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'tfc

CLARK'S
FOEEIGN

THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY.

NEW

SEEIES.

VOL. XXXIV

ffiassel's

ffiommentatg on

ffistj&er.

EDINBUKGH:
T.

&

T.

CLARK,

38

GEOBGB STREET.

1888.

PRIITTED

BY

MOPvP.ISON

AND

GIBS,

FOR
T.

LONDON,

DUBLIN,

NEW

YORK,

&
.

T.

CLAEK, EDINBURGH.

...

....

HAMILTON, ADAilS, AND

GEORGE HERBERT.
SCRIBNER AND WELFORD.

CO.

AN

EXPLAJfATORY COMMENTARY
ON

S T

H E E,

CONSISTING OF

THE SECOND TAEGUM TRANSLATED FROM THE

ARAMAIC WITH NOTES, MITHRA, THE
WINGED BULLS OF PERSEPOLIS,
AND ZOROASTER.

BY

Professor

PAULUS CASSEL,

D.D., Berlin,

AUTHOR OF THE COMMENTARIES ON JUDGES AND RUTH

IN lange's 'bibelwerk,' etc.

STransIateti
BY

Eev.

T.

T.

AAEON BEKNSTEIN,

B.D.

EDINBURGH:
38 GEORGE STREET.

CLARK,

1888.

<-'

^'^

C3

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

Few words

are required to introduce to the reader the learned

author of the present work, as he

theologians

Lange's

by

is

already

known

to English

Commentaries on Judges and Ruth in

his

Germany

In

Bihelwerk.

author

the

deservedly

enjoys a wide reputation, for his books

on

and

and his ministerial

scientific

subjects are indeed legion,

and philanthropic

activity

is

appreciated by

the emperor to the poorest labouring man.

supply a want long

felt, for

in such a vivid and graphic

realize the

all

manner

from

This volume will

as to

make the reader

God with His chosen and

Herodotus, the Talmud, the Mid-

rashim, and other ancient books, as well as

modern

reports of travellers concerning Persian customs

and

classes,

elucidates the book of Esther

it

wonderful dealings of

thrice-redeemed people.

religious, social,

discoveries,

and manners,

philological science, have been brought to bear their respec-

To

tive testimonies to the truth of the recorded events.

book are applicable,

of the

to

this

a large extent, the weighty words

Ven. Archdeacon Farrar in the Exioositor of January

1888, where he

commentary we
" Philology,

says,

"When we

which

is

a science

and enriched our modern

happily
practical

combined

methods

the

still

in

its

scholarship."

topical,

of exposition,

modern

study a great

are indeed heirs of all the ages."

exegetical,

and has

370088

And

again

infancy, has aided

The author has

critical,

and the

offered us instruc-

PREFACE.

VI

tive

and

matter

on

upon

in the sacred narrative.

It

interesting

commentary,

and

insight

ancient

into

as no other

its

It is also valuable

touched

an

giving us

Persian,

does.

on account of

and

striking,

and especially

life,

book of a similar kind

incident

a hona fide historical

is

are

parallels

Oriental

every

its

apologetical character.

as a zealous advocate

he pleads

Israel's cause before the nations, asks for tolerance

and large-

The author holds a

hearted

charity

towards

them, shows

Haman-like attacks

repeated
course

brief,

of their

to

the injustice of the

which they have in the

checkered history been subjected, and the

wonderful intervention of Providence in their behalf, as well

which their covenant God meted out to

as the punishments
their

In a word,

enemies.

to all his seed," and,

he, like Mordecai, " speaks peace

more than Mordecai, preaches

earth and good-will towards men."

The

" peace

on

four Appendices will

be found exceedingly interesting and instructive, especially to

Biblical students.

the

first

edition,

Fiirth

That of the First Targum will appear

for

The author used the Amsterdam

time in English.

and amended the text by the

light of the

\r\7\\i^

nvD nsD,

1768,

1698, and

the

Hebrew

-)nD^?

n^JD

ed.

"iDD,

version of Mordechai Ventura,

Amsterdam 1870, and

the translation of Furstenthal.

The Targum

eleven paragraphs as follows

1.

is

divided into

Introduction about Ahhashverosh.

The

acrostic concerning Solomon.

3.

The

description of Solomon's throne.

4.

Solomon and the Queen

5.

The legend about Jeremiah.

6.

The dialogue

2.

of Vashti

7.

The

8.

The accusation

of Sheba.

and her death.

election of Esther as queen.

of

Haman.

also

VU

PEEFACE.

The penitence

of Mordecai, Esther,

9.

10.

The

11.

The great deliverance

The

fall of

author's

material, throw

light

the

Targum

oppressed by the

of the Jews.

containing

besides

notes,

on

names of the ancestors

when

and the people.

Haman.

By

every point.

Haman, he

of

was

written,

Eomans

in

mine of rich

the

indicates

when

the time

explaining the

time

Jews were

the

of Justinian.

Such

names

as Pilate the governor, Felix the vicious brother of

Pallas,

riorus,

Cuspius

Vitellius, Cestius Gallus,

the sons

called

Christian

ideas

in the

e.g.

On

Fadus,

or

followers
this

of

Targum

Haman.
as

alluded

to,

well

He

is

also

traces

antichristian,

as

Pandira, whereby Christ

the other hand, Mohan;imedanism

way

Herod,

and Eufus, might more properly be

in

name Bar

Antipater,

Flaccus,

is

designated.

not in the slightest

which proves the great antiquity of the

Targum.

word with regard

to the translation

of

the book.

have on the whole been faithful to the author, and, as far

as the English idiom allowed
style.

am

it,

have reproduced the author's

indebted to the Eev. James Neil, M.A., for his

kindness in revising the translation, to the Eev.

for translating the excursus

on Zoroaster, and

for their patient attention to the

on

its

way, and be blessed by

at all times as the Protector

whole work.

Him who

J.

H. Bruhl

to the publishers

May it

prosper

manifested Himself

and Eedeemer of His people.

THE TRANSLATOR.

IlfTEODUCTIOK
1.

The book

of Esther, as

we

liave it in the

Hebrew language
the

most

remarkable and instructive writings of ancient Persia.

The

in the canon

information

of the

wMch

is

is

one

it is

of the

same century, but

It

was written

from

its

king

throne, with its magnificent surroundings.

it

an insight into the inner

Indeed, the

little

makes us

more

life

in the capital of Persia.

It brings the reader into the palace of the

him

and

older,

tinctured with the colour of Persian custom and

than any other book.

It

of

imparts surpasses in originality even that

it

given by Herodotus

Old Testament,

of the

life

it

shows

We

obtain

royal harem.

book represents a universal harem-history.

King Xerxes, and gives

better acquainted with

us the original names of his princes and warriors.

of its specific Jewish-national motive,

it

In

spite

brings us into contact

with the political and religious movements that take place in

the great empire.

!N"owhere

else

is

the weakness of the

Persian monarch so clearly exhibited as the outcome of his

very possession of tremendous power, and of his considering

The

himself as the visible Mithra.

in Oriental States,

which the

strife

stories

everywhere describe,^ and which was

between the

viziers

of kings

which was epidemic

of the Seven Wise

regularly

Men

carried

and the favourite queens,

on
is

here narrated with such a vivid and historical accuracy that

has no parallel.
intrigues

of

the

First, the

queen

falls

on account of the

seven ministers, then the vizier

falls

on

^ I refer here to the book I lately brought out, Sieben weisen Meister,
where the Hebrew and Greek versions in connection with Buddhistic
interpretation and Oriental narrative are considered.

BOOK OF ESTHER.

One

account of the beauty of another queen.

stamp of genuineness in every

that which appears strange at

trait
first

recognises the

of the narrative; just

sight proves the fidelity

The doubts

with which contemporary events are narrated.

which modern
owing

want

have

writers

raised

against

and

to their

affairs.

Indeed,

to their deficiency in the historic sense,

thorough acquaintance with Oriental

of a

book are

this

national prejudices contributed to the undervaluing of

the

Hamanic sentiment wanted to throw a veil over the

Haman, and to declare the book a myth.

book.

picture of the old

Of

whole narrative

course, the

is

the expression of a national

triumph over intolerance and tyranny, and betrays a national

character, just as the narratives of Herodotus

and of

others, of

the Persian wars, sufficiently manifest traits of Hellenic one-

memoir written by a Jew

It is a

sidedness.

who

are scattered in the

to all his people

extensive countries

of Persia, in

which are recorded the wonderful interpositions of Providence

in their deliverance from destruction,

no other purpose but to narrate this

It has

certain.

which appeared

not called upon to give information about other things

gives a picture of Persian court life the like of

it

found nowhere

The king

to

be

it is

albeit

which

is

else.

s^-iv^n or tritJ^n^?

really

is

Xerxes the

The name appears

son of Darius Hystaspes.

First, the

to

be

an

and represents the genuine form, but which was

appellative,

sometimes pronounced by Greeks Kyaxares and sometimes

Xerxes.

It is

compound
servant,

of

compound

jQ-ii

and with

(comp. Dan.

iii.

and
Ej^ns

3), so

of

^rii^

it

tJ'^^?

rex,

Khsha

to
^

He

Xerxes or Xerx,
or Xyccx,

means the

first

as jamt^'Hi^ is a

means

servant

then we have to explain

meaning the chief king, or king of

Latin

and ^n

lam (Durban)

is also

kings,

a ^epe^

officer,

(satrap)

En1:^^^K

as

^i (Eakscha), the
for tJ^nx corresponds

which certainly contains the signification

appears in the Manichaeic reports as Turbo, and in the narrative

as Tyrpo.
Comp. my Siehen weisen Meister, p. 350.

of Secundus

Comp. Archelai

et

Manetis Disput.

p. 44.

INTEODUCTION.

XI

t^ns is also

found in the name of

of greatness or priority,

who

Artaxerxes,

meaning

may

king,

is

7,

Arta and ^m^,

of

So must the name

be compared.

fcvpio<;,

triD,

and the Persian

With Xerxes

between Darius and Artaxerxes.

