As I reflect and put together this episode, we find ourselves on the 11th Day of the 12th Biblical Month known to some as Adar. The next event on the calendar is Purim which is just 3-days away, and it is this Jewish festival that I will be reflecting upon for this episode. It should be known, however, that the calculated Jewish calendar factored in an Adar-Bet for this calendar year—meaning for this Jewish calendar year, there are 13-months; so the observance/celebration of Purim for the orthodox Jew and most Messianic Jews and some Hebrew Rooters will be this time next month. Nevertheless, we follow the creator’s calendar whereby the month begins with the sighting of the renewed moon over the land of Israel, which occurred 11-days ago. So we will be looking at Purim in just 3-days. By the time this is actually published, Purim will have come and gone if I am to be totally honest with you. It does take a few days to get this all put together—written up; formatted; recorded; edited and published.

But before I get to Purim, I want you to know that we are just about 6-weeks away from the start of the Spring Feasts of Yahovah—that being Passover—of course that all hinges upon two (2) things: (1) the sighting of the renewed moon over the land of Israel—presumably in about 19-days—AND—(2) a determination that the barley growing in the land of Israel is in a state of maturation known as Aviv. There are Karaite and Messianic Jews in the land of Israel who have made it their life’s mission and ministry to sight these agricultural, atmospheric and celestial events—in accordance to the instructions handed down to us by Yahovah through His Torah–each Biblical year and month and we are so blessed that Father, in His infinite will and purpose, has placed these individuals in the land so that we may be in sync with the Father’s prescribed reckoning of time. And it is this time of the Biblical calendar year that I find most exciting—exhilarating; especially for those of us who adhere to the Creator’s reckoning of time. You see, when we rely upon the Biblical Calendar to guide us in the Creator’s reckoning of time, we place our trust and our obedience in the Creator’s hands as we look to His divine providence and Torah to plan out our lives and to walk out Torah the way Y’shua Messiah taught us to. Halleluyah. The Jewish Calendar is, and I’m not meaning to offend those who adhere to it, is a calendar of practicality and convenience. In other words, one can plan for the feast days and festivals and change of months and years—yes, years in advance. So we place our trust not in the Creator’s reckoning of time but in man’s reckoning of time—unless you’re an astrophysicist who has planned all this out in your own calculated calendar. Most us are not astrophysicists however. But the Creator’s calendar requires us to rely solely upon the Creator’s reckoning of time, which I absolutely love because it causes me to stretch out my faith to Him and to be more in tune with the spiritual and hard history that was passed down to us by Father’s anointed teachers throughout the centuries.

Before I get into Purim, I want to briefly revisit last week’s Reflections and Thoughts, which was primarily on the Cepher Bible. For those of you who have not listened to or read that post—it is episode 46—I would humbly ask you to take a look at that episode at your leisure. But in the briefest of terms, I spoke to the Cepher Bible not living up the the hype that it advertised to our Hebrew Roots community. I became very disappointed with the translators and editors of the Cepher when I learned that they intentionally altered Philippians 2:11 to read differently than what is found in the extant manuscripts they used in the creation of this Bible. When I went to their website to find out if they had a reason for altering the verse, I learned that the translators and editors did so because they held to the belief that Y’shua is Yahovah and they wanted the passage to reflect just that—so they altered the passage to read accordingly. They made no qualms about it on their website I must say. They actually were very open about what they’d done. So I have to give them their props for at least being open and honest about their role in this situation.

What I took issue with, however, was not their doctrinal stance on the divinity of Y’shua or their binarian understanding of God, or in Churchianity terms, the God-head; I took issue with the fact that the Cepher people blatantly advertised to our Hebrew Roots community that the Cepher Bible was the most accurate and unbiased translation of the Holy Writ on the market (my paraphrase)—restoring the sacred names of the Creator and Son and the Hebrew names of the people and places contained therein. I could care less about their doctrinal beliefs and I stated as much in my last podcast episode. For me, I just wanted a bible that was accurate and true—as much as it possibly could be accomplished, given the crazy amount of tampering with Yahovah’s Word that has been perpetrated against the Bible throughout the centuries.

