Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Esther 9:26
Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and [of that] which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,
26. The Feast of Purim comes in early spring, a month before Passover. The previous day is kept as a fast in memory of the Shushan Jews’ fast (Est 4:16).
Purim, after the name of Pur ] i.e. they gave the Persian word a Hebrew plural.
letter ] The original ( ’iggereth) is a late Heb. word, probably of Assyrian origin, cognate to the Greek angareuein ( ). See note on Est 3:13.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 26. They called these days Purim] That is from [Persian] pari, the lot; because, as we have seen, Haman cast lots to find what month, and what day of the month, would be the most favourable for the accomplishment of his bloody designs against the Jews. See on Es 3:7.
And of that which they had seen] The first letter to which this second refers, must be that sent by Mordecai himself. See Es 9:20.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
i.e. Both for the respect which they justly bore to Mordecais letter, and because they themselves had seen and felt this wonderful work of God on their behalf.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. they called these days Purimafter the name of Pur“Pur,” in the Persian language,signifies “lot”; and the feast of Purim, or lots, has areference to the time having been pitched upon by Haman through thedecision of the lot. In consequence of the signal nationaldeliverance which divine providence gave them from the infamousmachinations of Haman, Mordecai ordered the Jews to commemorate thatevent by an anniversary festival, which was to last for two days, inaccordance with the two days’ war of defense they had to maintain.There was a slight difference in the time of this festival; for theJews in the provinces, having defended themselves against theirenemies on the thirteenth, devoted the fourteenth to festivity;whereas their brethren in Shushan, having extended that work over twodays, did not observe their thanksgiving feast till the fifteenth.But this was remedied by authority, which fixed the fourteenth andfifteenth of Adar. It became a season of sunny memories to theuniversal body of the Jews; and, by the letters of Mordecai,dispersed through all parts of the Persian empire, it was establishedas an annual feast, the celebration of which is kept up still. Onboth days of the feast, the modern Jews read over the Megillahor Book of Esther in their synagogues. The copy read must not beprinted, but written on vellum in the form of a roll; and the namesof the ten sons of Haman are written on it a peculiar manner, beingranged, they say, like so many bodies on a gibbet. The reader mustpronounce all these names in one breath. Whenever Haman’s name ispronounced, they make a terrible noise in the synagogue. Some drumwith their feet on the floor, and the boys have mallets with whichthey knock and make a noise. They prepare themselves for theircarnival by a previous fast, which should continue three days, inimitation of Esther’s; but they have mostly reduced it to one day[JENNINGS, JewishAntiquities].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Wherefore they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur,…. The lot; because of the lots cast by Haman; see Es 3:7,
therefore for all the words of this letter; in obedience to what Mordecai wrote in his letter to the Jews, and because of the things contained in it:
and of that which they had seen concerning this matter; with their own eyes, in the several provinces where their enemies rose up to assault them, but were destroyed by them:
and what had come unto them: by report; as the fall of Haman, and advancement of Mordecai, and the favours shown to Esther and her people; all this belongs to the following verse, containing the reasons of the Jews’ appointment and engagement to observe the days of Purim.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name Pur. This first refers to what precedes and states the reason, resulting from what has just been mentioned, why this festival received the name of Purim. With the second begins a new sentence which reaches to Est 9:28, and explains how it happened that these feast-days became a general observance with all Jews; namely, that because of all the words of this letter (of Mordochai, Est 9:20), and of what they had seen concerning the matter ( , concerning so and so), and what had come upon them (therefore for two reasons: (1) because of the written injunction of Mordochai; and (2) because they had themselves experienced this event), the Jews established, and took upon themselves, their descendants, and all who should join themselves unto them (proselytes), so that it should not fail (i.e., inviolably), to keep (to celebrate) these two days according to the writing concerning them and the time appointed thereby year by year.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(26) Purim.As we have already stated, the festival of Purim is still observed by the Jews, on the 14th and 15th of Adar, the day preceding being kept as a fast. At Purim, the whole Book of Esther is read through in the service in the synagogues, a custom that can be traced back at any rate to the Christian era (2Ma. 15:36; Josephus, Ant. xi. 6. 13; Mishna, Bosh ha-Shanah, iii. 7).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. Wherefore Namely, because Haman had cast Pur, or the lot, to fix on a lucky day for the destruction of the Jews. Est 9:24.
They called these days Purim They evidently chose this name in ironical reference to the fact that Haman’s lucky day (designated by lot) was so fortunate for his enemies, and so unlucky for himself.
The words of this letter Mordecai’s letters mentioned in Est 9:20.
