And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan ,.... That the Jews might have leave to seek out and slay the rest of their enemies in Shushan, on the fourteenth day, in like manner as they had on the thirteenth: and they hanged Haman's ten sons ; on the same gallows very probably their father was hanged; the Targum gives us the distance between each person hanged thereon. read more
Deliverance and victory. The history of "the chosen nation" is full of Divine deliverances. The present is only one of the many instances in which, by faith, the Israelites "escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." I. THE MEANS of the deliverance and victory here related. Royal authority primarily accounts for it. Only by the sanction of the king could the Jews dare to draw the sword and... read more
They hanged the ten sons of Haman . Exposure on a cross was regarded as a deep disgrace, and was a punishment often inflicted by the Persians on persons killed in some other way (see Herod; 3:125; 7:238; Xen; 'Anab.,' 3. 1, § 17; Pint; 'Vit. Artax.,' § 17). read more
8:1-10:3 THE JEWS TRIUMPHANTVictory and celebration (8:1-9:32)Although Mordecai was appointed chief minister instead of Haman (8:1-2), the decree arranged by Haman was still in force. A king’s decree could not be changed. However, the king gave Esther and Mordecai his authority to issue a new decree that would counteract the former one (3-8).Esther and Mordecai acted promptly. They gave the Jews permission to take whatever action they chose in order to defend themselves against any attack on... read more
commanded. Hebrew. 'amar. See note on Esther 1:10 . read more
5-16. Thus the Jews smote all their enemies—The effect of the two antagonistic decrees was, in the meantime, to raise a fierce and bloody war between the Jews and their enemies throughout the Persian empire; but through the dread of Esther and Mordecai, the provincial governors universally favored their cause, so that their enemies fell in great numbers. read more
5. The Jews’ self-defense 9:1-19The king gave the Jews permission to defend themselves by killing their enemies. Evidently this meant that they not only met attack with resistance, but in some cases they initiated attack against those who they knew would destroy them. [Note: See Baldwin, pp. 100-2.] These would have been people such as Haman’s sons, who would have sought retaliation for their father’s death in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion. Anti-Semitism has a very ancient history.... read more
III. ESTHER’S INTERVENTION 4:4-9:19Haman’s plan to exterminate the Jews created a crisis, and now Esther’s intervention with Ahasuerus provided the solution. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Esther 9:1-19
We have here a decisive battle fought between the Jews and their enemies, in which the Jews were victorious. Neither side was surprised; for both had notice of it long enough before, so that it was a fair trial of skill between them. Nor could either side call the other rebels, for they were both supported by the royal authority. I. The enemies of the Jews were the aggressors. They hoped, notwithstanding the latter edict, to have power over them, by virtue of the former (Est. 9:1), and made... read more