Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. In chapter 3 of the book of daniel, it is very clear that bowing down to the. Thus, the deeds of queen esther cast a ray of light forward into israels history from a dark time. Now in chapter 3 of this book we are introduced to the villain, a slimy character by the name of haman the agagite. Esther 3 commentary matthew henrys complete commentary on. In one or two sentences, summarize the paragraphs in esther chapter 4. Public calamities, that oppress the church of god, should affect our hearts more than any private affliction, and it is peculiarly distressing to occasion sufferings to. At the end of chapter 2, mordecai boldly exposes a plot he overheard to kill the king. Were there not some such dark nights, the light of. Haman would have launched his evil plan at once, but first there was the necessity to get the kings permission to do so. The religion of a jew forbade him to give honours to any mortal man which savoured of idolatry, especially to so wicked a man as haman.
Esther 3, new international version niv the bible app. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. Esther is the last of the historical books of the bible, so its main character is named esther that is, venus, the morning star, which sheds its light after all the other stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun still delays rising. The first lesson we did an overview of the entire book. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esther a comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a part of his harem. The king urged esther, a third time, to tell him what her request was, for he longed to know, and repeated his promise that it should be granted, esther 7. Adam clarke commentary on esther 17601832 clarke was methodist, wesleyan, arminian, e. The religion of a jew forbade him to give honours to any mortal man which savoured of. Mordecai routinely stationed himself at the gate nearest to esthers living quarters. The story of esther is also made reference to in chapter 28 of 1 meqabyan, a book considered. This is probably best summed up by stephen in an indictment that led to his death. Study guide for esther 3 by david guzik blue letter bible. Classical sources such as josephus, the jewish commentary esther rabbah and the. Mordecai refuses to give him the honour he demands, esther 3.
It is the last of the five scrolls ruth, song of songs, ecclesiastes, lamentations, and esther, and is read at the feast of purim. And esther said, the adversary and enemy is this wicked haman. After these things did king ahasuerus promote haman. Its about the story of a hebrew woman named hadassah, known as esther, who becomes the queen of persia and prevent a genocide of her people. We can only imagine the thrills and challenges of adjusting. Then esther the queen answered and said, if i have found favour in thy sight, o king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. Commentaries for esther chapter 3 haman seeks to destroy the jews. Esther 3 commentary commentary critical and explanatory. Stephanie dalley made a draft of her forthcoming monograph on the assyrian background. Only one man in a multitude did not bow down to him. Esther 6 bible commentary wesleys explanatory notes. A divine work ordained by the one and only true god.
The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. An exposition, with practical observations, of the book of esther chapter 1. The events that the first chapter of the book of esther describes happened about 483 bc before christ. Dec 10, 2017 the book of esther, chapter 3, is taken from jimmy swaggarts, the expositors study bible. As we begin our study of chapter 4, i want to ask you to make a commitment. Read esther 3 commentary using commentary critical and explanatory on the whole bible.
Although we are told nothing about those first years, we can be certain they were filled with wonder for this young woman swept into palace life. Mordecai refuses to give him the honour he demands. Over 100 years earlier, nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon had attacked jerusalem. Book of esther bible study chapter 3 haman the madman book of esther bible study chapter 4 if i perish, i perish book of esther bible study chapter 5 prayer and the power of the third day book of esther bible study chapter 6 the sleepless king and the providence of god book of esther bible study chapter 7 the downfall of haman the wicked. Esther this is a hebrew name from the term myrtle bdb 2, from the targums, cf. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. Study the bible online using commentary on esther 3 and more. The book of esther consists of an introduction or exposition in chapters 1 and 2. Studying the book of esther, chapters no greater joy. In verse 7, haman did what many persians did in the first month, and that was to cast lots to determine the luckiest day of the year for him, that being the day he. Esther was a jewish orphan, who became the queen of xerxes, in some respects the greatest of the persian kings. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third.
Haman, for his sake, vows to be revenged upon all the jews, esther 3. In the hebrew bible, the book of esther is found in the third section of the canon, the writings. The heroine of the story esther sat on the throne as queen. Scripture when mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into read more the book of esther bible study. The book of esther is a story, and these brief passages from chapters. Big shot 1 after these things king ahasuerus promoted haman, the son of hammedatha the agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. After these things king ahasuerus promoted haman, the son of hammedatha the agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him a. This name of a remote ancestor of haman should not be viewed as, a mere epithet to indicate contempt and abhorrence. Several things in this chapter itself are very instructive and of great use. Esther 1, new living translation nlt the bible app. God is always active in esther, even though it is behind the scenes. Verses 14 so the king and haman came to banquet with esther the queen. In this esther 3 sermon were going to see the two protagonists in this story esther and mordecai live by faith in the unseen god.
