Esther 5:10
in Esther 5Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Nevertheless Haman refrained himself, and went home; and he sent and fetched his friends and Zeresh his wife.
KJV
Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.
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This verse in Esther 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseNevertheless Haman refrained himself,.... From showing any outward resentment to Mordecai, from laying hands upon him or taking revenge on him, as being too much below him to avenge himself on a single person, when the whole body of the people Mordecai belonged to would shortly feel the power of his hand for such insolent treatment of him: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife; who, the Targum says, was the daughter of Tatnai, the governor on the other side the river, Ezr 5:3.
This site's exposition
Nevertheless Haman refrained himself
on Esther 5:10-12
Haman restrains himself in the street and empties his heart at home, counting his riches, his many sons, and every mark of promotion above the king's own princes and servants. He closes with the one honor that outranks the rest in his own eyes, being the queen's sole guest besides the king, twice running. The list reads as a man reciting his own greatness in order to persuade himself it is enough.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
What a struggle had he in his own bosom between his anger, which required Mordecai's death immediately ( O that I had of his flesh! 31 ), and his malice, which had determined to wait for the general massacre! Thus thorns and snares are in the way of the froward.
So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. 7 Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
He took notice of his own riches and honours, the numerousness of his family, and the high posts to which he was advanced, that he was the darling of the prince and the idol of the court; and yet all this avails him nothing as long as Mordecai is unhanged.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Zeresh - This name is probably connected with the Zend zara, “gold.” Compare the Greek “Chrysis.”
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּתְאַפַּ֣ק | vaiyitapak | and he restrained himself | H662 → | |
| הָמָ֔ן | haman | Haman | H2001 → | 54 times |
| וַיָּב֖וֹא | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּית֑וֹ | beito | house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֛ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| וַיָּבֵ֥א | vaiyave' | and he gathered | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֹהֲבָ֖יו | ʾohavav | friends his | H157 → | 211 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זֶ֥רֶשׁ | zeresh | Zeresh | H2238 → | 4 times |
| אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ | ʾishto | wife his | H802 → | 781 times |
וַיִּתְאַפַּ֣קand he restrained himself
vaiyitapakH662 →
הָמָ֔ןHaman
hamanH2001 →54 times
וַיָּב֖וֹאand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּית֑וֹhouse his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
וַיִּשְׁלַ֛חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
וַיָּבֵ֥אand he gathered
vaiyave'H935 →2568 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֹהֲבָ֖יוfriends his
ʾohavavH157 →211 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
זֶ֥רֶשׁZeresh
zereshH2238 →4 times
אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃wife his
ʾishtoH802 →781 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ecclesiastes 7:9Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
it leads to
- James 1:19
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Proverbs 14:17
A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a devious man is hated.
- Proverbs 16:32
He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.
- Ephesians 4:26–27
“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
- Proverbs 26:23–26
Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.
- James 1:19
Through
Esther 6:13Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will…
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:18
He who walks with integrity will be kept safe, but whoever is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.
- Hosea 14:9
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in…
- Genesis 40:19
Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh of your body.”
- Proverbs 28:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Esther
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.