Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Esther 5:5
Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
Then the king said, cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said,…. That is, he ordered some of his servants to make haste and acquaint Haman with the queen’s invitation, and to press him to make haste to comply with it:
so the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared; which was wisely done, to prepare for what she had to say to the king, when cheerful with wine, and when she had her adversary with him alone.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
B. Curiosity
TEXT: Est. 5:5-8
5
Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that it may be done as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6
And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.
7
Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is:
8
if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to-morrow as the king hath said.
Todays English Version, Est. 5:5-8
The king then ordered Haman to come quickly, so that they could be Esthers guests. So the king and Haman went to Esthers banquet. Over the wine the king asked her, Tell me what you want, and you shall have it. I will grant your request, even if you ask for half my empire.
Esther replied, If your Majesty is kind enough to grant my request, I would like you and Haman to be my guests tomorrow at another banquet that I will prepare for you. At that time I will tell you what I want.
COMMENTS
Est. 5:5-6 Piqued: It is evident from the emperors immediate reaction that his curiosity is aroused. He knew that Esther had not risked her life just to invite him to a banquet! Xerxes insists that Haman hurry to the banquet. Esther has again used her female wiles to good advantage. Xerxes can hardly wait to find out Esthers real reason for approaching him. The Hebrew text uses not only the word mishetteh (drinking bout, see Est. 1:8-9) but also uses the word yayin (wine) to describe Esthers feast. It was a party! Xerxes repeats his grandiose promise of half his kingdom if Esther shall request it.
Est. 5:7-8 Postponed: Dangerous as it must have been to keep this impetuous monarch hanging on the hooks of curiosity, Esther postpones a second time the revelation of her real reason for violating the sacred law of the Persians about approaching the emperor uninvited. Esther begins as if she is about to divulge her secret request and then cleverly holds the king in suspense. Some think Esther hesitated to state her request because she was afraid. However, as Mordecai has already convinced her, she has little to lose by pleading with the king since she will perish with all her kinsmen once it is know that she too is a Jew. Esther seems already to have committed herself to making the pleas. She knows that, if she succeeds, one more postponement of her real request will only intensify the desire of the king to please his queen by granting what must be a very spectacular request from her. He may even be thinking about the glory that will be his once this magnificent request Esther has is fulfilled in his emperial name,
We may learn the following lessons from this chapter:
1.
Gods providential assistance does not preclude Esthers (and our) best use of human capabilities.
2.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
3.
Although the urgency of some situations might seem to call for haste, if time permits ones first reaction should be postponed,
4.
There is nothing like piqued curiosity as a tool for manipulation.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Est 5:5 Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
Ver. 5. Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste ] Heb. Accelerate or hasten Haman, sc. to an ill bargain, as it proved the very next day. Look how thunder commonly happens when the sky seemeth most clear; so Haman saw himself enveloped with a storm in one of the fairest days of his fortune. Philosophers say, that before a snow the weather will be warmish; when the wind lies the great rain falls, and the air is most quiet when suddenly there will be an earthquake.
So the king and Haman came to the banquet
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Est 5:5-8
5Then the king said, Bring Haman quickly that we may do as Esther desires. So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared. 6As they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done. 7So Esther replied, My petition and my request is: 8if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and do what I request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king says.
Est 5:7-8 Esther’s request may have been (1) out of fear (i.e., afraid to ask) or (2) a purposeful plan to pique the king’s interest.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Est 5:5-8
Est 5:5-8
ESTHER DELAYS HER REQUEST UNTIL A SECOND BANQUET
“Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that it may be done as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. And the king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. Then answered Esther and said, My petition and my request is: If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king hath said.”
Why was Esther so reluctant to make her request known? Matthew Henry suggested that it might have been due: (1) “To her prudence as she sought more time to ingratiate herself with the king; (2) or that her heart failed her as she did not find sufficient courage to make it known without further time for prayer; or (3) that it was due to God’s overruling providence which would use the intervening time prior to that second banquet to make the granting of Esther’s petition absolutely certain.” It might very well have been a combination of all these things. “She wisely concluded that the king would understand that there was indeed a real petition in the background; which, of course, he did.”
Joyce Baldwin thought that Esther’s intuition told her that the strategic moment had not yet come. “Although she could not have foreseen it, that second invitation played an essential part in bringing about her opportunity.” “This, of course, was providential. The intervening events, as recorded in chapter 6, provided the necessary background for her accusation, and the king’s appropriate response to it.”
“I will do tomorrow as the king hath said” (Est 5:8). “This meant that, `Tomorrow, I will reveal my request.'”
E.M. Zerr:
Est 5:5. The request of Esther needed to be authorized by the king regarding Haman. He was therefore called to prepare to attend the banquet, which he did with readiness, it being an unusual honor thus bestowed upon him. A banquet was a feast in which wine was used in large quantities. The word is used in connection with this feast in the next verse. An ordinary meal where the wine was not drunk might not have brought about the condition of mind on the part of her special guests that was desired. Hence Esther provided a feast where “imbibing” would be indulged in, and the king and Haman attended it.
Est 5:6. When Esther appeared, uninvited, within the inner court, it was evident that she had some request to make. So there was a logical reason for the statement of the king at that time. There was nothing, though, in the mere fact of a gathering at a banquet that suggested any such motive on her part. But the king was under so great a “spell” in his devotion to this charming woman that he almost unconsciously invited her to make a further request.
Est 5:7-8. The request that Esther made the second time was exactly like the one made in the first instance except as to date. The next banquet was to be on the morrow. It would have been natural not to repeat such an extensive occasion as a royal banquet the same day, for physical reasons at least. But there was a far more important reason than that for letting a night come and go between this feast and the next one. Certain things must take place, both on the part of the king and others, that would require some time, and especially the nighttime, for bringing them about. Esther therefore asked her royal guests to attend her banquet on the morrow. Will do tomorrow as the king hath said. This means the same as if she had said: “Tomorrow, at the banquet, I will do whatever the king asks me to do.” She expected the proceeding to come to some form of climax at the second feast, and that the king would give some kind of directions to persons in his charge. The statement in italics means she would be ready for whatever came. We note that nothing is recorded as to the king’s accepting the invitation this time as was done at the first. That fact was to be taken for granted since the king had already fulfilled his promises.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Cause Haman: Est 6:14