Mardonius,

friends,

nothing
Greece,

said

is
it

is

about the

because,

was not pleasant

to

Pre-

Aspathines,

dates

preparation

when

are

the

for

If

given.

war with

was subsequently written,

this

be reminded of the unfortunate issue

war; yet the date

of that

Proper

are

and

counsellors

his

Hydarnes,

Barzanes,

Ahhaemenes.

and

xaspes,

properly in Ezra

of the king, tnil^nx, stands

mentioned in the book of Esther as

it

vii.

Darius, Uara, Darab be compared with rvpavvo^.

The name
iv.

11, 23,

8,

composed

Cyrus (the sun), be compared with

name

iv.

which the word ^lara^ in Hesy chins,

or xriD, with

j<nt^

Ezra

in

This

NDDDnnix.

nt^L^'^m^< or

and

named

is

assembly given in

of the

ver. 3,

"the third year of his reign," indicates that in the year 482
preparation for the war was made.

are narrated

events

If

which have taken place in the sixth and in the seventh years
of the reign

of Xerxes,

Shushan in the sixth

474-473
chap,

x.,

B.C.,

it

is

year.

In

the

twelfth

catastrophe, and

occurred the

where we read

because he only returned to

"

upon the land and upon the

And

the king laid

isles

about

year,

then follows

of the sea."

tribute

This

is

remarkable notice, and must be understood according to the

The narrated

tenor of the whole book.

fact is represented as

the consequence of the deliverance of Israel and of the

Ham an.
is

The imposition

obviously
of

of taxes

a sign of their submission.

that

is,

since

upon the land and the

The meaning

Hamanism

has

fallen,

power

the

isles.

desires to prove that the threatening against the

Jews was against the

interests

of

deliverance from danger contributed

country.

isles

of the passage

Persian king has risen over the land and the

the

The memoir

benefit

fall of

It

Persia,
to

and that

the welfare

intimates that just as Mordecai

upon the king by

disclosing

of

their

the

conferred

the conspiracy of his

XU

BOOK OF ESTHER.
he

servants, so

in general

became the benefactor

also

when he was

country

of the

raised to the office of vizier, because

he made the king's prerogatives more respected.

The appearance

of

Ham an

on

the

political

arena was

movement.

evidently the result of a religious Iranic

This

increased the more after the return of the king from the war,

where he met with disastrous reverses which naturally caused

The attempt

dissatisfaction.

Haman

of

a deep religious-political basis

against the

Jews had
book

also in Palestine, as the

of Ezra narrates that the Persian statesmen wrote to the king

against the Jews.

regard to the

mind

These statesmen raised considerations with

Jews

similar

which occupied the

those

to

Pharaoh who knew not Joseph in Egypt, and

of the

by Mithridates against the Komans, and

to those raised

times by Turkish sultans against the Christians.

upon

that did not belong to the religion of Iran were looked

and

as political

exterminated.
States.

In

ecclesiastical

enemies, and therefore

Such ideas are not very

rare even in

this sense is also the speech of

Haman

at

All those

to

be

modern

before the

king to be understood.

A more dangerous contrivance

thought

of.

But

it

was

against the

averted,

Jews could not be

and the memoir could assert

power

that just through the deliverance of Israel the Persian

had

risen

are

silent

of

and become

great.

In

fact,

the Greek chroniclers

concerning further Persian losses

till

the death

Xerxes; the battle of Eurymedon, 469, was not considered

of great importance in official reports of the Persian court

besides, it

took place after the memoir was written.

Persians had ceased to

attack Greece, but

land and

The
isles

remained under their protection.

f
/
I

In Persia the enemy of the king was regarded as the

enemy

of everything good, and even of the

he was their personified idea of God.

Deity, because

Hence the memoir

proves that the king derived only good from Mordecai and
Esther.

There

is

therefore

no greater evidence

of

the

genuineness, contemporariuess, and prudence of the Megilla

J

XIU

INTEODUCTION.

Esther, than the very fact that

(scroll)

name

the

God

of

do not keep the

the

mind

it

does not mention

accuses the Jews that they

laws, of the king,

"rn,

who

of his royal majesty,

is

the product of

is

the representative of the

him no other god must be acknowledged

or tolerated.
If the Jews observe the
of their God, they
do it in opposition to the king.^
The book cannot and must
not mention the name of the eternal God under the circumstances, when everything depends upon the king.
The author is
Deity.

Haman

(mn*').

Beside

very careful to show that he

the friend of the king, and that

is

book was not written against him, but against Haman.

his

There

not a word here against the king, although later

is

traditions

him.

Jews

are

mocking and

of

full

Haman's attempt

It speaks, indeed, of

in the

name

of the king,

but

it

that they were saved in his name.

of the

name

which

it

of God,

we have here

was necessary

to adopt

the king's contemporary.

Jewish

against

epithets

hostile

to kill all the

does not omit to mention

So, then, in the omission

a political act of prudence

by the written contemporary,

strongly-marked

Ij^evertheless, the

The

faith appears everywhere.

fasting

which Mordecai

prescribed was connected with prayer, although the form of the

prayer

is

and that

not given.
is,

One thought pervades

the house of

Israel..

It

enemy

malice of such an

God

Even Zeresh

Haman.

when

fall,

his wife is

she says to

If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before

hast begun to

protects

whom

thou shalt not prevail against him."

the deliverance of the Jews

is

connected the

and, to a certain extent, the Persian

War,

fall

him

thou

With

of Vashti

also the election of

Esther as queen, the conspiracy of the eunuchs, the escape

of the king,

and

his sleeplessness.

Haman and Mordecai

^

is

The opposition between

a religious and not merely a personal

tlie fanciful attempts of ancient teachers to find the name of

concealed in certain letters, and otherwise false expositions, comp.

About

God

cannot be destroyed even by the(

as

represented to be of the same opinion,

"

the whole book,v

the wonderful providence by which

Scliudt, Judische MerJcwiirdigkeiten,

ii.

pp. 311, 312.

BOOK OF ESTHER.

XIV

Mordecai

one.

is

minister of Horn

bow

unwilling to

and of

Through

fire.

crucified;

but in

the

and

loyal

honoured publicly

him

the

were

and

act,

Haman

yea,

citizens,

of their religion.
decai,

himself

in

2.

of the

to

killed,

is

the

midst

clearly

of

Haman,
had

but for

that the

their

all

that,

own
they

duty to the State in spite

their

shown

commandments
;

Mor-

in the book.

of Persians,

Jewish months and not of Persian

names

is

must impart

and

lands,

all

and did

observes the religious

his

of

but

not

is

The saying

This

though in

Haman and

he in his vain conceit imagined

for himself.

scattered

he

peculiar customs, was not unfounded

were good

he comes, of

this

same night the king reads

honours which

were intended

Jews

knee before the

denounced by

course, into the danger of being

benevolent

his

yet

scrupulously

he uses the names of

and

a fable that the

it is

Jewish months originated in Persia.^

The event was indeed extraordinary

never before since

the time of Israel's exodus from Egypt did they pass through

such great danger.

of fanaticism

was the

It

which in

first

later times

instance of the outbreak

was often repeated.

Their

whole existence throughout the .wide dominions of Persia was

The experience they received

in the balance.

of the wonder-

God in their behalf made an indelible

impression upon them. They had seen before, in their history,
the appointment of fasts.
The prophet Zechariah says, " The
ful interposition

fast of the

of

fourth month, and the fast of the

fast of the seventh,

and the

days

of

redemption

Therefore Mordecai and

rate the great

They joined

they had

und

yet

Queen Esther resolved

their experience of God's

all

not

feasts."

But

experienced.
to

commemo-

event which they themselves had witnessed.

the redemption of Israel from Egypt.

over was at

and the

fast of the tenth, shall be to the

house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful

such

fifth,

redeeming love with

As

the feast of Pass-

times celebrated with thanksgiving and praise,

About the names

of the Jewish

Geschichte^ p. 299, etc.

months

I refer to

my book,

Literatur

XV

INTRODUCTION.
SO

should a feast proclaim to

redemption which

generations the wonderful

all

In

had experienced.

forefathers

their

imitation of the Passover, which began with the fourteenth

of N^isan, this feast was also to begin on the

They

Adar.

called

fourteenth of

Purim, to remind them of the horo-

it

scope which was placed for their destruction, but which led to
their deliverance, just as the Passover

name

by

of the passing

Purim

also

reminded them by

of the protecting

reminded them of Balaam's demoniac attempt

curse Israel, but the curse was turned into a blessing

Haman,

its

and redeeming angel.

so

to

now

in accord with Persian custom, placed the horoscope

in order to find a day favourable to Israel's destruction.

The undertaking was made

in the twelfth year of the reign

of Xerxes, probably the twelfth

years, of

which

is

it

which was considered

to

whom

from

is

The

called

thirteenth day of the

fire,

in the

March from Mars, Ares whose

The thirteenth day

fire.

Swine,

to the people,

{Tir) signifies

For the king shot the arrow with the bow with

the arrow.

which he was equipped,

we explain
Haman, his

meaning

as

and Mithra, which

like the sun-god

But the arrow rebounded.

archer.

adherent, fell instead of Mordecai the Jew.

day became a day of joy instead

was

was

chosen, whose signification was

sense of consuming also, as

Greek name

of the cycle of twelve

an unfortunate omen

as

swine were obnoxious.

month Adar was

It

month

said that the last

tljerefore

The

of the horoscope of the curse.

quite natural that the day should be called

Purim, lottery-day,

for it

was the day on which the prognos-

tications of the horoscopian

were

falsified,

misfortune was turned into fortune.

It

and the threatened

was a grand thought

of Esther

and Mordecai, while being conscious that they were

chosen by

God

to

be the instruments in effecting a deliverance,

day

to institute a

to

commemorate that

The people

event.

should realize a lively sense of the perpetual danger they are

in on account of their faith in the midst of the heathen, so

that they might the

lose sight that

God

is

more ardently adhere

their Preserver

to

it,

and never

and Redeemer.

Mor-

BOOK OF ESTHER.

