---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Esther 8"
description: "CHAPTER 8   :-. MORDECAI
ADVANCED. 1. On that day did the king
Ahasuerus give the house of Haman . . . unto Esther—His
property was confiscated, and every"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/esther/8"
---

CHAPTER 8

. MORDECAI
ADVANCED.

**1. On that day did the king
Ahasuerus give the house of Haman . . . unto Esther**—His
property was confiscated, and everything belonging to him, as some
compensation for the peril to which she had been exposed.
**Mordecai came before the
king**—that is, was introduced at court and appointed one of the
seven counsellors. Esther displayed great prudence and address in
acknowledging Mordecai's relation to her at the moment most fitted to
be of eminent service to him.

**2. the king took off his ring, . . .
and gave it unto Mordecai**—By that act transferring to him all
the power and authority which the ring symbolized, and promoting him
to the high dignity which Haman had formerly filled.
**Esther set Mordecai over the
house of Haman**—as her steward or factor, to manage that large
and opulent estate which had been assigned to her.

**3. Esther spake yet again before the
king, and fell down at his feet**—The king was then not reclining
at table, but sitting on a divan, most probably in the Persian
attitude, leaning back against the cushions, and one foot under him.
**besought him with tears to
put away the mischief of Haman**—that is, to repeal the
sanguinary edict which, at the secret instigation of Haman, had been
recently passed ([Esther 3:12](../../../kjv/esther/3/12)).

**4. Then the king held out the golden
sceptre toward Esther**—in token that her request was accepted,
and that she needed no longer to maintain the humble attitude of a
suppliant.

**5, 6. reverse the letters devised by
Haman . . . to destroy the Jews**—The whole conduct of Esther in
this matter is characterized by great tact, and the variety of
expressions by which she describes her willing submission to her
royal husband, the address with which she rolls the whole infamy of
the meditated massacre on Haman, and the argument she draws from the
king's sanction being surreptitiously obtained, that the decree
should be immediately reversed—all indicate the queen's wisdom and
skill, and she succeeded in this point also.
. AHASUERUS
GRANTS TO THE JEWS
TO DEFEND
THEMSELVES.

**8. Write . . . in the king's name,
and seal it with the king's ring**—Hence it is evident that the
royal ring had a seal in it, which, being affixed to any document,
authenticated it with the stamp of royal authority.
**which . . . may no man
reverse**—This is added as the reason why he could not comply
with the queen's request for a direct reversal or recall of Haman's
letters; namely, that the laws of the Medes and Persians, once
passed, were irrevocable.

**10. sent . . . by posts . . . and
riders on . . . camels, and young dromedaries**—The business
being very urgent, the swiftest kind of camel would be employed, and
so the word in the original denotes the *wind-camel.* Young
dromedaries also are used to carry expresses, being remarkable for
the nimbleness and ease of their movements. Animals of this
description could convey the new rescript of Ahasuerus over the
length and breadth of the Persian empire in time to relieve the
unhappy Jews from the ban under which they lay.

**11-13. the king granted the Jews . .
. to stand for their life . . . to slay . . . all . . . that would
assault them**—The fixed and unalterable character claimed for
Persian edicts often placed the king in a very awkward dilemma; for,
however bitterly he might regret things done in a moment of haste and
thoughtlessness, it was beyond even his power to prevent the
consequences. This was the reason on account of which the king was
laid under a necessity not to reverse, but to issue a contradictory
edict; according to which it was enacted that if, pursuant to the
first decree, the Jews were assaulted, they might, by virtue of the
second, defend themselves and even slay their enemies. However
strange and even ridiculous this mode of procedure may appear, it was
the only one which, from the peculiarities of court etiquette in
Persia, could be adopted. Instances occur in sacred (), no less than profane, history. Many passages of the Bible
attest the truth of this, particularly the well-known incident of
Daniel's being cast into the den of lions, in conformity with the
rash decree of Darius, though, as it afterwards appeared, contrary to
the personal desire of that monarch. That the law of Persia has
undergone no change in this respect, and the power of the monarch not
less immutable, appear from many anecdotes related in the books of
modern travellers through that country.
. MORDECAI'S
HONORS, AND THE JEWS'
JOY.

**15. Mordecai went out . . . in royal
apparel**—He was invested with the khelaat of official honor. A
dress of blue and white was held in great estimation among the
Persians; so that Mordecai, whom the king delighted to honor, was in
fact arrayed in the royal dress and insignia. The variety and the
kind of insignia worn by a favorite at once makes known to the people
the particular dignity to which he has been raised.

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