We resume our studies in the Book of Esther, with chapter 8. (I am using the Peshitta Holy Bible Translated translation today.)
1And King Akhashiresh gave to Esthir the Queen the house of Haman the enemy of the Jews, and Murdacai entered before the King, because Esthir had revealed what he was to her. 2And the King picked up the ring that he took from Haman and he gave it to Murdacai, and Esthir appointed Murdacai over the house of Haman.
Imagine the king’s amazement to learn that Esther and Mordecai were related. Accordingly, that very same day {Nisan 17}, in the wake of Haman’s death (pun intended) Mordecai gets a major promotion from the king, essentially taking Haman’s place in the Persian Empire’s governmental structure. whereas Esther “inherits” all of Haman’s earthly assets. Not wishing to appear ungrateful for the king’s very lavish bequest, Esther appointed Mordecai as administrator over those assets, as opposed to just simply giving them to him. In the overall scheme of things, while all that is “nice”, it did not achieve Esther’s and Mordecai’s primary objective, which was to save the Jewish people from extinction. I love the way Rabbi David Fohrman put it in his book, The Queen You Thought You Knew”. “...the planned pogram against the Jews lingered like a bad hangover.”
Honestly, I cannot figure this king out. Is he stupefyingly indifferent? Is he amazingly dumb? Is he malicious? Which is it? Regardless, it is obvious that he has now moved on to other things, as though he did not even hear the part of Esther’s request that included the salvation of her people. Despite the brilliance of Esther’s plan, it had thus far failed. Things did not work out the way she had hoped. The pre-existing edict was still existing.
Haven’t we all “been there”? We embark upon a great plan, one carefully considered. We implement it flawlessly. But, the result is not what we wished for. “Man supposes, God disposes”, as the expression goes. It’s hard to take, isn’t it? If the goal is worthy, what do we do? Well, we regroup and seek the Lord. We ask, “Are we indeed the ones for this particular task?” And, if the answer is "yes”, our next prayer is “Direct us, Lord!” Onward to Plan B.
So, what are Esther’s choices?
Well, she can merely leave the matter unaddressed, and try to protect as many of her family and friends as possible from the coming slaughter.
Or, she can go to the king with a direct appeal for mercy. This option is not without risk. Why is that?
To this point, Esther has portrayed herself as “Mother Persia”, that “everywoman” or “any woman” with no encumbrances, no other allegiances. But, in going to plead the cause of the Jews before the king, she is revealing herself to have a very deep allegiance, one to a sub-group of the empire, to the Jews. You see, while Haman was doing his dastardly deeds, she could more or less hide behind him, in that she could advocate for her people while keeping her own liaisons in the background. No longer. No more hiding. Let’s read.
3And Esthir returned and spoke before the King, and she fell before his feet, and she was begging and was making supplication to him that he would remove the evil of Haman the Aggagite and the plot that was determined against the Jews. 4And the King reached the scepter of gold toward Esthir, and Esthir came near to him.
Once again we see Esther coming before the king unsolicited. Make no mistake: this move was as risky as the previous one. There still existed the possibility the royal scepter would not have been extended to her, and she would have lost her life. There IS a difference of opinion here, though. The commentator Menos HaLevi said that Haman had himself instituted the law that prevented subjects from approaching the king unsummoned, and that with his death that law was annulled.
In the NIV, NLT, ESV, the JPS Tanakh and other versions/translations, the Scriptures contain the words “weeping” or “wept”. In all the prior machinations, Esther had kept her cool, not employing the feminine tactic of weeping to help her case.
5And she stood before the King, and she said: “If it is good unto the King, and the matter is pleasing before the King, and if I have found favor in his eyes, let him write and let him reverse the letters and the plots of Haman the Aggagite that he wrote to destroy all the Jews in all the provinces of the King. 6For how can I look at the evil that will happen to my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my nation?”