XVI

decai

and Esther claimed

have the right which Moses

to

possessed to prescribe a feast for the people which should

not only awaken serious thoughts in their minds, but also

inspire

them with joy and

Jewish teachers

ascribed

prophetical character,

it

When

gratitude.

the book of Esther a certain

to

was because they foresaw the times

when similar accusations to those recorded in

be made against the Jews, and they would

or of Dedication, in

He,

temple.

desired that

often need the

Indeed,

was
which Judas Maccabaeus purified the
by

his victory over the Syrians,

Just as

event should remain indelible.

Esther and Mordecai

the

Hhanukah,

the type of the Feast of

too, inspired

the

book would

this

comfort which the feast of Purim inspires.

institution of this feast

the ancient

made

Passover to a great extent

the

the basis of the Feast of Purim, so the Maccabees founded

the Feast of the Dedication on the prophecy of Haggai, which

predicted

the

coming of a new

good ground

for

from the four

and

We

have

month (Hag.

twentieth day of the ninth

therefore

time

ii.

18).

assuming the authenticity of the

report that Mordecai caused the book to be written, and that

he furnished the main

only find traces of

this,

facts.

In chap.

ix.

20-23 we not

but also of the appointment and

the observance of the feast.

(See

the explanation in the

Commentary.)

We

observe that Esther and Mordecai must not be judged

by the standard
in

them the

of the gospel, nor

must we expect

tblerating spirit of Jesus Christ.

They

to find

retaliated

and avenged themselves on their enemies in accordance with

the prevalent policy and spirit of the East

but who will be

so bold as to maintain that the attacks against the

Byzantium

to Berlin,

Jews from

from the time of the Crusaders to the

recent anti-Semitic movement, had in the slightest possible

way been
Hamanism

influenced
of Berlin

did, or rather they

by the

Spirit

knew no more
had a desire

of Jesus Christ

of the Cross than

to crucify.

nothing of the apostle and the ascetic in him.

The

Haman

Mordecai had

He

retained the

XVU

INTRODUCTION.
sole character of a

praying

man

after his prayer

but in letting himself be invested with the

he only wished to show in a

his people

book

is

had conquered
office

manner the

visible

victory which

had obtained through the help of God.

This

little

remarkable and incomparable in the effect which

has produced upon the national and social

of vizier,

it

Of

of Israel.

life

course, the apostles rose higher to the ideal of true martyrs,

because they conquered while they submitted to a violent

death
not

but,

know

alas

Mordecai and Esther, although they did

the gospel,

have

found

more imitators in the

Christian Church than Stephen and Paul

and that without

having to save themselves from similar dangers to those of

their exemplars.

The vengeance which Jews exercised was

was not safe even after the

in self-defence, because their life

deliverance which Esther had effected, so long as the party

of

Haman

remained

alive.

These would have resumed their

former hostile plan as quickly as the unextinguished embers are

set ablaze

by the

least favourable

One must have an

wind that blows upon them.

historic sense,

and imagine himself in

ancient Persia, in order to realize the true state of affairs

there.

Tyranny knew nothing

any one obtained

of the right of

he owed

justice or favour,

it

man

to the

and

if

humour

of the tyrant.

The
it

little

book considers, indeed, the whole

affair of

from a religious and national point

treats only

which

of view,

and

removes the history, so to speak, from the universal history

of the world

but that

is

natural.

thinks only of his danger and of his

The persecuted person

escape and the believer
;

thinks only of the wonderful interposition of

God which he had

experienced.
It is a beautiful thought of the

Esther to the

dawn

of the morning.

Midrash when

As

the

it

compares

dawn announces

the end of the night, so the book of Esther terminates in the

0. T. the history of miracles.

On

the other hand, the history here recorded

the kind within the experience of the people.

the

first

of

The remark

of

is

XVIU

BOOK OF ESTHER.

the Midrash on chap.

very

xi. is

other enumerations of persons

says,

it

Ahhashverosh was the

of men.

seller

first

Haman was

the

time was there such a

first

Their children were once taken

threatening in their history.

away from them and

among

in something,

first

buyer and

first

For the

where,

significant,

who were

killed

by Pharaoh

they were

also, as

a people, taken captive by ISTebuchadnezzar, but their whole

existence of old and young, of

Such a dreadful danger

in jeopardy.

We

man and

wife,

was never yet

not to be mysticized.

is

read of such in the history of ancient tyrannies and of

civil war,

but from this history

sion that

we

may

we

get the indelible impres-

are reading of the experience of a people

expect renewed

attacks

conquering nations among

whom

who

themselves from the

against

Therefore, no

they reside.

book of the Old Testament has been so much commented on

and adorned

as this.

In

its

pages, not merely did a voice of

warning speak to the generations of

of historical comfort.

But

and embellishments which

it is

testify

authenticity of the

Hebrew Persian

quite

spirit

a different

to

but also a voice

Israel,

just these

many comments

the genuineness

text,

and

because they display

from that which characterizes the

original document.
3.

This

already manifest in the additions which accompany

is

the book of Esther in the Septuagint.^

In these the Jews have

no longer any scruple in mentioning their God

they appear

be anxious to remove beforehand any objections which

to

might be raised against the narrative in Esther, and prove the

long use of

Mordecai

is

the book in

the

congregations

of

the

Jews.

represented as defending himself, by saying that

it

was not pride that prevented him from rendering adoration to

Haman, but that he feared to give that homage to a man,
which God claims for Himself.
The second Epistle {i.e. that of the King in the LXX.
Comp. the Lihri apocryphi

ed. Otto Frid.

be observed that
in the second text occurs the mistake Tror/^oa instead of Totz-stuot on p. 31.
^

veteris

Testamenti graece,

Fritzsche (Lipsiae 1871), with critical notes, where

it is to

INTRODUCTION.

and in the Apocrypha) reveals

these

additions.

harm

to the princes

ancient

in

kings to

whole tendency of

in Egyptian court

who from

and

life,

personal motives had done

who

elevate

them

in

which

such

history

all sorts

clearly the

originated

It

narrates of such persons

XIX

it

refers to

counsellors

examples
led

their

of evil, and also reminds of the accusations

that were brought against bad viziers (as otherwise against

queens) which occur in Oriental legends.

Very remarkable

is

that

it

Haman

there

is

accused of

having entertained the desire of bringing the kingdom of Persia

under the rule of the Macedonians.

The author thereby intended

Persian originality to his

which he wrote,

viz.

letter,

to give the

at the time of the Ptolemies,

themselves in a state of rivalry with one

Syrian kingdom
offence.

appearance of

but he only proves the age in

and there he could do

I have already observed

in the

who were

another

it

in

the

without giving

commentary that

the Syrian garrison in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabees

designated by Josephus with the term Macedonian (Joseph.

is

Ant

xii. 5. 4).^

We

read, that in the fourth year of

Cleopatra, this letter

that
that

it
it

speaks of

of

From the fact

we may conclude

became known in Egypt.

Haman

refers to the

King Ptolemy and

as a Macedonian,

time of war between the Egyptians and

Antiochus the Great, which war terminated by the marriage of

Ptolemy with Cleopatra the daughter of Antiochus (Joseph,

4. 1).

name

About the Jews the

of the

King

letter speaks intentionally in the

of Persia, " that the

evil-doers, that they live

xii.

Jews

are far from being

under the most righteous laws, and

are the children of the only

and true God."

and so long as
was confounded with Macedonia.
But false
readings are not rare, for, as I have shown in my comment to the
Second Targum, p. 329, ought not to be read Macedonian. Dr. J. Levy in
his Lexicon (as well as the passage in Bab. Yoma and Bereshith Rabba
c. xxxvii.) is mistaken if he thinks that Macedonia stands for Media.
It
stands for Yawan, while HID ought not to be translated.
'

Throiigli the influence of Alexander the Macedonian,

his empire lasted, Greece

XX

BOOK OF ESTHER.

The additions were evidently made

as early as at the begin-

ning of the third century of the Christian

era,

perchance in

order to diminish the force of the objections which were even

then raised against the book of Esther.

The most curious addition

dream

of Mordecai.

We

read

is,
:

"

events, the so-called

at all

Behold a noise of a tumult,

And

with thunder, and earthquakes, and uproar in the land.

behold two great dragons

and their cry was

(BpdfcovT<;)

And

great.

came

forth ready to fight,

at their cry all nations

were

prepared to battle, that they might fight against the righteous

And,

people.

and anguish,
Joel

ii.

lo,

And

2).

a day of darkness and obscurity, tribulation

affliction

and great uproar upon earth (comp.

the whole righteous nation was troubled,

own evils, and were ready to perish. Then they

and upon their cry, as it were from a little
unto
God
cried
fountain, was made a great flood, even much water.
The
fearing their

light

and the sun rose up, and the lowly were

The

devoured the glorious."

style

by

coloured

is

and

biblical

but the story of the fight of the two dragons rests

citations,

upon an important Oriental

The legend

parable.

by the Midrash Esther (Amst.

ed. p. 94c),

are not very correctly called

D^:'':n,

meant.

exalted,

It

must appear

given

where the dragons

for sea-dragons are

strange, that

Mordecai and Haman, then Mordecai

but dragon here (BpaKcov)

is also

not

the dragons represent

if

is also

called a dragon

nothing else than a winged daeva,

is

Both the good and

such as the Persians in particular knew.

the evil daevas were winged.

Their appearance was alike, but

they had different principles.

So Astyages saw in his dream

a dragon having the wings of an eagle, and rushing towards

Jude

also says

contending with

the devil.

him.

St.

to Daniel x.

kingdom

13, where

that Michael

the

we

of Persia withstood

read:

me

"But

is to

there with the kings of Persia."

be given

the prince of the

one and twenty days

Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help

left

Archangel was

The same meaning

It is

me

but, lo,

and I was

the war of the

religion of Israel against the religion of Persia.

The same

INTRODUCTION.

XXl

depicted in the war between the two dragons.

is

shows Mordecai as the representative of

The dream

who

Israel,

fought

is

against and nearly conquered by Hainan, but after Mordecai

and prayed there appears suddenly a

fasted

"

which flows abundant and refreshing streams.

brooks of

God

from their

are full of water."

