1. Opening Question: When you think of a hero, what is it you admire about them?
2. The narrative of Esther so far, main characters (A, M, E, H), dates
- Ch1 Ahasuerus' feasts - demotion of Vashti (A). Year 3 of A.
- Ch 2 Mordecai the Jew; Esther is chosen to be queen (M, E, A) Year 7
- Ch 3 Haman becomes vizier and decrees destruction of the Jews (H, M, A) Year 12
- Ch 4 Mordecai urges Esther to intercede with the king (M, E) 13th of Nisan
- Ch 5 Esther initiates her strategy to intercede; Haman plots to kill Mordecai (E, A, H) 15th of Nisan
3. Irony
Wikipedia, Irony (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony)
Irony (from Ancient Greek εἰρωνεία eirōneía 'dissimulation, feigned ignorance'), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique.
Irony can be categorized into different types, including verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Verbal, dramatic, and situational irony are often used for emphasis in the assertion of a truth. ...
Henry Watson Fowler, in The King's English, says, "any definition of irony—though hundreds might be given, and very few of them would be accepted—must include this, that the surface meaning and the underlying meaning of what is said are not the same."
By Scheinwerfermann - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17282660
4. Questions for Chapter 6 The Book of Records
- When do events transpire in this chapter?
- What examples of irony do you find in this chapter?
- How do you understand
- Ahasuerus' actions and words in this chapter?
- How do you understand Haman's description of public honors?
- Mordecai's actions
- the wisdom of Haman's wise men and wife, Zeresh?
- What stands out in this chapter?
5. Text of Chapter 6, The Book of Records
Sleep eludes the king
(1) That night, sleep deserted the king, and he ordered the book of records, the annals, to be brought; and it was read to the king. (2) There it was found written that Mordecai had denounced Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the threshold, who had plotted to do away with King Ahasuerus. (3) “What honor or advancement has been conferred on Mordecai for this?” the king inquired. “Nothing at all has been done for him,” replied the king’s servants who were in attendance on him.
(ד) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ מִ֣י בֶחָצֵ֑ר וְהָמָ֣ן בָּ֗א לַחֲצַ֤ר בֵּית־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ הַחִ֣יצוֹנָ֔ה לֵאמֹ֣ר לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לִתְלוֹת֙ אֶֽת־מׇרְדֳּכַ֔י עַל־הָעֵ֖ץ אֲשֶׁר־הֵכִ֥ין לֽוֹ׃ (ה) וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ נַעֲרֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֵלָ֔יו הִנֵּ֥ה הָמָ֖ן עֹמֵ֣ד בֶּחָצֵ֑ר וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ יָבֽוֹא׃ (ו) וַיָּבוֹא֮ הָמָן֒ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ מַה־לַּעֲשׂ֕וֹת בָּאִ֕ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֣ץ בִּיקָר֑וֹ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הָמָן֙ בְּלִבּ֔וֹ לְמִ֞י יַחְפֹּ֥ץ הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת יְקָ֖ר יוֹתֵ֥ר מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ (ז) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הָמָ֖ן אֶל־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ אִ֕ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֥ץ בִּיקָרֽוֹ׃ (ח) יָבִ֙יאוּ֙ לְב֣וּשׁ מַלְכ֔וּת אֲשֶׁ֥ר לָֽבַשׁ־בּ֖וֹ הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וְס֗וּס אֲשֶׁ֨ר רָכַ֤ב עָלָיו֙ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר נִתַּ֛ן כֶּ֥תֶר מַלְכ֖וּת בְּרֹאשֽׁוֹ׃ (ט) וְנָת֨וֹן הַלְּב֜וּשׁ וְהַסּ֗וּס עַל־יַד־אִ֞ישׁ מִשָּׂרֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ הַֽפַּרְתְּמִ֔ים וְהִלְבִּ֙ישׁוּ֙ אֶת־הָאִ֔ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֣ץ בִּֽיקָר֑וֹ וְהִרְכִּיבֻ֤הוּ עַל־הַסּוּס֙ בִּרְח֣וֹב הָעִ֔יר וְקָרְא֣וּ לְפָנָ֔יו כָּ֚כָה יֵעָשֶׂ֣ה לָאִ֔ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֥ץ בִּיקָרֽוֹ׃
Haman's counsel: How to honor a deserving Persian
(4) “Who is in the court?” the king asked. For Haman had just entered the outer court of the royal palace, to speak to the king about having Mordecai impaled on the stake he had prepared for him. (5) “It is Haman standing in the court,” the king’s servants answered him. “Let him enter,” said the king. (6) Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for a man whom the king desires to honor?” Haman said to himself [literally: said in his heart], “Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?” (7) So Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king desires to honor, (8) let royal garb which the king has worn be brought, and a horse on which the king has ridden and on whose head a royal diadem has been set; (9) and let the attire and the horse be put in the charge of one of the king’s noble courtiers. And let the man whom the king desires to honor be attired and paraded on the horse through the city square, while they proclaim before him: This is what is done for the man whom the king desires to honor!”
