Tag: Susa


Daniel in the City of Susa

Daniel in the City of Susa

Daniel’s vision in Daniel 8 is set in a distant city, Susa. Susa was in Babylonian territory, but on the very eastern edge. It was about 225 miles from where Daniel most likely had the vision, Babylon. Although some believe Daniel may have actually been in Susa at the time of the vision, the text allows that he may have only been there in his vision. “And I looked in the vision, and it came about while I was looking, that I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the......


Two Days Fighting in Susa

Two Days Fighting in Susa

Purim, a celebration of the victory of the Jews over their enemies in the days of Esther, is celebrated for two days. In 2019, Purim was March 21 and Shushan Purim was March 22. The book of Esther explains that, although the Jewish populations were victorious throughout the land on Adar 13, in the capital city of Susa the fighting was extended an extra day (Esth 9:17-19). Why did the fighting in Susa take an extra day? There are two observations that may be helpful in answering this question. The first is......


Mordecai in the City Square

Mordecai in the City Square

Twice in the book of Esther we find Mordecai in the city square. It would be easy to imagine that this was a marketplace in the center of town like is usually seen in Greco-Roman cities a few centuries later. However, enough detail is given in the book of Esther to identify the city square of Susa, and it was not in the center of town. Rather, it was an open plaza in front of the palace, the nearest most people could come to the palace without an official invitation. You can......


Mordecai at the King's Gate

Mordecai at the King’s Gate

Esther 2:19 describes Mordecai as “sitting at the king’s gate” in Susa. Although excavations have been carried out at Susa since the mid-1800’s, archaeologists only discovered the King’s Gate in 1970. It is located about 260 feet to the east of the palace. The gate was set at the edge of a moat that separated the palace complex from the royal city. A bridge across the moat ended at this gate, thus ensuring that it controlled access to the entire palace complex. This gate was massive. It measured 130 by 100 feet,......