Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Esther 6:13

And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every [thing] that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai [be] of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.

13. recounted ] The Heb. word indicates a more detailed account than the ‘told’ of the A.V.

his wise men ] See on Est 1:13. By these are probably meant the same as those who cast lots in Est 3:7.

Mordecai, before whom ] the relative pronoun refers to the individual foe, and not, as in the A.V., to the Jewish nation generally.

thou shalt not prevail against him ] If we are to consider Haman as a descendant of Agag (see on Est 3:1), the writer is probably referring to the passages which indicate that Amalek’s fate is, when confronted with Israel, to be worsted in the conflict. See Exo 17:16; Num 24:20; Deu 25:17-19; 1 Samuel 15; 2Sa 1:8 ff.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Est 6:13

Before whom thou hast begun to fall.

Descent easy

The ascent to honour and greatness is steep, and those who aspire after them must climb it slowly, and with difficulty; but the descent is easy, and so precipitous, that when they lose their footing they fall in minutes what they rose in years. (T. McCrie, D. D.)

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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 13. But shalt surely fall before him.] The Septuagint adds, ‘ , for the living God is with him. But this is a sentiment that could scarcely be expected to proceed from the mouth of heathens, such as these were.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

His wise men; the magicians, whom after the Persian manner he had called together to consult with upon this great and strange emergency.

If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews; which they were told, and was generally supposed; but they were not infallibly sure of it. Thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him: this they concluded, either,

1. By rules of policy, because Hamans reputation and interest was hereby sinking, and Mordecai (whom they understood to be a man of great wisdom, and courage, and government of himself) was now got into the kings favour, and thereby was likely to gain an opportunity of making his addresses to the king, who being of a mild disposition, might easily be moved to a dislike (if not revocation) of his own bloody decree, and consequently to a detestation of that person who had procured it. Or,

2. By former experience, and the observation of Gods extraordinary actions on the behalf of the Jews, and against their enemies, in this very court and kingdom. Or,

3. By instinct and inspiration to their minds, either from God, who might suggest this to them, as he did other things to other wicked men, Balaam, Caiaphas, &c., for his own greater glory, and the good of his people; or from the devil, who, by Gods permission, might know this, and reveal it to them, who sought to him in their superstitious and idolatrous methods.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And Haman told Zeresh his wife, and all his friends, every thing that had befallen him,…. How he was prevented speaking to the king on this errand he went; instead of which, he had the mortification of being obliged to do the honour to Mordecai which he thought would never have been given to any but himself, and so related the whole affair as above:

then said his wise men; before called his friends; perhaps they were magicians and soothsayers he kept in his house, to advise with about the proper methods and times of advancing himself, and destroying his enemies:

and Zeresh his wife unto him; who joined with the wise men in giving her opinion, and who set up for a knowing woman, and of whom Haman thought highly:

if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews; as it was said he was; and therefore Haman had vowed and plotted revenge on the people of the Jews for his sake:

before whom thou hast begun to fall; as he did, by being obliged to execute the king’s will in doing him so much honour:

thou shall not prevail against him; to get him hanged, or his people destroyed, though he had prepared a gallows for the one, and had got an edict for the other:

but shall surely fall before him: which might be concluded from his being set above him, who would not fail of using his power and interest to crush him, who had showed himself to be such an implacable enemy to him; or they might have some knowledge of the history of the Jews, and of what wonderful things God often did for them, in defeating the designs of their enemies, and in raising them up from a low to an high estate.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(13) Told.The same word as on a former occasion. Est. 5:11. Then the tale was one of boastful pride in what he had, and no less boastful pride in what he hoped to be; now it is of bitter disappointment and bitter anticipation, not brightened by any of the thoughts which blunt the keenness of many a sorrow, as when men have nobly done their duty, though it is not Gods will that their efforts should succeed for the time, and when the hope could be cherished that a brighter time must dawn before long. Nothing of this comfort could be Hainans. He had not failed in an honest discharge of his duty, but in a cruel and unjust scheme (not that the king can be called a whit better in this matter); he knew the usages of his country far too well to suppose for a moment that, after having made such an attempt, and having failed, he would be allowed to try a second time.

