Esther 5

Esther 5 is the fifth chapter of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible,[1] The author of the book is unknown and modern scholars have established that the final stage of the Hebrew text would have been formed by the second century BCE.[2] Chapters 3 to 8 contain the nine scenes that form the complication in the book.[3] This chapter records that Esther's risky behavior to appear uninvited before the king Ahasuerus is richly rewarded, because the king generously offers to give her whatever she wants, 'even to the half of my kingdom' (5:3), but Esther cleverly asks for nothing more than an opportunity to entertain her husband and his chief officer, Haman.[4] Both men were pleased at her hospitality, but when the king again offers her half the empire, this time she requests only a second banquet.[4] While Haman was happy to have been entertained by the queen, he became intensely distressed when Mordecai once more refused to bow down before him.[4] Haman's wife, Zeresh, advised him to erect a monumental gallows intended for Mordecai, and only then Haman felt happy again to look forward to Esther's second banquet.[4]

Esther 5
"The Feast of Esther" by Johannes Spilberg the Younger.
BookBook of Esther
CategoryKetuvim
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part17

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and since the 16th century is divided into 14 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes Codex Leningradensis (1008).[5][lower-alpha 1]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: S; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).[7]

Esther's first audience with the king and its outcome (5:1–8)
"Esther before the king". Bible primer, Old Testament, for use in the primary department of Sunday schools (1919).

This section records the first uninvited audience of Esther before king Ahasuerus.[8] Esther was immediately successful in her approach: the king extended his scepter as a sign of clemency and promised to grant her wish up to half of his kingdom. However, she didn't use this opportunity to avert the decree of genocide and instead invited the king and Haman to a dinner party.[9] The act indicates Esther's skills as a wise courtier because the seemingly simple request gives Esther several advantages to achieve her goal:[9]

  1. The king will be placed under obligation of courtesies to more likely grant her wish
  2. The king and Haman will be positioned in Esther's territory, rather than in the male-dominated court.[9]

Verse 1
Persian king's private apartments in the central part of the palace (back: Castle of Archaeologist Jacques de Morgan), Susa, Iran (2007).
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.[10]
  • "The king's house" (KJV): Hebrew: "the house of the king"; this expression is used twice in this verse: the first instance to describe 'the larger palace complex that is in view' ("the inner court"; NASB, NKJV, NRSV: "the king's palace"), whereas the second instance refers 'specifically to the quarters from which the king governed' (NASB: "the king's rooms"; NIV, NLT: "the king's hall").[11] This layout of the palace in Susa is attested by archaeological excavations.[12]

Verse 3
And the king said to her, "What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom."[13]
  • "What is it" (ESV, NAB, NIV, NRSV): from Hebrew: "what to you".[14]

Verse 4
So Esther answered, "If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him."[15]
  • "If it pleases the king": Hebrew: "If it is good to the king".[16]
  • "Let the king and Haman come today": It is recorded in the Masorah (footnotes of the Hebrew Bible text) of at least three old manuscripts,[17] and noted at least as early as Bachya ben Asher in the thirteenth century, that God's divine name, YHWH, is present in four verses within the Book of Esther, but is deliberately hidden by means of the literary style of acrostics, formed by either the initial or final characters in consecutive and contiguous words in the text.[18] One of these occurrences is found in verse 5:4 (others are in 1:20; 5:13; 7:7), with the divine name written by initial characters in 'majuscule' (bigger than the rest) and spelt forward (reading right-to-left),[18] The significance of the initial letters is linked to the interpretation that in this event 'God is initiating His action,'[19] causing Esther to take the first step leading to a great end,[17] and the forward positioning is because here 'God actively rules, underlining His initiative and direct interposition'.[20]
Reading directionWord order
Right-to-left 4 3 2 1
Hebrew יוםה המןו מלךה בואי
Left-to-right1234
Transliteration Yā-ḇō-w Ha-me-leḵ Wə-hā-mān Ha-yōm
English Let_come the_king and_Haman today

Haman grows more incensed against Mordecai (5:9–14)