It did occur to me after posting my thoughts on the Cepher last episode, that most of our bibles have been to some lesser and some greater degree, altered by man in their attempts to postulate and pass on their personal doctrinal beliefs to their readers. But from the beginning, hasatan has made it his primary mission to sully man’s relationship with Yahovah, and he’s done so by cunningly manipulating the Creator’s Words. In so doing, he realizes that man then becomes confused and begins to doubt that which they originally believed or that which Father originally revealed to them through His original Words. Father told Adam that “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17, KJV) But in the next chapter we find hasatan take the Words of Yahovah and completely alter them before Eve: “…Ye shall not surely die: for Yahovah doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:4,5, KJV) And of course, it was from that point on that hasatan has gone out of his way to manipulate and alter the Words of our Creator. Throughout the centuries, man has taken the manuscripts of the Holy Writ and altered them to reflect that which they personally hold as truth. Every time you see words in parentheses in our present day Bibles, for instance, you know that some scribe has inserted his own take or understanding of the passage in question. Oh, those pesky scribes will say that they were helping us better understand what the writer of that particular passage of Scripture was saying. But let’s face reality: it is virtually impossible for men to withhold their own personal biases when working with the Word of the Most High. We believe, erroneously, that the Word of Yahovah belongs to us. So we feel at ease to take liberties with Scripture. The fact of the matter is, the Word of Yahovah belongs to Yahovah.

Moshe taught that we must not add to are subtract from that which Yahovah has given to us. (Deu. 4:2) Yet man can not resist adding to and subtracting from the Word. Take for instance John 5:1 where it is written: “After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” (KJV) And look at John 6:4: “And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.” (KJV) Now bear in mind, the writer of John was a Jew, and John was no doubt writing his documentary on the life of Y’shua Messiah to other Jews and to those who had a clear understanding of what the Feasts of the Lord were. Why would John have written something as elementary and so distant as describing the passover being a feast of the Jews if his intended readers were in fact Jews or at the very least, extremely knowledgeable of the Feasts of Yahovah? It doesn’t make sense. It would be like me writing a letter to my staff saying: have a nice 4th of July, the day that our nation declared it’s Independence. Why would I have to explain what the 4th of July was to my staff? They are all born and raised in America citizens of the United States. In the case of the two (2) Johannine passages, it is clear that the translators and scribes of his documentary took liberties with John’s writings. And those who had opportunity to take such liberties, no doubt did so with a purpose in mind. We know that by the 3rd and 4th century of the common era, the so-called Christian Church had all but rejected anything having to do with the Jewish people and Judaism. Thus, it would behoove the translators and scribes of the Gospel records to attack all things Jewish and to discourage the readers to reject all things Jewish.

As it relates to the Cepher, I realize the translators and editors of this bible had a purpose in mind when they published this product. My only position in regards to this Philippians 2:11 alteration, and God-knows what other areas they’ve tampered with in their translation, is: don’t advertise that you’ve produced a Bible that is second to none (my words) and that is accurate and faithful to the most reliable extant manuscripts out there, if you therefore intend to fix or manipulate areas of the Holy Writ that you feel don’t convey your personal doctrinal positions to your personal liking. It’s just wrong. And that my friends, is my final word on the subject of the Cepher Bible.

The story and book of Esther has tremendous spiritual and prophetic implications associated with it that the casual Christian or even Hebrew Rooter will not realize. In fact, few truly understand the full story of Esther and the history behind it; fewer still realize that there is actually a Jewish Feast or Festival that is attached to it. In this episode of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections, I hope to shed some light on all aspects of this story and it’s accompanying festival.

The story of Esther takes place during the Babylonian Captivity which was recorded in the prophets and the book of Kings and Chronicles.

Esther’s story begins around the time of 519 BC.

Ahasuerus (aka Achashverosh in certain translations) is likely the great Persian King—Xerxes I. There appears to be some disagreement in classical literature and among ancient scholars as to the exact identity of this Persian King. Josephus and certain Jewish commentaries, as well as the Greek Septuagint, all identify Ahasuerus as either Artexerxes I (465-424 BC) or Artaxerxes II (404-358 BC). However, it would logically appear that these kings would have reigned much later than the time period documented in the Book of Esther, which most scholars have agreed took place in the 6th century BC—around the 500’s BC actually. The story of Esther begins in the 3rd-year of Achashverosh’s reign over the known world. I’ll have a little more commentary on this Xerxes character in just a moment.

