the Heathens had their lucky and unlucky days (q).
(p) Antiqu. Heb. par. 4. c. 12. sect. 1. (q) Vid. Macrob. Saturnal l. 1. c. 16. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 20.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain They cast - The diviners cast lots, according to…
They cast - The diviners cast lots, according to the custom of those people, what day, and what month would be most lucky, not for his success with the king (of which he made no doubt) but for the most effectual extirpation of the Jews. Wherein appears likewise both his implacable malice, and unwearied diligence in seeking vengeance of them with so much trouble to himself; and God's singular providence in disposing the lot to that time, that the Jews might have space to get the decree reversed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. The first month] That is, of the…
Verse 7. The first month] That is, of the civil year of the Jews.
The month Nisan] Answering to a part of our March and April.
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The twelfth year of king Ahasuerus] According to the chronology in our Bibles, about five hundred and ten years before Christ.
They cast Pur, that is, the lot] This appears to be the Hebrew corruption of the pure Persian word [Persian] pari, which signifies any thing that happens fortuitously. There is an addition here in the Greek text that was probably in the original, and which makes this place very plain. I shall set down the whole verse, and give the Greek in a parenthesis, that it may be read consecutively with what is in the Hebrew: "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." (ὡστε απολεσαι εν μιᾳ ἡμερᾳ το γενος Μαρδοχαιου, και επεσεν ὁ κληρος εις την τεσερακαιδεκατην του μηνος ὁς εστιν Αδαρ, "that they might destroy in one day the people of Mordecai; and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month Adar.")
We see plainly intimated by the Hebrew text that they cast lots, or used a species of divination, to find which of the twelve months would be the most favourable for the execution of Haman's design; and, having found the desired month, then they cast lots, or used divination, to find out which day of the said month would be the lucky day for the accomplishment of the enterprise. But the Hebrew text does not tell us the result of this divination; we are left to guess it out; but the Greek supplies this deficiency, and makes all clear. From it we find that, when they cast for the month, the month Adar was taken; and when they cast for the day, the fourteenth (Heb. thirteenth) of that month was taken.
Some have questioned whether Pur may not have signified also some game of chance, which they played before or with Haman, from day to day, to divert him from his melancholy, till the lucky time came in which he was to have the gratification of slaying all the people who were objects of his enmity; or they cast lots, or played, who should get the property of such and such opulent families. Holinshed, one of our ancient historians, informs us that, previously to the battle of Agincourt, the English army, under Henry V., were so thinned and weakened by disease, and the French army so numerous, that "Frenchmen, in the mean while, as though they had been sure of victory, made great triumphe, for the captaines had determined before how to divide the spoil; and the souldiers, the night before, had plaied the Englishmen at dice." To this the chorus of Shakspeare alludes: -
"Proud of their numbers, and secure of soul,
The confident and over-lusty French
Do the low-rated English play at dice.
_____________ The poor condemned English,
Like sacrifices by their watchful fires,
Sit patiently and inly ruminate
The morning's danger; and their gestures sad,
Investing lank-lean cheeks, and war-worn coats,
Presenteth them unto the gazing moon
So many horrid ghosts. HEN. V.
Monstrelet, who is an impartial writer, does not mention this.
Did Haman and his flatterers intend to divide the spoils of the designed-to-be-massacred Jews in some such manner as this?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Est 3:7. They cast Pur, that is, the lot…
Est 3:7. They cast Pur, that is, the lot — “Haman, being determined to destroy Mordecai and the Jews, called together his diviners, to find out what day would be most lucky for his putting this design into execution. The way of divination, then in use among the eastern people, was by casting lots; and therefore having tried in this manner, first each month, and then each day in every month, they came to a determination at last, that the thirteenth day of the twelfth month would be most fortunate for the bloody execution. It was in the first month of the year when Haman began to cast lots, and the time for the execution of the Jews was by these lots delayed till the last month of the year; which plainly shows, that though the lot be cast into the lap, yet the whole disposing thereof is from the Lord, Pro 16:33. For hereby almost a whole year intervened between the design and its execution, which gave time for Mordecai to acquaint Queen Esther with it, and for her to intercede with the king for the revoking or suspending the decree, and thereby preventing the conspiracy. The reader will find this decree in Joseph. Antiq., lib. 11, cap. 6. Houbigant renders this verse, The lot, which is called Pur, was drawn before Haman from day to day, from month to month, for the twelfth month.” See Poole and Dodd.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain In the first month ... - i. e. in…
In the first month ... - i. e. in March or April of 474 B.C.