He

"

puts

down

and exalts the humble and meek."

seat,

had

spring from

little

The

little

the mighty

It

was owing

to Mordecai's personal representation of the principles of the

Jews

in their strife against

Haman

that Purim, as

we

see in

2 Mace. XV. 36, was called Mardocheu's day, the preceding

of which,

i.e.

the 13th of Adar, the Maccabees celebrated with

great joy their victory, and called

remembered, yet Purim remains.

sideration

which gave

the day in

it

But the day

execution of Mcanor.

memory

of Nicanor

The same

is

of the

no more

historical con-

additions, namely, whether

rise to the

the vengeance of the Jews spoken of in Esther might not

excite

ill

feeling

among

other nations against them,

found in the Talmud (Megilla 7a)

said

" E.

is

also

Samuel bar Yehudah

Esther sent a message to the sages saying. Appoint a

memory of me for the generations to come. They

Thou wilt thereby provoke the nations against us.
The event is already
She then sent them word again.
feast in

replied

recorded in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia."

This sentence

is

very instructive in enabling us to get an

intelligent idea of the

Talmudic time.

The Eabbis,

in order

magnify their authority, and to preclude the supposition

to

that a feast was instituted without their permission, and that

the Sanhedrin did not even exist in Persia, have deemed

prudent to

tell

it

the story that Esther had applied to the sages

to sanction the institution of the feast

which bore her name.^

Thereupon they raised the objection that the record of such

an institution which commemorated their triumph over the
[They go even

book of Esther the authority

written in the Law (Ex. xvii. 14),
Write this for a memorial in a book." " Write this " refers to the Law ;
*
a memorial " refers to what is written in the prophets ; " in a book
^

so far as to ascribe to the

of the divine legislator Moses.

refers to the

book of Esther

" It

{ibid.).

is

Trans.]
I

XXU

BOOK OF ESTHER.
under which they lived might be

authorities
to the

Jews in

This fear (as

exciting the hatred of the nations against them.

we

was drawn from

shall see)

of the time in which they lived.

known
who reads

already well

every one

detrimental

She then

in history, there
history

no secret about

is

cognizant of

is

their experience

replied, the fact is

This

it.

it,

even

is

given with greater clearness in the Jerusalem Talmud, according to which the Eabbis said as follows

Have we not had

"

Do you want to increase

E.
oppression of Haman ? "

enough of impending oppressions

them by calling to mind the

Shimeon ben Nahhman said in the name
"

Eighty-five elders

sad

about this

No

prophet

forth

new
for

Dhdi)

n^^^i:^

they said

Yonathan

have been very

Moses has

told us

add anything from now and hencedesire

to

appoint

But they did not cease to ponder over it,

God opened their eyes and they found (a justification

it),

at the

the law, and

written in

Megilla,

Jerus.

(Tal.

However

c.

in
i.

the prophets, and in

W. Krotoschin).
may appear, yet it

9,

p.

peculiar this Talmudic passage

same time supplies a strong evidence of the genuine-

ness of

the book

this history,
it

1D31

and yet Mordecai and Esther

books "

affair

should

institution

until

(D''i<^n3

of E.

of

which in

Esther.
itself

Who

could

have invented

appeared venturesome to narrate,

contained not only elements of glory, but also elements of

danger for the people

It not

consciousness of Israel, but

it

merely strengthened the national

excited also that of other nations.

The Greek and Eoman Hamans were the proofs

The

Persian.

tears of anguish

which the people shed in the

Orient and in the Occident were only repetitions of

bitter experience in Shushan.

the

for

their

Therefore no feast had such a

national background as the feast of

Purim

had.

Both the

first

and the second Targums, which teem with such considerations,

were

political

and

religious

memoirs

for the people.

Even the New Testament shows how

of

Haman and Ahhashverosh was

Gospel

of

St.

Mark

vi.

great the importance

thought to

23, Herod

Antipas

be.

In the

says

to

his

INTEODUCTION.

daughter

"

Whatsoever thou shalt ask

my

unto the half of

thee,

XXIU
of

me, I will give

He

kingdom."

imitates

it

in this

that which Xerxes Ahhashverosh said to Esther (chap. v. 6)

What

"

thy request

is

even to the half

From

shall be performed."

the kingdom

of

it

name Ahhash"Wander-

this originated the

verosh in the Christian legend which the so-called

Jew

ing

For Herod and Herodias are the

bore.

"

and therefore the name was

ones,

then to Nero,

who

Still

more remarkable and recognisable

xiii.

18:" Let him

of the beast
is

6 6 6."

in the

This number

name

x;;t^"i

Herod and

Ahhashverosh.

the passage in Eev.

is

that hath understanding count the

for it is the

applied to

first

like a frog imitated the lion

is

pn,

number

of a

number

man, and his number

incontestably found in

Haman

restless

Hebrew letters^

For

the wicked.

it is

5 = n
40 = D
50 = 1
200 = 1
300 = K^
70 = j;
1

It is said of the beast that "

he spake as a dragon," which

reminds one of the Greek legends of the battle of the dragons

in

which

Haman

speaks.

W^e cannot enter at large upon

the question as to which of the contemporaries was regarded

much

Haman by St. John but

here Haman was considered as

the abstract idea of the draojon

and of the ferocious

was therefore natural that the

as

so

Jews should

also

beast.

in later

enemy who threatened

by the name

-ni:;

It

times

to deprive

and Haman.

is

certain, that

designate

them

even

every powerful

of life

Eisenmenger

and property
(i.

721) and

We

cannot enter upon an enumeration of the curious interpretations

number which appear in every commentary, but it is to be hoped
Because the meaning
that our interpretation will finally set them at rest.
of the apocalyptic seer which is to be more considered elsewhere receives
1

of this

the eby

much

light.

BOOK OF ESTHER.

XXIV
others

had no right

to reproach

them with

this

and what he

quotes from the book, ^^Dn pDy, represents likewise

only as the conception of the dragon, as

The dragon was

Eevelation.

to be assailed

Haman

done in the

by the Messiah the

Should they have refrained from calling Achmed

son of Joseph.

who wanted

the vizier of Soliman by this name,

them

is

it

to

destroy

they would not deliver to him

all their gold and

(1523)? They had, as in the time of Haman, fasted
and cried to God in fact, Achmed fell before he carried
all if

silver

out

NDnn pV,
call

and the Jews

plans,

his

on the 27th
ed.

of

Vienna,

p.

76 and

p.

long

for

Adar an Egyptian

feast

254).

time

celebrated

Purim (comp-

of

Should they not

by the same name Ibrahim Pasha, who was

their

most

enemy (1536), and fortunately for them was thrown

over by Soliman ?
And if they so designated in Frankfurt
bitter

(1714) the robber and murderer Vincenz Fettmilch, was

not

example

of

Haman ?

Certainly no book of the Bible was so

popular among the Jews as the book

of Esther.

inculcated that women and children should hear

synagogue on Purim

and that when

all

It

was

read in the

it

the other books of

the Bible shall lose their force in the time of the Messiah,

and the Pentateuch

to adorn

will

have their

and beautify the

illustrations.^

Schudt

scroll,

could

full

scribe

asked

five florins.

in the breasts of the

feelings, for

this they

The

They used

efficacy.

not

sufficiently

feast of

Jews triumphant

scroll

express

Purim used

to excite

as well as revengeful

which many opportunities were given them.

In

were not always moderate, and the reproach which

Eoman emperor

image

his

which the

for

brought against them, that among their

figurative representations they caricatured the cross

of

it

and private ones received

admiration for an illustrated Megilla

the

it

because he treated them in the spirit and after the

Haman, was not

altogether

unfounded

under the
but their

persecutors were very moderate in their manifestation towards

^

[There were some fine specimens of snch in the Anglo-Jewish ExhibiTrans.]

tion at South Kensington, 1887.

XXV

INTRODUCTION.

them

of the spirit of

show

their joy-

in duty

bound

The Jews used

the gospel.^

on Purim by distributing

to send a

i3pt^^^ TT'^riD,

or to the pilgrims in the

gifts

also to

every one was

a half shekel, to Jerusalem

Holy Land generally

and the

gifts

the poor were sent early in the morning, in order that

to

they might be able to prepare for the feast in the evening.^

And

if

there were no poor at the time, the

money was kept

made

presents to each

until there were some.

The poor

other, especially of provisions.

a present to any other

man

also

Yet a woman dared not send

but her husband, and so

vice versa.

What

Confectionary alone was not sufficient for presents.

Kirchner^ reports, that the

gifts sent consisted of the

point of

a smoked tongue, peppered and preserved, has reference to the

passage in the Talmud Megilla 7a, which speaks of the gifts of

pepper and ginger.

and

of

Pepper was held as symbolic of good sense,

more value than sweets.

and practised

all

They

feasted exceedingly well,

those customs w^hich Christians used on Christ-

They were especially fond of the little cakes filled with

pap, which were called Krappelchen (fritters), and which were
mas.

delightful objects, both to the

make

could

the poor

young and the

old."*

comfortable and happy

Whatever
was sent

to

them, because, as the author of the Mezahh Aron ^ says

"

They

look, nehich

Kirchner
^

See

= poor things), the whole

year for Purim."

narrates that in his time (the end of the seven-

my history of the

Jews in Ersch und Gruber's Encychpadie,

ii.

27,

p. 79.
2 About the Jewish customs, comp. notably the liturgical treatises of the
Jews, as Tania (Cremona 1565), 39-41
Agur (Venice 1546), p. 80,
n. 1042, etc. ; Sefer Tashbaz (printed by Vincente Conte), p. 172, n. 14.
Comp. the compilation in Shibole Haleket and Mordecai. Also the useful
;

book of the Minhagim Tobim, which appeared first in Amsterdam, then

in Breslau, and re-edited by Bloch in Hanover.
Likewise Simhhath
Hanefesh, Sulzbach 1797, p. 59c. Comp. also the Minhagim of Dyhrenfurt, 1692, etc.
^ Comp. Paul Chris. Kirchner, Jildisches Ceremoniel, enlarged by S. J.
Jungendres, Nurnberg 1726, p. 139.
* Krapf, Krapplein
in Silesia, Kriippel. See Frisch, Lex. i. p. 549.
^ Mezahh Aron, Judisch=deutscher Commentar zu Esther, Flirst 1740,
p. 51c.
;

1. 1.

p, 137, note.