Vilna Gaon, a commentator, notes that there are three components of a successful request and that they are as follows: it must be pleasing to the one being solicited; the petitioner must be likable/liked by the respondent; and, the request itself must be a proper one.
In addition to teaching Bible, another part of my life is selling. What I sell is not important to this discussion. However, I have personally experienced the truth of these words. People will not buy from you if they don’t like you. I reached out this morning to a neighbor, who is also an HVAC guy. He works for a government entity in that role. In addition, he moonlights in the evenings in his own HVAC business. In thinking about him, when he comes over to service a unit or replace a thermostat or whatever, he is SO very personable. He has the gift of gab. To some, that trait might be annoying. But, he is very much at ease around people and he is fun to talk with. Another professional in the area told me today that he is the number one HVAC person in our local area, and there is a LOT of competition. The likability factor can’t be overestimated.
As Vilna Gaon went on to note, it’s important to not “bark up the wrong tree”. That means that the request must be presented to the right person, with the request being an appropriate one.
If you look at the way Esther phrased her request, all three of these components are present. Now, interestingly, Esther’s approach seems to be that she is asking that HAMAN’s letters and plots be reversed. The Hebrew word used for “reverse” in this translation is from the Hebrew root “shuv”, from which we get “teshuvah”, what some commonly call “repentance”. I have heard teachers and preachers say over the years that repentance means that a person is walking in one direction, then they turn around 180 degrees and walk back in the other. That explanation is right in line with the word “teshuvah”. She is asking that Haman’s letters be “returned”.
Now, why is she doing this? Well, in phrasing it that way, she is lessening the “blame” on the king, much as she was doing earlier in the story. “This evil Haman”, she said, when she brought the hammer down at the banquet. Assuming this would “fly”, the king could avoid the embarrassment of having two conflicting edicts afoot at the same time. However, the king understood that the decree was not revocable and that, although it was a deception perpetrated by Haman, the decree still bore the king’s seal. It was commonly known in Persia that an edict written and sealed with the king’s seal was irrevocable.
Another commonly held interpretation of the word l’ha-sheev is “nullify”, which is similar to “return” or “turn back”, but not exactly the same.
Why is this level of detail included in the story? What do we care about the machinations of ancient Persian law? Well, let me ask you this? Do you see any foreshadowing or any previous themes, such as a theme you might have encountered in the book of Genesis?
Here we have two laws. The first law involves a holocaust, wiping out an entire race of people. Evil at its height. The law cannot be revoked. This law is a type of one of God’s eternal laws, namely, the law summed up in Ezekiel 18:4 - - “The soul that sins will die.” This law cannot be revoked either, because God will never act in any way that is out-of-character, or to put it differently....He will never act in a way that is contrary to His divine nature. So, a second solution was needed. What was the second eternal law, which nullified the first, the second law being analagous to Mordecai’s Edict? The same King of Heaven who decreed the first law has also decreed the second:
'that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved' for ' the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ' (Romans 10:9, 6:23)
Just as the Jews of Esther’s Persia were given a second decree that brought life and freedom, so this second eternal law of God’s brings grace, forgiveness and life.
The next part of Esther’s plea involved linking her strongly to the Jewish people, portraying their welfare as strongly linked with her own. In other words, she would suffer irreparable pain and anguish, should her people be exterminated.
7And King Akhashiresh said to Esthir the Queen: “Behold, I have given you the house of Haman, and him they have hanged on a cross, because he reached a hand against the Jews
8And according to what is excellent in your eyes in the name of the King, you seal for the Jews with the signet ring of the King in a writing that is written in the name of the King and is sealed with the ring of the King that does not change.”
