Bible Commentaries

On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews’ enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he [was] unto her.

On that day — This was a festival and a good day, as Esther 8:17 , albo lapillo notandus, for the many signal mercies that thereon came in together, viz. Esther’s petition granted, Haman hanged, Mordecai advanced, the proscribed Jews relieved, … As crosses seldom come single ( Catenata piorum crux ), but trooping together commonly, and treading upon the heels of one another, like Job’s messengers, James 1:2 ; so do blessings from God: there is oft a continued series, a concatenation; there comes a troop, as she said, when her son Gad came, Genesis 30:11 . God is rich in mercy, Romans 10:12 . Neither are we at any time constrained in him, but in our own heart.

Did the king Ahasuerus give — For into the king’s hands was all Haman’s estate forfeited. The Turks have a proverb, He that is greatest in office is but a statue of glass. Few of their viziers die in their beds, but are cut off at a short warning, and all they have is confiscated.

The house of Haman — i.e. His goods and chattels, all that glory of his riches, whereof he had so greatly boasted, Esther 5:11 , and which he had been so many years heaping and hoarding. Nem0 confidat nimium secundis.

The Jews’ enemy — It is ill being the Church’s enemy: she hath a champion that will stick to her, Isaiah 37:23 , so that her enemies shall all be found liars unto her, Deuteronomy 33:29 . Let them read their destiny in that cup of trembling, burdensome stone, hearth of fire, mentioned Zechariah 12:2-3 ; Zechariah 12:6 , and hear the Church’s motto, Nemo me impune lacessit; no one provokes me with impunity, there cannot be a greater folly than to be her enemy, for she conquereth even when conquered; as Christ overcame as well by patience as by power, Victa tamen vinces, eversaque Troia resurges.

Unto Esther the queen — So making good that of Solomon, Proverbs 13:22 . The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. See Job 27:16-17 . Thus was that of the Canaanites for the Israelites, of Nabal for David, of the former tyrants and persecutors, for Constantine the Great, to whom the good God (saith Austin, De C. D. 1. v. c. 25) gave so much worldly wealth, quantas optare nullus auderet, as no man could ever have wished. That Haman was exceeding rich, appeareth by that large offer of his, Esther 3:9 ; who can tell but that he might have as much as Pope John XXII, in whose coffers were found by his heirs two hundred and fifty tons of gold, as Petrarch reporteth.

And Mordecai came before the king — As his continual attendant and special favourite, his cousin and counsellor; perhaps one of the seven mentioned Esther 1:14 . He that hitherto sat as a servant before the king’s gate is now grown so great a man all upon the sudden. It is the Lord that thus raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory, 1 Samuel 2:8 . Promotion cometh neither from the east, west, nor south (where the warm sunshine is), but God is the judge, he putteth down one, and setteth up another, Psalms 75:6-7 . He advanced Jovinian and Valentinian, men of low birth, to the empire. In the year of grace 518 Justinus was first a swine herd, then a herdsman, then a carpenter, then a soldier, and lastly an emperor. Cromwell, a smith’s son of Putney or thereabouts (whose mother married after to a sheerman), what a great man grew he here to be in King Henry VIII’s time? Virtue exalteth the meanest, when villany tumbleth down the noblest.

For Esther had told what he was unto her — viz. Her first cousin and foster father, her friend that was as her own soul, as Moses phraseth it, Deuteronomy 13:6 , and preferreth him before brother, son, daughter, wife. His relation to Esther was as a stirrup to help him into the saddle of highest preferment.

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And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

And the king took off his ring — As a sign of intimate friendship, and a bond of strictest league of love. That this was usual among the Persians, is testified by Alexander. ab Alexandro, Lib. i. c. 26. Of Alexander the Great it is told, that when he died he left his ring to his dearest friend Perdiccas, but his dominions, τω κρατιστω , to the worthiest. This set up competitors, and bred much trouble. Ahasuerus knew that a worthier than Mordecai he could not easily find, and therefore besides that momentary honour he had newly done him, Esther 6:10 , he now not only by this ring admitteth him into nearest friendship, but, as some think, advanceth him to be keeper of the seal, and lord chancellor of all the empire.

Which he had taken from Haman — And so degraded and exauthorated him before his execution: this is usual.

And gave it unto Mordecai — Acknowledging thereby his error in promoting so unworthy a man before; whom having punished for his deserts, he here pitcheth upon a better. En Imperatorem valde terribilem nec minus clementem, Behold the very emperor terrible and very little mercy, as Frederick, the elector of Saxony, said of Charles V. Let Ahasuerus be what he wishes, Almighty God is in this text set forth as bountiful to his people, and terrible to his enemies. See Psalms 34:15-16 .