Which they had seen and which had come unto them That is, all that they had themselves experienced of this event by being eyewitnesses and participators. The sentiment is, Mordecai’s letters and their own personal knowledge of the matter prompted them to ordain the feast of Purim.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Est 9:26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and [of that] which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,
Ver. 26. Wherefore they called these days Purim ] Thereby to perpetuate the memory of that mercy, worthy to be engraven in pillars of marble. This was a notable name; for it served to remind the Jews of all that God had done for them at this bout. As there is edification in the choice of fit psalms, 1Co 14:26 , so in the imposing of fit names upon persons, things, and times. As the Christian Sabbath is to good purpose called the Lord’s day; and those festivities of Easter and Whitsuntide were not so fitly called Pasch and Pentecost as the feast of the Lord’s resurrection and of the sending of the Holy Ghost. It should certainly be the constant care of us all to set up marks and monuments of God’s great mercies, so to preserve the memory of them, which else will be moth eaten. Such as were Abraham’s Jehovahjireh, Jacob’s stone at Bethel, Moses’ Jehovahnissi, Aaron’s rod and pot of manna, Heb 9:4 , the twelve stones pitched up in Jordan, the names of Gilgal, Ramath-Lehi, Aben Ezer; those plates nailed on the altar, Num 16:39 . Hereby God shall be glorified, the Church’s enemies convinced, our faith strengthened, our joy in the Lorcl heightened, our posterity helped, and Satan prevented, who seeketh to obliterate God’s works of wonder; or at least to alienate them, and translate them upon himself, as he endeavoured to do that famous execution of Divine justice upon Sennacherib’s army, by setting Herodotus awork to tell the world in print (Herod. 1. 2) that it was Sethon, king of Egypt, and priest of Vulcan, who obtained of his god that Sennacherib’s army, coming against Egypt, should be totally routed by reason of an innumerable company of rats, sent by Vulcan, which gnawed in pieces their bowstrings, quivers, bucklers, &c., and so made way for the Egyptians to vanquish them. Herodotus addeth that also in his time there was to be seen the statue of Sennacherib, holding a rat in his hand, in Vulcan’s temple, and uttering these words, Let him that beholdeth me learn to fear God. E . Lo, the god of this world hath his trophies erected, and shall the God of heaven and earth go without? Oh, let us (who have lived in an age of miracles, and seen the out goings of God for our good more than ever did any nation) offer unto him the ransom of our lives, as they did, Exo 21:30 ; Exo 30:12 , in token that they had and held all in mere courtesy from God. Let us leave some seal, some pawn of thankfulness for deliverance from so many deaths and dangers. Otherwise heathens will rise up and condemn us. They after a shipwreck would offer something; after a fit of sickness consecrate something to their gods; after a victory set up trophies of triumph, as the Philistines did to their Dagon, the Romans to their Jupiter Capitolinus.
Therefore for all the words of this letter
And of that which they had seen concerning this matter
And which had come unto them
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Purim = lots. The name of the feast to this day.
Pur. See note on Est 3:7.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Est 9:26-28
Est 9:26-28
THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME FOR THE FEAST OF PURIM
“Wherefore they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur. Therefore because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come unto them, the Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to the writing thereof, and according to the appointed time thereof, every year; and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the remembrance of them perish from their seed.”
The feast of Purim is today observed by the Jews; and it has been continually observed throughout history, from the times of Xerxes (who was assassinated in the year 465 B.C.) until the present day, for almost twenty-five centuries; and, to this writer, it appears as an absolute impossiblity that such a sequence of observances could have been initiated, or kicked off, by some unknown writer’s fictitious yarn. It takes twenty times as much faith to believe that allegation as it takes to believe the Bible.
“They called these days Purim, after the name of Pur” (Est 9:26). The word Pur is the Persian word for “lot.” which is a reference to Haman’s casting lots to decide the day when the Jews would be destroyed. “The Jews took the Persian word Pur, and gave it a Hebrew plural Purim, either because the Persian method of casting involved several lots, or because Haman cast Pur several times (Est 3:7).”
E.M. Zerr:
Est 9:26-27. Pur and Purim are forms of the same word which means “lot.” It was used as a name of the annual feast that the Jews kept at the time now being considered. It was adopted in view of the method that Haman had used in determining the day for the destruction of the Jews. They wished to keep alive their appreciation of the escape from Haman’s plot, and for this purpose they named the days, feast of Purim.
Est 9:28. Throughout every generation. As a secular evidence of the truth of this account, I shall offer to my readers an extract from a metropolitan newspaper. The item is from the Chicago Herald and Examiner in the Issue of Feb. 22, 1939, and is as follows: “At Masque Purim Ball Celebrating the 2,500th anniversary — of Purim, these pretty young ladies [pictured] appeared in costume yesterday at a rehearsal for the masque ball to be held at Temple Sholom.” It is interesting to know that a statement in our Bible is verified by this authentic news item in a standard secular publication, many hundreds of years later.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
they called: Num 16:40, Eze 39:11
Pur: that is, Lot
letter: Est 9:20
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Est 9:26. They called these days Purim Namely, these two festival days; after the name Pur A Persian word signifying a lot. For all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen, and which had come unto them Because of what was contained in the letter of Mordecai, and the respect which they justly bore to it; and because of what they themselves had seen, when these things happened, and God so wonderfully delivered them; and of what they heard reported concerning these matters, in the places where they could not see them, they unanimously consented to keep a yearly festival in commemoration of them, as it follows in the next verse.