Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Esther 5:14
Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
14. Let a gallows be made ] Heb. tree. See Est 2:23. ‘Fifty cubits’ is a hyperbolical expression meaning exceedingly high. The cubit at this time was probably equal to six handbreadths, and thus approximately 1 feet in English measure. Zeresh and the rest considered it a safe assumption that one who had such influence with the king as to be permitted to condemn a whole nation to be exterminated within a few months, might reckon absolutely on obtaining authority to put an individual of that nation to death at once. Hence the order for the erection of the ‘gallows’ might be made beforehand, although according to Persian law the power of life and death resided in the king alone.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A gallows, in the ordinary sense, is scarcely intended, since hanging was not a Persian punishment. The intention, no doubt, was to crucify (see the Est 2:23 note) or impale Mordecai; and the pale or cross was to be 75 feet high, to make the punishment more conspicuous.
Speak thou unto the king … – Requests for leave to put persons to death were often made to Persian kings by their near relatives, but only rarely by others.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Est 5:14
Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends.
Bad advice
If a proud man make his complaint to you of his unhappiness, you but make him more unhappy if you advise him to gratify his pride by unreasonable and sinful means. You might as well advise a man dying of a dropsy to pour into his throat large quantities of water. Advise him to mortify his pride, and to learn of Him who was meek, and lowly of heart; to deny himself, to prepare himself for bearing the cross, to take upon himself the yoke of Christ, which is easy. The humble man is always happy. The proud man can never be happy till he is effectually humbled. It is not consistent with the nature of things, nor with the will of the High and Lofty One, who abhors the proud, that the gratifications which pride requires should ever give pure or lasting pleasure to the soul. (G. Lawson.)
Women best and worst
The truth is women are the best and the worst. Because they can be the best, they can be the worst. Because they can rise to the highest in moral grandeur, in self-sacrificing love, in the things which bring human nature nearest to the angelic mood, therefore they can sink to the lowest, and when past feeling can be most like the angels fallen. Thank God that your best friends would renounce your society rather than stand by you in anything revengeful or mean. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high] The word ets, which we translate gallows, signifies simply wood, a tree, or pole; and this was to be seventy-five feet high, that he might suffer the greater ignominy, and be a more public spectacle. I believe impaling is here also meant. See Clarke on Es 2:23.
IN former times the Jews were accustomed to burn Haman in effigy; and with him a wooden cross, which they pretended to be in memory of that which he had erected for the suspension of Mordecai; but which was, in fact, to deride the Christian religion. The emperors, Justinian and Theodosius, abolished it by their edicts; and the practice has ceased from that time, though the principle from which it sprang still exists, with the same virulence against Christianity and its glorious Author.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Fifty cubits high; that it might be more conspicuous to all, and thereby be more disgraceful to Mordecai, and strike all Hamans enemies with the great dread of despising or opposing him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then said Zeresh his wife, and all his friends, unto him,…. His wife very probably first moved it, and all his friends present approved of it and united in it:
let a gallows be made, of fifty cubits, high; that the person hanged thereon might be seen at a distance, and so be a greater reproach to him, and a terror to others, to take care they were not guilty of the same offence: Cartalo was ordered by his father to be fixed to the highest cross in the sight of the city l; and it was usual for crosses to be erected very high m both for that purpose, and for greater infamy and disgrace n:
and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon; get a grant from him for it; of which they made no doubt, since Haman had such an interest in him, and had already obtained an order to destroy all Jews in his dominions:
then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet; eased of the burden of his mind, and honoured to be a guest with the royal pair:
and the thing pleased Haman, and he caused the gallows to be made; but it was for himself, as it proved in the issue. See Es 7:10.
