Esther 7:8

THE KING RETURNED AND ORDERED HAMAN'S EXECUTION

"Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine, and Haman was fallen upon the couch where Esther was. Then said the king, Will he even force the queen before me in this house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Then said Harbonah, one of the king's chamberlains that went before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman hath made for Mordecai, who spake good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. And the king said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified."

"Will he even force the queen before me" (Esther 7:8)? The furious king was placing the worst possible construction upon Haman's prostrate position before Esther, suggesting by these words that Haman was attempting to rape the queen. That was certainly not the case at all; but it is a matter of history that Xerxes was capable of doing nearly anything, and that he was unstable, unreasonable and capricious. It was the knowledge of all this that had fueled Esther's fear when she went unbidden into his presence.

"As the word went out of the king's mouth" (Esther 7:8). The singular rendition of WORD in this place is correct; "For it is singular in the Hebrew."[4] Furthermore, "That Hebrew word may also be rendered JUDGMENT, being therefore a statement that the king immediately pronounced the judgment of death against Haman."[5] The fact that they immediately, "covered Haman's face," supports that understanding of the passage.

"Then said Harbonah ... Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high in the house of Haman" (Esther 7:9). This sheds further light on that gallows. Its being in the house of Haman forbids the notion that it was really that tall. How then was it "fifty cubits high"? The answer appears to be that it had been placed at that altitude on the city wall, where, in all probability Haman's house was located; and in that position, it could be seen from the place where the banquet of wine was being held. The meaning then would be that the gallows was that high, in the sense of being erected at that elevation. Our analysis of this has some element of speculation in it; but it is difficult to suppose that any kind of structure nearly a hundred feet in height could have been constructed over night. Also, the word behold indicates that it was visible from the palace.

"Then the king's wrath was pacified" (Esther 7:10). Very well, so far, so good! But the danger was far from being averted. That evil decree sent forth in the authority of the "Law of the Medes and Persians that altereth not," was still out there, in every province of the Empire (Daniel 6:9). The great danger of a wholesale slaughter of the Jews still persisted.