Nice try, Esther! Sounded good, but it’s a “no go”. The king is affirming with his reply his support for Esther’s and Mordecai’s people. He begins his response by listing off the favors he has already done for Esther. You might think he would then say, “Is this not enough for you? Leave me alone!” However, he becomes magnanimous. He is also affirming the Persian law: namely, that no edict issued by the king and sealed with his ring (his authority) can be recalled or repealed. So, what was King Ahasuerus to do? He gave Esther (and by extension Mordecai) the authority to write a new decree, as they saw fit. In any manner they deemed would be effective. Ever heard of “carte blanche”? Well, they were almost given carte blanche. The only thing they would not do was to call back the original decree. Their challenge, then, became the writing of a decree that would neutralize Haman’s earlier decree, but would not actually challenge its legal standing.
Here’s what the commentators say. Esther’s and Mordecai’s strategy was to write a new document that would give the Jews the right to avenge themselves on their enemies. When the rulers of the provinces would see the new edict, they would undoubtedly destroy the earlier one. By the time it arrived, they would have heard of Mordecai’s rise to power and of Haman’s ignoMINious end. It would be clear to them that the king certainly had thrown in with the Jews. And, they would do nothing to go against the king. More about that in a moment...
The king had essentially denied Esther’s request, while at the same time giving the Jews an “out”, a way out, if Esther and Mordecai could determine how best to word it. In this respect, the king was following an admittedly boneheaded Persian law, while at least seeming to help his beloved queen’s native people. Mordecai and Esther took a couple of months to devise their plan. Does that seem odd? Some of the commentators say that he did this so that the courtiers who had been sent out with Haman’s decree could have returned to the palace, because he felt it essential the Mordecai Edict be delivered by the same courtier who had delivered Haman’s edict. He believed this would add the same level of legitimacy that was applied to Haman’s edict.
Now, at this point, as mentioned last week we begin a parenthetical narrative, detailing events that took place on the 23rd of Sivan, about 9 weeks later. The events of Nisan 17 continue with verse 15 of chapter 8. Even though the setting of these parenthetical verses are out of chronological order, they are placed here because they continue Ahasuerus’ line of thinking regarding his instructions for composing the second decree affecting the Jews.
9And the Scribes of the King were called at that time in the third month which is Kheziran, on the twenty third of the month, and they wrote everything that Murdacai wrote about the Jews to the Generals of the armies and to the Lords and to the Nobles of the provinces, from India and unto Cush, a hundred and twenty and seven provinces, each city according to its writing, and the people according to its language, and to the Jews according to their writing and according to their language. 10And they were written in the name of King Akhashiresh, and they were sealed with the signet ring of the King, and he sent the letters by Runners and by Post Messengers, Horse Riders on young male mules. 11The letters that the King wrote for the Jews who were in every city, to assemble and to stand up for their lives and to use the sword and to kill and to destroy everyone who distresses them, and the children and the women and their property were for spoil 12In one day in all of the towns of King Akhashiresh, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month which is Adar. 13And a copy of the writing was given to every town and he commanded all the peoples that the Jews would be prepared for this day to avenge themselves of their enemies. 14And the Runners and the Post Messengers, the Horse Riders came, and they went out speedily with the message and with the order that was ordered in Shushan the Palace.
In verse 10, we see these three verbs actioned by Mordecai: he wrote, he sealed, he sent. While Haman had delegated the processes of getting his edict out, being in an extreme hurry, Mordecai took over two months to set up his plan, overseeing every detail.
Verse 12 contains a phrase that has puzzled the sages for centuries. From the original Hebrew it literally says “riders of swift mules, bred of mares”. For all the talk of mules and mares, one of the more famous Jewish sages, Rashi, has theorized the strange wording is used because the animals referred to were a species of swift camel. Maybe they were sort of like large emus. I mean, can you just visualize it! But, of course, we must take the Scriptures at face value and not let our imaginations run amok.
I also want to point out that the scope, the time frame of Mordecai’s edict, like that of Haman’s was “one day” - - the 13th of Adar.
As Rabbi Fohrman pointed out in his book...In a pogrom of any kind the key players are not usually the actual combatants. The real power is in the attitude of the government officials, the position of “the state.” Americans will likely remember the recent behaviors of those involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, as contrasted with the behaviors of the recent January 6th protestors. The BLM rioters, who looted, burned and left havoc in their wake everywhere they went were essentially allowed to run amok. By contrast, the actions of the police toward the January 6-ers was extremely different.