This was in spite of the old ecclesiastical law, which

BOOK OF ESTHER.

XXVI

the Jews used also to send gifts

century)

teentli

that one

to poor

The ancient Eabbis taught

Christians on the Feast of Purim.

could not rejoice enough on that

Francis de Assisi said/ he wished

it

as

just

feast,

were possible that the

walls should also eat meat on Christmas

though there was

The Jews

certainly a great difference in the object of joy.

then made their Purim to vie with the Christian Christmas

more

than

now,

Germany)

(in

Christian

as

authors

when many
if

them keep

of

were their own

it

both

of opinion that

were

know

(blessed be Mordecai)

and

Wein

nacht,

Jewish Eabbis

also the ancient

one must drink so

will not be able to

As some

feast.

and jestingly explained

seriously

TFeihnachten (Germ, for Christmas) as meaning

" the night for wine," so

Christmas

much on Purim

until he

the difference between '3TD inn

p7\

IPN

(cursed be

Haman).

It is

very curious that the two phrases are numerically the same,
502, just as the word

viz.

that

Abaye and

E.

nt^n.^

It is told

in the

Talmud

Hhananayh, having been very merry on

Purim, had by mistake exchanged their meals, but being poor,

when they came

to dine together

they knew not the difference.

Another Purim story which might have ended very seriously

told of Eav.

He and

E. Sera dined together, and they got so

But the next

intoxicated that the former slaughtered the latter.

morning God wrought a miracle, and the dead

to

life.

The next Purim, Eav

man was

my

life this

restored

invited his friend again to dine

with him, but be declined the invitation, saying

risk

is

"

I will not

time, for not always do miracles happen."

forbade Christians accepting gifts from Jews.

In the Canon Apost.
n. 70 (Patr. ApostL), ed. Coteler (new ed. Antwerp 1698), ii. p. 446, we
read

"Si quis episcopus aut

alius Clericus jejunat

cum

Judaeis vel

cum

eorum festi xenia exempli gratia, Azymi vel

quid hujusmodi deponatur," where the editors remark, that this took place
notably on Purim.
^ " Volo quod et parietes eo die comedant carnes si fierx potest."
Comp.
eis festos dies agit vel accipit

my
2

Weihnachten,

Even

Anm.

n. 583, p. xcii.

in the Piut (poetical meditation) for

Dnn

n^sj^i idk^, etc.

Purim we

read,

INTRODUCTION.

The

XXVU

was kept with great solemnity

feast

the thirteenth

day of Adar, which was formerly the anniversary

over Nicanor, was afterwards observed as a
"iDDJ^ n^:vn,

the fast of Esther

was

it

of the victory

fast,

and called

the purpose of

for

reminding them in the midst of the joys and pleasures of

Purim
There

was

it

had once passed through.

of the great distress they

no prescribed rule

is

for it in the

book of Esther, nor

yet inserted in the index of fasts in Megillath Taanith.

In the

evening

the same day, the

of

synagogue

well

is

illuminated, and the minister unfolds the whole scroll

When

reads the narrative.

he comes to the passages which

speak of Mordecai and of the

them

after

when

the

and

final victory, the

people repeat

him in a loud voice and triumphant manner but

name of Haman is mentioned, then the young people,
and especially the children, make a great noise, and knock at
the benches as if they were to kill him again.
The Jews
;

were wrongly reproached

approval

of

Mordecai

the

Eoman

expressing

and of hatred

But

dramatic spectacle.

for

Haman

Week, when, after the

noise was made in imita-

which the Jews raised before

read in an old book

"

On Good Friday people

^
And not only so,

were exhibited in which Martin Luther in the

boy received

stone,
tells

scene

Haman.

terrible blows,

For the

and not men

We

Pilate.

a noise in the Church."

dealt to

this

Catholic Church in Passion

tion of the tumult

active

in

of

similar scenes used to take place in

candles were extinguished, a great

make

to

feelings

their

rattle

and

but scenes

effigy of

an

such as the Jews have not

latter did only strike

on wood and

Johannes Pauli

but not so the former.

an old story of a peasant who was frightened in the

Good

on

Friday, in which, while

going on, the priest put out

and then

"

every

man

one

candle

the
after

singing was

the

other,

began to beat and to strike as on such

nights was the custom in the Papacy."

The sermons which

were preached in the synagogue on Purim were pervaded by

my

See

Comp. Pauli Schimpf und

TVeihnachten, n. 447,

etc.,

to p. 134.

Ernst, ed. Dittmar, p. 208.

BOOK OF ESTHEE.

XXVIU
an earnest tone

took for his text Ezra

our

Dimi bar Yitzhhak

For we were bondmen yet

(conip. Megilla 11a).

God hath not

ix.

"

R.

forsaken us in our bondage, but hath

extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia."

Hhanina bar Papa took for his text Ps. Ixvi. 12

we went
Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads
through fire and through water, but Thou broughtest us out
into a wealthy place."
E. Yohhanan took for his text Ps.
E.

"

"

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation

of our God."

That happened in the days of Mordecai and

xcviii. 3

The ancient Christian Church held Esther

Esther.^

esteem, as she highly deserved, for risking her

sake of her religion and her people.

to appreciate the martyr's spirit,

tive

in high
for the

life

The Church knew how

and she had a higher

instinc-

knowledge of the wonderful dealings of God with His

many modern

ancient people than

Epistle

of

Clement

we

read

Esther, whose faith was perfect, exposed herself

when

"

from imminent destruction.

With

who, when

He saw

fasting

and humility she

for her sake."

spoke in a similar strain

"

perfect in faith delivered Israel from

of the tyrant

God,

the affliction of her soul and the dangers

Clement of Alexandria

who was

Israel

of all things, the eternal

which she encountered, delivered the people

Esther

And

to danger

she undertook to deliver the twelve tribes of

prayed to the Lord, the Creator

power

In the

theologians have.

Corinthians

the

to

and from the cruelty of the

satrap,

That
the

and a

woman, bent down by fasting, resisted myriads of armed

men, and by faith destroyed the tyrannical law. And she
single

appeased the one, and the other, Aman, she removed, and by
prayer preserved Israel in safety."
{Paid.

lib.

adorned.

ii.

p.

In another place he says

216): "The one Esther we

She adorned herself mystically

find rightly

(fivo-TCKM<;)

before

See Tract. Bab. Megilla and Midrasli Meg. and Targum I. Targiim II.
Appendix with notes, but requires more full explanations than
could be given in this Commentary.
^

is

in the

^ Stromatttf lib. 4.

INTRODUCTION.

XXIX

her king, but her beauty effected the deliverance of her people

from murder."
"

Jerome,

too, writes in his letter to

Paulinus

Esther as a type of the Church delivered the people from

Haman, which name

danger, and after the death of

signifies

iniquity {iniquitas), she instituted a supper and a feast for

posterity" (ed. Migne,

he says

"

In his defence against Kufinus

547).

i.

who

Let Esther be imitated,

long and silently

endured the opinions of Artaxerxes, but at

him by the truth"

(ed.

Migne,

ii.

introduction to Zephaniah (ed. Migne,

Judith and Esther,

who

the enemies of Israel, and saved

honour

of

them

Also in his

1337) he speaks

vi.

as a type of the

corrected

last

412, 413).

of

Church had destroyed

froni destruction.

This

Esther to be a type of the Church was naturally

developed from the whole Christian tradition, which regarded

her as a type of the Virgin Mary.

we

find the phrase

hymn

This often occurs in

In a hymn, dating from the fourteenth century,

hymns.

"

Haec Esther

from the same century

is

imperatrix."

as follows

Another

" Hodie ciibiculum

Eegis Hester suscipit

Sedare periciilum

Quod

~"

hostilis officit

Aman

restans fraudibiis

Pro peccati videntibus

Mortem mimdo
Piemarkable

is

what
"

is

conficit."

contained in a Litany,
Maria, regis veri

Virga aurea Assueri

Irani judicis severi

mederi
Malit qiiam percutere."
Scis lenire ut

Much

is

said of the rod,

i.e.

the sceptre of Ahhashverosh,

with which he indicated his favour to

is

Mary

Aman
1

styled in another

hymn

tu mortifera sis adiiUrix

Comp. Mone, Lat Hymnen

Esther.

Not only

as the rod {virgula Assueri

cleri),

but also in the famous.

des Mittelalters,

ii.

72, 157, 271,

434

XXX

BOOK OF ESTHER.

poem

of Gottfried of Strassburg

showed
the

to Esther

favour which

God shows through

and

Satan,

the favour which the king

sign of the rod

was thought

Ahhashverosh
presents

by the

represent

to

Esther

the

was the type

the

saving

God,

Aman

Mary.

of

For

Virgin.

re-

Specially

strange, notably in reference to the Jews, is the moralizing

Bomanorum

of the Gesta

compared with
Vashti,

who

Christ,

(lat.

177), where Ahhashverosh

is

and Queen Vashti with the synagogue.

refused to

come

to

the royal table, resembled

the Jews, who, according to the parable, refuse to come to the

Esther

Lord's Supper.

the

is

place.

Haman,

the mortal

of the

Jewish

people the

Church, which comes in her

enemy

of the Jews,

Antichrist,

is

in the person

who wants

to

hang

Mordecai, the type of the righteous.

When Queen

Esther invites the king to

come

to her

banquet, she resembles the Church, which Christ invites to

come

to partake of

The

fast of

His body.^

Esther was spoken of as typical of the merit of

fasting during the Quadragesima.^

She was

also regarded

by the Church

as

a saint.

