Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Esther 9:11
On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.
Possibly with evil design to incense thee king against the Jews.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king. Either by order of the king, that he might know how many enemies the Jews had in the city, and how many of subjects had been slain; or officiously by others, with an intention to irritate the king against the Jews.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When on the same day an account was given to the king of the result of the conflict, and the number of those slain in Susa reported, he announced to Queen Esther: the Jews have slain in the citadel of Susa 500 men and the ten sons of Haman; “what have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces?” i.e., if they have killed 500 men in Susa, how many may they not have slain in other parts of the kingdom? and then asked her what else she wished or required. With respect to the words, comp. Est 5:6, and Est 7:2.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(11) On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king. (12) And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done. (13) Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according unto this day’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged upon the gallows. (14) And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons. (15) For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand. (16) But the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,
When we behold this great slaughter, and trace it back to the first cause; how wonderful are the ways of God. But add to this consideration, if we call to mind the Lord’s declaration concerning the everlasting war, the Lord had said he would have with Amalek: no doubt this was one hour, if not the full decisive time, when the name of Amalek was to perish from under heaven. And is not the Church now looking forward to that glorious hour, when all the enemies of Jesus shall be destroyed.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Est 9:11 On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.
Ver. 11. On that day the number of those that were slain ] This was done, haply, by some malignants, that would thereby have incensed the king against the Jews. Or else the king (as became a good shepherd of his people) taketh an account of his slain subjects, by diligent inquiry made thereinto. Similia sunt boni pastoris et boni regis opera Similar are the works of good shepherds and good kings. (Cyr. 5, apud Xenoph.). Whereupon he might have repented him (now in cold blood) of his grant to Esther and the Jews, those foreigners, against his natural subjects, who had done nothing but by his command, &c. But God so ordered it that, all this notwithstanding, the king was well content with that which was done, as supposing that Haman’s sons and complices would be seeking revenge, and plotting mischief, if left alive. He therefore goeth merrily in to the queen, acquainting her with the number of the slain, and giving her leave to ask of him whatever more she desired to be done. This was the Lord’s doing all along.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Est 9:11-15
11On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa was reported to the king. 12The king said to Queen Esther, The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall even be granted you. And what is your further request? It shall also be done. 13Then said Esther, If it pleases the king, let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict of today; and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows. 14So the king commanded that it should be done so; and an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman’s ten sons were hanged. 15The Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
Est 9:11 those who were killed at the citadel of Susa The VERB (BDB 246, KB 255) is a Qal PARTICIPLE. The term citadel (BDB 108) can be understood in two ways.:
1. the whole walled city, Est 9:13-15
2. the inner fortress, Est 9:6; Est 9:11-12
If #2 is correct then these 500 men were part of Xerxes’ administration. The second day was granted to eliminate the enemies of the Jews in the larger city itself.
Est 9:13-14 if it please the king, let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews Many have assumed, because of this request, that Esther was a vindictive person, but this seems to be totally out of character with the book of Esther. We do not know the extent of Jewish casualties nor the extent of the battle that raged. Until further evidence is found it seems preferable to give Esther the benefit of the doubt.
The two days of slaughter correspond to the two day feast/fast which later developed.
let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows They were already dead as is obvious from Est 9:6-10. Therefore, they were to be publicly humiliated by being impaled (possibly on the same gallows as their father). This was not so much vindictive, but a public deterrent to anti-Semitism. The number ten can refer (1) symbolically to all of them or (2) to the literal number.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Est 9:11-16
Est 9:11-16
SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES IN SHUSHAN AND THE PROVINCES
“On that day the number of those slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king. And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done. Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews that are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according to this day’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged upon the gallows. And the king commanded it so to be done: and a decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons. And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. And the other Jews that were in the kings provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of them that hated them seventy and five thousand; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.”
“Let Haman’s ten sons be hanged upon the gallows” (Est 9:13). These had been slain on the previous day; “This is a request that their dead bodies be exposed, such exposure being a mark of infamy.”
“And a decree was given out in Shushan” (Est 9:14). This decree did not regard the exposure of the bodies of Haman’s sons. “It granted permission to the Jews to fight against their enemies on the morrow also.”
This continuation of the conflict for an extra day in Shushan resulted in two different days being celebrated by the Jews. “In the capital, they celebrated the 15th of Adar, and in the provinces they celebrated the 14th.” It is not known exactly why there were two days of fighting in Shushan. Evidently, a strong band of Jewish enemies had not been defeated that first day; and therefore the king granted an extra day in which three hundred more Jewish enemies were destroyed.
E.M. Zerr:
Est 9:11. All events of importance were made a part of the royal record. Because of that, the king was given an account of the number of casualties of the day. There would be a special reason for his interest in the subject, for he had given his official consent to the decree on the occasion, and had commanded its prompt execution when the time of maturity came.
Est 9:12. All through the story we are studying, the king’s regard for Esther has been much in evidence. He favored her with a piece of information connected with her previous requests. In this report he made separate items of the destruction of the citizens of Shushan in general, and of the 10 sons of Haman in particular. The second item was in reference to her chief concern, which was the fate of Haman’s family. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Moffatt renders this as follows: “What, then, must they have done in the other provinces of the king?” The thought is, if that much destruction of the enemies has taken place in just one city, there is no telling how much has been done in other parts of the vast empire. But even with that much accomplished in her favor, she was given the privilege of making further requests. She was assured that any request would be granted to her.
Est 9:13. The next request of Esther was to the effect that the day’s accomplishments be repeated on the morrow; that is, as far as possible. There could actually be more of the citizens slain, but the sons of Haman could not be slain again. But they could be subjected to the shame of the gallows. Their father had sought to have her cousin hanged but was slain thereon instead. Now she wished to render the merited disgrace more complete by having their dead bodies held up to public scorn.
Est 9:14. True to his promise and also true to form of his previous favorable attitude toward Esther, he caused the 10 sons of Haman to be hanged.
Est 9:15. Matters were going “their way” for the Jews, so that the slaughter of the enemy was continued even into the 14th day of the month. And again they did not deign to take advantage of the right to property. This movement was done in the capital city as Esther had requested.
Est 9:16. While the attack was being repeated in the city, the Jews out through the provinces were also con tinning their destruction of the enemy, to the number of 75,000. They again refrained from taking any of the prey of the enemy.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
was brought: Heb. came, Est 9:11
Reciprocal: Est 9:18 – on the thirteenth Dan 8:2 – Shushan