“Pur” is supposed to be an old Persian word etymologically connected with the Latin “pars”, and signifying “part” or “lot.” The practice of casting lots to obtain a lucky day still obtains in the East, and is probably extremely ancient. A lot seems to have been cast, or a throw of some kind made, for each day of the month and each month of the year. The day and month which obtained the best throws were then selected. Assyrian calendars note lucky and unlucky days as early as the eighth century B.C. Lots were in use both among the Oriental and the Classical nations from a remote antiquity.
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“Adar,” the twelfth month, corresponds nearly to our March. It seems to have derived its name from “adar”, “splendor,” because of the brightness of the sun and the flowers at that time.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Lot. The Persians were much addicted to divination. The…
Lot. The Persians were much addicted to divination. The superstitious Aman, though he would appear a deity, was to be regulated by lots! Providence caused almost a whole year to intervene, before the cruel execution was to commence. (Calmet) --- Reason began to shew the futility of divination, (Cicero) but the Christian religion alone has been able to counteract its baneful influence. (Calmet) --- India is till much infected with it. (Bernier.) --- Phur. Hebrew, "they cast Pur, that is the lot, before Aman." (Haydock) --- The explanation intimates that Pur is a Persian word. (Du Hamel) --- Yet Pagnin maintains that it means in Hebrew, "to crush," a wine-press, or vessel; and the lot, which is thrown therein. (Menochius) --- Tickets, with the names of the twelve months, were probably drawn; and after the month was thus determined, Aman put in the urn as many tickets as it had days, and was directed to pitch upon the 13th. Septuagint have the 14th, both here and ver. 13. (Calmet) --- How preposterous was the (Haydock) fury of this man, thus to decide upon the day before he had the king’s leave! (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain In the first month . . . they cast…
In the first month . . . they cast Pur, that is, the lot--In resorting to this method of ascertaining the most auspicious day for putting his atrocious scheme into execution, Haman acted as the kings and nobles of Persia have always done, never engaging in any enterprise without consulting the astrologers, and being satisfied as to the lucky hour. Vowing revenge but scorning to lay hands on a single victim, he meditated the extirpation of the whole Jewish race, who, he knew, were sworn enemies of his countrymen; and by artfully representing them as a people who were aliens in manners and habits, and enemies to the rest of his subjects, he procured the king's sanction of the intended massacre. One motive which he used in urging his point was addressed to the king's cupidity. Fearing lest his master might object that the extermination of a numerous body of his subjects would seriously depress the public revenue, Haman promised to make up the loss.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. The first month… Nisan — Corresponding nearly with…
7. The first month… Nisan — Corresponding nearly with our April. It was the first month of the Jewish year, the month of the passover.
Exo_12:2. It was called also Abib. Exo_13:4; Exo_34:18.
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They cast Pur — Pur is a Persian word, and, according to our author, signifies the lot. Haman’s diviners cast lots before him in order to determine a favourable or lucky day for carrying out his fierce design against the Jews. “The practice of casting lots,” says Rawlinson, “to obtain a lucky day, remains still in the East, and is probably extremely ancient. Assyrian calendars note lucky and unlucky days as early as the eighth century B.C. Lots were in use both among the oriental and the classical nations from a remote antiquity.
From day to day — We are not to understand that they spent a whole year in casting lots. On the first month they cast lots for each day of the month, and for each month of the year, and then, comparing all together, decided which was the most lucky day for their purpose. They fixed upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. Est_3:13; Est_8:12; Est_9:1.
To the twelfth month — Literally, from month to month the twelfth. The twelfth month was called Adar, and corresponds nearly with our March. We should not fail to observe the providence that so disposed the lot in this case (Pro_16:33) as to defer the execution of Haman’s bloody design for nearly a year, thus affording time for Mordecai and Esther to secure its defeat.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7–15. Haman’s scheme for the extermination of the Jews
7–15. Haman’s scheme for the extermination of the Jews
7. In the first month, which is the month Nisan] the Hebraised form of the Babylonian Nisannu. It is the later substitute for the older Israelite name for the first month of the year, viz. Abib (see on Est_2:16), and corresponds to the latter part of March and beginning of April. The meaning of the word Nisan is uncertain. Some make it denote fruitfulness, others, beginning or origin.