The

^ Comp. Gentlie, Jungfrau Maria, p. 25, and the quotation from the
Minnesingers in Benek. Mhd. Worterbuch, i. 483, suh voce " Gerte."
^ Gesta Romanorum, n. 177, ed. Oesterley,
Owing to this honour
p. 577.
which Ahhashverosh received in the Church, it also came to pass that his
name was frequently given to persons even in the Protestant times.
Fritsche, a well-known theologian and liturgist, bore that name. Ahhashverosh Brandt was a famous physician who undertook a journey to
Moscow (comp. Ehesa Litth. Dainos, j). 351). Another by the same name
was Professor in Bremen (Bamberger, Gelehrte Deutschlands, i. p. 5). The
mysticism of the name of Esther found a place in Reformed circles. In
the terrible commotions which took place in Elberfeld and Ronsdorf, the
sectarian EUer left his wife Vashti, and took another whom he called
Esther (comp. Gobel, Gesch. des christl. Lehens, iii. 470).
In England, too,
Christian women were called Esther, and shortened into Essie (comp.
Charnock, Phenomena, p. 41). So also the handsome wife of Casimir of
Poland was named Esther.
^ Comp. a German sermon of the thirteenth century, ed. Grieshuber, ii. 85.
In Erfurt the 7th of September 1632 was observed as a day of commemoration of the victory near Breitenfeld, and coins were struck with the
inscription
Dies Purim Evangelicorum anno 1631, VII. Sept. Erfurt.
:

celebrati (comp. Falkenstein, Erf. Chronik, p. 709).

XXXI

INTRODUCTION.

Eoyaumont calls her une sainte femme.

" The Church Fathers make this
is said

editor of the Bible of

In Calmet's Bible

it

holy queen {sainte reine) appear as a figure of the Church of

Jesus Christ."

She

represented upon images in the attitude of kneel-

is

King Ahhashverosh, who reaches her the sceptre,

while this sceptre expresses tenderness.^
Her saint's day
The Copts
is
differently given
May 24 or July 1.

ing before

keep

December 20.

it

Acta Sanctorum de-

" Hester regiae " or " Hester reginae."

Canisius remarked on this

with

editors of

In old Martyrologies are found the

cided for September 4.

words

The

the aid of

"

beautiful and faithful,

who

the whole Jewish people

Mordecai saved

from a threatening danger."

in collections of

The

The Jesuit

similar sentiment

found

is

Greek sentences

rou 'lapxrjTi sk Sciuocrov.

The poems and popular books which

book of

treat of the

John Chryseus wrote Histori Hester,

a play translated from the Latin into German, Wittenberg
Esther are numerous.

1546; towards

the end of the sixteenth century appeared

Hamanus Tragoedia, which was written

Thoma Naogeorgo, and then in German by
and Mag. Joh.

Postio.

in

M. Moeshemio

title

"

in good
all

and comforting play from the Holy Scripture and the

has at

all

is

shown

times punished pride and self-will of the

wicked, and rewarded the piety and humility of godly

and women."

Printed

at

Magdeburg by Mich.

Comp. Guenebault, Bictionnaire Iconographique

Acta Sanctorum^ Bolland, Juli, torn. i. pp. 12, 13.

Comp. Gbdeke, Grundriss der Geschichte d. deutschen Literatur,

308.

these

very beautiful,

book of Esther, composed in short rhyme, in which

how God

Latin by

Older than

1607.

a book with the following long

pleasant,

Joh.

in

The same has been republished

German byDamianus Lindner

is

first

men

Lotther,^

(Paris 1850), p. 191.

i.

pp. 297,

BOOK OF ESTHER.

XXXll

Hans Sachs has

1537.

Anglo-Saxon

alliterative

yet printed.

treatise of the

It is ascribed to Aelfric

book of Esther

who

La hermosa

in 1621, XV.

not

{Comedias appeared in

Schudt in his Jewish

Madrid

There was a Judeo-German play,

151).

p.

Ester

1708 and communicated by

entitled h'Si^ ^n)\yni^, printed in

It is peculiar,

Curiosities.

but not without

This play has given occasion to Wagenseil to

merit.

is

lived in the eleventh

There was also a scriptural play by Lopa de Vega,

century.^
entitled

An

also elaborated the narrative.

make

the incredible assertion, and that in opposition to Cuper, that

whole dramatic

the

Several travellers

has

art

(as, e.g.,

originated

among the Jews.^

Stochowe and Th^venot)^ have

re-

ported the tradition that Safed in Galilee was the birthplace

Queen

of

This appears to be connected with another

Esther.

opinion, that Safed

is

identical with Bethulia,

In the reports of Jewish travellers

lived.

Abod)^

it

is told that the

not far from Safed.

Esther

tomb

of Esther

Esther were in Hamadan.

of Safed

ate an(l drank,

went

It

to the grave,

is

would do

Kichard

Kefar Baram,

monument

of

Hebrew word
ii.

19).

Purim the

that on

and there read the Megilla,

It does not appear very

The name Bethulia, which was given

Yihhus ha

this at a grave.

tion with the above legend,

flew into the

of

tombs of Mordecai and

told

and made merriment.

credible that they

(comp. Esth.

where Judith

was believed among the Jews (from Benjamin

as it

that the

at

This must refer to a mural

of Tudela and others) that the famous

Jews

is

(as

may have

nbin2, virgin, is

to Safed, in connec-

arisen from the fact

found in the name

similar legend^ reports that a bird

room when Esther was

emblem

born, as an

of

"Wiilker, Grundriss der Geschichte der Aiigelsachsisdien Literatur

(Leipzig 1885), p. 471.

2 Comp. Ticknor, History of Spanish Literature.
^ Comp. Wagenseil, De civitate Norunbergensi, Altdorf 1697, p. 166.
* Comp. Robinson, Palestine, ii., under " Safed."
*

is

Itineraires de la terre sainte, ed.

from the year 1537).

^ Comp. Adami, Deliciae,

i.

598.

Carmoly, Bruxelles 1847,

p.

'

456 (which

INTRODUCTION.
liberty

and

XXXiii

What a pity that the bird did not fly

many of the commentators on the book of

intellect.

into the studies of

Esther

We

4.

With

add a few literary

notices.

regard to the literature, see Wolf's Bibliotheca,

torn.

ii.

may be added the dissertation of B. L. Eskuche,

Marburg 1734, who consulted the then known literature,
and the Talmud and Midrash. The Eoman Catholic comTo

89.

this

mentaries are

by

little

That by Feuardentius was consulted

used.

Prof. Dr. Schulze in his

(1876).

Prof.

from the

spirit

Sepp

has,

Commentary

in Lange's

Bihdwerh

with respect to this book, deviated

and the piety of the

Catholic

expositors.

Intent to bring about a church reform, he began with the

revision of the canon of Scripture,

which he proposed before

the Vatican Council, but which rightly took no notice of

He

agitated against

profound

learning

it

Monk,

Benedictine

J.

book

is

itself.

deficient in

the

other

hand,

commentary on Esther, which

A. Nickes, published

(1858), in which he manifests a

but he

On

(Munich 1870).^

there are two thick volumes of

the

it.

with anti-Semitic hatred, but without

spirit of piety

scientific

criticism

in

and

Eome

diligence,

and study of the

Besides the books that are alluded to in Keil's

Introduction and in

following Jewish commentaries

(Vienna 1841).

Commentary, I mention

Schulze's
:

nriDX rb^'O

the

nnso, by Pieggio

Abr. Aben. Ezrah, Commentary on the Book

of Esther, edited by

Joseph Zedner, London (Nutt) 1850.

The Commentaries on Esther, Euth, and Lamentation, by E.

Menahhem ben Hhelbo,

Kara,

E.

E.

Tobia

Samuel Ben Meir, and

ben
an

Eliezer,

published by Adolf Jellinek (Leipzig 1855).

Liter Estherae Gracce, by 0.

E. Joseph

anonymous

author,

I add to this

Fritzsche (in two parts, as

contributions to the Index Lectionum), Zurich 1848, which he

1

lie

As

who does not hterally enumerate it in

known that ah'eady older theologians have

regards Melito,

ought to have

the canon,
clearly ex-

plained that Melito included the books of Nehemiah and Esther under
the title of Ezra. Comp. Routh, Reliquiae Sacrae, i. 136.

BOOK OF ESTHER.

XXXIV

already at this time received into the collection of apocryphal

Scriptures.

With

to

the notices

Jews,

iii.

75, such as

epic

the Annals of the History of the

in

a drama Usque by Solomon, and the

poem Copia Sidlam by

curious of all

Of

Sarah.

Ahhashvervosh

is

founded on Esther, I

poetry

regard to

refer

and

the most

course,

drama from

Esther, a

the East, by Dr. J. L. Chronik (Berlin 1875).^

It is

much

to be deplored that

Jews distinguished them-

selves prominently in introducing rationalistic

and

unscientific

doubts against the book of Esther, and that these were not
obscure men.

whom

was Spinoza

It

Keil,

(see

Gesenius, Bertheau, Ewald, Meier,

Introd.

p.

473)

followed,

etc.,

who

placed the date of the book of Esther in the time of the

Ptolemies and Seleucian kings, for which there

The

and against which everything speaks.

Zunz was not

so

great

as

his

1868,

p.

105)

is

Kanon

no ground,
of

criticism

diligent compilation of the

What

fragments of post-biblical literature.

the book of Esther {Der

is

Fiirst observes

on

Testaments, Leipzig

des alten

a thoroughly unscientific conception of the

To the

Talmudical passages about the Megilla.

the rationalism of Spinoza

Herzfeld in his History

and

his

disciples

of the Jews

(ii.

followers of

belonged also

358).

Incompre-

hensible are the insinuations of Gratz (in the Monatschrift

Wissenschaft des Judenthums, 1886, p. 425).

fur

Jewish authors

particularly should take the trouble to dig deeply into the

history of ancient Israel.

history
1

The

is

To catch the

spirit

of universal

a conditional qualification for true exegesis, which

spirit of this

following verses

most curious drama

is

characterized on p. 89, in the

Ahhashverosh and Esther

Burn the lair

Of the black revolution
In pitch of infatuation.