If Mordecai . . . before whom thou hast begun . . .Poor comfort does the unfortunate schemer get from his household; he knew too well already that he had begun to fall, his heart must have told him all too truly that it was but the beginning: what then could he expect from this communication to his family? Had he been the representative of a fallen cause, fallen but not discredited, despairing even of his cause, yet not ashamed of the course that had resulted thus, he might have been helped with counsel and cheering and sympathy. Contrast Zereshs perhaps last words to her husband with those, for example, of the wife of good John Rogers, or of Rowland Taylor, on their way. to the stake, in the days of the Marian persecution.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

13. His wise men His counsellors and advisers, among whom were the diviners who cast lots before him. Est 3:7. These were the same as his friends. See note on Est 5:10.

Thou shalt not prevail against him His diviners now hesitate not to predict his fall. If his enemy is of the seed of the Jews a new and startling fact that seems suddenly to have impressed these wise men then it is certain that the Providence which has ever been such a wondrous power in the Jewish nation, and which has now so strangely elevated Mordecai at the very moment when Haman thought to have slain him, will cause the Jew to triumph.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Est 6:13. Then said his wise men, &c. As Mordecai had declared himself a Jew, to satisfy the people at court that he could not with a good conscience comply with the king’s command relating to the reverence which was to be paid to Haman; and as the interposition of Providence in behalf of the Jewish nation, even during their captivity, had been very conspicuous; the wise men about Haman might from experience form a conjecture, that if their God was become their friend, as seemed to be the case by this strange turn of affairs in favour of Mordecai, no weapon forged against them would prosper; because they had seen so many plots, which would have crushed any other nation, turn to their advancement as well as to their enemies’ destruction. See Jdt 5:20-21. Considering, then, that Mordecai was of the seed of the Jews, a people whom God had wonderfully raised from great oppressions, and that at this time there was a desperate design, by Haman’s management, carrying on against them; his wise men might easily and without the spirit of prophesy divine, that as Mordecai, whom they knew to be a man of great courage and wisdom, was got into the king’s favour, it would not be long before he would find an opportunity of applying to him for a revocation of Haman’s bloody decree, and consequently his ruin in the king’s good graces. The known instability of court favour, and the little quarter there given to rivals or enemies, made it no hard matter, from Mordecai’s advancement, to read Haman’s destiny. See Patrick and Poole.

REFLECTIONS.With very different sensations these two returned; the one to his place at court, the other to his house in the city. Mordecai, thankful and comforted, receiving the favour done him as a token for good, that God would blast the designs of his inveterate enemy: Haman, covered with confusion, stung with envy, and mourning as under the bitterest affliction. Thus will God render tribulation to those who trouble his people; but, to us who are troubled, rest with him.

1. Haman unbosoms his griefs to his wife and friends. The communicating of our afflictions is usually a relief; here it tended to aggravate their burden. For,
2. They prove miserable comforters, and read his doom instead of soothing his complaints. They foresee the disappointment of all his schemes: Mordecai is of the seed of the Jews, and no weapon formed against them can prosper; they predict his own fall in the struggle, and heighten his distress into despair: what had happened was but the earnest of what would ensue. Note; (1.) It is vain fighting against those whom God protects. (2.) Falling favourites descend rapidly. (3.) Sad presages of approaching ruin often seize the sinner before destruction comes upon him to the uttermost.

3. Haman’s grief probably made him dilatory, and he foreboded now no good from the banquet in which he had so lately gloried. The eunuchs are sent to hasten him, and he goes; where we shall find him, in the next chapter, receiving the judgment that he had so well deserved.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

(13) And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him. (14) And while they were yet talking with him, came the king’s chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Observe, Reader! the ground on which the wife of Haman, and those around him, forebode evil. If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews; why, what were they? Captives, poor, tributaries, and in desolate circumstances. But they were a seed in covenant with God: though out casts, yet God’s outcasts. Isa 18:4 . And as a praying seed of Jacob, they had power with God to prevail. Reader! think only of the vast privileges of God’s people. If God be for us, who can be against us. Haman is now hastening to the banquet, no doubt, as he thought, to repair all; but in reality to hasten on his final ruin. Pause, Reader, and contemplate the hand of God in all.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Est 6:13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every [thing] that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai [be] of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.

Ver. 13. And Haman told Zeresh his wife, and all his friends ] Expecting comfort and counsel from them; but they read him his destiny, and add to his grief and desperation; letting him know, that his state was such as that there was neither hope for better nor place for worse; a just hand of God upon such a hard-hearted wretch, that had plotted the ruin of so many innocents. And his wife and friends, had they done well should have reminded him of, and stirred him up to repent of his wickedness against God, the cause of his present wretchedness, to be reconciled to Mordecai, whom he and they plainly saw to be God’s favourite, and now the king’s also, to take down that ugly gallows, that there were no further notice taken of it, the evidence and ensign of his insufferable pride, and their unsavoury counsel, to get the decree for the Jews’ massacre reversed or countermanded, &c. But not a word find we of anything this way tending. Graceless people neither have God in their heads, Psa 10:4 , nor hearts, Psa 14:1 , nor words, Psa 12:4 , nor ways, Tit 1:16 , but stand in a posture of distance, nay, defiance, walking contrary to him; and therefore he also, to cry quittance, walketh contrary to them, Lev 16:1-34 , showing himself as froward as they for the hearts of them, Psa 18:26 .

