EsterKapitel 9

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In the twelfth month, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, when the king's command and decree were to be carried out—on the very day when the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them—the reverse took place: the Jews overpowered those who hated them.

The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike down those who sought their harm, and no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all the peoples.

All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king's administrators supported the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.

For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame spread through all the provinces, for the man Mordecai kept growing greater and greater.

So the Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying, and they did as they pleased with those who hated them.

In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men,

and they killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha—

the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they laid no hand on the plunder.

That same day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king.

The king said to Queen Esther, "In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, along with the ten sons of Haman. What must they have done in the rest of the king's provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. What more do you request? It shall be done."

Esther answered, "If it pleases the king, let the Jews in Susa be allowed to act tomorrow as well, according to today's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows."

The king ordered that it be done. The decree was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman.

The Jews in Susa gathered again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they laid no hand on the plunder.

The rest of the Jews throughout the king's provinces also gathered to defend their lives and gain relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they laid no hand on the plunder.

This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

But the Jews in Susa had gathered on the thirteenth and the fourteenth, and they rested on the fifteenth and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

This is why the Jews of the countryside, who live in the unwalled towns, keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of gladness and feasting, a holiday on which they send portions of food to one another.

Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

binding them to observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar year after year,

as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month in which their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into a holiday. They were to keep them as days of feasting and gladness, sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

So the Jews took upon themselves what they had already begun to do and what Mordecai had written to them.

For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast the pur—that is, the lot—to crush and destroy them.

But when Esther came before the king, he ordered in writing that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should fall back on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Therefore these days are called Purim, after the name Pur. And so, because of everything written in this letter, and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them,

the Jews established and took upon themselves and their descendants and all who joined them that they would never fail to observe these two days as prescribed and at the appointed time, year after year.

These days are remembered and kept in every generation, in every family, in every province and every city, and these days of Purim will never cease among the Jews, nor will their memory die out among their descendants.

Then Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.

Letters were sent to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus—words of peace and truth—

to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had taken upon themselves and upon their descendants the matters of the fasts and their cries of lament.

So Queen Esther's decree confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written down in the record.

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Zusammenfassung2

Kapitel 9

Main Theme: The Jews' victory over their enemies and the establishment of the Purim festival.

Content: On the 13th of Adar, when the enemies had planned to destroy the Jews, the situation was reversed and the Jews triumphed over those who hated them. In Susa they killed 500 men on the first day and 300 on the second day, as well as Haman's ten sons, who were hanged. In the provinces the Jews killed 75,000 enemies but took no plunder. Mordecai and Esther sent letters to all the Jews to establish Purim as an annual festival on the 14th and 15th of Adar, with celebration, giving gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.

Key Words/Images:

Purim (פּוּר): The name of the festival, from the word "pur" (lot), because Haman cast lots to determine the day for the destruction of the Jews.
The Reversal (וְנַהֲפוֹךְ): The situation was turned around—from sorrow to joy, from the enemies ruling over the Jews to the Jews ruling over them.
Mishloach manot (מִשְׁלוֹחַ מָנוֹת): The custom of sending food gifts to one another as part of the Purim celebration.
No Plunder Taken: The Jews refused to take war spoils, emphasizing that the struggle was about self-defense, not gain.

Historischer Kontext

People

Mordecai

Mordecai's position and influence reach their peak in this chapter. He is described as "great in the king's house," with a reputation spreading to all provinces, and he "continues to grow greater" (9:3-4). His power is so significant that all the officials of the empire—satraps, governors, and royal servants—support the Jews out of fear for him (9:3). Mordecai takes the initiative to establish Purim as an annual festival by sending letters to all Jews throughout the empire (9:20-21), and together with Queen Esther he writes a second letter to confirm the celebration (9:29-31).

Haman's Ten Sons

The ten sons named in the text (9:7-10)—Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha—all bear Persian names, confirming the family's integration into Persian culture. They were killed along with the other 500 in Susa on the first day (9:6-10), and at Esther's request their bodies were hanged on the gallows the following day (9:13-14). In traditional Hebrew manuscripts, these names are written in a distinctive vertical column, and certain letters appear in unusual sizes.

