ESTHER—NOTE ON ESTHER 5:1 At the end of THE THIRD DAY of fasting (Esther 4:16), Esther stands in THE INNER COURT, where Ahasuerus can see her, and risks her life by waiting for him to either reject or receive her. THE GOLDEN SCEPTER. A staff or rod; see Esther 4:11. ⇐ ⇔... [ Continue Reading ]
ESTHER—NOTE ON ESTHER 5:3 EVEN... HALF OF MY KINGDOM. Esther rightly understands this as a traditional, grand gesture rather than one to be taken seriously (see Mark 6:23). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
ESTHER—NOTE ON ESTHER 5:4 THE FEAST THAT I WILL PREPARE. Another feast, on the following day. Esther puts Haman further off guard, and makes sure the king is in the best possible mood, before making her request. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.lengt... [ Continue Reading ]
ESTHER—NOTE ON ESTHER 5:9 JOYFUL... FILLED WITH WRATH. Haman is elated at how he has been treated by the king and queen, but he is again angry that Mordecai refuses to bow to him. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
ESTHER—NOTE ON ESTHER 5:14 There was a GALLOWS in Esther 2:23 but this is different one, built especially for hanging Mordecai. Its enormous height (75 feet/23 m) is probably intended to make a public spectacle of Mordecai. TELL THE KING. Zeresh assumes that Haman’s influence is now so great that he... [ Continue Reading ]