Haman must honor Mordecai
(10) “Quick, then!” said the king to Haman. “Get the garb and the horse, as you have said, and do this to Mordecai the Jew, who sits in the king’s gate. Omit nothing of all you have proposed.” (11) So Haman took the garb and the horse and arrayed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square; and he proclaimed before him: This is what is done for the man whom the king desires to honor! (12) Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, while Haman hurried home, his head covered in mourning. (13) There Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had befallen him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish stock, you will not overcome him; you will fall before him to your ruin.” (14) While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurriedly brought Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.
6. Commentaries to Ch. 6
6a. "Haman said in his heart," 6:6
(ג) וַיָּבוֹא הָמָן וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ וגו' וַיֹּאמֶר הָמָן בְּלִבּוֹ (אסתר ו, ו), הָרְשָׁעִים בִּרְשׁוּת לִבָּם, (בראשית כז, מא): וַיֹּאמֶר עֵשָׂו בְּלִבּוֹ. (תהלים יד, א): אָמַר נָבָל בְּלִבּוֹ. (מלכים א יב, כו): וַיֹּאמֶר יָרָבְעָם בְּלִבּוֹ. וַיֹּאמֶר הָמָן בְּלִבּוֹ.
אֲבָל הַצַּדִּיקִים לִבָּם בִּרְשׁוּתָם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (שמואל א א, יג): וְחַנָּה הִיא מְדַבֶּרֶת עַל לִבָּהּ. (דניאל א, ח): וַיָּשֶׂם דָּנִיֵּאל עַל לִבּוֹ. (שמואל א כז, א): וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל לִבּוֹ. וְדוֹמִין לְבוֹרְאָן (בראשית ח, כא): וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל לִבּוֹ.
(3) “Haman entered, and the king asked him: ‘What is to be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor?’ Haman said in his heart: Whom would the king delight to honor besides myself?” (Esther 6:6).
“Haman entered, and the king asked him… Haman said in his heart.” The wicked are controlled by their hearts: “Esau said in his heart” (Genesis 27:41); “The scoundrel said in his heart” (Psalms 14:1); “Jeroboam said in his heart” (I Kings 12:26); “Haman said in his heart.”
However, the righteous are in control of their hearts. That is what is written: “Hannah was speaking upon her heart” (I Samuel 1:13); “Daniel set over his heart” (Daniel 1:8); “David said to his heart” (I Samuel 27:1). And they are similar to their Creator: “The Lord said to his heart” (Genesis 8:21).
6b. The honor shown to Mordecai (6:7-9 and 10-11)
(ה) אֵין רוֹכְבִין עַל סוּסוֹ, וְאֵין יוֹשְׁבִין עַל כִּסְאוֹ, וְאֵין מִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁין בְּשַׁרְבִיטוֹ, וְאֵין רוֹאִין אוֹתוֹ כְּשֶׁהוּא מִסְתַּפֵּר וְלֹא כְשֶׁהוּא עָרֹם וְלֹא בְבֵית הַמֶּרְחָץ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם) שׂוֹם תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ, שֶׁתְּהֵא אֵימָתוֹ עָלֶיךָ:
(5) One may not ride on the king’s horse, and one may not sit on his throne, and one may not use his scepter, and one may not see him when he is having his hair cut, nor when he is naked, nor when he is in the bathhouse, as it is stated: “You shall set a king over you” (Deuteronomy 17:15), meaning, ensure that his fear should be upon you. All of these actions would lessen one’s fear of and reverence for the king.