They wash the tresses

Of the dirty heads.

They cut for the blacks

The thread of the Fates.
They teach the Moors,
They teach them Mores.
Born were the Moors
To become Kapores, etc.
humorous, satirical Purim play with

Skutsche in Breslau published a

song in five acts, entitled Haman, der grosse Judevfresser, which I did
not

see.

XXXV

INTKODUCTION.
qualification

even Spinoza and Zunz did not possess.

Hasty-

formulas were found for hasty assertions of unauthenticity

and

interpolation.

Anti-Semitism needed only to appropriate

the exegetical arts of rationalism in order to break the stave

over the people, amongst

their

own canon

whom some

so carelessly

handled

of the Scripture.

Paul Lagarde (Botticher) has recently brought out about

Purim a learned
I

where.

With

Commentaire

1864,

treatise

its

conclusion

hope to be able to enter upon

accept.

is

impossible to

it

at large else-

regard to the short treatise by Jules Oppert,

liistorique

et

I have referred to

it

philologique
in the

du Livre

Commentary.

Esther, Paris

CHAPTER
"D'^n

"'n''1

Nov:

came

it

to

I.

pass in the days''

The rabbinical teachers make peculiar observations upon

these words.

Levi says (Bab. Megilla 106) there

R.

begins with

in the Scriptures a sentence

and

indicates a time of sorrow

that this

with

is

only the case

^a^3 ^r\\ "

and

it

is

was

when a

was,"

it

"TT'l,

it

R. Ashe says

distress (nyv).

scriptural sentence begins

In fact both views

in the days."

In another place (Midrash Esther 85&)

are of ancient date.

one

is

from the time of the Great Synagogue, that wherever

tradition

assigned to R. Eliezer and the other to R. Jonathan,

from which we conclude that these two authorities lived in

the days following the destruction of the temple, in times
of great need

and

prevalent one

passage

not

is

Moreover,

found

sages

intimated by the very sound of the

which
earlier

was

the

the

first

idea

Hebrew word

the

Targum).

of

sadness

\i"'i,

vayShee,

The Greek oval (the Latin vae of

occurrence) had the same sound and character, and

is

similar to woe.

at the time used

21, xxiv. 19

xi.

1044 [where

quoted], and

correctly

view only was the

latter

Yalkut Esther,

ancient

the

The

distress.

(comp.

by the people

Mark

17).

xiii.

(as

It

Christ used

was

it

Matt,

at that time not

unusual for homiletical teachers to use, in the ecclesiastical

Hebrew and
sion

in the popular

Greek language, forms of expres-

which contained a combination of ideas in order to serve

Even

the purpose of their teaching.

of Scripture offers examples

Old Testament

by

oval,

"in

the Greek translation

the exclamation of

woe

in the

(especially in Isaiah) ^ik is not only rendered

but also in Ezek.

vii.

26,

ni^n

h'^_

njn^

event upon event

BOOK OF ESTHEK.

2
(or E. V. "

by ovaC

The

Mischief shall come upon mischief

This was occasioned by the sound of the word.

concerning which the above observation

five verses,

made, are as follows: (1) Gen.

in the days of

Amraphel;"

when

pass in the days

"

And

came

came

it

Euth

i.

the judges judged

to pass in the days of

Jehoiakim

also in the days of

overlooked,
'''3

viz.

Sam.

in

but

nti

desire not to place

xxi.

^12^2

1,

Ahaz

2]n

David

" (4) Jer.

1,

3, " It

i.

our passage, " It

" (5) in

(3) Isa. vii.

"

was

sixth passage

perhaps because

does not

it

and perhaps

"n"'i,

is

"And it came to pass

1, "And it came to

xiv. 1,

(2)

was in the days of Ahhashverosh."

read

translated

") is

also

from a

with Amraphel,

in juxtaposition

Ahaz, Jehoiakim, and Ahhashverosh.

Now

it

would not be

correct to

of the Jewish teachers, of

form

homiletical

that

all

introduce

which we speak,

after their

mode

which begin with

verses

assume that the observation

They

catastrophe.

of

is

a complete

thinking.

It is true

" it

are

was

in

the

things

of

impending

days

danger which are to be narrated.

The occurrences

They

are of a sad character.

are such disas-

trous events as the Greek calls avfjucpopd, so that this word is

associated with

The Hebrew word

gloom and sadness.

to be understood in a similar sense.

only an event, an occurrence,

it

Though

it

really

nin is

means

has been explained as denot-

ing mishap and mischief.

But the Jewish teachers who

namely, that

it

is

attention

called

to

this,

certain degree the historical style to

to a

begin a narrative of eventful catastrophes with the expression,

"

And

it

was in the days," have thereby had nothing

more importance in view.

and

distress

and

(ni^f

would have taught

five catastrophes

lyv),

in a

They themselves
and

else of

lived in trouble

only saw these, else they

more comforting

which begin with ^du

strain, that all

TT'I,

the

are only told for

the reason that they emerge in the glorious events of the

history of the

kingdom

of God.

Gen. xiv. 1 begins with the war of the kings of the East

CHAP.

I.

1.

Abraham

against Canaan, but concludes with the victory of

and with the benediction of Melchizedek, who as

Most High God

the

" Blessed be

and

Abram

famine, but

God Most High,

of

The history

earth."

wine and

brings

of

priest of

and

bread,

says,

possessor of heaven

Euth does indeed begin with a

ends with the joyful event of the marriage of

it

woman with the Israelite in whom is no

whom sprang David and David's greater Son.

the converted heathen

guile,

with Boaz of

In the days of Jehoiakim

(Jer.

the

fulfilment

fearful backsliding

In the

11).

(i.

and idolatry

was indeed

there

3)

i.

misery and trouble in Judea, but Jeremiah

called to

is

(Isa. vii. 1),

but the narrative

only introduces the announcement of the prophet,

virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,

Immanuel"

and

see

Ahaz there was

days of

"

Behold, a

shall call his

name

(ver. 14).

introduced with a catastrophe in order to conclude

It is

with glory.

not told on account of the existing

It is

but on account of the coming salvation.

evil,

The history begins

with the night, in order to conclude with the dawn of the

The days

morning.

of

Ahhashverosh serve

for the

purpose of

In the days of Ahaz

revealing the redeeming grace of God.

the good tidings are declared w^hich shall set free the whole

The Eoman

world.

ruin which
latter

historian

came upon Eome through Brennus, says the

exclaimed,

"

Vae

and he remarks, that

Eomans

("

"

Livy, in describing the days of

intoleranda

"

victis,"
" this is

Israelis," it reports this

come

to

conquered

the

Eomanis vox," Li v.

But

48).

v.

its ^12^2 M"*!,

with a

"

vae

only in order to reveal that salvation

whose fulness and blessing

forth,

an intolerable expression to

wherever the Scripture begins with

will soon

woe

is

indispens-

able and unspeakable.

The Greek version

n^l

torical style of the

Se

Dnn

of the

LXX.

translates the

in all passages with " iyevero" in

iv

rat?

D^n^a).

Old Testament; thus in Luke

r/fjuepai^

itceivaL^,

" it

Hebrew word

harmony with the

was

in

ii.

his-

1, iyevero

those days "

(^n^l

BOOK OF ESTHER.

In the days when Augustus caused the Holy Land to be

taxed

bondage began

its

taxing, the Messiah,

but just in consequence of this

who makes

all

who

Him

believe in

free,

in Bethlehem.

was born

t^in tJ^mSJ^ni^

tJ^"Tit^n&<

"

In

the

days of Ahhashverosh, that

Ahhashverosh."
It

would have been

verosh,
of the

nant indication of the significance of the

When,
this mode
27,

therefore,

the

5<in

but the repetition

iste

of.

8Qa, compares

p.

of expression with similar ones, as in 1 Chron.

and Gen. xxxvi.

Dnnx,

Di"nni< in

3, Dn5< ^ns ik>V

5<in,

i.

etc.,

In the passages quoted, the word

simply the sense of qui idem, and establishes the

has

compared persons, as their names and epithets

identity of the

do not fully sound alike

like the

new

(as

xin,

nt,

But

pers. c'eh).

connected by

which, as a complete relative,

here,

where the same name

the meaning

And

the Latin ille}

of

t^in

the sense

renowned Ahhashverosh, even

and

is
is

the explanation of mere identity cannot hold

good, but, through the repetition of the name,

famous

preg-

qui, is a

man spoken

Midrash Esther,

does so improperly.

it

days of Ahhash-

sufficient to say, in the

who ruled from India unto Gush

name in connection with &5"in, ille,

receives
is

more

that

known

than Gyrus and Darius amongst European and West Asiatic

The

nations.

remarks, that
the

virtue

to end.

or

Talmud (Megilla 11a) by way

in

places where

all

the

vice

But the thought

of

the

just as

Abram was by

(Gen. xvii.

5).

life

occurs

it

from

sin,

was, that

Esau was

long an Esau, the father of Edom,

nature and grace always an

But here

expresses

beginning

in connection with him, as inti-

mated by the identifying pronoun

in his character all his

t^in

person

of homily

Abraham

also the historical significance of

the expression " Ahhashverosh, that Ahhashverosh," because

it is

not repeated in the Bible, was not sufficiently considered

In Corn. Nep. 4 we read, " Pittacus

est liabitus."

ille,

qui septem sapientiim numero

CHAP.

we have

of Esther is

whom

according to Lassen {Keilinsclir,

and according

165,

p.

etc.), call

65,

p.

etc.)

K^sharsa,

K^hsliydrsha,

of the reign of this king contain the

great decisive points which through

wide nations

other, as

the cuneiform inscriptions,

Benfey (Keilinschr.

to

The twenty years

none

Xerxes of the Greek writers,

in the Introduction, than

the son of Darius Hystaspes,

itself

famous Ahhashverosh,

to think of a

and that the king of the book

shown

1.

This peculiar formula does already in

nor emphasized.
indicate that

I.

of antiquity,

him

affected the world-

the Jews and the Greeks,

and

the memorable deliverances from calamity and distress which

The Greek

both experienced.

histories

know Xerxes mostly

only as a commander of armies, and on the battlefield.