And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman — As her chief steward, to see that everything went right, and were put to the best. Haman’s sons lived some months after this, but were outed of all. An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning, but the end thereof shall not be blessed, Proverbs 20:21 . He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor, Proverbs 23:8 . God will provide him both an executor and an overseer, as here he did Haman.

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And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.

And Esther spake yet again — Having sped so well before, she is encouraged to speak yet again. Heb. She added to speak before the king, Nec his contenta Esther (Vulg.). She had a further request, and having had so free access, and so good success, she takes the boldness to commence it. We should do so when we come before God. Prayer should be multiplied like those arrows of deliverance, 2 Kings 13:18 , and our suits reinforced while we speak yet again; as Abraham did in his intercession for Sodom. See, for our encouragement, that fourfold comfortable, yet again uttered by the Lord, Zechariah 1:17 .

And fell down at his feet — This was a more humble posture than yet she had used; importing her lowly mind and most earnest desire, whereunto she added tears, these effectual orators ( - Nam lachrymae pondera vocis habent ) that prevail with the hardest hearts many times, and alter the strongest resolutions. Hereof we have an instance in our chronicles, which, because it somewhat suiteth with the case in this text, I will here relate: King Edward III, laying siege to Calais, they desired parley, and had this final sentence, that six of the chief burgesses should be sent to the king, bareheaded, barefooted, in their shirts, with halters about their necks, the keys of the town and castle in their hands, and submit themselves to the king’s will; for the residue he was content to take to mercy. Those came, and the king commands them presently to be carried to execution, and would not on any suit be diverted, in regard, as he said of his oath, till the queen, great with child, fell on her knees before him, and with tears obtained their pardon, and had them given unto her. Nescit Antipater? said Alexander the Great. Knoweth not Antipater that one tear of my mother Olympias can easily wash off all his accusations of her to me?

To put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite — She doth not say to reverse the bloody decree of the king of Persia, for this might have irritated that waspish prince, and made him to have rejected her request as unreasonable, impossible. She therefore useth a great deal of commendable prudence ("I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions," Proverbs 8:12 ), and picks out her best time, that she may set her words upon the wheels, as Solomon hath it, Proverbs 25:11 , and utter right words that may be forcible, Job 6:25 . Such another was Abigail, the woman of Tekoah, and the matron of Abel.

And his device that he had devised against the Jews — All the blame is laid upon Haman, who was indeed a man of wicked devices, and had taken counsel, both crafty and cruel, against God’s people. Him, therefore, she maketh the only author and actor in this business, not once mentioning the king, who yet had ratified the decree, but, by his late dealing with Haman, had sufficiently testified his utter dislike of his own act therein, and cried, Had I wist! ουκ ωμην .

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Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,

Then the king held out the golden sceptre — It appeareth by this, that she once more put her life in her hand; hazarding it for her people’s safety (as Arsinoe interposed her own body between her children and the murderers sent to slay them), and so performing her promise made to Mordecai, Esther 4:16 . God’s children are all such as will not lie, Isaiah 63:8 ; if they swear to their hurt, yet they dare not change, Psalms 15:4 , dare not say and unsay, 2 Corinthians 1:18-19 . Of many promises it may be said, as Tertullian doth to the peacock, that they are all in changeable colours; as often changed as moved. Holy Esther was none such; no more was that blessed martyr of Jesus Christ, Mr Hawkes, when in the flames remembering his promise to certain friends (to give them a sign whether the rage of the pain were tolerable), be reached up his hands burning on a light fire, and clapped them over his head three times together, to the great astonishment of the beholders, but especially to them who understood the matter.

So Esther arose, and stood before the king — Experience had bred confidence. They likewise that humble themselves under the mighty hand of God shall be exalted in due time, 1 Peter 5:6 . And as the lower the ebb the higher will be the tide; so the lower we descend in humiliation, the higher shall we ascend in exaltation.

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And said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing [seem] right before the king, and I [be] pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which [are] in all the king’s provinces:

And said, If it please the king — See Esther 5:8 . Thus, when we pray to God, we must take unto us words, and speak in a low language, as broken men. The poor speaketh supplications, Proverbs 19:28 .

And the thing seem right before the king — She taketh not upon her to prescribe, but is willing to subscribe to the king’s good pleasure. Let us do so to the only wise God. John 2:8 , the mother of Christ doth not too earnestly in words press him to do that she desired, but only lays open the case, They have no wine, referring all to his discretion; so ought we in our prayers for temporal things. Socrates taught his scholars to ask no more of God but this, that he would do them good; but how, and how much, they should leave that to him, as best understanding what is best and fittest for us. Those in the Gospel that would needs be at a certainty, and bargain with the Master of the vineyard for a penny a day, when they had their penny, they went grumbling away, that it was but a penny, Matthew 20:10-12 .