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Attention has been drawn to the tragic significance of thus plotting the destruction of the Jews in the month of their memorable deliverance from Egypt (Exo_13:4).
they cast Pur, that is, the lot] Pur is a word perhaps borrowed from the Persian pâre, a piece, fragment, and may be connected with the Latin pars, portio, or with Assyr. puru, or buru, a stone. But see further in Additional Note I, p. 67.
The custom of deciding by lot, by means of dice, or pieces of wood, or strips of paper or parchment, prevailed widely in the East, and was considered as a lawful means of committing the decision to Divine agency. Soothsayers and astrologers, who employed this among their methods of determining difficult questions, played an important part in Oriental society. The use of the lot among the Persians is mentioned by Herodotus (iii. 128) and by Xenophon (Cyrop. i. 6. 44, iv. 5. 55). For a parallel among the Jews see 1Sa_14:41 f. (cp. Pro_16:33). We may compare Act_1:26.
from day to day, and from month to month] In order to ensure the success of the scheme Haman seems to have gone through the process of testing each day of the successive months until the twelfth month and its thirteenth day (see Est_3:13) were reached, and declared favourable.
to the twelfth month] It would appear that by an error not uncommon among the copyists of manuscripts, the writer’s eye, owing to the repetition of the Hebrew for ‘month,’ passed over a clause, and that the original reading stood thus, and the lot fell upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. This correction is supported by the LXX., though it reads ‘fourteenth’ for thirteenth.
According to Jewish tradition (Megillah, 13 b) Haman tried month after month till he reached Adar. Moses died in that month. Hence Haman chose it, forgetting that in the same month Moses had also been born, and therefore from his (or rather, the Jewish) point of view it was likely to be as unfavourable to his purposes as any of the preceding. It should be added that the identity of the day of the month on which Moses was born with that on which he died is inferred by the Jewish commentator Rashi (Rabbi Solomon, son of Isaac, a.d. 1040–1105) from the words ‘I am an hundred and twenty years old this day,’ Deu_31:2, all that follows to the end of Deu_34:5 being assumed as included in the same day.
Adar] the Babylonian ad(d)âru, the meaning, however, being doubtful. As the last month of the year, it was followed by Nisan, the first of the next.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (7) In the first month . . . the…
(7) In the first month . . . the twelfth year.—In the March or April of 474 B.C.
Nisan.—The later name of the month, known in the Pentateuch as Abib. In this month the Passover had been first instituted, when God smote the Egyptians with a terrible visitation, the death of the first-born, and bade the destroying angel spare the houses with the blood-besprinkled door-posts. It was in the same month that the Passover received its final fulfilment, when “Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us,” when no mere earthly Egypt was discomfited, but principalities and powers of evil.
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Pur.—This is evidently a Persian word for “lot,” for both here and in Est_9:24 the usual Hebrew word is added. It is doubtless connected with the Latin pars, portio. and the English part. The people who cast Pur were seeking for a lucky day, as indicated by the lots, for the purpose in hand. A lot was cast for each day of the month, and for each month in the year, and in some way or other one day and one mouth were indicated as the most favourable. The notion of lucky and unlucky days seems to have been prevalent in the East in early times. and iudeed has, to a certain extent. found credence in the West.
The twelfth month.—The lucky month is thus indicated, but not the day. The LXX. adds a clause saying that it was on the fourteenth day, doubtless an interpolation on the strength of Est_3:13.
Adar.—The lunar month ending at the new moon in March. It was the twelfth month, so that nearly a year would intervene between the throwing of the lot and the carrying out of the scheme. Thus in God’s providence ample time was allowed for redressing matters.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain HAMAN CASTS LOTS TO OBTAIN A LUCKY DAY FOR…
CHAPTER 3:7-15
HAMAN CASTS LOTS TO OBTAIN A LUCKY DAY FOR HIS ENTERPRISE, AND OBTAINS A DAY IN THE MONTH ADAR, THE LAST MONTH OF THE YEAR. (Est_3:7) Having determined on a general massacre of the Jews on a given day, as the best mode of ridding the empire of them, Haman thought it of supreme importance, to select for the massacre a propitious and fortunate day. Lucky and unlucky days are recognised generally throughout the East; and it is a wide-spread practice, when any affair of consequence is taken in hand, to obtain a determination of the time for commencing it, or carrying it into effect, by calling in the arbitrement of Chance. Haman had recourse to "the lot," and by means of it obtained, as the fight day for his purpose, the 13th of Adar, which was more than ten months distant. The long delay was no doubt unpalateable, but he thought himself bound to submit to it, and took his further measures accordingly.