Adele Berlin, Jewish Study Bible, comment to 6:8
Royal garb which the king has worn: According to Plutarch, Artaxerxes 5, this is tantamount to asking for the kingship.
Amos Hakham, Commentary to 6:9
This ceremony is similar to the ceremony arranged by Pharaoh in honor of Joseph (Bereshit 41:42-43)
Adele Berlin, comment to 6:11
The last time Mordecai was in the city square (4:6) he was dressed in mourning garb. What a reversal! Some midrashim embellish the scene, adding to Haman's subservience and dishonor, by imaging the preparations to include Haman's washing of Mordecai, since he was still covered in the ashes of mourning..., dressing him, and lowering himself so that Mordecai could step upon his neck in order to mount the horse.
6c. Haman's head is covered in grief (6:12)
King David flees Jerusalem when his son, Absalom, rebels against him.
(30) David meanwhile went up the slope of the [Mount of] Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he walked barefoot. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they went up.
[6d. How does Zeresh know that Haman is doomed? (6:13)]
Carey Moore, Commentary
Zeresh is expressing here the views of the author, not her own. He knew better than any pagan woman the relevant biblical passages concerning the ultimate victory of the Jews over the Amalekites [DR: Haman is understood to be descended from King Agag of Amalek].
(13) There Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had befallen him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish stock, you will not overcome him; you will fall before him to your ruin.”
Carey Moore points that that many of the Versions (ancient translations of Esther) add the words: "For God is with him [=Mordecai]."
Rahab of Jericho tells two Israelite spies that victory is theirs:
(9) She said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given the country to you, because dread of you has fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land are quaking before you. (10) For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Sea of Reeds for you when you left Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, whom you doomed. (11) When we heard about it, we lost heart, and no man had any more spirit left because of you; for the LORD your God is the only God in heaven above and on earth below.
[6e. Hurry, hurry, hurry (6:10, 6:14, and elsewhere in the book)]
Robert Alter, comment to 6:10
The element of hastening is prominent throughout this swiftly paced tale. Haman hurries to the palace first thing in the morning in order to get royal authorization to impale his enemy as soon as possible. Ahasuerus hurries to carry out Haman's plan for according honor, perhaps mindful of the fact that he has a banquet to attend later in the day. At the end of this episode, the king's eunuchs hurry to bring Haman, fresh from his public humiliation in honoring Mordecai, to the banquet.
7. Questions to consider for Chapter 7
- When do events transpire in this chapter?
- What do we learn about Esther in this chapter? Compare Esther's words at the Second Feast to her words at the First Feast in ch. 5:7-8.
- What is left unstated in this chapter?
- Why doesn't the book end at the end of chapter 7?
- What stands out for you in this chapter?
8. Chapter 7 - Chavruta Learning
(1) So the king and Haman came to feast with Queen Esther. (2) On the second day, the king again asked Esther at the wine feast, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half the kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” (3) Queen Esther replied: “If Your Majesty will do me the favor, and if it pleases Your Majesty, let my life be granted me as my wish, and my people as my request. (4) For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, massacred, and exterminated. Had we only been sold as bondmen and bondwomen, I would have kept silent; for the adversary is not worthy of the king’s trouble.”
Ernest Normand (English, 1857-1923), Esther Denouncing Haman (1888)
- photo of an original painting, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14549646
9. Commentaries to Chapter 7
9a What is your request? What is your request? What is your request? (7:2)
Robert Alter, comment to 7:2
What is your petition. In contrast to the general technique of earlier biblical narrative, which is to introduce small but significant changes in what looks like verbatim repetition, the Book of Esther uses exact repetition as a kind of narrative refrain...
(3) “What troubles you, Queen Esther?” the king asked her. “And what is your request? Even to half the kingdom, it shall be granted you.”
