Haman’s No Good, Very Bad Day
Its amazing what a single day can bring. For Haman, his final day began with a sense of anticipation. He was waiting in the outer court of the palace at the crack of dawn to ask the king for permission to kill Mordecai. His plan was to impale Mordecai on a 75′ pole that he had set up in his front yard, and he was anxious to get quick approval. His first setback came with the king’s command to honor Mordecai by parading him around the city square, dressed in the king’s......
“What Honor or Dignity?”
When Xerxes (Ahasuerus) heard again of how Mordecai the Jew had saved his life, he asked, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” (Est 6:3). The answer, of course, was that nothing had been done, an embarrassing situation for the king. From the tablets preserved in the Persepolis Fortification Archive, we know that daily events were initially recorded on small tablets that could easily be held in one hand. The tablets of this kind are shaped something like a capital D, with one end rounded and the other......
The King’s Chronicles – What Language?
Esther 6:1 records that Xerxes (Ahasuerus) could not sleep, so he called for the court records to be brought and read before him. What exactly did they bring, and in what language were such records kept? There are several places in the book of Esther where proclamations are made throughout the Persian empire, and it seems to have been standard procedure that they were issued “to every people according to their language” (Esth 1:22; cf. 3:12, 8:9). But what language and script was used in the royal palace for the official records?......
Haman’s “Gallows”
There are a number of references to hanging in the book of Esther, which has traditionally been paired in English translations with the noun “gallows.” Esther 2:23 – the two conspirators were hung Esther 5:14 – Haman’s wife and friends suggest that he hang Mordecai Esther 7:9 – Haman was hung on the “gallows” he had built for Mordecai Esther 9:13 – Haman’s ten sons were hung However, the “gallows” was not a platform and cross beam as we think of it, for hanging a person by breaking their neck or by......
Esther and the Presumption of Innocence
One of the founding legal principles of United States is the presumption of innocence. We are “innocent until proven guilty” in the eyes of the law. Although many American’s do not realize it, this is a principle that originates in the Bible. Two examples demonstrate this. Deut 17:6 requires that corroborated evidence must be used for a conviction, “on the evidence of two or three witnesses . . . not on the evidence of one witness.” An accusation alone is insufficient to condemn. There must be evidence of the strongest kind (multiple......
