Esther 9:10
in Esther 9They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.
KJV
The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand.
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This verse in Esther 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe ten sons of Haman - Their names are given above. And it is remarked here, and in Est 9:16, where the account is given of the number slain in the provinces, that the Jews laid no hands on the spoil. They stood for their lives, and gave full proof that they sought their own personal safety, and not the property of their enemies, though the decree in their favor gave them authority to take the property of all those who were their adversaries, Est 8:11.
This site's exposition
The Jews put all their enemies
on Esther 9:5-10
Then comes the clause the chapter repeats three times: "they did not lay a hand on the plunder". At 1 Samuel 15:19 Saul lost the kingdom when he rushed upon the plunder of Amalek. Under Mordecai, of Kish's house, the Jews finish that war and leave the plunder untouched.
This site's exposition
They killed these ten sons
The decree of 8:11 allowed the Jews to plunder, and they left the plunder where it lay. Henry reads the restraint as mercy: they killed only men found in arms and left the goods to the women and children they spared. Wesley reads it as proof they acted from necessity.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Queen Esther's endeavor to successfully crush her enemies and root them out reveals the eagerness and zeal of a true queen, namely, of the holy church that constantly fights against her enemies and strives to defeat them completely and subdue them. And it is her …
What can it mean when we read that the Jews pursued their enemies and killed five hundred men in Shushan, except for the ten sons of Haman whom they nailed to gibbets? Merely that to the people of God, it is not only all the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But, &c. - Because they would leave it to their children, that it might appear what they did was not done out of malice, or covetousness, but out of mere necessity, and by that great law of self-preservation.
The Chaldee paraphrase says that, when these ten were slain, Zeresh, with seventy more of his children, escaped, and afterwards begged their bread from door to door.
But their humanity forbade them to do that, though that was designed against them. They slew none but those they found in arms; and therefore they did not take the spoil, but left it to the women and little ones, whom they spared, for their subsistence; otherwise as good slay them as starve them, take away their lives as take away their livelihoods.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Thus the Jews smote all their enemies--The effect of the two antagonistic decrees was, in the meantime, to raise a fierce and bloody war between the Jews and their enemies throughout the Persian empire; but through the dread of Esther and Mordecai, the provincial governors universally favored their cause, so that their enemies fell in great numbers.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֲ֠שֶׂרֶת | ʾaseret | [the] ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| בְּנֵ֨י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הָמָ֧ן | haman | Haman | H2001 → | 54 times |
| בֶּֽן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַמְּדָ֛תָא | hamedata' | Hammedatha | H4099 → | 5 times |
| צֹרֵ֥ר | tzorer | [the] opposer of | H6887 → | 54 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִ֖ים | haiyehudim | the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
| הָרָ֑גוּ | haragu | they killed | H2026 → | 167 times |
| וּבַ֨בִּזָּ֔ה | uvabbizah | and on the plunder | H961 → | 10 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁלְח֖וּ | shalechu | they stretched out | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יָדָֽם׃ | yadam | hand their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
עֲ֠שֶׂרֶת[the] ten
ʾaseretH6235 →176 times
בְּנֵ֨י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
הָמָ֧ןHaman
hamanH2001 →54 times
בֶּֽן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
הַמְּדָ֛תָאHammedatha
hamedata'H4099 →5 times
צֹרֵ֥ר[the] opposer of
tzorerH6887 →54 times
הַיְּהוּדִ֖יםthe Jews
haiyehudimH3064 →75 times
הָרָ֑גוּthey killed
haraguH2026 →167 times
וּבַ֨בִּזָּ֔הand on the plunder
uvabbizahH961 →10 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁלְח֖וּthey stretched out
shalechuH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יָדָֽם׃hand their
yadamH3027 →1618 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 8:11By 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…
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 37:14–15
The wicked have drawn the sword and bent the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.
- Psalms 146:6–9
the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever.
- Ezekiel 39:10
They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it from the forests, for they will use the weapons for fuel. They will loot those who looted them and plunder those who plundered…
- Esther 9:2–16
In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen…
- Esther 3:13
Through
Genesis 14:23that 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.’
it leads to
- 2 Kings 5:16
But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will not accept it.” And although Naaman urged him to accept it, he refused.
- 2 Kings 5:16
Through
Esther 5:11Haman 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.
it leads to
- Esther 9:7–10
including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
- Esther 3:1
After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him.
- Esther 9:7–10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 12; Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).