l Justin e Trogo, l. 18. c. 7. Vid. l. 22. c. 7. m Vid. Lipsium de Cruce, l. 3. c. 13. n Suetonius in Galba, c. 9.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Est. 5:14. Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, &c.] The name Zeresh is probably connected with Zered Zara, gold. Compare the Greek chrysis.Rawlinson. Zeresh led the counsel. Kings as well as their chief officers doubtless often allowed themselves to be directed by their wives. Let a gallows] Heb. a tree, or wood: that is, a lofty beam or post for impalement; not a gallows, or gibbet, in the ordinary sense. Hanging with a rope by the neck seems not to have been a Persian mode of punishment, but impalement was common. Hamans wife and friends proposed to make the post of wood for Mordecais execution fifty cubits highseventy-five feetso as to make his impalement as conspicuous and as ignominious as possible. Feuardent well says: But why make it so high? (i.e. the tree, gallows). In order that his disgrace might be plainly observable to the eyes of all, and the more striking. Wherefore should he be in such haste about it? Lest there should be danger in delay or procrastination. For what reason have it erected before his own house? So that he and all his family, going in and out, seeing Mordecai hanging, might mock and feast their cruel eyes and minds with so miserable and foul a spectacle.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Est. 5:14
THE SPEECH OF A FOOLISH WIFE
Job said unto his wife, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh; and if Haman had been as good and as wise as Job he might have said the same unto his wife, Zeresh. But Haman was not like Job; and it may be that his wife and his friends spoke according to that which they knew would harmonize with his depraved and wicked nature. Sometimes the wife is the salvation of her husband, but too often by the natural delicacy of her nature she follows his leadings. We know little about Zeresh, but her speech in this verse at least does not tend to give us an exalted view of her character. Here we find that the wicked Haman is joined to, and backed up by, a wicked wife. We now refer to the wife, and leave the friends alone, for she is evidently the mouth-piece of the company. She leads the counsel; she lays down the diabolical plan by which Haman may seek to satisfy his revenge. A good wife, who shall tell her value? A bad wife, who shall declare her power of mischief? Haman was now far gone in wickedness; but a good wife might still have done much for his restraint.
I. The speech of this foolish wife is vindictive. Here are none of those sweet words which we naturally expect from a gentle woman. There is not the slightest trace of that tenderness which should be the characteristic and the glory of the female nature. There is rather the hard cruelty of Lady Macbeth inciting her shrinking husband to the performance of the murderous deed. Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high. Let the lofty gallows speak of the all-mastering force of the revenge. Let the ignominious nature of the punishment set forth thy determination to glut thy wicked feelings. Revenge is loathsome in any. Never does revenge seem more loathsome than in a woman. The wife, the mother, appears to view with a nature so hard that we can scarcely imagine her capable of motherly feeling. Is it possible that the woman who speaks in this verse ever gloated with motherly love and fondness over the infant beauty of her first-born? But what strange mixtures we are. Zeresh might have run to her child in distress, and have gently nurtured the sick ones; and yet can say, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high. Strange inconsistency! Our human love is too often of a mere selfish character. Divine love is not self-considering. It flows out to the evil and the good. Human love must be formed after the pattern of Divine love if it is to work beneficially, and to be ennobling.
II. The speech of this foolish wife is flattering. To-morrow speak thou unto the king. Thou art all-powerful at Court; use thy power for the removal of thy hated enemy sitting at the kings gate, and causing thee constant annoyance. The pleasant words of a dear wife are encouraging. The busy world does not sufficiently consider how much it owes to the stimulating words of good wives living in retirement, living for those whom they fondly love, living to strengthen their husbands for the stern battle. The faith of a fond wife in her husbands power has but the husbands salvation. Happy is it for the nervous and sensitive husband that the wife considers him a here, and loves to extol his virtues. A true wife has large conceptions of her husbands abilities. Zeresh may still have believed in her wicked husband. But her flattery is ruinous. Let discretion rule in our loving words. Let us beware lest we be led astray to our own destruction by flattering words.
