Ester 3:12-4:3 NVIPT

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

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Esther 3:12

the thirteenth day. Ominous number. See App-10 . Note the three thirteens: Esther 3:12 , Esther 3:13 ; Esther 8:12 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Esther 3:12

THE DAY WAS SET;THE DECREE WAS SIGNED;THE MASSACRE WAS ANNOUNCED"Then were the king's scribes called, in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month; and there was written according to all that Haman commanded unto the king's satraps, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the princes of every people, to every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, in the name of king Ahashuerus was it written, and it was sealed with the... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Esther 3:12

12-15. Then were the king's scribes called . . . and there was written—The government secretaries were employed in making out the proclamation authorizing a universal massacre of the Jews on one day. It was translated into the dialects of all the people throughout the vast empire, and swift messengers were sent to carry it into all the provinces. On the day appointed, all Jews were to be put to death and their property confiscated; doubtless, the means by which Haman hoped to pay his stipulated... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Esther 3:7-15

B. Haman’s Proposal 3:7-15His pride having been wounded, Haman set about to take revenge, not only on Mordecai, but also on all of Mordecai’s relatives. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Esther 3:10-15

3. The king’s permission 3:10-15The 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... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Esther 3:1-15

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

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Esther 3:12

(12) On the thirteenth day of the first month.—From the next verse we see that the thirteenth of Adar was to be the lucky day for Haman’s purpose, which may have suggested the thirteenth of Nisan as a suitable day for this preliminary step. Bishop Wordsworth reminds us that this day was the eve of the Passover, so that Haman’s plot against the Jews strangely coincides in time with one five hundred years later, when the Jews themselves, aided by heathen hands and the powers of darkness, sought... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Esther 3:1-15

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

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Esther 3:1-15

HAMAN AND HIS WICKED PLOT CHAPTER 3 1. The promotion of Haman and Mordecai’s faithfulness (Esther 3:1-6 ) 2. Haman’s proposal and the King’s assent (Esther 3:7-11 ) 3. The proclamation of death (Esther 3:12-15 ) Esther 3:1-6 . How long after these things the history of this chapter came to pass is not definitely stated. It probably happened after a short interval. We are now introduced to Haman, the Son of Hammedatha the Agagite. Him the king promoted and set his seat above all the... read more