After these things. Hainan was not made Grand Vizier till five years later. See Esther 3:7 . Ahasuerus. See note on Esther 1:1 . Agagite. A descendant of Amalekite kings (Numbers 24:7 . 1 Samuel 15:8 , 1 Samuel 15:32 ). Called an Amalekite by Josephus ( Antiquities xi. 6, 5). read more
HAMAN'S PLOT TO KILL THE ENTIRE JEWISH RACE;ASHAMED TO KILL JUST ONE MAN; HAMAN DECIDED TO EXTERMINATE THE WHOLE ISRAEL OF GOD"After these things did king Ahashuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king's servants that were in the king's gate, bowed down, and did reverence to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence. Then the... read more
Esther 3:1. Haman—the Agagite— This man was descended in a direct line from Agag, whom Samuel hewed in pieces in Gilgal. Calmet. read more
1. After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman . . . set his seat above all the princes—that is, raised him to the rank of vizier, or prime confidential minister, whose pre-eminence in office and power appeared in the elevated state chair appropriated to that supreme functionary. Such a distinction in seats was counted of vast importance in the formal court of Persia. read more
2. Haman’s promotion 3:1-6The events we read in chapter 3 took place four years after Esther became queen (cf. Esther 2:16; Esther 3:7).Agag was the name of an area in Media that had become part of the Persian Empire. [Note: Gleason L. Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, p. 421.] However, Agag was also the name of the Amalekite king whom Saul failed to execute (1 Samuel 15:8; cf. Numbers 24:7). By mentioning both Kish, Saul’s father, and Agag, the Amalekite king, the writer may... read more
Haman’s Revengeful Design Against the Jews1. The Agagite] It has been suggested that the name is an epithet meant to recall the Amalekite Agag hewn in pieces by Samuel (1 Samuel 15:33), and intended to indicate contempt and abhorrence.2. Mordecai bowed not, etc.] In the apocryphal ’Rest of Esther’ Mordecai explains in a prayer to the Almighty that he refused to bow down to Haman, ’that he might not prefer the glory of man above the glory of God.’ Amongst many heathen peoples divine honours were... read more
III.(1) Haman . . . the Agagite.—Nothing appears to be known of Haman save from this book. His name, as well as that of his father and his sons, is Persian; and it is thus difficult to see the meaning of the name Agagite. which has generally been assumed to imply descent from Agag, king of the Amalekites, with whom the name Agag may have been dynastic (Numbers 24:7; 1 Samuel 15:8). Thus Josephus (Ant. xi. 6. 5) and the Chaldee Targum call him an Amalekite. But apart from the difficulty of the... read more
The Solitariness of Principle Esther 3:8 In this story of the Persian Empire it is related how Haman, the king's chief favourite, felt insulted because Mordecai the Jew neglected to give him sufficient honour. His wounded dignity demanded revenge, but could not be satisfied with merely inflicting punishment on the man who had offended him. Because Mordecai was a Jew he would have the indignity wiped out by the extermination of the whole tribe. So Haman, by a little judicious flattery of the... read more
HAMANEsther 3:1-6; Esther 5:9-14; Esther 7:5-10HAMAN is the Judas of Israel. Not that his conduct or his place in history would bring him into comparison with the traitor apostle, for he was an open foe and a foreigner. But he is treated by popular Judaism as the Arch-Enemy, just as Judas is treated by popular Christianity. Like Judas, he has assigned to him a solitary pre-eminence in wickedness, which is almost inhuman. As in the case of Judas, there is thought to be no call for charity or... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Esther 3:1-15
3:1-7:10 PLAN TO DESTROY THE JEWSHaman 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... read more