Esther 9:24
in Esther 9For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;
KJV
Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;
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This verse in Esther 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseVery often people's evil schemes turn out differently than they had hoped and the trap they had placed to capture others ensnares them, as the Scripture confirms, "The wicked are ensnared in their traps. And whoever digs a pit will fall into it." Therefore also …
This site's exposition
had cast Pur, that is, the lot
on Esther 9:24-28
The recap names the feast: Haman cast Pur, the lot, to consume them, and the days are called PURIM after the very instrument of the plot, chance enthroned as a calendar of deliverance, the mockery built into the name itself. The ordinance binds their seed and all such as joined themselves unto them, the proselyte door open in the feast's own charter, and 9:28 reaches as far as any verse in the book: these days should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. It has not; Purim is kept to this day with this book read aloud, and the page says so under the site's honoring rule.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
For wicked men often find that their desires are fulfilled in ways they had not expected to happen; and they are caught in the same traps they set to ensnare others, as the Scripture shows when it says: "The wicked are caught in their traps; …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
): Because he had devised against the Jews to destroy them. Let this be kept in mind, that God's people may never be secure, while they have such malicious enemies, on whom they ought to have a jealous eye. Their enemies aim at no less then their destruction; on God therefore let them depend for salvation.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them,....
How the passage was read
On Esther 9:20-32On Esther 9:20-32
The feast this book founds
These verses are the founding charter of Purim, the one feast instituted inside the canon's own narrative books. Its name comes from the “pur,” the lot Haman cast for Israel's destruction. The text itself names the three practices that still define the day: feasting and gladness, sending portions of food to one another, and gifts to the poor (9:22). To this day the whole book of Esther, called the Megillah (“scroll”), is read aloud in the synagogue, with the congregation drowning out Haman's name with noisemakers; the day is kept with costumes, feasting, food baskets to friends, and charity.
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.
Sources: Mishnah Megillah 1:1 (the scroll reading) · Esther 9:22 (the three practices, in the text itself)
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הָמָ֨ן | haman | Haman | H2001 → | 54 times |
| בֶּֽן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַמְּדָ֜תָא | hamedata' | Hammedatha | H4099 → | 5 times |
| הָֽאֲגָגִ֗י | haagagi | the Agagite | H91 → | 5 times |
| צֹרֵר֙ | tzorer | [the] opposer of | H6887 → | 54 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִ֔ים | haiyehudim | the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
| חָשַׁ֥ב | chashav | he had planned | H2803 → | 124 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִ֖ים | haiyehudim | the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
| לְאַבְּדָ֑ם | leabedam | to destroy them | H6 → | 184 times |
| וְהִפִּ֥יל | vehipil | and he had cast | H5307 → | 435 times |
| פּוּר֙ | pur | Pur | H6332 → | 8 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַגּוֹרָ֔ל | hagoral | [is] the lot | H1486 → | 78 times |
| לְהֻמָּ֖ם | lehumam | to trouble them | H2000 → | |
| וּֽלְאַבְּדָֽם׃ | uleabedam | and to destroy them | H6 → | 184 times |
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
הָמָ֨ןHaman
hamanH2001 →54 times
בֶּֽן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
הַמְּדָ֜תָאHammedatha
hamedata'H4099 →5 times
הָֽאֲגָגִ֗יthe Agagite
haagagiH91 →5 times
צֹרֵר֙[the] opposer of
tzorerH6887 →54 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיְּהוּדִ֔יםthe Jews
haiyehudimH3064 →75 times
חָשַׁ֥בhe had planned
chashavH2803 →124 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַיְּהוּדִ֖יםthe Jews
haiyehudimH3064 →75 times
לְאַבְּדָ֑םto destroy them
leabedamH6 →184 times
וְהִפִּ֥ילand he had cast
vehipilH5307 →435 times
פּוּר֙Pur
purH6332 →8 times
ה֣וּאthat
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הַגּוֹרָ֔ל[is] the lot
hagoralH1486 →78 times
לְהֻמָּ֖םto trouble them
lehumamH2000 →
וּֽלְאַבְּדָֽם׃and to destroy them
uleabedamH6 →184 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 9:10They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
it leads to
- Esther 8:11
By these letters the king permitted the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile…
- Esther 5:11
Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.
- Genesis 14:23
that I will not accept even a thread, or a strap of a sandal, or anything that belongs to you, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’
- Job 27:13–15
This is the wicked man’s portion from God—the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
- Job 18:18–19
He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.
- Esther 8:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther

This page draws on Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 13 and Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther.