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In the first month, the month Nisan. See the comment on Neh_2:1. This name was first given to the month by the Jews after the return from the captivity. It was the Babylonian name of the first month of the year, and superseded the old Jewish name, Abib. The twelfth year of Ahasuerus B.C. 474, if Ahasuerus be Xerxes. They cast Pur, that is, the lot. The superstitious use of lots has always been prevalent in the East, and continues to the present day. Lots were drawn, or thrown, m various ways: sometimes by means of dice, sometimes by slips of wood, or strips of parchment or paper, and also in other manners. Even the Jews supposed a special Providence to preside over the casting of lots, (Pro_16:33) and thought that matters decided in this way were decided by God. Haman appears to have cast lots, first, as to the day of the month which he should fix for the massacre, and secondly as to the month in which it should take place. Apparently the lot fell out for the thirteenth day (ver. 13), and for the twelfth month, the last month in the year. The word "Pur" is not Hebrew it is supposed to be Old Persian, and to be connected with Mod. Pers. pareh, Lat. pars, Greek merov moira. To the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. Adar is, like Nisan, a Babylonian word, perhaps connected with edder, "splendour." The month so named corresponded nearly with March, when the sun begins to have great power in Western Asia.
HOMILIES BY W. DINWIDDLE Vers. 7-15.
Superstition and cynicism.
Haman now proceeds to carry out the terrible plan of revenge on which he had resolved. Some important steps had to be taken before he could reach his end. These seem to us strange and incongruous. We may learn from them
I THAT THE FREEDOM WHICH "NEITHER FEARS GOD NOR REGARDS MAN" MAY BE A SLAVE TO SUPERSTITION. Haman was a fatalist. He consulted Pur, or the lot, as to the day which would be favourable for his intended slaughter. Though it was only on the twelfth month that a propitious day was announced, yet he submitted to the long delay thus imposed. Fear of the fates curbed his impatience, even though it was spurred by an intense wrath. The first Napoleon, while willing to sacrifice millions of human lives at the shrine of a reckless ambition, was a victim, like Haman, to fatalistic ideas. Those who throw aside the restraints of virtue and religion come into other and more oppressive captivities.
II THAT SUPERSTITIOUS FEARS MISLEAD THOSE WHO ARE GUIDED BY THEM. The ten or eleven months which Pur placed between the conceiving and executing of Haman"s vengeance were the means of wrecking it. They gave time to Mordecai and Esther to counterplot, and to work the wicked favourite"s downfall. But Haman was so confident in his power over the king, and in the pronounced favour of destiny, that he submitted to the delay. All false gods, all idols of man"s fashioning, only get possession of the soul to deceive and destroy it.
III THAT A WICKED PURPOSE IS NOT SCRUPULOUS AS TO THE MEANS IT ADOPTS. In illustration of this observe
1. Haman"s lying report to the king concerning the Jews (ver. 8). There was some plausibility in the report, yet it was essentially a lie. It was so framed as to make the weak king falsely believe that it was not to his profit that the Jews should exist in his empire. It was true that the Israelites had their own law, and honoured it; but their loyalty to Moses, and the God of Moses, did not prevent them from being good citizens in the countries in which their scattered tribes had found a home. It is easy to clothe falsehood in the garb of truth.