And I be pleasing in his eyes — If my beauty please him, which is the best letter of recommendation to a prince, as the queen mother of France was wont to say.

Let it be written to reverse the letter — She did not request to rule the whole empire for three days, as Semiramis once did; nor to set Persepolis on fire, as Alexander the Great did, at the motion of his concubine; but that the king her husband would revoke and rescind the letters of Haman’s device, that he would by new letters correct and over-rule (as the Vulgate Latin hath it) those formerly devised by Haman, that he would antiquate and abolish the plots and projects of that wicked man. And albeit this request of hers might seem to some uncivil and overly bold; yet in a case of such great consequence, wherein the glory of God, the preservation of his people, and the honour, of the king were so much concerned, she doubteth not to present and prosecute it. Hinc igitur satis est conspicua Esterae sancta audacia, therefore this is enough holy boldness in the eyes of Esther, saith an interpreter; such as was also that of Cranmer in the parliament house, when the Six Articles were in agitation; and that of George, marquis of Brandenburg, who professed at the imperial diet at Ausburg, Malle se flexis ibi coram Caesare genibus, speculatori cervicem feriendam statim praebere, that he would rather lose his head presently there in the presence of the emperor, than to yield his assent to the Popish Interim (Scultet. Annal.).

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For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?

For how can I endure to see the evil, … — She had her life already given her at her petition; but unless she might have her people at her request, who were sold as well as herself, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish, Esther 7:3-4 , her life would be unto her a joyless, that is, a lifeless life, Mortis enim habet vices quae trahitur vita gemitibus. It is rather a death than a life that is spent in heaviness and horror. And this would be Esther’s case if her people should be massacred, as was designed and decreed; such was her holy sympathy and endeared affection to her countrymen and fellow citizens of heaven, that she could not live to behold such a sad and bloody spectacle:

said Anchises to his son Æneas, that would have saved his life in that common destruction of his country: Far be it from me to outlive Troy. Curtius telleth us, that Alexander the Great, when he was extremely thirsty, and had water offered to him, he would not receive it, but put it by with this brave speech, Nec solus bibere sustineo, nec tam exiguum dividere omnibus possum, There is not enough for all my soldiers to share with me, and to drink it alone I cannot find in my heart, I will never do it. Compare herewith this speech of Esther, and you will find it far the better, as being full of those precious graces (whereunto Alexander was a perfect stranger), humility, prudence, faith, zeal toward God, and ardent love toward his people. Oh how great is the number of those today (saith Lavater here), qui ne micam Spiritus Estherae habent, who have not the least parcel of Esther’s spirit, but are all for themselves, and for their own interests!

Or how can I endure to see — Heb. Quomodo potero et videbo? How can I? and shall I see? how should I do otherwise than sink at the sight (as she did in the Roman History, when her son was butchered; and as the Virgin Mary felt a sword at her heart when she beheld Christ crucified, Luke 2:35 ). Melancthon said, that good Oecolampadius died of grief for the Church’s calamities. Nehemiah was heart sick for the breaches of Joseph, Nehemiah 2:3 Amos 6:6 . Moses wished himself expunged, and Paul accursed, rather than it should go ill with God’s people.

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Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.

Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther, … — Here Haman’s letters of Mark are reversed by Ahasuerus, whose answer to Esther is full of gentleness and sweetness; but yet such as discovereth a mind perplexed, and cast into straits, as princes eftsoons are by the subtilties and malice of wicked counsellors, Daniel 6:15 , so that they cannot do as they would, unless they will bring all into a combustion; though usually where the word of a king is there is power, Ecclesiastes 7:4 ; and the old lord treasurer, Burleigh, was wont to say, that he knew not what an act of parliament could not do in England; and King James, in his speech in the Star chamber, A.D. 1616, said as much.

Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman — i.e. I have done somewhat toward the performance of my promise made to Esther, Esther 7:2 , and more I am willing to do, only I must observe good order, and do things with discretion. Behold, I give you potestatem plenariam et omnimodam, all the power I have, that therewith you may help yourselves, only my former decree I cannot reverse, but I shall stir up great garboils in the kingdom. Josephus indeed telleth us, that Ahasuerus did retract the edict procured by Haman, and further, gave power to the Jews, that if any withstood the king’s will herein they should kill them, … But we are not bound to believe him in all things; as neither Herodotus, Livy, nor any of the historians (the sacred always excepted), for Vopiscus, who was one of them, confesseth, neminem historicorum non aliquid esse mentiturn, that there is none of them that hath not taken liberty to lie more or less (in Vita Aureliani), and it is manifest that Josephus’s manner is to recite what he thinks likely to have been done, and what is fit to be written of such a business. Baronius annales facit non scribit, saith one: think the same of Josephus, he rather maketh a history, sometimes, than writeth it. And therefore that is but a sorry excuse that the Papists make for their sacrilegious forbidding the people to read the Scriptures, when they refer them to Josephus, as having the history of the Bible more largely and plainly described.

