Esther 9:1

INSTITUTION AND OBSERVANCE OF THE FEAST OF PURIM; CELEBRATING THE GREAT VICTORY OF ISRAEL ON THE THIRTEENTH OF ADAR;

THAT FATEFUL DAY ITSELF - THE THIRTEENTH OF ADAR

"Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them (whereas it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them), the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hands on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them was fallen upon all the peoples. And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and they that did the king's business, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai was fallen upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went forth throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai waxed greater and greater. And the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they would to them that hated them. And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men. And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha, and Poratha, and Adalia, and Andatha, and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Andai, and Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews' enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid not their hand."

"The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities" (Esther 9:2). "This does not mean exclusively Jewish cities, but cities where the Jews constituted an element in the population."[1] At this point in history, there were no exclusively Jewish cities outside of Judea.

"On such as sought their hurt" (Esther 9:2). "Retaliation was limited to those who actively sought to kill the Jews."[2]

"All the princes ... helped the Jews" (Esther 9:3). Rawlinson believed that this did not include military help, but only moral support;[3] but Dummelow wrote that, "The great massacre (Esther 9:16) was, in part, the work of Persian authorities and their military forces."[4] The latter viewpoint seems more reasonable to this writer. F. C. Cook also agreed with this.[5]

"The fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them" (Esther 9:3). "It was clear to all the Persian authorities that both the king and Mordecai favored the Jews, and those who attacked the Jews would surely have brought wrath upon themselves."[6]

"And the Jews smote all their enemies" (Esther 9:5). "There were many Persian citizens who took full advantage of the first decree and attacked their hated Jewish neighbors; but, deprived of government support, and faced by a newly encouraged people, they were totally defeated."[7]

"Parshandatha ... the ten sons of Haman" (Esther 9:7-10). "These names are Persian and traceable to old Persian roots."[8] This fact alone makes it impossible to accept the unsupported allegation of critics that, "The Book of Esther is fiction."[9] Such critics attempt to identify Esther as a fiction written in the times of the Maccabees; but who, on earth, three hundred years after the events related would have remembered, or could have invented, ten authentic Persian names for the sons of Haman?

"But on the spoil they laid not their hand" (Esther 9:10). This statement occurs no less than three times in this chapter, appearing also in Esther 9:15 and Esther 9:16. "The Jews had a right to take the spoil, but they waived it, because they were fighting for survival, not for material gain. They were not the aggressors in this conflict, but they were defending themselves from their enemies who sought to slay them."[10]