Events and Customs

The Jews' Victory and Self-Defense

The chapter describes the fulfillment of the decree granting the Jews the right to defend themselves. On the thirteenth day of Adar, the Jews gathered in their cities throughout the empire and struck down their enemies (9:1-2). No one could stand against them because fear of them had fallen upon all peoples (9:2). In Susa, 500 men were killed on the first day (9:6), and at Esther's request for an additional day, another 300 were killed on the second day (9:15). In the other provinces, the Jews killed 75,000 of their enemies (9:16). The text emphasizes three times that the Jews did not lay hands on the plunder (9:10, 15, 16), even though the decree gave them the right to it.

Public Hanging of Haman's Sons

Esther's request to hang the bodies of Haman's ten sons on the gallows (9:13-14) reflects an ancient Near Eastern practice in which executed enemies' bodies were publicly displayed as a warning and disgrace. This involved hanging already dead bodies on wooden stakes. The practice is known from Assyrian and Persian sources and aimed to demonstrate complete victory and deter future rebellions.

Origin and Practice of the Purim Festival

The chapter describes the historical background for the festival of Purim and establishes its rituals. The name "Purim" comes from the word "pur" (פּוּר), meaning "lot" (9:24: "הִפִּיל פּוּר הוּא הַגּוֹרָל") – a reference to the casting of lots that Haman used to determine the date for the destruction of the Jews. The Jews in the provinces rested and celebrated on the fourteenth day of Adar, while the Jews in Susa, who fought for two days, rested and celebrated on the fifteenth (9:17-19).

The chapter establishes four central elements of the celebration: a feast (מִשְׁתֶּה), joy (שִׂמְחָה), sending food gifts to one another (מִשְׁלוֹחַ מָנוֹת), and gifts to the poor (מַתָּנוֹת לָאֶבְיוֹנִים) (9:22). The festival marks "the month that was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday" (9:22).

Key Terms

Perazim – the Unwalled Towns

The expression "הַפְּרָזִים" (ha-perazim, 9:19) refers to Jews living in unwalled villages without fortifications, as opposed to those living in cities like Susa. The word comes from the root פ-ר-ז, indicating openness or lack of protection. This distinction explains why the celebration dates varied.

Kiyyemu ve-kibbelu – The Obligation

The phrase "קִיְּמוּ וְקִבְּלוּ" (9:27) – "they confirmed and undertook" – describes the Jews' commitment to celebrate Purim annually. This double formulation emphasizes both the binding and voluntary aspects of establishing the festival, and it includes their descendants as well as all who joined them.

Personen16

Hammedata (Haman's father)2 Ahasuerus3 Dalfon1 Arida1 Athaliah1 Haman (son of Hammedatha)5 Abihajil1 Arisai1 Parshandatha1 Parmashta1 Aspata1 Esther4 Porata1 Vaishata1 Mordecai6 Aridai1

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Schlüsselwörter8

Ester — The main character in the book, a Jewish woman who becomes queen of Persia and saves her people from destruction.
Ahasuerus — King of Persia, also known as Xerxes I, who marries Esther and later helps her save the Jews.
Mordecai — Esther's older cousin and guardian, who discovers a conspiracy against the king and later becomes the highest official in the kingdom.
Haman — The king's wicked advisor who plans to destroy the Jews, but is eventually hanged for his evil deeds.
Purim — A Jewish festival that celebrates victory over Haman and the deliverance of the Jews, established in Esther 9.
Lot — An object cast or drawn to decide a matter, often used in biblical texts. Haman used lots to determine the date for the destruction of the Jews.
Edict — An official order or proclamation issued by an authority. In Esther 9 there are two edicts: one allowing the destruction of the Jews and another allowing them to defend themselves.
Restoration — The process of bringing something back to its original state. In Esther 9 this refers to the restoration of the Jews after they were saved from Haman's evil plans.