Esther 8:12
in Esther 8The single day appointed throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
KJV
Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
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This verse in Esther 8
Commentary
4 notes on this verseUpon one day, in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. The day appointed and fixed in the former letters for the destruction of the Jews, Est 3:13.
This site's exposition
granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together
on Esther 8:11-14
The decree's terms are given in the same destroying vocabulary Haman used at 3:13, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, but the target and the agent are reversed: the Jews are granted the right to stand for their life against any power that would assault them. The permission to take the spoil of them for a prey is granted here in the decree's own words, which makes the refusal of that very spoil, repeated three times in chapter 9, a chosen restraint rather than an oversight. The day fixed is the day Haman's own lot had already set, the thirteenth of the twelfth month, the month Adar, so the counter-decree meets the old date rather than picking a new one.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Furthermore, the time at which this slaughter of enemies was ordered to take place accords very well with the mystery of this spiritual slaughter, since the twelfth Hebrew month, which is Adar, can only symbolize the last age of our world when this spiritual war …
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
With their booty to be taken. As was written in the first [letters], but they did not lay their hands upon the spoils, for they showed everyone that this was not done for the sake of money.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּי֣וֹם | beyom | on a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֶחָ֔ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מְדִינ֖וֹת | medinot | [the] provinces of | H4082 → | 53 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲחַשְׁוֵר֑וֹשׁ | ʾachashveroosh | Ahasuerus | H325 → | 31 times |
| בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁ֥ה | bishloshah | on [day] thir- | H7969 → | 432 times |
| עָשָׂ֛ר | ʾasar | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| לְחֹ֥דֶשׁ | lechodesh | of month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| שְׁנֵים־ | sheneim- | two [plus] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ר | ʾasar | ten | H6240 → | 338 times |
| הוּא־ | hu'- | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| חֹ֥דֶשׁ | chodesh | [is] [the] month of | H2320 → | 284 times |
| אֲדָֽר׃ | ʾadar | Adar | H143 → | 8 times |
בְּי֣וֹםon a day
beyomH3117 →2304 times
אֶחָ֔דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
מְדִינ֖וֹת[the] provinces of
medinotH4082 →53 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֲחַשְׁוֵר֑וֹשׁAhasuerus
ʾachashverooshH325 →31 times
בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁ֥הon [day] thir-
bishloshahH7969 →432 times
עָשָׂ֛רteen
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
לְחֹ֥דֶשׁof month
lechodeshH2320 →284 times
שְׁנֵים־two [plus]
sheneim-H8147 →768 times
עָשָׂ֖רten
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
הוּא־that
hu'-H1931 →1879 times
חֹ֥דֶשׁ[is] [the] month of
chodeshH2320 →284 times
אֲדָֽר׃Adar
ʾadarH143 →8 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Esther 9:1On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them,…
it leads to
- Esther 3:13
And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on…
- Psalms 30:11
You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
- Revelation 11:18
The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your…
- Isaiah 60:14–16
The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy…
- 2 Samuel 22:41
You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.
- Esther 3:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther; Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).