Esther 7 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Esther 7

7:1 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared¹ to do this?” 6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

Haman Is Hanged

7 And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. 8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows² that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits³ high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

Footnotes

[1] 7:5 Hebrew whose heart has filled him
[2] 7:9 Or wooden beam; also verse 10 (see note on 2:23)
[3] 7:9 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters

Commentary

v1-2: The second banquet, and the King was willing to give more to Esther. Doubtless Esther knew of the incident about honour being given to Mordecai; she would have been given extra confidence to make her request.

"It will be given you"; the encouragement to specific prayer, Matt 7.7.

v3-6: Esther exposed Haman's scheme; she graphically described his scheme, and she identified the enemy, "this vile Haman".

v7: The king was very angry; and Haman very fearful.

v8: Haman, very distressed, and seeking mercy from Esther, collapsed near, or on, her. The king, re-entering the room, took the view that he was assaulting her. That was the final straw for the king; not only had his close advisor schemed to destroy the people of Esther, he had sought to attack her also; his reward was death.

v9-10: The eunuch explained Haman's purpose in having the gallows built; for the king this offered a method of execution. This judgment was carried out without delay.

All this had happened with 2 months; compare 3.12 with 8.9.

The cross was Satan's scheme to destroy Christ; but the opposite occurred, as Christ won the victory. Further, through the cross, the wrath of God was satisfied, just as the king's anger subsided.