2. Haman"s offer of a bribe to the king. It was an immense sum, over two millions sterling of our money. Whence was it to be drawn? Not from Haman"s own treasures, but from the devoted Jews. They were rich, and after being killed all their wealth was granted to Haman to be his own. In connection with this proposal there was evidently no consciousness of offering insult on the one side, or of receiving insult on the other. Bribery was as common in the East then as it is now. Would that we could describe it as a sin confined to the East. It enters so largely into the commercial and political life even of such a country as our own, that many touch and are tainted by it without suspecting the wrong they have received and done. The sensitiveness created by a living fellowship with Christ is required to deliver us wholly from its multiform and insidious temptations. (see Isa_33:15, Isa_33:16)
IV THAT THE THOUGHTLESS AND SELF-INDULGENT BECOME AN EASY PREY TO THE TEMPTATIONS OF THE WICKED. The king of Persia fell at once into the trap of Haman. He accepted his report without investigation, and delivered over to his will the Jews and their possessions. His proclamation, ordering the destruction of all the men, women, and children belonging to the Jewish race, was soon on its way to the authorities of every province in the empire.
V THAT THOUGHTLESSNESS, OR A FOOLISH CONFIDENCE, DOES NOT RELIEVE MEN OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS. There is, perhaps, more misery caused in the world by want of thought than by evil intention. We are bound to consider the quality and issues of our conduct, and to examine carefully the counsel of others before committing ourselves to it. It will not diminish our responsibility to say that we acted without thought, or from an inconsiderate trust in designing men. The royal seal appropriated to the king the terrible iniquity of Haman.
VI THAT EVIL CAN MAKE MERRY IN PRESENCE OF THE MISERY IT CREATES. Nero, after he had set fire to Rome, fiddled as he sat and looked at the blaze. So, while Shushan was agitated by fear, the king and his favourite "sat down to drink." The contrast here is most striking; it was evidently designed to impress the imagination and heart. We think of the fearfulness that entered into every household of the city; and then we turn to the two revellers, who, having issued the terrible edict, betook themselves to the wine-cup, that they might drown thought and care. Human nature may become so wanton in its allegiance to evil as to laugh at the suffering it works.
VII. THAT COMMUNITIES OF PEOPLE ARE OFTEN BETTER THAN THEIR RULERS. The citizens of Shushan had sympathy with the innocent multitudes whose blood was to be so needlessly shed. They knew their peaceful virtues. They were united with them in many interests. They grew afraid of a licentious power which could without reason decree the massacre of an unoffending race. It is rather in the common heart of a people than in the will of selfish potentates that we look for a recognition of what is sound and good in feeling or action. D.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS Ver. 7.
Consulting omens.
cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day." "Pur" is an old Persian word said to signify "part" or "lot." Haman resorted to the practice of casting a lot to find out what he believed would be a lucky day for his design. He had a blind faith in the unseen, and in the overruling of supernatural powers. He inquired of his idols, and acted according to received superstitions. His object was an evil one, but he supposed that his god would be on his side.
I WE MUST LEARN TO SUBMIT TO THE OVERRULING OF PROVIDENCE. Haman was consistent with his superstition. We are ofttimes inconsistent in our acts. We profess to believe that God will overrule all for the best, and then we become doubtful and fretful because things turn not out as we expected.
II WE MUST IMITATE THE PERSISTENT WAITING OF HAMAN. He must have found it wearying work to inquire so frequently, casting lots for one day after another, and having no favourable reply. The lot was cast for all the days of eleven months ere he had a period fixed which promised to be fortunate for him. He that believeth shall not make haste.
III WE SHOULD SEEK NOT LUCKY PERIODS, BUT FITTING OPPORTUNITIES OF SERVICE. There are many foolish ideas as to periods, as those among sailors about Friday, and sailing on that day.
IV THAT WHICH APPEARS MOST PROMISING FOR THE PLOTTER MAY BE THE WORST. The delay had given Mordecai and Esther time to act. God"s hand may have been in this. "The lot was cast into the lap, but the whole disposal was of the Lord". (Pro_16:33) Haman was misled by his inquiries, but God"s people saved by Haman"s delay through his superstition. Providence never misleads men; it leads to the best issues. H.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain In the first month, they cast Pur, that is,…
Est_3:7
In the first month, they cast Pur, that is, the lot.