Everything that had befallen him ] The sad accidents of that day. Nothing now (as once, Est 5:11 ) boasteth he to them of the glory of his riches and multitude of his children, and how the king had advanced him above all his other courtiers. Haman’s crowing was now turned into crying, &c.

Then said his wise men ] Wizards haply, such as he made use of when he cast Pur for a lucky day, and into whose mouths the devil might put this answer. It is his use to bring his imps into the briars, and there to leave them, as he did Saul (whose funeral sermon he preached), and Judas, Julian, Valens, and others.

And Zeresh his wife said unto him ] She is noted for a prudent woman, but here she proves as cold a comforter as before she had been an evil counsellor.

If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews ] A nation noted as dear to God, often delivered by him, and that had also the faculty for gaining the good will of princes, by their excellent virtues, as it had been seen in Daniel and his companions, in Jechoniah, Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the whole nation, so graciously licensed by Cyrus to return into their own country. It is a good note that one gives here, A Jew may fall before a Persian, and get up and prevail; but if a Persian, or whosoever of the Gentiles, begin, to fall before a Jew, he can neither stay nor rise, &c.

Thou shalt mot prevail against him ] But why did they not tell him this before, since they knew, as well as Haman, that Mordecai was of the seed of the Jews, and therefore advised him to prepare such a huge gallows? Surely, he that had so flattered himself deserved to be so flattered and undone by others; he that had given so evil counsel to the king against the Jews deserved by such evil counsellors to be cast into straits, and have no hand to help him out; they lead him to his bane, and there leave him, as familiars do their witches, when they have once brought them into fetters.

But shalt surely fall before him ] Thus is Haman judged of all, condemned by all, and this with so great assurance of such an event, as if they had seen it. Utique coram eo concides Thou shalt surely fall before him, and that irrecoverably; as Eli fell, and as those idolaters are threatened, Amo 8:14 . The Hebrew is, falling thou shalt fall, viz. to the lowest and utmost ebb of disgrace and misery, .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Zeresh. See note on Est 5:14.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Zeresh: Est 5:10-14

said his wise: Gen 41:8, Dan 2:12

If Mordecai: Gen 40:19, 1Sa 28:19, 1Sa 28:20, Job 15:24, Dan 5:26-28, Zec 12:2, Zec 12:3

but shalt surely: Job 16:2, Pro 28:18, Hos 14:9

Reciprocal: 2Sa 3:1 – David waxed 2Sa 13:3 – a friend 1Ki 13:21 – Thus saith 1Ki 20:43 – went Job 18:8 – he is cast Psa 129:5 – be confounded

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Est 6:13. Then said his wise men The magicians, whom, after the Persian manner, he had called together, to consult upon this strange emergency. If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews Which they were told, and it was generally supposed he was, but of which they were not infallibly sure; before whom thou hast begun to fall Though but in a point of honour; thou shalt not prevail against him They had observed, it is probable, how the Jews had been wonderfully raised from under great oppressions, since the time of Cyrus, and in how many remarkable instances God had appeared for them, and against their enemies, in this very court and kingdom, and thence concluded there was a particular providence that took care of them. Or perhaps they only formed their judgment from the omen, in Haman having been obliged to pay such honours himself to one of that nation which he had purposed, and even got the kings edict, entirely to destroy. But shalt surely fall before him This they concluded, either, 1st, By rules of policy, because Hamans reputation and interest were sinking, and Mordecai, whom they understood to be a man of great wisdom and courage, had now got into the kings favour, and therefore was likely to gain an opportunity of moving him to a dislike, if not revocation, of his own bloody decree, and consequently to a detestation of that person who had procured it. Or, 2d, By an instinct or impression from God upon their minds, who might suggest this to them, as he did other things to other wicked men, for his own great glory, and the good of his people.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

6:13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every [thing] that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai [be] of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, {d} but shalt surely fall before him.

(d) Thus God sometimes puts in the mouth of the very wicked to speak that thing which he has decreed shall come to pass.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes