Esther 9:17
in Esther 9This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
This was done on the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
KJV
On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
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This verse in Esther 9
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also
on Esther 9:15-19
Shushan's second day, three hundred more, and the provinces' one day, seventy and five thousand of those that hated them, and twice more the refusal: on the prey they laid not their hand; they laid not their hands on the prey. The text calls it standing for their lives, defense under the decree's exact terms, and the two calendars fall out of the two campaigns: the villages rest and feast on the fourteenth, walled Shushan on the fifteenth, which is why Purim is kept on two days to this hour. The chapter's arithmetic of dates is the feast's founding charter.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
When the whole nation of Israel was about to perish, blessed Esther defeated the tyrant's anger simply by fasting and praying to God. By faith she changed the ruin of her people into safety. Those days are feast days for Israel; they used to call a feast when an enemy was slain or a conspiracy against the people was broken up and Israel was delivered. That is why Moses established the Feast of the Passover: because Pharaoh was killed and the people were delivered from bondage. So then, especially when tyrants were slain, temporal feasts and holidays were established in Judea. Now, however, the devil, that tyrant against the whole world, is slain. Therefore, our feast does not relate only to time but to eternity. It is a heavenly feast! We do not announce it as a shadow or a picture or a type but as the real thing.
In the face of all this, brothers and sisters, what should we do but give thanks to God, the king of all? Let us start by crying out the words of the psalm, "Blessed is the Lord, who has not let them eat us up." Let us keep the feast in that way that he has established for our salvation—the holy day of Easter—so that we, along with the angels, may celebrate the heavenly feast. Remember that Israel, coming out of affliction to a state of rest, sang a song of praise for the victory as they kept the feast.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Now, the Scripture tells us that some of the Jews carried out the killing of their enemies on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and stopped their slaughter on the fourteenth day when they held this festival; but that others carried out the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
On the thirteenth day of the month Adar,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּיוֹם־ | beyom- | on day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה | sheloshah | thir- | H7969 → | 432 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ר | ʾasar | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| לְחֹ֣דֶשׁ | lechodesh | of [the] month of | H2320 → | 284 times |
| אֲדָ֑ר | ʾadar | Adar | H143 → | 8 times |
| וְנ֗וֹחַ | venoach | and they rested | H5117 → | 142 times |
| בְּאַרְבָּעָ֤ה | bearbaah | on [day] four- | H702 → | 318 times |
| עָשָׂר֙ | ʾasar | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| בּ֔וֹ | bo | in it | ||
| וְעָשֹׂ֣ה | veasoh | and they made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֹת֔וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| י֖וֹם | yom | a day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| מִשְׁתֶּ֥ה | mishteh | feast | H4960 → | 46 times |
| וְשִׂמְחָֽה׃ | vesimchah | and joy | H8057 → | 94 times |
בְּיוֹם־on day
beyom-H3117 →2304 times
שְׁלֹשָׁ֥הthir-
sheloshahH7969 →432 times
עָשָׂ֖רteen
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
לְחֹ֣דֶשׁof [the] month of
lechodeshH2320 →284 times
אֲדָ֑רAdar
ʾadarH143 →8 times
וְנ֗וֹחַand they rested
venoachH5117 →142 times
בְּאַרְבָּעָ֤הon [day] four-
bearbaahH702 →318 times
עָשָׂר֙teen
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
בּ֔וֹin it
bo
וְעָשֹׂ֣הand they made
veasohH6213 →2628 times
אֹת֔וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
י֖וֹםa day of
yomH3117 →2304 times
מִשְׁתֶּ֥הfeast
mishtehH4960 →46 times
וְשִׂמְחָֽה׃and joy
vesimchahH8057 →94 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
Esther 8:9At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors,…
it leads to
- Esther 1:22
He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be master of his…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Esther 1:1
This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
- Esther 1:22
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…
- Esther 8:12
The single day appointed throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
- 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 14:1–2
For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.
- Esther 3:13
Through
Esther 3:12On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 21:8
Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.
- 1 Kings 21:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther

This page draws on Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 4; Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther.