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The time of the lot
The drawing of the lot took place in the month Nisan, or about March of our year, and the day fixed by it was the thirteenth day of Adar, or February--a period of nearly twelve months intervening. The patience of Haman would be sadly tried by this result, but his superstitious fears would prevent him from acting contrary to the decision of Pur. In tracing the deep lines of providence in the whole narrative, however, we cannot help seeing a higher and more beneficent wisdom than that of chance. Had an earlier day been decided upon, sufficient time might not have been given to Mordecai to use the means which he did to frustrate the conspiracy. If the suspense of the Jews was a trial of their faith, and an incentive to prayer, the interval was also a boon in so far as it gave Mordecai leisure for deliberate action in view of the kings subsequent decree. No doubt, in this instance, the disposing of the lot was of the Lord--a disposing of it very different from the intention of those who used it. So may the lot become in the hands of those who believe in its decisions the means for the accomplishment of the retributive purposes of God. (T. McEwan.)
The blind method of revenge
Revenge, when it becomes a master passion, is the worst madness.
I. Revenge is blind in its method. This is illustrated in the conduct of Haman. He caused the lot to be cast to find out the favourable day for the accomplishment of his purpose.
1. He was blind to the fact that there is no chance.
2. He was blind to the fact that so-called chance might as easily be against him as for him.
3. He was blind to the fact that the lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
II. Haman persisted in his revengeful purpose. What a glorious revolution would soon take place, if the good were as persistent in the pursuit of merciful purposes as the bad are in revengeful projects. Every bad passion is injurious in its permanence.
III. Revenge is destructive in its patience. Haman was willing to wait twelve months in order that his revenge might be the more signally marked. But his very patience worked his ruin. Time is not on the side of revengeful waiters. (W. Burrows, B. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Est_3:7.] The first month Nisan corresponds nearly with our…
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Est_3:7.] The first month Nisan corresponds nearly with our April. The twelfth month Adar with our March. An interval of eleven months. פּוּור is an old Persian word meaning lot (sors). The words “from day to day, from month to the twelfth month,” must not be understood to say that lots were cast day by day, and month by month till the twelfth; but that in the first month lots were at once cast, one after the other, for all the days and months of the year, that a favourable day might be obtained. We do not know the manner in which this was done, “the way of casting lots being unknown to us.”—Keil. But Rawlinson says Pur is supposed to be an old Persian word etymologically connected with the Latin pars, and signifying part or lot. In modern Persian parch has that meaning. The recovered fragments of the old language have not, however, yielded any similar root. הפִיל may be regarded as an impersonal verb, and refers to some one whose office it was to cast lots.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Est_3:7
THE BLIND METHOD OF REVENGE
This is curious, that there should be method in madness. Insanity is the result of mere mental confusion or distraction. Sometimes it arises from the preponderance of one idea, and that idea is pursued with marvellous persistence. It has its method, but by being narrow in its vision it becomes blind in its pursuit. Revenge when it becomes a master passion is the worst madness. It has its method, but no wonder that it is blind. It is persistent in seeking to carry out its revengeful project. It is patient until the time has arrived to strike the deadly blow.
I. Revenge is blind in its method. Let the conduct of Haman, as the embodiment of revenge, be our illustration. He caused the lot to be cast in order to find out the favourable day for the accomplishment of his fiendish purpose. We are astonished to find method in him who was “full of wrath;” but we are not astonished to find that he was blind in his proceeding. (a) He was blind to the fact that there is no chance. His course was self-contradictory. He consulted chance in order to make a definite arrangement. A kind of blindness men often display. (b) He was blind to the fact that so-called chance might as easily be against him as for him. He evidently thought himself all-important, and that the paper drawn out of the pitcher would most certainly have written on it the lucky day. Men that trust to chance will in the long run find that they have been fools for their pains. (c) He was blind to the fact that “the lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.” It was so here. The lot was disposed to the complete discomfiture and overthrow of revengeful Haman, and to the salvation of Mordecai and his people.
II. Revenge is injurious in its persistence. Haman persisted in his revengeful purpose. The pertinacity of the man is marvellous. What a glorious revolution would soon take place if the good were as persistent in the pursuit of merciful purposes as the bad are in revengeful projects. Every bad passion is injurious in its permanence. More injurious to its subject than to its object. Haman was doing himself more injury and rendering himself more miserable than he could have done or rendered Mordecai even if all his purpose had been accomplished. “Let not the sun go down on your wrath” is a wise lesson. The wise will let their anger cool, but in the bosom of a fool it burns till morning light.
