Their laws are diverse from all people - Such they certainly were; for they worshipped the true God according to his own laws; and this was not done by any other people then on the face of the earth. read more
Let it be written that they may be destroyed - Let it be enacted that they may all be put to death. By this he would throw all the odium off himself, and put it on the king and his counsellors; for he wished the thing to pass into a law, in which he could have but a small share of the blame. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver - He had said before that it was not for the king's profit to suffer them; but here he is obliged to acknowledge that there... read more
The king took his ring - In this ring was no doubt included his privy seal, and he gave this to Haman, that when he had formed such a decree as he thought fit, he might seal it with this ring, which would give it its due force and influence among the rulers of the provinces. The privy seal of many of our sovereigns appears to have been inserted in their rings; and the seals of Eastern potentates were worn in rings upon their fingers. One such seal, once the property of the late... read more
Unto the king ' s lieutenants - אחשדרפני achashdarpeney . This is in all probability another Persian word, for there is nothing like it in the Hebrew language, nor can it be fairly deduced from any roots in that tongue. The Vulgate translates ad omnes satrapas regis , to all the satraps of the king. It is very likely that this is the true sense of the word, and that the אחשדרפני achsadrapani , as it may be pronounced, is the Chaldee or Hebrew corruption of the Persian word ... read more
To destroy , so kill , and to cause to perish - To put the whole of them to death in any manner, or by every way and means. Take the spoil of them for a prey - Thus, whoever killed a Jew had his property for his trouble! And thus the hand of every man was armed against this miserable people. Both in the Greek version and in the Latin the copy of this order is introduced at length, expressing "the king's desire to have all his dominions in quiet and... read more
The posts - Literally, the couriers, the hircarrahs, those who carried the public despatches; a species of public functionaries, who have been in use in all nations of the world from the remotest antiquity. The decree was given at Shushan - It was dated from the royal Susa, where the king then was. The city Shushan was perplexed - They saw that in a short time, by this wicked measure the whole city would be thrown into confusion; for, although the Jews were the... read more
In the first month, the month Nisan . See the comment on Nehemiah 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... read more
Consulting omens. "They 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.... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Esther 3:7
The first month - That is, of the civil year of the Jews. The month Nisan - Answering to a part of our March and April. 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 pari , which signifies any thing that happens fortuitously. There is an addition here in the Greek... read more