The Book of Esther is probably one of the least read books of the Bible by Christians as it contains no overt or direct mention of Yahovah nor of His name. But we will see that despite the Creator’s name not being mentioned at all in the scroll or megillah of Esther, the Creator’s fingerprints are actually all over the Esther story. We will find that one can spend a great amount of time gaining tremendous spiritual meaning and understanding as to how our Father works in, around and through the affairs of men—not just the affairs of the Jews—but also the affairs of the great pagan nations of the world.

It’s interesting to learn that when the canon of the Bible was being worked out in the early days of the Church triumphant, Esther’s canonicity was actually questioned due to the absence of any direct mention of God throughout the scroll or book. There is little doubt, however, that the Jews, to whom the Father committed His oracles (reference Romans 3:2)—that is His inspired written Word—saw the significance of Esther and felt it was definitely canon worthy. In fact, a copy of Esther was found among the hundreds of manuscripts at Qumran—famously known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Part of the reason why the Jew has kept and revered the book of Esther and the associated Festival of Purim is that Queen Esther and her Parent-Cousin required the Jewish nation to remember and observe the days of Purim. It is written: 26 Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term aPur. Therefore, because of all that was written in dthis letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them,

27 the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and aall who joined them, that without fail they would keep bthese two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year,

28 that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.

29 ¶ Then Queen Esther, athe daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming bthis second letter about Purim.

30 Letters were sent to all the Jews, ato the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth,

31 that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to atheir fasts and their lamenting.

32 The command of Queen Esther confirmed these practices of aPurim, and it was recorded in writing. (Est 9:26-32 ESV)

As I’ve mentioned in previous episodes of this program, Purim is NOT one of the 7-mandated Feasts of Yahovah, and thus we are NOT required to observe and keep Purim in the same manner that one would the moedim of our Father. However, as grafted in members of the family of Yahovah, we are compelled to examine our newly adopted heritage and gain as much knowledge of these monumental historical events as we possibly can. The great apostle Shaul (aka Paul) wrote to the Roman Assembly: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:2) And indeed, there is a lot to be gained through an understanding of this festival that, granted, is a man-made festival—but a festival that has its foundations rooted in the providence and workings of the Almighty. Let’s face it: we have no problem celebrating and keeping any other man-made festival—or as we choose to call them, holidays—for some of us, even keeping the pagan ones. Why would we fight then, against observing and delving into this amazing festival that we will examine in detail over the next few weeks leading up to Passover?

The story of Esther or in her Hebrew name—Hadassah—takes place in the capitol of Persia, at the time known as Susa or Shusan, as found in many English translations. Susa or Shusan was the capitol of the Medo-Persian Empire during the life and ultimate reign of Esther as Queen and the location of Achashverosh’s palace. (Nave’s) During the time of Esther, Achashverosh was the undisputed “One World Leader” over a “New World Order”—I would contend a precursor of what we may be about to witness in the coming years of our present world.

What I have been led to do during this brief series is to read through the Megillah or scroll or book of Esther and examine the riches contained therein. I’m choosing to do this to coincide with the advent of Purim which this year we are observing February 22-24 in accordance with the Creator’s calendar. According to Scripture, the Festival of Purim is to be observed on the 14th day of the 12 Biblical Month known as Adar. If you are a follower of the calculated Jewish calendar, you may or may not know that an Adar-Bet was factored into the calendar for this year and thus there is a 13th month added to the Jewish calendar and the Festival of Purim is being observed or celebrated this time next month or the 23rd of March; which is odd because if the renewed moon is sighted over the land of Israel this year, those of us who follow the Biblical calendar, will be observing and keeping Passover that same week. So we have a disconnect in terms of when Purim and Passover is going to be celebrated this year, which is expected when our Faith follows 2-different calendars. But I don’t want to get into the whole calendar thing anymore than I already have.

As it relates to Purim, however, Jews today observe Purim by reading the Megillah of Esther; dressing up in costums (some have actually insinuated Purim is the Jewish halloween); giving to charity; attending festive parties; and family meals. (Wikipedia) I’m not certain if the Jew of today gets the tremendous spiritual and prophetic implications of the story of Esther with such emphasis on partying and having a great time—one would only hope. But those of us who are taking the time to think and reflect upon this day, let us search out the riches of this story so that our lives may be greatly enriched and our walk with Messiah much more focused and powerful.