III. Revenge is destructive in its patience. Haman was willing to wait twelve months in order that his revenge might be the more signally marked, and his triumph the greater. But his very patience worked his ruin. We sometimes say time is on the side of him who will but wait. But time asks what is the character of the waiter, and what is the purpose he has in view. Time is not on the side of revengeful waiters. Time holds in its hands no rewards to be presented in the distant future to the wicked. Every man must suffer either here or hereafter who pursues a course of seeking to avenge his wrongs.
Let Haman’s followers ponder the telling proverbs—“Curses, like chickens, always come home to roost;” they return, that is, to those from whom they went forth. “Ashes always fly back in the face of him that throws them.” “Harm watch, harm catch.” “Who sows thorns, let him not walk barefoot.” Hear the instructive voice of Paul—“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Est_3:7
In the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus.—When Esther had now been queen above four years, and, being greatly beloved, was in a capacity to do her people good. This was a sweet providence; the remedy was ready before the disease broke out. No country hath more venomous creatures than Egypt, none more antidotes. So godliness hath many troubles, and so many helps against trouble.—Trapp.
They cast Pur, that is, the lot.—The Septuagint preserves a clause of this verse which assists to explain its meaning. It thus reads, “They cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman, from day to day, and from month to month (that he might destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell for the fourteenth) of the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.” From this it appears that the lots were cast in order to determine the month and the day of the month which might be most propitious for this barbarous undertaking, or most calamitous for the Jews.—Illustrated Commentary.
The method of procedure seems to have been this, that at the beginning of the first month Haman caused the diviners whom he kept about him to cast the lot to determine what day of the month, and what month of the year, would bring his design to a successful termination. In this manner he learnt that the thirteenth day of the twelfth month would be the propitious day. The interval was long, nearly a whole year; but this was brought about by a special providence, in order that the scheme might be defeated, and the projector of it visited with the punishment he merited. Under all systems of false religion, divination, or the attempt to pry into futurity so as to get light cast upon contingent affairs, has been largely practised. We find reference made to it in the Book of Genesis, as an Egyptian custom, when the cup which was put into Benjamin’s sack is called that by which Joseph divined. The Babylonians or Chaldæans, however, seem to have been addicted to divination beyond all other nations, and were indeed proverbial for the use of it. There are several references made to this in the prophetic books. The Persians also were addicted to the same practices; and it is said that among that people even at the present day, no one commences a journey, or almost any work the most trifling, without consulting an almanac, or an astrologer, for a fortunate moment. It would seem, indeed, as if there were a natural tendency in the human mind to read futurity by certain devices of its own. We hear sometimes of individuals in our own day who are so weak as to suffer themselves to become the dupes of designing knaves, who for money pretend by certain signs and omens to foretell what will be the result of matters in which they are interested. One could afford to smile at the absurd credulity which thus allows itself to be imposed upon, if it were not that the cherishing the desire to know the future, and having recourse to any such means to have it gratified, is denounced in the Scripture as impiety. The Jewish people were solemnly warned against such procedure, that they might not by means of it degrade and pollute themselves as the heathen did. No rational man will suppose that by casting lots, or by observing the flight of birds, or by inspecting the entrails of an animal slain in sacrifice, or by astrology, or by any of the other methods which were employed to discover what day or hour would be suitable for an undertaking, or what would be the issue of it, a true result could be obtained. Yet, as all these things formed part of the instrumentality by which Satan kept up his dominion over the minds of men, we can conceive that sometimes in the Divine providence they might be permitted to take effect, to punish those who were given over to a blind and reprobate mind, and that, as in the case of Haman’s lots, there might be an overruling of human sin and folly to work out the purposes of the Divine government.
It is natural for us to desire to lift up the veil; and sometimes, in pressing emergencies, we would give much to be enabled to do this. But since the word of God tells us that all events are under his control, and that his eye is ever on his people, and all that concerns them, for their good, we may well wait patiently for the evolution of his purposes.—Davidson.
Superstition and imposture have always been ready to lend their aid to the worst and most diabolical deeds. It was customary among the ancients to divide their days into lucky and unlucky, and they were anxious to undertake any great work on a propitious day. Among the various ways to which they had recourse for ascertaining this was the lot, which was used on this occasion by Haman. It is of little importance to ascertain the particular mode of casting the lot, whether it was by means of dice, or other instruments cast into the urn, or by throwing arrows or other missiles, accompanied with certain magical actions.