III. The speech of this foolish wife is cruel. Bitterly cruel as coming from a woman. Cruel if we consider the doom proposed for poor Mordecai; and cruel if we consider the repellent selfishness to be encouraged by the exhortation. Then go thou in merrily with the king to the banquet. What is Mordecais crime that he should be impaled on the lofty tree? What has so hardened the delicate nature of a woman that she can speak callously of that most awful form of human punishment? How very hard a woman can be when she sets herself to be hard. The hellish cruelty of a cruel woman is the most awful fact on Gods sin blighted earth. Happy the man so far who has never had to experience the effects of such cruelty! Oh, Zeresh, this is not the high road to merriment! The gallows on which the Mordecais hang are not the means by which it is to be secured. Well, yes, perhaps merriment, but not lasting happiness. The laughter of fools, but not the deep joy of the righteous. Merriment and hanging! The banquet and the gallows! Extremes meet in this world of contradictions. Joy and sorrow tread upon each others heels. Tears and smiles are close together in this strangely disordered universe. The gallows is raised by selfishness. Merriment is the outcome of selfishness. Celestial joy is the outcome of benevolence.
IV. The speech of this foolish wife was pleasing. The thing pleased Haman. It was intended to please, and the object was accomplished. Depraved nature is pleased by that which ministers to its depravity. Had Zeresh set herself to reform Haman, the work would have been more difficult, less pleasing, but perhaps more satisfactory in the long run. The work of the reformer is always difficult, and not always satisfactory in this world. Some tell us that speaking the truth always pays. That men at first may not like the truth, but that afterwards they come to respect the speaker, and even give a testimonial. The only testimonial that Stephen received was stones, not curiously carved, not having inscribed upon them his virtues, and not presented by a kid-gloved deputation. Stephen was not likely to receive much benefit in this world from the report of his testimonial as sent to the Christian newspapers of his time. Zeresh had evidently no high-souled views; she spoke of the present, like too many. She pleased Haman, and thought of no dreadful future.
V. The speech of this foolish wife was ruinously successful. Haman caused the gallows to be made in accordance with the suggestion of Zeresh and the friends. There is a success which is ruinous, and this was one of the kind. Ruinous not to Mordecai, but to Haman and to Zeresh. Our own words are sometimes our own bitter and relentless destroyers. By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words shalt thou be condemned. In lonely hours of bitter grief did the words of Zeresh haunt her memory, and fill her soul with anguish. As she saw her poor Haman impaled on the lofty gallows, how she would have liked to have recalled the foolish words. But they cannot be recalled. Foolish words once spoken are spoken beyond control. Be slow to speak. Be swift to hear. In consigning other people to sorrow we must inflict sorrow on ourselves. Those who erect the gallows for others should walk very carefully themselves.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Est. 5:14
An envious man cannot peacefully enjoy the benefits which God gives him. Go not after thy lusts, but refrain thyself from thine appetites. It is very grievous of wives to urge their husbands to do wickedly. He who digs a pit for others will fall in himself. We must not of ourselves revenge ourselves on our enemy, but first bring him before the proper tribunal. When the wicked are busy to remove from their path what will mar their earthly joy, then, on the other hand, the godly should be diligent to remove that which will embitter their spiritual and heavenly joy.Starke.
Observe how false and vain is the confidence of impious and cruel men, who seek and hope to oppress, and utterly destroy, the servants of God. It is themselves that perish by the just judgment of God, and they are often caught by the very snares they lay for others; while God rescues his servants, and magnificently vindicates them. Goliath and Holofernes are slain with their own swords, and the saints triumph with their heads. The Babylonian satraps seemed to themselves secure, when the flames and the lions were about to devour Daniel and his companions; but the latter were gloriously preserved, and the former ignominously perished by their own artifices and instruments. Pharaoh boasted, I will overtake (the Hebrews); I will divide the spoil; but he immediately became food for the fishes, and a prey for the servants of the Lord. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are foolishness. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh at them. These are the effects of the judgment of which the Holy Spirit speaks by the prophets: Evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. Let us therefore cast away impious security, contempt of God, and inhumanity towards others; but let us walk in the love and fear of the Lord, that at length we may come to His heavenly kingdom.Feuardent.
The wit of women hath wont to be noted for more sudden, and more sharp. Zeresh, the wife of Haman, sets on foot the motion of speedy revenge, which is applauded by the rest. I do not hear them say: Be patient awhile; thou hast already set Mordecai his last day; the month Adar will not be long in coming; the determination of his death hath made him desperate; let him in the mean time eat his own heart in envy at thy greatness. But they rather advise of a quick despatch. Malice is a thing full of impatience, and hates delay of execution next unto mercy. While any grudge lies at the heart, it cannot be freely cheerful. Forced smiles are but the hypocrisy of mirth. How happy were it for us, if we would be zealously careful to remove the hindrances of our true spiritual joy, those stubborn corruptions that will not stoop to the power of grace.Bishop Hall.