Some believe that this Achoshverosh, also known as Xerxes was the leader of a million-man army—made popular today by the movie “300.” (Rood)

Moving in to Chapter 2, the story of Esther begins to take on flesh and we are introduced to the female star of the story.

• It would appear that the king still longed for Vashti.
• Jerome saw this need of Xerxes (aka Achoshverosh)as a fault and an evil such to satisfy his lust, and to reduce the king’s ire, the kings’ handlers enticed the king to go after other maidens. According to Jerome, “one fault cured by another fault and one sin by another sin…”
• Certainly, King Achashverosh was not without opportunity for female companionship as he no doubt had a sizable concubine. It would be conceivable that Achoshverosh longed for the husband-wife relationship that he possibly shared with Vashti before the fall-out. But it is unclear as to why the king’s people saw a need to conduct a search throughout the realm to find the king a woman among the most attractive virgins of his kingdom. I would guess the purpose was to replace the vacancy Vashti left in the kings’ heart—that is, to replace Vashti

 

• The beautiful women of the kingdom were to be gathered and they were to go through a beautification process that many translations refer to as purification—tamrook in Hebrew—denoting the employment of oils and ointments
• These beautiful virgins would be housed in some part of Sushan’s (aka Susa’s) royal palace or house (Holladay Hebrew & Aramaic Lexicon of the OT)
• The end purpose was for the king to select a woman from this lot to replace Vashti

• Here Mordecai—a Benjamite–is introduced
• A pagan name that reflects the name of the Babylonian deity Marduk
• It was a common practice for captives of the Persians o be given such names in addition to their birth name—(1) secular use; (2) use in Jewish community
• Mordecai’s Jewish name, however, is NOT recorded in the Biblical text (NET Bible)

• Mordecai was of the lineage of Kish—Sam. 9:1—thus he was almost royalty (Rood)
• There are differences in opinion among translations and among scholars whether Mordecai resided in the palace or just the city
• KJV, NET, ESV, DBY, NLT, ASV, YLT, JPS, NIV, NRS—palace; citadel
• LXX, NAS, CJB, DRA, GNV, LEE, BGT—city; capitol
• Mordecai was one of the Jewish captives (Nave’s Topical Bible)
• The captivity of the Jews by the Babylonians was fulfilled and recorded in 2 Kings 20:14-18; Isa. 39:3-7
• • Problems began for Judah as recorded in 2 Kings 20:12-16; Isa. 39:1-8; cf. 2 Chr. 32:31—Berodach-baladan, King of Babylon, seeking to curry favor with the nations of the region in opposition to Assyrian domination of the region. King of Judah—Hezekiah welcomed Berodach-baladan to Jerusalem and showed off the wealth of Judah
  • Isaiah the prophet remonstrated against Hezekiah’s pompous act and prophecies of the future captivity where the nobility of Judah would be taken into captivity and service of the King of Babylon. The riches of Judah was incentive for a return to Jerusalem by Babylonian monarchs (Moody Bible Atlas)
  • 4 campaigns against the Syro-Palestine region ensued between 605-582 BC, lead by Nebuchadnezzar
  • Autumn of 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar made king Jehoiakim his vassal—2 Kings 24:1; cf. Jer. 25:1,2; thus Jehoiakim became liable to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar
  • Certain Judahite citizens, including Daniel, were carried off to Babylon in this campaign—Dan. 1:3-7
  • Dec. 599 BC, Nebuchadnezzar’s troops marched against Jerusalem in response to King Jehoiakim’s refusal to pay the annual tribute
  • Adar 2, 597 BC=March 16, 597 BC, seized Jerusalem and captured King Jehoiakim—3 month seige—Jer. 52:28; 2 Kings 24:8-12; 2 Chr. 36:10
  • Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiakim’s uncle—Mattaniah, renamed Zedekiah—on the throne in Jerusalem
  • 10,000 Judahites were deported out of Jerusalem, including Ezekiel—Eze. 4:1
  • Zedekiah’s insubordination and realignment with Egypt resulted in Nebuchadnezzar’s 3rd campaign against Jerusalem—Jan. 587 BC—the city was walled in for a prolonged period resulting in severe famine and pestilence. The city fell July 19, 586 BC
  • Zedekiah was captured and transported to Babylon
  • Aug. 16, 586 BC, Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by fire—its treasures pillaged or carried away to Babylon
  • More Judahite citizens deported into Babylonian captivity
  • Gedeliah was made governor over Judah—2 Kings 25:22; Jer. 40:5-7
  • Final Babylonian assault against Jerusalem occurred 582 BC—Jer. 52:30—in response to Gedeliah’s assassination—2 Kings 25:25; Jer. 41:2, 3
  • 745 Judeans were deported into Babylon (Moody)
• The history of the Jewish captivity is found in 2 Kings 24; 2 Chr. 36:10; Jer. 24:1; 29:2
• Nebuchadnezzar was the King of Babylon during those campaigns
• The head of gold in Daniel’s prophecy Henry)

