The number 75,000 refers to the number of enemies killed by the Jews in the Book of Esther and symbolizes divine protection and victory over persecution.
In the book of Esther (Esther 9:16), the Jews in the Persian provinces killed 75,000 of their enemies who sought to destroy them, after Haman's evil plan was exposed and overturned through King Ahasuerus' new decree. The text emphasizes that the Jews did not lay hands on the plunder, showing that their struggle was about survival, not gain. The number symbolizes God's intervention to protect His people from genocide and represents the turning point from a threat of annihilation to triumph – a central theme of divine providence in Jewish tradition. The Book of Esther mentions three times that the Jews did not lay hands on the plunder (Esther 9:10, 15, 16), likely as a deliberate contrast to King Saul, who took plunder from the Amalekites (1 Sam 15:9). Haman was an Agagite, meaning he was a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites. The 75,000 killed in the provinces are in addition to the 800 who were killed in the fortress of Susa (Esther 9:6, 15). Altogether, these figures mark the background for the establishment of the festival of Purim, which is celebrated on the 14th and 15th of Adar. In rabbinic tradition, the Jews' victory in the Book of Esther is interpreted as an example of hidden divine intervention (hester panim), since God's name is never explicitly mentioned in the Book of Esther.*