Because he laid his hand upon the Jews — He did it because he designed it. Like as Balak also arose and fought with Israel, Joshua 24:9 , and yet the story saith nothing so. But that is in Scripture said to be done that is intended or attempted. And this the heathen also saw by the dim light of nature. Hence that of Seneca, Fecit quisque quantum voluit. He made anyone as great as he wished. And another saith,

Polybius attributeth the death of Antiochus to his sacrilege only in his purpose and will. This Josephus thinks could not be, sc. that a man having a purpose only to sin should be punished by God for it. Hence he derideth Polybius for the forecited censure; but he had no cause so to do, for the heathens herein exceeded the Pharisees, who held thought free, and Josephus was soured with their leaven.

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Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal [it] with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.

Write ye also for the Jews — Here was one syngram, or authoritative writing, crossing another. What could the people think of this, but that crowns have their cares, and it were a wonder if great persons, in the multitude of their distractions, should not let fall some incongruities. We must not think, saith Lavater here, if princes or states command things different from one another, that it proceedeth from lightness of mind; but that they make laws and set forth edicts according to the state and necessity of the times, and as the public good requireth. In the beginning of Queen Elizabeth’s reign here (when men’s minds differed concerning religion, and reformation could not safely be wrought at once) it was by one and the same proclamation commanded, that no man should speak irreverently of the sacrament of the altar, and both kinds were permitted in the administration. Religion was changed without commotion by degrees; after that the Romish superstition had stood a whole month and more, after the death of Queen Mary, as afore. The sacrifice of the mass was not abolished till half a year later; nor images cast out of churches till two months after that. Here, then, let St James’s counsel take place. "Be swift to hear, slow to speak"; to speak evil of governors when they answer not our expectations, but seem to command contradictories. There are certain Arcana imperil, secrets of state, that most men understand not; and must therefore dedicate them to victory, as the Romans did that lake the depth whereof they could not fathom nor find out. Besides, we must know that there will be faults so long as there be men, and faults will slip between the best men’s fingers; as Bishop Jewel was wont to say. And as we endure with patience a barren year if it happen, and unseasonable weather; so must we tolerate the imperfections of rulers, and quietly expect either reformation or alteration.

As it liketh you — Having been so lately deceived in Haman, and by him miscarried to the ratifying of that bloody edict, he will no more trust his own judgment, but refers the managing of the Jews’ deliverance (which now he greatly desired) to their prudence, discretion, and faithfulness. Few kings would have yielded to have retracted, lest they should thereby seem light and inconstant, and confess themselves to have been in an error. Hence, right or wrong, their laws must stand; and if any demand a reason, Sic volo, sic iubeo, So I wish, so I order, must stop his mouth; and Quod ego volo pro Canone sit, Let my will be your reason and rule, as Constantius said to the orthodox bishops, refusing to communicate with the Arians. But God, who tameth the fiercest creatures, had, for his poor people’s sake, brought Ahasuerus to a better bent; so that rather than contract the stain and sting of such barbarous cruelty, he will run the hazard of being accounted inconstant; and not care though a Retraxit Retraction be entered against him; as is usually against the plaintiff when he cometh into the court where his plea is, and saith he will not proceed.

In the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring — He was well persuaded of their fidelity, piety, and prudence. Otherwise it had been too great a weakness in this prince (who had been so lately abused by Haman) to have trusted his whole power in the hands of strangers. But natural conscience cannot but stoop to the image of God, wheresoever it meeteth therewith, and have high thoughts of such, as Pharaoh had of Joseph, Nebuchadnezzar of those three worthies, Darius of Daniel, … Surely, when men see in the saints that which is above ordinary, or beyond their expectations, they are afraid of the name of God which is called upon by them, Deuteronomy 28:10 , and will intrust them more than any other whatsoever. It is a problem in Aristotle, why man is credited more than other creatures? The answer is, οτι θεους νομιζει μονον , because he alone reverenceth God, therefore you may trust him: honesty floweth from piety.

For the writing which is written in the king’s name, … — Therefore you must not take it amiss that I reverse not Haman’s letters; for I also am under a law (whatever my predecessor Cambyses held to the contrary), neither need you doubt but that what you write in my name and sign with my seal will be authentic, and pass for a current countermand, fear it not.

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