• Mordecai had been made a prisoner in Nebuchadnezzar’s 2nd campaign against Jerusalem—Mar 16, 597 BC

• Here Hadassah—Jewish name—is introduced—daughter of Mordecai’s uncle—Mordecai’s father’s brother—Abihail (Est. 2:15)
• Hadassah was thus Mordecai’s cousin
• Hadassah is Jewish for “Myrtle”

• Rabbinic traditions assigns the term “upright” to the name “Myrtle”
• Esther is Persian for “Star,” but some scholars declare its derivation is from the Babylonian goddess Ishtar—cf. Daniel—Belteshazzar; Hananiah—Shadrach; Mishael—Mishach; Azariah—Abednego
• Matthew Henry pinpoints the year at about 514 BC
• Thus she was adopted and raised by Mordecai as tradition suggests that both her parents were deceased sometime during the deportation and captivity

• Esther, along with other fair maidens of the realm were taken to Susa palace—one of the king’s harems—under the custody and oversight of Hagai—Chamberlain of Achoshverosh
• These virgins were being stripped from their homes and removed from their families and any future chances of marriages and families of their own
• This was not a happy occasion as one might think (Rood)

• Hadassah found favor in Hegai’s eyes and he hastened to provide her all that was fitting and befitting of the top contestant to replace Vashti—including receiving her own attending maidens
• Food, ointments; perfumes

• Mordecai charged Esther (Hadassah) not to reveal her nationality to anyone (cf. 2:2)
• Why? Many speculations. Divine wisdom seems to be the most fitting. Others think it was to spare persecution from anti-Semites.

• Each day Mordecai would pass by her dwelling to see how she was fairing

• The women slated for Achashverosh’s pleasure required a 12-month preparation period that some translations refer to as a “purification” period that involved 6-months of oil of myrrh (a fragrant gum found in the land of Canaan) and 6-months of perfume (spices—balsam—juice from the balsam tree—Brown, Driver, Briggs Lexicon) and ointments. A prescribed manner and schedule was adhered to
• Oil of myrrh is an anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, pain-killer; oral care; boils; cracked skin; milk-maid’s feet
• These maidens were soaked in a solution of myrrh
• Grinding to eliminate callouses and the overall clean up of these virgins took 6-months
• 6-months of refinement; training in royal etiquette and doused with perfume
• Eliminate cultural deficiencies—educate them on things of royalty
• This pagan practice resulted in each woman having her one time in bed with the king, only to be relegated to that of a secondary wife—cloistered away, never to marry or be tied to one man again as Yahovah originally designed marriage to be (Matthew Henry)
• Compared to the story of “A Thousand and One Arabian Nights” by Michael Rood
• This period of purification was prescribed before a woman could be taken in to the king (TWOT Lexicon)
• This process required scraping, rubbing—(TWOT Lexicon); massages and ointments (Holladay Lexicon)
• This appears to be a strictly adhered to Babylonian/Persian protocol (Holladay Lexicon and BDB Lexicon)
• 12-months to make a king’s bride
• Parallel—12-months to make a deputy coroner
• These were country girls
• Parallels to us being the Bride of Messiah, which is a figure of speech—whereby we undergo in this life and in our walk with Messiah, training and purification to be His bride
• The righteous acts of the Saints is what the Bride is adorned in (Rood)

• After the year-long purification was accomplished, the young maidens/virgins were given whatever they desired and transferred from the initial harem to the primary harem, located in the royal palace in Shushan (Susa)

• They would be ushered in to spend a night with the king and then they would be housed in a secondary harem where they’d live out the rest of her lives and not go back in to the king unless she was called upon by the king
• Presumably only if the woman greatly pleased the king
• These were viewed as secondary wives who were maintained by the king (Matthew Henry)
• This protocol held the power of law in the Persian kingdom