(6) At the wine feast, the king asked Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half the kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”
(2) On the second day, the king again asked Esther at the wine feast, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half the kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”
9b. Esther's petition (7:3)
Carey A. Moore, Comment to 6:14-7:10
Esther's petition in verse 3 was more than a request: she had made an admission – and a confession. In effect, she had admitted to being a Jewess; she had confessed her oneness with her people, testifying to the very close, reciprocal relationship between the individual and the group in Judaism. Historically, Jews have always recognized what the Nazi holocaust proved so tragically to everyone in the 20th century: whether he likes it or not, the Jew, so long as he remains a Jew, stands in a close relationship of interdependence with the Jewish community – for weal and woe. By identifying Haman, she had unmasked the villain, but she had also unmasked herself.
9c. Falling at someone's feet (7:7)
(7) The king, in his fury, left the wine feast for the palace garden, while Haman remained/`amad (stood) to plead with Queen Esther for his life; for he saw that the king had resolved to destroy him. (8) When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet room, Haman was lying prostrate/nofel (falling or had fallen) on the couch on which Esther reclined. “Does he mean,” cried the king, “to ravish the queen in my own palace?” No sooner did these words leave the king’s lips than Haman’s face was covered.-b
(כז) וַתָּבֹ֞א אֶל־אִ֤ישׁ הָאֱלֹקִים֙ אֶל־הָהָ֔ר וַֽתַּחֲזֵ֖ק בְּרַגְלָ֑יו וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ גֵּיחֲזִ֜י לְהׇדְפָ֗הּ וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ אִ֨ישׁ הָאֱלֹקִ֤ים הַרְפֵּה־לָהּ֙ כִּֽי־נַפְשָׁ֣הּ מָֽרָה־לָ֔הּ וַֽה' הֶעְלִ֣ים מִמֶּ֔נִּי וְלֹ֥א הִגִּ֖יד לִֽי׃
(27) But when she [=the Shunamite woman] came up to the man of God [=the prophet Elisha] on the mountain, she clasped his feet. Gehazi stepped forward to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress; and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
Homer, Odyssey, Book 6, http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.6.vi.html (Samuel Butler Translation)
As he [=Odysseus] said this he crept from under his bush, and broke off a bough covered with thick leaves to hide his nakedness. He looked like some lion of the wilderness that stalks about exulting in his strength and defying both wind and rain; his eyes glare as he prowls in quest of oxen, sheep, or deer, for he is famished, and will dare break even into a well-fenced homestead, trying to get at the sheep- even such did Ulysses seem to the young women, as he drew near to them all naked as he was, for he was in great want. On seeing one so unkempt and so begrimed with salt water, the others scampered off along the spits that jutted out into the sea, but the daughter of Alcinous stood firm, for Minerva put courage into her heart and took away all fear from her. She stood right in front of Ulysses, and he doubted whether he should go up to her, throw himself at her feet, and embrace her knees as a suppliant, or stay where he was and entreat her to give him some clothes and show him the way to the town. In the end he deemed it best to entreat her from a distance in case the girl should take offence at his coming near enough to clasp her knees, so he addressed her in honeyed and persuasive language.
9c Ravishing the queen? (7.8)
Adele Berlin, Comment to 6.8 (yes)
Another obvious sign of a grab for the throne is taking the king's wife and that is what Ahasuerus accuses Haman of in 7.8
(22) The king [Solomon] replied to his mother [Bathsheba], “Why request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Request the kingship for him! For he is my older brother, and the priest Abiathar and Joab son of Zeruiah are on his side.”
[9d Covering Haman's face (7.8)]
Mary Joan Winn Leith, Oxford Annotated Bible, comment to 7.8
They covered Haman's face symbolically negating his identity.
[9e Hoist on his own petard - 'Impale him on it!' (7:9)]
Carey A. Moore
Harbonah's suggestion [about the stake/gallows] struck the king as perfect poetic justice.
And whoever rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
10. Summary and Next Class
- Ch. 8 - The Second Decree
- Ch. 9, beginning - Self-Defense