Let’s analyze Mordecai’s strategy.
First of all, the new edict gives the Jews the right to band together and defend themselves. That is not terribly surprising. The Haman Edict, let’s call it, said that the Jews would be set upon by a very prepared and jeeped-up non-Jewish Persian populace. It just makes sense that Mordecai’s Edict, let’s call this latest one, would allow the Jews to mount an appropriate response to that coming attack, although as they have been down through history they were very much in the minority and severely outnumbered. But, then, Mordecai’s edict goes ON to say that the Jews have permission to bring the hammer down on their enemies - - to destroy, slay, cause to perish not only the fighting men, but also the children and women. And, Mordecai was not through....after all the rampaging and killing, the Jews were then authorized to take their enemies possessions as spoils of war.
Wow. That’s a lot. But, remember his audience. It is not the Jews. It is not the non-Jewish Persians. His audience is the 127 rulers and demi-rulers beneath them, in the 127 provinces of the vast Persian Empire! This is a public-relations campaign of the highest order! Mordecai knew that his edict would be compared to the previous one, the decree of genocide. If you think back to Esther 3:13, Haman’s decree was harshly worded; it contained very pointed, violent language. It left no room for equivocation. It called for the exact opposite of Mordecai’s later decree....AHHHH, and here we have a clue. If you compare the two, they effectively cancel each other out. Mordecai’s edict matches Haman’s point-by-point. This is why Mordecai’s edict was so “bloodthirsty!”
Yet, at that point, the situation still remained, humanly-speaking, in the hands of the provincial rulers, the 127 satraps. Would they decide to take the first decree more seriously, or the second? Taken as a whole, the two decrees call for a civil war, pitting the Jews against everyone else! It must have sounded like madness!
What can Mordecai do to “tip the scales” in the Jews’ favor? Watch what he does, after formulating his plan, but before the decrees are promulgated! (We are now back to Nisan 17...)
15And Murdacai went out from before the King in the garments of the kingdom of blue fringes and fine linen and with a crown of gold, and wrapped in fine white linen and in purple, and the city Shushan danced and rejoiced.
Mordecai dresses up in his greatest finery and went out before the people in this fine fashion, as though he was already celebrating a victory. Do you remember Mordecai’s words back a few chapters earlier? Let’s look at them again. This was a man of great faith!
13And Murdacai said: “Say to Esthir, do not think in your soul that when in the house of the King you will escape, you of all the Jews! 14If you are silent at this time, the Jews will have relief and salvation from another place, and you and the house of your father are destroyed, and who knows if you have been called and have been brought to the kingdom for this time?”
Mordecai held a parade because he was confident of the outcome of this scenario. He had faith in the promises that had been given to Father Yahweh’s chosen people. He knew they would never be completely wiped out. His parade was meant to communicate confidence in his God, that He would assure the Jews the victory. And, as a result, what happened? The people of Shushan “caught” the spirit that Mordecai was conveying. Accordingly, they began to dance and rejoice as well. Although Jews were spread through all 127 provinces of the Persian Empire, there was a high concentration of Jews in the capital city of Shushan.
16And upon the Jews was light and joy and honor and dancing. 17In all the city and in all the villages wherever the message of the King and his commandment arrived the Jews had great joy and drinking and a fine day, and many of the peoples of the Earth were moved to regret, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.
One of my college professors was fond of saying, “Nothing succeeds like success.” In other words, it you want to create more successes, start with one. If you want to create more joy, walk in joyfulness. Etc. Word of Mordecai’s rise to power and his joyful celebration spread all over the empire, in advance of his edict! The celebration was not an egotistical, self-congratulatory spectacle! It was part of a psychological warfare campaign. When word reached the far-flung satraps that Mordecai the Jew was parading around in royal robes, that beloved Queen Esther is in fact a Jewess herself, and that the people (including the Jews) of Shushan were celebrating in the streets....what would you have thought, Mr. Satrap? Which side would you have picked?
The fate of the Jewish people was riding on Mordecai’s grand bluff.
The sages say that the Jews also were granted increased freedom of religion after Mordecai’s rise to power, and that this gave them the liberty to freely and openly study the Torah without hindrance, in addition to being able to conspicuously practice circumcision, the holidays and the wearing of religious objects such as tefillin and phylacteries and tallits.
Furthermore, this cultural shift, this seismic change “caught on” all over the empire. Verse 17 says that …"nothing succeeds like success”! Just kidding. I saw this reel someone had shared on social media today. There was a line of stoic fishermen, fishing off the peer. Another fisherman more or less dances his way up to a spot in the line-up and throws his line into the water, dancing all the while. In just a few moments, while the other fishermen were gesturing and smirking at him, he snagged a sizeable fish and then danced away. What did the other fishermen do? “Light and joy and honor and dancing!” They started two-stepping while they fished. It was a ridiculous video short, but it tracks along with what happened in verse 16. Did you know that verse 16 is one of the four verses read aloud in synagogues by the congregation on Purim, during the public reading of the Esther story? That’s right! Now, on to the final verse in this chapter.
17In all the city and in all the villages wherever the message of the King and his commandment arrived the Jews had great joy and drinking and a fine day, and many of the peoples of the Earth were moved to regret, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.
All across the empire, the Jews rejoiced and partied, while the non-Jews had somewhat different reactions to the news of the second edict. Some were struck with fear. Perhaps they had been involved in the mistreatment of Jews, regretted those actions, and had a fear of what might happen to them on the 13th of Adar. In some translations it is written that others decided that the best course of action would be to become a Jew, the “if you can’t beat’em, join’em” strategy (NIV, NLT, BSB, KJV, NASB). While some may have become genuine converts, other translations of the Scriptures indicate that most only “professed themselves Jews” (JPS Tanakh, CSB, HCSB, NET). The literal translation of the Hebrew is “faked Jewishness”. Some commentators believe the custom of dressing up, masquerading on Purim, derived from this happening. The non-Jews “masqueraded” as Jews in order to save their hides and the Jews masqueraded in order to commemorate the miracle.
Regardless, these indicators of public perception helped to turn the tide, so that when the day of infamy finally arrived, the 13th of Adar, the Jews to a great extent had the hearts of the people and of the civic/military leaders. We will see that in chapter nine.
I am planning to have one more teaching on the book of Esther, to do chapters nine and ten together next week. If you have looked ahead, you will see that chapter ten is very short.
Before we end our time together this week, however, I want to point out something in the book of Esther that can be found in some other places in the Scriptures as well. It is called a chiastic structure.
I first learned about this biblical literary device from studying with Rabbi David Fohrman. If you are unfamiliar with it, let me explain how it works.
In a chiastic structure, there are two halves, with the climax of the action being in the dead center, the so-called “central axis”. The two halves mirror each other. Imagine a letter X. Now, imagine the X with the entire right side gone. When a chiasm is diagramed, the cascading elements form the left side of an upper case X, with the most dramatic element being in the very middle. A chiastic structure is similar to a hinged mirror, with the hinge being the central point.
This is all beginning to sound very technical and nonsensical, or at best, irrelevant. So, let me illustrate with an example.
In a chiasm from the book of Exodus, the first half of the chiasm contains events leading up to the golden calf incident at Mt. Sinai. That event is the dead center of the chiasm, and the key point of the passage. As the story proceeds on, the same themes are presented on the other “leg” of the “X”, but in reverse order. There is beauty in the divine symmetry, seeing the thumbprint of God on the story.
So, here is a chiastic structure from the book of Esther, although some commentators view the entire book as a chiastic structure.
Credit for this graphic goes to: https://jamesbejon.substack.com/p/easter-esther-and-the-third-day
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