Observe the overruling providence of God. During an interval of eleven months, Mordecai and Esther had time to use means for defeating the design, and if they proved unsuccessful, the Jews had time to shift for their lives. The hearts of all men are in the hand of the Lord, who can turn them as he pleaseth. Haman was the slave of superstition, which controlled his most violent passions, and by means of it his wrath was restrained, and its intentions brought to nought. “The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.” “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.”—McCrie.
There is a proverb to the effect that the devil limps, and any who look thoughtfully into history or more private affairs will find it confirmed. That is to say, the god of this world betrays himself, and cannot help betraying himself, by leaving some point unguarded, by doing something unwise, even when much power and cunning have been brought into play. Or, to put the same truth in another aspect, when the enemies of God and man are most busy, and seem to be most successful, “he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.” There were blunders in Haman’s plot against the people of God which secured its failure. Why did he offer two millions sterling as compensation for the loss of revenue, at the same time that he was telling Ahasuerus it was “not for the king’s profit to suffer” the Jews to live? If the king had taken time to think, he would have detected a selfish motive under the inconsistent offer. It did not escape Esther when her time came to speak.—A. M. Symington, B.A.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 3
Est_3:7. Lot casting. The old interpreter addeth in urnam, into the pitcher. And the new annotations tell us that, about casting lots, there was a pitcher into which papers, with names of the several months written on them, and rolled up, were cast; yea, also papers with the name of every day and of every month were cast in; then one, blindfolded, put in his hand, and pulled out a paper, and according to the marks which they had set down, such a month proved lucky, and such a day in the month; and, by God’s providence, it so fell out that their supposed lucky day was on the twelfth month, whereby it came to pass that their plot was defeated before the time of accomplishing thereof.—Trapp.
Est_3:7. Deciding by lot. In nearly all cases where reason cannot decide, or where the right of several claimants to one article has to be settled, recourse is had to the lot, which “causeth contentions to cease.” In the East a young man is either so accomplished, or so rich, or so respectable, that many fathers aspire to the honour of calling him son-in-law. Their daughters are said to be beautiful, wealthy, and of a good family; what is he to do? The name of each young lady is written on a separate piece of olah, and then all are mixed together. The youth and his friends then go to the front of the temple; and being seated, a person who is passing by at the time is called, and requested to take one of the pieces of olah, on which a lady’s name is inscribed, and place it near the anxious candidate. This being done, it is opened, and she whose name is written there becomes his wife.—Oriental Illustrations.
Est_3:7. The leech and surgeon. When a surgeon puts a leech upon a patient, his intention is to heal; the leech follows the instincts of its nature, and the two work together to produce the desired result. When Joseph’s brethren sold him into Egypt, their intention was to humiliate him and to be rid of him; but it was made to serve God’s intention, which was to exalt him. So Haman planned for the destruction of the Jewish people, and delayed his purpose; but it was God’s purpose to save. Haman’s delay hastened the purpose of God. Should we not rather say that God made use of Haman’s delay to bring about his gracious purpose of deliverance to Israel and destruction to their enemies?
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain first month i.e. April; Est 3:12
first month i.e. April; Est 3:12
twelfth month i.e. March; Est 3:13
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 In the first month
In the first month
"In month one" (See: Ordinal Numbers)
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which is the month of Nisan
"Nisan" is the name of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. It is during the last part of March and the first part of April on Western calendars. (See: Hebrew Months and How to Translate Names)
in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus
"in year number 12 of King Ahasuerus" or "when King Ahasuerus had reigned for about twelve years" (See: Ordinal Numbers)
the Pur—that is the lot—was thrown
"they cast the Pur—that is the lot—" (See: How to Translate Names)
the twelfth month
"month twelve" (See: Ordinal Numbers)
the month of Adar
"Adar" is the name of the twelfth and last month of the Hebrew calendar. It is during the last part of February and the first part of March on Western calendars. (See: Hebrew Months and How to Translate Names)
translationWords
year
Ahasuerus
lots
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:7 lots were cast . . . (the lots…
3:7 lots were cast . . . (the lots were called purim): Throwing the purim was like throwing dice. The Hebrews used lots from time to time to understand God’s will (Lev 16:8-10; Neh 10:34). Persian astrologers used purim in the first month of the year to determine which days that year would bring good fortune.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.