Esther 9:3
in Esther 9And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and they that did the king’s business, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai was fallen upon them.
KJV
And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.
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This verse in Esther 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, blessed the Jews,.... Countenanced them and encouraged them, and gave them all assistance in their power; extolled them, as the word signifies, lifted them up, and spoke well of them, or praised them, as the Targum: because the fear of Mordecai was upon them; he being now chief minister, they might fear, if they took part with the enemies of the Jews against them, they might be turned out of their places.
This site's exposition
On the thirteenth day
on Esther 9:1-4
The day the lot chose eleven months earlier arrives. The enemies of the Jews "had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned". The satraps, governors and administrators now help the people they were ordered to destroy, "because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them".
This site's exposition
And all the officials of the provinces
Albert Barnes identifies the officials' help as the Persian garrison, the standing army at each governor's disposal. The enemies of the Jews, in his reading, came mostly from the idolatrous subject peoples. John Gill adds that the officials feared for their posts.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
That is, the praiseworthy actions of our sacred teachers and the power of the virtues gave great honor and reverence to the mass of the faithful. Hence in the Acts of the Apostles, where we read that these first preachers of the Gospel were trying …
"All the officials of the provinces, the satraps and the governors, and the royal officials were supporting the Jews." Certainly the praiseworthy action of the holy teachers and the strength of their virtue have contributed great honor and respect to the multitude of the faithful. …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They all saw it their interest to help Mordecai's friends because he was not only great in the king's house, and caressed by the courtiers (as many are who have no intrinsic worth to support their reputation), but his fame for wisdom and virtue went out thence throughout all the provinces: in all places he was extolled as a great man.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
All the rulers ... helped the Jews - i. e. the Persians, who formed the standing army which kept the Empire in subjection, and were at the disposal of the various governors of provinces, took the Jews’ side. The enemies of the Jews (e. g. Est 9:16) were almost entirely to be found among the idolatrous people of the subject nations, for whose lives neither the Persians generally, nor their monarchs, cared greatly.
And all the rulers of the provinces - Mordecai being raised to the highest confidence of the king, and to have authority over the whole realm, these officers assisted the Jews, no doubt, with the troops under their command, to overthrow those who availed themselves of the former decree to molest the Jews. For it does not appear that the Jews slew any person who did not rise up to destroy them. See Est 9:5.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שָׂרֵ֨י | sarei | [the] officials of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| הַמְּדִינ֜וֹת | hamedinot | the provinces | H4082 → | 53 times |
| וְהָאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנִ֣ים | vehaachashdarpenim | and the satraps | H323 → | 4 times |
| וְהַפַּח֗וֹת | vehapachot | and the governors | H6346 → | 28 times |
| וְעֹשֵׂ֤י | veosei | and [the] doers of | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַמְּלָאכָה֙ | hamelakhah | the work | H4399 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | lamelekh | [belonged] to the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מְנַשְּׂאִ֖ים | menaseim | [were] supporting | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִ֑ים | haiyehudim | the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נָפַ֥ל | nafal | it had fallen | H5307 → | 435 times |
| פַּֽחַד־ | pachad- | [the] dread of | H6343 → | 49 times |
| מָרְדֳּכַ֖י | maredokhai | Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
שָׂרֵ֨י[the] officials of
sareiH8269 →421 times
הַמְּדִינ֜וֹתthe provinces
hamedinotH4082 →53 times
וְהָאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנִ֣יםand the satraps
vehaachashdarpenimH323 →4 times
וְהַפַּח֗וֹתand the governors
vehapachotH6346 →28 times
וְעֹשֵׂ֤יand [the] doers of
veoseiH6213 →2628 times
הַמְּלָאכָה֙the work
hamelakhahH4399 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ[belonged] to the king
lamelekhH4428 →2525 times
מְנַשְּׂאִ֖ים[were] supporting
menaseimH5375 →656 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיְּהוּדִ֑יםthe Jews
haiyehudimH3064 →75 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נָפַ֥לit had fallen
nafalH5307 →435 times
פַּֽחַד־[the] dread of
pachad-H6343 →49 times
מָרְדֳּכַ֖יMordecai
maredokhaiH4782 →60 times
עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃on them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 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 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.
- 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…
- 1 Kings 21:8
Through
Esther 8:5“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order…
it leads to
- Esther 7:3
Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, grant me my life as my petition, and the lives of my people as my…
- Esther 5:8
If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, may the king and Haman come tomorrow to the…
- Esther 7:3
Through
Ezra 8:36They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, who proceeded to assist the people and the house of God.
it leads to
- Ezra 7:21–24
I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided…
- Ezra 7:21–24
Through
Daniel 3:2Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.
it leads to
- Daniel 3:27
and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed,…
- Daniel 6:1–4
Now it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,
- Numbers 25:2
who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods.
- Daniel 3:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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, Commentary on Esther and Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 12.