Most likely, the book of esther doesnt have the name of god because it shows how god works behind the scenes. Summary of the use of the book of esther in different communities and texts 82. Intertextual ripples of the book of esther vu research portal. And the king said again unto esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, what is thy petition, queen esther. Most people still do not know that she is a jew, including haman. You can find the best commentary on esther for you using the tools on the right side. The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people.
Were there not some such dark nights, the light of the morning would not be so welcome. For a convenient summary of the state of the field see c. Chapter 2 chapter 4 esther index table of contents. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p. Esther 3 after these things king ahasuerus promoted haman. Surveying the chapter with two of gods people strategically placed in influential positions within the palace walls, life for the jewish people appeared to be peaceful and secure. Esther 3 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Next chapter of esther the book of esther, chapter 3 we hope that you find the content of the book of esther, chapter 3 from the douay rheims version of the catholic bible helpful to your bible studies and for references which allow you to read the books and individual verses of this chapter. Then the kings scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that haman commanded, to the kings satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to every people in their language.
She invites him to a feast in the company of haman 5. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old. It is a deeply profound and moving narrative of historical events that displayed the providence of god. Other sources ascribe the book of esther to ezra or nehemiah.
It was there that we noticed that god leads his people providentially. Esther 3 hamans plot to destroy the jews bible gateway. Ahasuerusit is now generally agreed among learned men that the ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the xerxes who figures in grecian history. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of haman the agagite,which he had devised against the jews. Esther 3 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. Without some acquaintance with the human heart, and the history of mankind, we should not think that any prince could consent to a dreadful proposal, so hurtful to himself. While it is always important to understand the context of a particular scripture text, it is especially critical with this one. Literary representations of queen esther in early modern england. David guzik commentary on esther 3, where haman makes a proposal ahasuerus to destroy the israelites while the king still is unaware of esther being a jew. He overcame the jews and he took many jews to babylon. For no given reason, at the beginning of chapter 3, it is not mordecai that is honored, but it is haman. In the hebrew, the words ring out in staccato cadence. This helps in finding out the theme of the paragraph. The jewish historian josephus names mordecai as author of the book.
She was brought up at susa by her cousin mordecai, who seems to have held a position among the lower officials of the royal palace. Esther 3, english standard version 2016 esv the bible app. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. Esther 3 sermon explaining the book bible study guide. This order is dispersed through the kingdom, esther 3. Esther s response follows the same pattern as the kings question. In esther chapter 3 we read where haman, as the chief of the princes with him, because of his pride, reports to the king in verse 8, that there is a people that is scattered throughout the kingdom who do not keep the kings. Esther ester ecter, akin to the zend tstara, the sanskrit stri, the greek aster, a star, esther. The intervening time had been spent in the expedition to greece.
Esther 1 commentary old testament matthew henry st. And my nation is this israel, which cried to god, and were saved. As you trace this mans ancestry back through scripture you discover that an agagite is an amalekite, and amalek was that race of people, descendants of esau, against whom god had said he would make war forever. He, upon a malicious suggestion, obtains an order from the king to have the all massacred upon a certain day, esther 3. Gaebelein concluded his exposition of each chapter, except 10, with a section on. He did not always interpret scripture l iterally and so was amillennial he interpreted revelation as a historicist which led him to interpret the. Chapter 3 after these things did king ahasuerus promote haman the son of hammedatha the agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
See our introduction to esther for comment on this. A very black and mournful scene here opens, and which threatens the ruin of all the people of god. Background in chapter three we are introduced to haman, a man whose hatred and abusive use of power throws the empire into confusion and brings the jewish people to the brink of disaster. Esther represents the purity of the jewish believer in the eyes of the world therefore she is envied she continues the fulfillment of the promise to abraham and this parallels genesis 50 20 and the story of joseph it is the work of god to take a curse and turn it into a blessing galatians 3 ii cor 5 21 it is absurd to wish ill on the world.
Haman early in the morning, because his malice would not suffer him to sleep. Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to haman, to see whether mordecais words. Mordecai refuses to give him the honour he demands v. The advancement of esther to the position of queen verses 121 a. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. Then were the kings scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that haman had commanded unto the kings lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language. Aug 02, 2010 in chapter 3 of esther, mordecai is singled out and persecuted by haman for no other reason than he is jewish. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. If the king had now forgotten that esther had an errand to him, and had not again asked what it was, she could scarcely have known how to renew it herself.
Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Esther 3 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on. To this day, when the feast of purim is celebrated and the book of esther is read, the very mention of hamans name elicits a strong response. As my later summary of the esther narrative will reveal. After these things king ahasuerus promoted haman, the son of hammedatha the agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. It is possible that esther was hadassahs throne name, but this is unsubstantiated. Esther 3 new international version niv hamans plot to destroy the jews. Esther chapter 2 matthew henry complete commentary on.