Esther 5:9 Ulasan

The last news we had of Haman left him in his cups, Est 3:15. Our last news of queen Esther left her in tears, fasting and praying. Now this chapter brings in, I. Esther in her joys, smiled upon by the king and honoured with his company at her banquet of wine (Est 5:1-8). II. Haman upon the fret, because he had not Mordecai's cap and knee, and with great indignation setting up a gallows for him (Est 5:9-14). Thus those that sow in tears shall reap in joy, but the triumphing of the wicked is short.

This account here given of Haman is a comment upon that of Solomon, Pro 21:24. Proud and haughty scorner is his name that deals in proud wrath. Never did any man more answer that name than Haman, in whom pride and wrath had so much the ascendant. See him, I. Puffed up with the honour of being invited to Esther's feast. He was joyful and glad of heart at it, Est 5:9. Observe with what a high gust he speaks of it (Est 5:12), how he values himself upon it, and how near he thinks it brings him to the perfection of felicity, that Esther the queen did let no man come with the king to the banquet but his mighty self, and he thought it was because she was exceedingly charmed with his conversation that the next day she had invited him also to come with the king; none so fit as he to bear the king company. Note, Self-admirers and self-flatterers are really self-deceivers. Haman pleased himself with the fancy that the queen, by this repeated invitation, designed to honour him, whereas really she designed to accuse him, and, in calling him to the banquet, did but call him to the bar. What magnifying glasses do proud men look at their faces in! And how does the pride of their heart deceive them! Oba 1:3. II. Vexing and fretting at the slight that Mordecai put upon him, and thereby made uneasy to himself and to all about him. 1. Mordecai was as determined as ever: He stood not up, nor moved for him, Est 5:9. What he did was from a principle of conscience, and therefore he persevered in it, and would not cringe to Haman, no, not when he had reason to fear him and Esther herself complimented him. He knew God could and would deliver him and his people from the rage of Haman, without any such mean and sneaking expedients to mollify him. Those that walk in holy sincerity may walk in holy security, and go on in their work, not fearing what man can do unto them. He that walks uprightly walks surely. 2. Haman can as ill bear it as ever; nay, the higher he is lifted up, the more impatient is her of contempt and the more enraged at it. (1.) It made his own spirit restless, and put him into a grievous agitation. He was full of indignation (Est 5:9) and yet refrained himself, Est 5:10. Gladly would he have drawn his sword and run Mordecai through for affronting him thus; but he hoped shortly to see him fall with all the Jews, and therefore with much ado prevailed with himself to forbear stabbing him. What a struggle had he in his own bosom between his anger, which required Mordecai's death immediately (O that I had of his flesh! I cannot be satisfied! Job 31:31), and his malice, which had determined to wait for the general massacre! Thus thorns and snares are in the way of the froward. (2.) It made all his enjoyments sapless. This little affront which he received from Mordecai was the dead fly which spoiled all his pot of precious ointment; he himself owned in the presence of his wife and friends, to the everlasting reproach of a proud and discontented mind, that he had no comfort in his estate, preferment, and family, as long as Mordecai lived and had a place in the king's gate, Est 5:10-13. He took notice of his own riches and honours, the numerousness of his family, and the high posts to which he was advanced, that he was the darling of the prince and the idol of the court; and yet all this avails him nothing as long as Mordecai is unhanged. Those that are disposed to be uneasy will never want something or other to be uneasy at; and proud men, though they have much to their mind, yet, if they have not all to their mind, it is as nothing to them. The thousandth part of what Haman had would serve to make a humble modest man as much of a happiness as he expects from this world; and yet Haman complained as passionately as if he had been sunk into the lowest degree of poverty and disgrace. III. Meditating revenge, and assisted therein by his wife and his friends, Est 5:14. They saw how gladly he would dispense with his own resolution of deferring the slaughter till the time determined by the lot, and therefore advised him to take an earnest and foretaste of the satisfaction he then expected in the speedy execution of Mordecai; let him have that to please him at the moment; and having, as he thought, made sure the destruction of all the Jews, at the time appointed, he will not think scorn, for the present, to lay hands on Mordecai alone. 1. For the pleasing of his fancy they advise him to get a gallows ready, and have it set up before his own door, that, as soon as ever he could get the warrant signed, there might be no delay of the execution; he would not need so much as to stay the making of the gallows. This is very agreeable to Haman, who has the gallows made and fixed immediately; it must be fifty cubits high, or as near that as might be, for the greater disgrace of Mordecai and to make him a spectacle to every one that passed by; and it must be before Haman's door, that all men might take notice it was to the idol of his revenge that Mordecai was sacrificed and that he might feed his eyes with the sight. 2. For the gaining of his point they advise him to go early in the morning to the king, and get an order from him for the hanging of Mordecai, which, they doubted not, would be readily granted to one who was so much the king's favourite and who had so easily obtained an edict for the destruction of the whole nation of the Jews. There needed no feigned suggestion; it was enough if he let the king know that Mordecai, in contempt of the king's command, refused to reverence him. And now we leave Haman to go to bed, pleased with the thoughts of seeing Mordecai hanged the next day, and then going merrily to the banquet, and not dreaming of handselling his own gallows.

INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 5 This chapter gives an account of Esther's going in to the king, and of his holding out the golden sceptre to her, on which she invited him and Haman to a banquet of wine that day, and to another the next day, Est 5:1, which highly delighted Haman; and he went to his house and family with great joy, and yet chagrined at Mordecai's not bowing to him; wherefore, at the advice of his wife and friends, he erected a gallows to hang him upon, proposing to get a grant for it from the king the next day, Est 5:9.

Nevertheless Haman refrained himself,.... From showing any outward resentment to Mordecai, from laying hands upon him or taking revenge on him, as being too much below him to avenge himself on a single person, when the whole body of the people Mordecai belonged to would shortly feel the power of his hand for such insolent treatment of him: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife; who, the Targum says, was the daughter of Tatnai, the governor on the other side the river, Ezr 5:3.

Esther presents herself before the king, and finds favor in his sight, Est 5:1, Est 5:2. He asks what her request is, and promises to grant it, Est 5:3. She invites him and Haman to a banquet, which they accept, Est 5:4, Est 5:5. He then desires to know her request; and she promises to make it known on the morrow, if they will again come to her banquet, Est 5:6-8. Haman, though overjoyed at the manner in which he was received by the queen, is indignant at the indifference with which he is treated by Mordecai, Est 5:9. He goes home, and complains of this conduct to his friends, and his wife Zeresh, Est 5:10-13. They counsel him to make a gallows of fifty cubits high, and to request the king that Mordecai may be hanged on it, which they take for granted the king will not refuse; and the gallows is made accordingly, Est 5:14.

That he stood not up, nor moved for him - This was certainly carrying his integrity or inflexibility to the highest pitch. But still we are left to conjecture that some reverence was required, which Mordecai could not conscientiously pay.

ESTHER INVITES THE KING AND HAMAN TO A BANQUET. (Est 5:1-14) Esther put on her royal apparel--It was not only natural, but, on such occasions, highly proper and expedient, that the queen should decorate herself in a style becoming her exalted station. On ordinary occasions she might reasonably set off her charms to as much advantage as possible; but, on the present occasion, as she was desirous to secure the favor of one who sustained the twofold character of her husband and her sovereign, public as well as private considerations--a regard to her personal safety, no less than the preservation of her doomed countrymen--urged upon her the propriety of using every legitimate means of recommending herself to the favorable notice of Ahasuerus. the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house--The palace of this Persian king seems to have been built, like many more of the same quality and description, with an advanced cloister, over against the gate, made in the fashion of a large penthouse, supported only by one or two contiguous pillars in the front, or else in the center. In such open structures as these, in the midst of their guards and counsellors, are the bashaws, kadis, and other great officers, accustomed to distribute justice, and transact the public affairs of the provinces [SHAW, Travels]. In such a situation the Persian king was seated. The seat he occupied was not a throne, according to our ideas of one, but simply a chair, and so high that it required a footstool. It was made of gold, or, at least, inlaid with that metal, and covered with splendid tapestry, and no one save the king might sit down on it under pain of death. It is often found pictured on the Persepolitan monuments, and always of the same fashion.

Esther's Gracious Reception by the King. Haman's Rage against Mordochai - Est 5:1-14 On the third day Esther betook herself in her royal apparel to the inner court of the palace, and was so kindly received by the king, that he promised to grant her any petition she might make; whereupon she requested the king to come with Haman that day to a banquet which she had prepared (Est 5:1-8). On returning from this banquet, Haman saw Mordochai in the king's gate, and when the latter did not bow before him, was so enraged, that, upon the advice of his wife and friends, he resolved to induce the king to permit the execution of Mordochai on the following day (Est 5:9-14).

Haman went forth from the palace satisfied and with a joyful heart. When, however, he saw Mordochai in the king's gate, who neither stood up nor trembled before him, he was full of indignation against him. וגו קם ולא are circumstantial clauses following the principal clause without a copula. קם and זע are perfects, and ולא - ולא are used in the sense of neque - neque. זוּע constructed with מן means to tremble before any one, to be disquieted. Est 5:10 Haman, however, refrained himself; and without immediately giving vent to his rage at Mordochai, went home and sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh, that he might unburden himself before them, and take counsel with them for Mordochai's destruction. Est 5:11-12 He first spoke to them of his wealth and domestic happiness, of the "glory of his riches and the multitude of his children." From Est 9:7-10 we learn that Haman had ten sons; and many sons were not looked upon as a great blessing from God by the Israelites only, but were also esteemed a signal prosperity among the Persians, the king annually sending presents to him who had the greatest number of sons. (Note: Herod. says, i. 136: Ἀνδραγαθίη δ ̓ αὕτη ἀποδέδεκται, μετὰ τὸ μάχεσθαι εἶναι ἀγαθὸν ὅς ἂν πολλοὺς ἀποδέξῃ παῖδας τῷ δὲ τοὺς πλείστους ἀποδεικνύντι δῶρα ἐκπέμπει ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος. Comp. Strabo. xv. 3. 17.) Haman next recounted to them the great honours he had attained; כּל־אשׁר את, all how the king had made him great, and how he had advanced him above the princes; comp. Est 3:1. אשׁר is a second accusative of the means by which something is brought to pass. Finally, Est 5:12, what high distinction had just been accorded him, by the queen having invited him alone to come to her banquet with the king. "Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet which she had prepared but myself; and to-morrow am I also invited unto her with the king." אף enhances the meaning: even this honour is shown me. קרוּא־להּ אני, I am her invited guest = I am invited to her and by her; comp. Ew. 295, c. Est 5:13 And yet all his good fortune is embittered to him as often as he sees the hated Jew Mordochai. "And all this availeth me not at every time when I see the Jew Mordochai sitting in the king's gate." לי שׁוה is, not being equalled to me, i.e., not answering my desires, not affording me satisfaction.אשׁר בּכל־עת, at all time when = as often as. The fortune and honour he enjoys fail to satisfy him, when he sees the Jew Mordochai refuse to show him the reverence which he claims. Est 5:14 His wife and all his friends advise: "Let a tree be made (set up) fifty cubits high, and to-morrow speak to the king, that Mordochai may be hanged thereon (i.e., impaled; see on תּלה Est 2:23); and then go in merrily with the king to the banquet." The counsellors take it for granted that the king will without hesitation agree to Haman's proposal to execute Mordochai, and therefore advise him at once to make the necessary preparations, so that the hated Jew may be hanged on the morrow before the banquet, and Haman may then go with the king to the feast prepared by the queen, free from all annoyance. גב עץ עשׂה, to make, i.e., to erect a high tree. The higher the stake, the farther would it be seen. The 3rd pers. plur. יעשׂוּ stands instead of the passive: let them make = let ... be made. So too יתלוּ for let ... be hanged. This speech pleased Haman, and he caused the stake to be erected.