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Esther 9:15

in Esther 9

On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.

KJV

For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.

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This verse in Esther 9

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar,.... As they had on the thirteenth: and slew three hundred men at Shushan; the Targum adds, of the family of Amalek: but there is no reason to confine it to them; it respects all such as were the enemies of the Jews, and rose up against them; so that the whole number slain in Shushan were eight hundred persons, besides the sons of Human: but on the prey they laid not their hand; See Gill on Est 9:7.

This site's exposition

On the fourteenth day

on Esther 9:15-19

Susa's second day takes three hundred more, and the provinces kill "75,000 who hated them". Twice more comes the refusal: "they did not lay a hand on the plunder". The two campaigns set two dates for the feast, the villages resting on the fourteenth and walled Susa on the fifteenth.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Athanasius of Alexandria

296–373

FESTAL LETTERS 8 · Written before 373.

proposed

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.

A commentator

Athanasius of Alexandria

296–373

FESTAL LETTERS 4 · Written before 373.

proposed

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.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Shushan - Here probably the lower town, which lay east of the upper one, and was of about the same size (compare the Est 9:6 note).

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

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.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

And slew three hundred men - Esther had probably been informed by Mordecai that there were still many enemies of the Jews who sought their destruction, who had escaped the preceding day; and, therefore, begs that this second day be added to the former permission. This being accordingly granted, they found three hundred more, in all eight hundred. And thus Susa was purged of all their enemies.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

The decree was proclaimed. A statute was decreed by the king.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Esther 9:14:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Five Megillot, Lakewood, N.J., 2001

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. 6 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

20 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּֽקָּהֲל֞וּand they assembled

    vaiyikahaluH6950 →39 times

  • הַיְּהוּדִ֣יםthe Jews

    haiyehudiyimH3064 →75 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־who

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • בְּשׁוּשָׁ֗ן[were] in Susa

    beshushanH7800 →21 times

  • גַּ֠םalso

    gamH1571 →769 times

  • בְּי֣וֹםon day

    beyomH3117 →2304 times

  • אַרְבָּעָ֤הfour-

    ʾarbaahH702 →318 times

  • עָשָׂר֙teen

    ʾasarH6240 →338 times

  • לְחֹ֣דֶשׁof [the] month of

    lechodeshH2320 →284 times

  • אֲדָ֔רAdar

    ʾadarH143 →8 times

  • וַיַּֽהַרְג֣וּand they killed

    vaiyaharguH2026 →167 times

  • בְשׁוּשָׁ֔ןin Susa

    veshushanH7800 →21 times

  • שְׁלֹ֥שׁthree

    sheloshH7969 →432 times

  • מֵא֖וֹתhundred<s>

    meotH3967 →581 times

  • אִ֑ישׁman

    ʾishH376 →1663 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.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

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.3 worksEsther 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 to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions.3 worksDaniel 8:2And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.3 worksHebrews 13:5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”2 worksEsther 9:2In 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 upon all peoples.2 worksEsther 9:13Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Thessalonians 5:22Abstain from every form of evil.2 worksEsther 9:16The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.2 worksPsalms 118:7–12The LORD is on my side; He is my helper. Therefore I will look in triumph on those who hate me.2 worksEsther 9:18The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy.2 worksEzra 6:15And this temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Hebrews 13:5

    Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 31:8

      The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

    • Joshua 1:5

      No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

    • Deuteronomy 31:6

      Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

    • 1 Samuel 12:22

      Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.

    • Isaiah 41:17

      The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

  • Through

    Esther 9:10

    They 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…

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    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…

    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.

Where this verse is studied

About Esther

Esther Before the King, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Esther Before the King, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Esther: the study guide →Read Esther 9 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 8; Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Esther 9 →