This pericope shows that Haman is a dangerous foe who was constantly full of wrath for being worsted by his inferior, Mordecai, so he planned to butcher the whole population of Jews to appease his own sense of inferiority.[21] Haman would not enjoy all his honors as long as there was one Jew who did not give him the customary respect he wanted.[22] His friends understood that Haman wanted not only Mordecai dead, but also be humiliated publicly, so they suggested the setting up of high gallows for Mordecai to appease Haman.[22] Nonetheless, Modercai's continued defiance against Haman is 'enigmatic', as he still held it while knowing that his action has placed the Jews in great mortal danger.[23]

Verse 13
[Haman said:] "Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."[24]
  • "This avails me nothing": As described in Esther 5:4, God's divine name, YHWH, is present in four verses within the Book of Esther, but is deliberately hidden by means of the literary style of acrostics, formed by either the initial or final characters in consecutive and contiguous words in the text.[17][18] One of these occurrences is found in verse 5:13 (others are in 1:20, 5:4; 7:7), with the divine name written by last characters in 'majuscule' (bigger than the rest) but spelt backward (reading left-to-right),[18] The significance of the final letters is because in this event 'Haman's end was approaching',[19] as his joy at the first banquet of Esther (5:9) would be his last,[17] and the backward positioning is because here God is turning back Haman's counsel 'in order to bring to fruition his eternal purposes', as well as because it is spoken by a non-Jew (Haman) who 'instigates the crisis which needs to be reversed'.[20]
Reading directionWord order
Right-to-left 4 3 2 1
Hebrew יל השו ואיננ הז
Left-to-right1234
Transliteration zeH ’ê-nen-nū(W) šō-weH lî(Y)
English This nothing avails me

Verse 14
Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet."
And the thing pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made.[25]

See also

Notes
  1. Since 1947 the current text of Aleppo Codex is missing the whole book of Esther.[6]

References
  1. Halley 1965, p. 238.
  2. Meyers 2007, p. 324.
  3. Clines 1988, pp. 387–388.
  4. Meyers 2007, p. 328.
  5. Würthwein 1995, pp. 36-37.
  6. P. W. Skehan (2003), "BIBLE (TEXTS)", New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 355–362
  7. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73-74.
  8. Clines 1988, p. 391.
  9. Crawford 2003, p. 332.
  10. Esther 5:1 KJV
  11. Notes [a] and [b] on Esther 5:1 in NET
  12. Perrot, Jean (1989) "Shoshan Ha-birah," Eretz-Israel 20, pp. 155–160.
  13. Esther 5:3 ESV
  14. Note [a] on Esther 5:3 in NET.
  15. Esther 5:4 NKJV
  16. Note [a] on Esther 5:4 in ESV.
  17. Bullinger, E. W.. The Companion Bible. Kregel Publications. 1906-1922. Appendix 60.
  18. Turner 2013, p. 185
  19. Missler, Chuck (1998) Cosmic Codes: Hidden Messages from the Edge of Eternity. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho: Koinoinia House, pp. 77–88; apud Turner 2013, p. 186.
  20. Bullinger, E. W. The Name of Jehovah in the Book of Esther (2nd ed.; 1891; repr., Tresta, Shetland, U.K.: Open Bible Trust, 1999), p. 10; apud Turner 2013, p. 185.
  21. Clines 1988, pp. 391–392.
  22. Clines 1988, p. 392.
  23. Crawford 2003, p. 333.
  24. Esther 5:13 NKJV
  25. Esther 5:14 NKJV
  26. Note [a] on Esther 5:14 in NKJV.
  27. Note [b] on Esther 5:14 in NKJV.

Sources

Further reading
  • Bechtel, Carol (1983). Esther. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0664237455.
  • Bush, Frederic W. (2018). Ruth-Esther. Word Biblical Commentary. Volume 9. Zondervan Academic. ISBN 978-0310588283.
  • McConville, J. G. (1985). Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. The daily study Bible : Old Testament. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0664245832. Retrieved October 28, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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