Thou canst never prevail against Mordecai by means which have already been brought to bear against his people, said Zeresh to Haman. Thou canst not kill him with a knife or sword, for Isaac was delivered from the same; neither canst thou drown him, for Moses and the people of Israel walked safely through the sea. Fire will not burn him, for with Chananyah and his comrades it failed; wild beasts will not tear him, for Daniel was rescued from the lions fangs; neither will a dungeon contain him, for Joseph walked to honour through a prisons gates. Even if we deprive him of sight, we cannot prevail against him, for Samson was made blind, and yet destroyed thousands of the Philistines. There is but one way left us; we must hang him. It was in accordance with this advice that Haman built the gallows fifty cubits high. After he had erected this dread instrument of death, he sought the presence of Mordecai, to gloat over his coming triumph. He found the Jew in the College, with his pupils gathered around him. Their loins were girded in sackcloth, and they wept at the words which their teacher was addressing to them. To-morrow, said Haman, I will first destroy these children, and I will then hang Mordecai on the gallows I have prepared. He remained in the school and saw the mothers of the pupils bring them their meals; but they all refused to eat, saying: By the life of our teacher, Mordecai, we will neither eat nor drink; fasting will we die.
But Haman was to receive his punishment. There is a saying of the Rabbis: If a stone falls upon a pitcher, the pitcher breaks; if the pitcher falls upon the stone, the pitcher also breaks. Be it as it may, it is bad for the pitcher, and bad similarly for the enemies of Israel; for even when Israel strays from righteousness, the instruments of their chastisement are also punished, as in the instances of Nebuchadnezzar, Titus, Haman, &c.Talmud.
Haman was pleased with the advice of his friends, and began to put it in execution. But he found too soon, that he who flattereth a man spreadeth a net for his feet. Haman prepared for Mordecai in intention, but for himself in reality, a gallows of fifty cubits high. Remember and believe the instruction of the wise man, He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge a serpent shall bite him.Lawson.
As Mordecais offence had been presumptuous above measure in the view of Haman and his friends, so the punishment of it was to be conspicuous. The gallows on which he was to be hanged was to be upwards of forty feet (seventy-five feet) in height, so that the victim might be exposed to the view of the whole cityso that all might learn that it was no slight matter to provoke the vengeance of the favourite of the king. And mark how the thirst for vengeance converts men into fiends. Far more gratifying than any of the luxuries which he could taste at the table of the queen would be the sight to Haman of Mordecai hanging on the gibbet. Have everything ready to feed your revenge, his friends said to him, and then go in merrily with the king unto the banquet. Generally a deed of cruelty and bloodshed for a time destroys, even in wicked men, their relish for their usual pleasure. But there are monsters in human form, as the recent massacres in India show us; indeed as all history shows us; and as we see here in the case of Haman. There are human fiends who, when their passions are inflamed, riot in cruelty, and feel as if the exercise of it gave a zest to all their other enjoyments. Some philosophers talk of the innate dignity and excellence of human nature, but it may be safely said that there is no enormity which men will not perpetrate when they are left to themselves, and destitute of the softening and elevating influence of true religion.
But passing from this topic, we may suppose now, when Haman was comforted by the suggestion of his friends, that the two things which chiefly occupied his mind and pleased him, were the preparation of the gallows for Mordecai, and the thought of the interview with the king on the morrow, when he felt sure he would obtain the request he was to make. Behold the wicked, says the Psalmist, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief: he made a pit and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made: his mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon himself. That night was spent in Hamans houseby his slaves in making all ready for the murderous deed of the morrow, and by himself, in joyous anticipation of having his victim fully within his power.
Macbeth.
Lady M.
If we should fail,
We fail.
But screw your courage to the sticking place,
And well not fail. When Duncan is asleep,
(Whereto the rather shall his days hard journey
Soundly invite him,) his two chamberlains
Will I with wine and wassel so convince,
That memory, the warder of the brain,
Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason
A limbeck only: When in swinish sleep
Their drenched natures lie, as in a death,
What cannot you and I perform upon
The unguarded Duncan? what not put upon
His spongy officers: who shall bear the guilt
Of our great quell?
Shakespeare.
A good wife, says an old writer, is heavens last, best gift to man: his angel of mercy; minister of graces innumerable; his gem of many virtues; his casket of jewels. Her voice, his sweetest music; her smiles, his brightest day; her kiss, the guardian of innocence; her arms, the pall of his safety, the balm of his health, the balsam of his life; her industry, his sweetest wealth; her economy, his safest steward; her lips, his faithful counsellors; her bosom, the softest pillow of his cares; and her prayers, the ablest advocates of heavens blessing on his head. A married man falling into misfortune is more apt to retrieve his situation in the world than a single one, chiefly because his spirits are soothed and retrieved by domestic endearments, and his self-respect kept alive by finding that although all abroad be darkness and humiliation, yet there is a little world of love at home over which he is monarch.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
B. Depravity
TEXT: Est. 5:14
14
Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
Todays English Version, Est. 5:14
So his wife and all his friends suggested, Why dont you have a gallows built, seventy-five feet tall? Tomorrow morning you can ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it, and then you can go to the banquet happy.
Haman thought this was a good idea, so he had the gallows built.
COMMENTS
Est. 5:14 The name Zeresh (Hamans wife) according to BDB Lexicon is comparable to the name for an Elamite goddess Kirisa. One commentator says the name Zeresh is probably connected with the Zend word zara which means gold. Another Hebrew lexicon indicates poor as the meaning of Zeresh. The Hebrew phrase Yaasuetz means literally, make a wooden tree, and is translated, let a gallows be made. But the suggestion is not for a gallows upon which a person is hanged by a rope because hanging was not a Persian form of execution. What is meant is either crucifixion or impalement. Fifty cubits high for the impaling stake or cross seems excessive to us. If the cubit is 18 inches, it would make the tree 75 feet high; if the cubit is 21 inches it would be 88 feet high. These were not real friends to Hamanthey were mere Yes people indulging him because of his position. How depraved the heart of those who would suggest taking a life to satisfy the lust for pride and recognition. It is serious enough to consider the taking of human life when a capital crime has been committed, but what reasoning is able to justify Hamans counselors! Lest we think such depravity applies only to those without access to the word of God, let us remember Josephs brethren, Ahab who allowed Naboth to be slain for a vineyard, David who allowed Uriah to be slain for a woman, and many others who, even in the name of Christ and His Church, have murdered thousands for pride and pleasure.
There seems to be no doubt in the minds of Hamans friends and wife that Xerxes will grant the petition for the execution of Mordecai. They may have expected Haman to present the petition on the pretense of some accusation of sedition or political rebellion by Mordecai. He might plead with the emperor that such open contempt for his prime minister could only lead to contempt for the emperor himself.
Except for the providential insomnia of Xerxes that night and his attempt to put himself to sleep by reading the dry and dusty official state records (Est. 6:1) Mordecai would probably have been executed the next day.
We may learn the following lessons from this chapter:
1.
We should not be impressed when others do us some honor lest we are tempted to believe everyone should do us the same honor.
2.
Respect from ones peers is a result of character, not title or position.
3.
Human glory is a hunger that can never be satisfied.
4.
Real friends will not suggest actions that are injust or immoral.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(14) Gallows.Literally, tree; the Hebrew word, as well as the corresponding Greek word used by the LXX., standing both for the living tree and the artificial structure. Doubtless the punishment intended for Mordecai was crucifixion, for hanging, in the common sense of the term, does not seem to have been in use among the Persians. The same Hebrew word occurring above (Est. 2:23) is rendered tree. The Greek word employed is the same as that used in the New Testament for our Saviours cross (Act. 5:30; Act. 10:39, &c). The Latin Vulgate here actually renders the word on its last occurrence by crucem.
Fifty cubits high.That is, about seventy-five feet; the great height being to call as much attention as possible to the execution, that thereby Hamans glory might be proportionately increased.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Let a gallows Hebrew, a tree, or wood: that is, a lofty beam or post for impalement; not a gallows, or gibbet, in the ordinary sense. Compare Gen 40:19; Deu 21:22-23. Hanging with a rope by the neck seems not to have been a Persian mode of punishment, but impalement was common. See note on Est 2:23. Haman’s wife and friends proposed to make the post of wood for Mordecai’s execution fifty cubits high seventy-five feet so as to make his impalement as conspicuous and as ignominious as possible.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Est 5:14. The thing pleased Haman, and he caused the gallows to be made This gallows was to be fifty feet high, that men might at a greater distance see the object of Haman’s indignation, to the increase of Mordecai’s disgrace no doubt, as Haman and his friends thought, and that, struck with greater terror by the spectacle, none might dare for the future to despise or offend him. It may seem strange, that so proud a man as Haman was, should not be prompted immediately to revenge himself on Mordecai for his contemptuous usage of him; since, doubtless, he must have had people enough about him, who, upon the least intimation of his pleasure, would have done it; and since he, who had interest enough with his prince to procure a decree for the destruction of a whole nation, might have easily obtained a pardon for having killed one obscure member of it. But herein did the wise and powerful providence of God appear, in that he disposed Haman’s heart, contrary to his own inclination and interest, to put fetters as it were upon his own hands, instead of employing his power against his enemy. There cannot be a more striking instance of the vanity of all human greatness, and its utter incapacity to procure a depraved mind repose, than this of Haman. Those who are in the most exalted stations are not always so happy as they seem, or as those beneath them are ready to suppose: they have generally some latent trouble which gnaws and devours them; indeed, a very little matter is sufficient to embitter all their prosperity: this is more particularly the case with the proud and ambitious. Their pride is their punishment; and the mortification of seeing themselves not honoured as they expect plunges them into the bitterness of malice and revenge. But let such consider, that when they seem to be most firmly rooted, and oppress good men without controul, their ruin may be nearest at hand; and they may fall, by the over-ruling direction of Providence, into the very mischiefs which they had prepared for others. They who would see this subject amply enlarged upon may consult Balguy’s Sermons, vol. 1: and Wharton’s, vol. 2:
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(14) Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
The subject is here wrought to the most finished point of everything that is interesting; and everything as far as human malice, aided by diabolical stratagems, could effect evil, seems hovering over the poor Jews. Thus the LORD frequently permits the malice of bad men, to go to the greatest length for the exercise of his people’s faith, the greater disappointment and ruin their foes, and the more illustrious display of his own glory. Surely the wrath of man shall praise him, the remainder of wrath will he restrain. Psa 76:10 .
REFLECTIONS
Who can read this history of Esther’s going in before the king, full of fear, doubt, and a thousand misgivings; and not call to mind the state, in which many of GOD’S people go in before JESUS their king and GOD in Zion! and who can behold the kindness and complacency with which the king received Esther, and not have his heart led out, to contemplate the everlasting love, and kindness, and favor, which the LORD JESUS showeth to all his poor petitioners. Surely any of the LORD’S redeemed ones have cause to blush, who keep back through fear from JESUS, when we here behold Esther going in unsent, uncalled, and contrary to the law, and yet finding favor; while every poor sinner that feels his need of JESUS is called, invited, nay even commanded to come, and the golden sceptre is always held out, and JESUS waits to be gracious. Reader! let this sweet view be productive of all its designed effects in our hearts. We have no uncertainty, no ifs or peradventures, respecting our reception. We have no Hamans to oppose us; for though Satan the adversary, is said to stand resisting, yet blessed be our GOD he is rebuked. But we have a sure, a successful, an all-prevailing advocate with the FATHER, who ever lives, both to plead, and to ensure our acceptance. Oh! for grace then to go always with holy boldness, not in slavish fear, nor in bondage frames, for this is highly unbecoming the redeemed of the LORD; but let us come, as those whom the Son of GOD hath made free, and in whom GOD our FATHER hath called us to the privilege and adoption of sons. Oh! how very delightful would all seasons, and especially holy ordinance seasons prove, if by faith in GOD’S dear Son, the redeemed of the LORD would at all times draw nigh in the blood of the cross.
Reader! as Esther made a pause before she ventured to bring her petition too hastily to an issue; so let you and I, in all great events concerning the LORD’S providences in the world. Though this chapter closeth with a dark and lowering aspect, yet it is in the LORD’S hands. He is everlastingly pursuing the salvation of his people. Heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Leave all events with JESUS. Hast thou trusted him with thy soul; depend upon it he careth also for the body. Leave every concern in his hands. He doeth all things well. Remember that sweet scripture, Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto GOD. And the peace of GOD which passeth knowledge, shall keep the heart and mind in CHRIST JESUS.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Est 5:14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
Ver. 14. Then said Zeresh his wife ] Thrasos shall never want for Gnathos. Such as have first flattered themselves shall have others enough to soothe them, and to say with them. Zeresh sets the motion of revenge on foot, she was a fit helve for such a hatchet, wittily wicked. The wit of women hath wont to be noted for more sudden and more shrewd.
And all his friends unto him
Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high
And tomorrow
Speak thou unto the king
That Mordecai may be hanged thereon
Then go thou in merrily with the king, &c.
And the thing pleased Haman
And he caused the gallows to be made
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
gallows = tree: i.e. a stake to which a criminal was fastened till he died. The same word for cross. Compare Est 2:23; Est 7:9; and see Act 5:30; Act 10:39; Act 13:29. 1Pe 2:24.
to morrow. There was no delay; but, quick as the action was, it was none too soon for its real usefulness.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
said Zeresh: 2Sa 13:3-5, 1Ki 21:7, 1Ki 21:25, 2Ch 22:3, 2Ch 22:4, Mar 6:19-24
Let a gallows: Heb. Let a tree, Est 7:9
speak thou: Est 3:8-15, Est 6:4
go thou in: Est 3:15, 1Ki 21:7, Amo 6:4-6, Rev 11:10
the thing: 2Sa 16:21-23, 2Sa 17:1-4, Mar 14:10, Mar 14:11, Act 23:14, Act 23:15, Rom 1:32
he caused: Est 7:10, Psa 7:13-16, Psa 9:15, Psa 37:14, Psa 37:32, Pro 1:18, Pro 4:16, Rom 3:15
Reciprocal: Gen 45:16 – it pleased Pharaoh well 2Sa 13:4 – Why art 2Sa 17:4 – the saying 2Ki 8:5 – the woman Est 2:23 – hanged Est 6:14 – hasted to bring Psa 36:4 – deviseth Psa 140:9 – let the mischief Psa 146:9 – the way Isa 51:13 – were ready Mic 2:1 – to
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Est 5:14. Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends They saw how gladly he would dispense with his own resolution, of deferring the slaughter till the time determined by the lot, and therefore advise him to take an earnest of the satisfaction he then expected, in the speedy execution of Mordecai: Let a gallows be made They advise him to have one made ready, that, as soon as he could get the warrant signed, there might be no delay of the execution, and to cause it to be made fifty cubits high, that it might be more conspicuous to all, and thereby be more disgraceful to Mordecai, and might strike all Hamans enemies with the greater dread of despising or opposing him. And to-morrow speak thou unto the king They advise him to go early in the morning to get an order from the king for hanging Mordecai, which they doubted not would be readily granted to one that was so much the kings favourite, and who had so easily obtained an edict for the destruction of the whole nation of the Jews. Then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet Having thus triumphed over thy implacable enemy, and got rid of all that vexes thee and imbitters thy prosperity and glory. And the thing pleased Haman He approved of their advice, and caused the gallows to be erected accordingly. And now, says Henry, we leave Haman to go to bed, pleased with the thoughts of seeing Mordecai hanged the next day, and then going merrily to the banquet, and not dreaming of handselling his own gallows.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
5:14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty {g} cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
(g) Meaning, the highest that could be found.