MPV Commentary

After these events, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman to a position of great authority and power, elevating him above all other princes as his prime confidential minister. This distinction was marked by an elevated state chair, which held significant importance in the formal court of Persia.

All the king's servants who were stationed at the king's gate bowed down and showed reverence to Haman. However, Mordecai refused to bow or show him reverence. In the Eastern tradition, large mansions had a spacious vestibule where visitors would sit and be received by the master of the house. Only close relatives or special friends were admitted farther into the mansion.

Mordecai's refusal to bow was not due to disrespect for the king or his officials but because he believed such an attitude of profound reverence should only be shown to God. Additionally, Haman was an Amalekite, a member of a cursed and doomed race, which may have been another factor in Mordecai's decision. When Mordecai refused to bow, it became clear that he was a Jew who stood on religious grounds, and the magnitude of the affront appeared greater as his example would be imitated by all his fellow Jews.

The king had commanded that the same honors be given to Haman as to himself, which was the ground for Mordecai's refusal. He would not have refused if it were simply a matter of civil respect, but the Persian kings demanded a form of adoration that even the Greeks considered degrading.

In the first month, Haman resorted to the method of casting lots (Pur) to determine the most auspicious day for putting his atrocious scheme into execution. He vowed revenge against the Jewish people, who were sworn enemies of his countrymen, and sought to extirpate them entirely. By artfully representing them as aliens in manners and habits, and enemies to the rest of his subjects, he procured the king's sanction for the intended massacre.

Haman promised to make up for any loss to the public revenue by paying ten thousand talents of silver into the king's treasuries. This sum was a staggering contribution from a private fortune, estimated at around £3 million in Jewish talent. Classic history mentions several individuals whose resources seem almost incredible.

The king took his signet ring from Haman's hand and gave it to him, which was equivalent to putting the royal seal on an edict. The ring bore the king's name and that of his kingdom, and its bestowment was a significant ceremony.

The government secretaries were then called upon to write out the proclamation authorizing a universal massacre of the Jews on one day. This decree was translated into various dialects used throughout the empire and sent to all provinces by swift messengers. On the appointed day, all Jews were to be put to death, and their property would be confiscated.

It is astonishing that any sane monarch could have given consent to the extirpation of a large class of his subjects. However, such acts of frenzied barbarity have been authorized by careless and voluptuous despots who allowed themselves to be swayed by haughty and selfish minions with their own passions and interests.

The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was filled with turmoil and distress.