• The Babylonian Talmud suggests that the Holy Spirit had to have been upon Hadassah as she found or obtained favour in the sight of them/all that looked upon her. (Babylonian Talmud)

• She was content with that which she was apportioned—and yet “she was most acceptable.” (Matthew Henry)

• Hadassah relocates to the secondary harem in the king’s palace in the 10th month (aka Taveth/Tabeth) which at that time was the 7th-year of Achoshverosh’s reign
• The importance of understanding the Creator’s calendar
• Tabeth is Akkadian
• Vashti was sent away in Achoshverosh’s 3rd year on the throne—4-years without a queen (Matthew Henry)
• Differences exist among the various manuscripts as to time—Greek manuscript Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus read 12th; while the Syriac Peshitta reads 4th (Harris Theological Workbook OT and Holladay Lexicon OT)

• Hadassah is most favored by the king and thus she is chosen to be queen and to replace Vashti
• She is crowned—Hebrew is kether-high turban of Persian kings applied to the queen (Holladay Lexicon)
• Believed by Matthew Henry to have taken place 514 BC

• The Banquet of Esther—Achashverosh or Xerxes—made a celebration for the crowning of Esther as queen
• Hadassah—the king made a holiday of the celebration which involved the giving of rest—a holiday (BDB Lexicon)
• A release or remission of taxes (Holladay Lexicon)
• A release or grace for criminal acts (e.g., seen in the example of Pilate in the Gospels (Matthew Henry)
• LXX—made release to those who were under his dominion
• Omits the giving of gifts or offerings given at the king’s expense (NET Bible)

• The Hebrew term “shenit” is popularly translated “a second time” which contextually is difficult to rationalize a true meaning from. But contextually it would appear there was some special or subsequent regathering of the king’s official harem
• The LXX leaves out this second gathering altogether
• Mordecai is found sitting at the king’s gate. The passage denotes that he had obtained some high-position or rank in the king’s government
• The city gate in ancient times was the hub of commerce/business (NET Bible)

• Esther remained consistent with the principles she had been taught and instructed by Mordecai in her upbringing. Yet she continued, even as a queen, to conceal her Jewish lineage
• LXX adds that Mordecai commanded her to fear God and perform His commandments
• The NET Bible commentary reasons that Hadassah, in order to hide her Jewishness, she could not have been obedient to Torah. Could this be anti-Torah gibberish? Why could she not remain obedient to Torah?
• I tend to side with the LXX rendering—at which the LXX verse ends—”…and Esther changed not her manner of life.”
• Esther did not reveal her heritage “in obsequiousness to Mordecai” (Matthew Henry)—showing forth her true character of faithfulness to her adopted father

• Mordecai, while conducting his duties at the king’s gate, overhears of an assassination plot to be carried out by at least 2 of the king’s trusted enuchs—those who protected key entries of the palace
• 510 BC
• No reason given as to why these sought to assassinate the king
• LXX suggests “they were grieved because Mordecai was promoted”
• The Babylonian Talmud—Vol. 4—denotes these would be assassins were upset over the ascension of Esther to the queen-ship, citing: “Since Esther has come into the court we know no sleep.” The plan then was to poison the king
• The Rabbis contend that, “The Lord makes the masters wroth against their servants in order to do good to the upright…and He makes slaves wroth against their masters to perform a miracle for the good of the upright
• The LXX—Est. 1:1: denotes that Mordecai had a dream involving death and destruction that would be brought on by 2-serpents. At some point while residing in the palace, Mordecai overhears of the enuchs’ plot, at which he warns the king. The king launches an investigation. The culprits are arrested. They confess to the plot. They are hung. Mordecai is promoted to a higher rank in the government and is rewarded with great wealth. Haman who was emerging as a key political figure in the king’s government, endeavored to destroy Mordecai for his role in the execution of the 2-chamberlains

• Mordecai informs Esther of the plot who in turn informs the king—giving Mordecai the credit
• The text does not reveal how Mordecai came to know of the plot. Jewish tradition, however, contends Mordecai overheard the conspiratorial conversation or an informant brought the information to Mordecai’s attention or it came to Mordecai via divine prompting

• An investigation was launched and the conspirators were convicted and hanged from a tree
• Mordecai’s good actions, resulting in the foiling of the plot against the king’s life; were annotated in the king’s royal/official chronicles

Music by Dan O Music