The

book of Esther reports him as he was in his court and

in his

Tlierefore

seraih.

it is

just these last reports, notwithstanding

that they have Israel for their central point,

movements within the Persian empire,

the external

result of former

that

clear

shown

He

1.

E.

it

as the

appears

Levi (Meg. Esther ^^1)^ that

mentioned in the

identical with Artahhasta

is

of Ezra, is

already
vii.

Bearing this in mind,

events.

opinion of

the

Ahhashverosh
book

which show us

not to be accepted, and has only arisen (as

in the Introduction) from the reading of Ezra

cannot be Artahhshasta

Artahhsharshta or

{ie.

Artashsh, Artaxerxes), for the prefixes distinguish the names

The termination

of the Persian kings from each other.

mostly, as

Dorians
(triD),

Hewdot

observes

(i.

and the lonians sigma

call san,

Daryawush

({jn**"!!),

Comp. Khurush

(?).

Ahhashverosh, Hakhamanish, Chish-

pish (Teispes), Fravartish, Dadarshish, Serish,

^^13

nyi nnio "j^on

is

139), the same letter which the

"

Wlw

reigned

and many

others.

from Hodu unto

Cushr
This
verosh."

is

not explanatory of the former clause, " that AhhashIt

not meant to say that

is

days of the king

who

than any other

for

it

happened in the

ruled over a wider extent of territory

Darius had already extended the borders

BOOK OF ESTHER.

of his

dominion from India unto Cush

and

some extent

to

can the same be said of Cambyses.

In the cuneiform inscriptions Darius and Xerxes have the

same majestic

What

titles.

is

meant

to

be conveyed

Xerxes was not only king of Persia when

also that his

east to west,

that

is,

this happened, but

dominion extended from India unto Cush,

i.e.

from

from the rising of the sun unto the going down

thereof.

Benfey translates a cuneiform inscription both of Darius

and Xerxes as follows

" I,

the mighty king, king of kings,

king of populous countries, king of this great

and near."

far

Ktesiphon, chap.

and mighty

Aeschines mentions in his oration against

xlii.

(comp. Brisson, de B. Pers.

iii.

73), a

which Xerxes had written that he was lord over

letter in

Mardonius

men, from the rising to the setting of the sun.

all

earth,

in his speech to Xerxes mentions the victories of the Persians

over the Sakes, the Hindoos, and the Ethiopians^ (Herod,

Only through the

Kin is the

name

repetition of the

vii. 9).

by the pronoun

joined

famous celebrity of the reigning king indicated.

That he swayed his sceptre from Hodu to Cush was merely

the

title of

wrong when they

Eashi,

are therefore

interpret these words as indicating that

was a usurper, and not

therefore

The Jewish Eabbis

the great king.

in

of royal descent

This

loc).

Xerxes (comp. Herodotus,

vii. 3),

he

(Yalkut, 1045, and

cannot be maintained of

and the words of Scripture

Nor could they

they had known of him,

give no occasion to such an assumption.

have had Smerdis in mind

for if

they would have also known that his reign was

seems rather to pervade the interpretation

Midrash

we

perceive

a stronger tone of antipathy and censure than

in the book of Esther

itself.

This hostile feeling

The Sultan Soliman, when writing

to Francis

I.

apparently

is

only directed against Ahhashverosh, but in reality

^

There

short.

of the

it is

meant

of France, called

himself " emperor of emperors, prince of princes, disposer of the crowns

of the world, the shadow of God over both hemispheres, ruler over the

Black and White Seas, of Asia and Europe."

Volker,

i.

p. 5.

Comp. Kanke,

Fiirsten

mid

CHAP.

in spirit against the

Eoman

1.

I.

who

emperors of the time,

certainly

were often more arbitrary than the great Persian king.

(nn), for India,

Hodojb

and shows the

local

the only passage where

is

origin

it

occurs,

of the book of Esther.

The

On

cuneiform inscription of Lassen and Benfey has Hidhu.

the other hand, Nasal, which
is

found in the Indian SindJm,

is

The name denotes

in Zendic Rendu.

originally only the

land of the seven streams of the Indus

applied to the eastern territories
Alterth.
i7id

i.

it

was afterwards

(comp. Lassen, Ind.

To derive the name Indus from the Sanscrit

p. 2).

= und,

also

to flow (as also Indra

rain, is doubtless correct

was explained),

my

(comp.

god of

as the

Engldnder in Delhi,

ip.

10).

Darius pushed forward with his armies as far as the countries

around the Indus, and sutjected them (Herod,

iv.

people formed the twentieth district

dominions, and

afforded a rich revenue (Herod,

2^13 IV)

" U'nto

reminded

of

perhaps because

therefore
it

was

defined
it.

mode

of life

is

Ethiopia,

by which we

Unto Cush

so near home.

untranslated,

"

But we must

The name Cush

is

call

not limited

but rather describes certain tribes of a

local conditions,

from

94).

Cambyses over Upper Egypt.

"

left

attention to something else.

by

Gush

of the victories of

The LXX. has

of his

Their

Cush"

The usual explanation

are

iii.

44).

The Cossaei

therefore
(in

Nimrod the hunter

is

derived

the present Chusistan), according to

we have

of them, are

scarcely

distinguished in their warlike habits from the Sakes,

by which

the scanty information that

name Herodotus also designates the Persians as Scythians.

That the name Cush could also be applied to these, I believe
that I have shown, in that the legendary hero Eustem of the
country of the Sakes (Sadjestan) appears as Cushan (see

Commentary on Judges, chap.

nations of Scythian

iii.

p. 33).

They

(Nimrodian) mode of

be understood under the term Cush.

spread becomes explicable.

We

my

are then dark

life,

which must

In this sense their

can see the force of the

BOOK OF ESTHEE.

sayiDg of the prophet Habakkuk, " I saw the tents of Cushan

in affliction
(chap.

the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble

The name Ethiopia

7).

iii.

a certain degree

to

is

only a translation of Cush, for k^d or ni3 signifies dark.^

the Sanscr. Khad, and the Gr.

Antiquity

Comp.

ctacoto?.

distinguished

clearly

also

"

formidable

these

Scythian nations of the steppes of Europe and Asia according

their

to

(comp.
of

nations

my

the

the

like

it

and

dark

Cush expresses

tion.

As Homer

to think of the

but this

here, in

out of considera-

general,

extreme

the

limit.

places the Ethiopians at the setting of Helios, and

Cush stand opposite

24), so India

and

It

to each other for the lands of sunrise

and

i.

was thought that in the empire

great kings the sun never

e.g.

Eav

mark the two extreme boundaries

Hundred and

seven

This enumeration also

of the Persian

This idea the Jewish teachers

set.

have rightly perceived, as

"

Acterm

campaign of Darius

is

at the extreme ends of the world {Odyss.

of sunset.

the dark

son of Japhet,

light complexion.

as defining the limit of the

against the Scythians or Sakes

marks

brown nations in

the dark

would not be impossible

Unto Cush "

the

calling

Ham, was

nations of Gomer, the

Germanic nations of

contrast to the
cordingly,

fair

of

Alterth. p. 144), refers to natural

Cush, as the son of

distinction.

somewhat

custom

and the conquered nations black

white

Magyiar

contrast to

"

The extensive

colours.

victorious

"

Hodu and Cush

of the world."

and twenty
testifies

said,

to

provinces."

the

original

historical

value of our book with regard to the history of the ancient

Iran.

I should like to

that this

is

division

of the

see

an

impartial

acknowledgment

in accord with the other credible records of the

old Persian

kingdom.

For the differences

In the same extensive sense the Psalter of the Book of Common

Prayer renders Cush by Morians land. Bearing this in mind, we can
easily see that the Ethiopian woman of Num. xii. 1 is Zipporah, the
daughter of Jethro the Midianite, and thus the objection of infidels, that
Moses encouraged bigamy by his example, falls to the ground. Trans.]
[1

CHAP.

I.

1.

which, according to Brisson {de Eegn. Pers.

thought to

exist,

Mede appointed

read that Darius the

Whoever

satraps.

this

lib.

i.

169), were

In Dan.

are not really there.

vi.

over the kingdom

we
120

Darius might have been, the report

really not at variance wdth

what Herodotus

tells

(iii.

is

89), that

For

Darius the son of Hystaspes appointed twenty governors.

these twenty satrapies were large divisions, which included

The

smaller ones, like provinces and counties.

first

province

consisted of lonians, Magnetians, Aeolians, Karians, Lycians,

which

to

Milyians and Pamphilians.

also belonged the

So

also the third province consisted of Hellespontians, Phrygians,

Asiatic Thracians, Paphlagonians, Mariandians, and Syrians.

As

these provinces

had just

divisions,

six

we may assume

that all the twenty satrapies had each six smaller revenue districts, called m''nD,^

When

so that there were in all

districts.

360 provinces, he
120 revenue disgovernors, while he knows himself that only the 120

Josephus (Antiq.

makes the mistake

tricts three

120 such

x.

11. 4) speaks of

of assigning to each of the

governors had a revision college of three superiors over them.

closer investigation concerning the revenue provinces in

Herodotus will show that Persia

The

them.^

is

really

wanting among

central governing country holds a special position

among the subjugated

countries.

Therefore there are twenty-

one countries^ which the inscription of Bisutun* enumerates

(ed Benfey, p. 8), because Persia stands at the head of them.

Attention has often been called to the fact that seven tribal
chiefs

have hurled the Persian Smerdis from his throne.

passage in Plato (De Legg.

iii.

The

659) which appears so obscure

nevertheless clearly shows that in his time there yet existed

to

certain degree

the

right

Comp.

See

my

r\l^, m^D, a tax, from "njo,

Commentary on Judges, p. 17.

Herod,

The

Persian

iii.

97, ^ '^ipaig Be

f^ovvvi

liberty

to measure,

(/,oi

which

metior ; Sanscr.

these

Mad.

ovh, e'lpyiToci 'hoi,(jf^o(J)6pog.

inscription of the black Assyrian obelisk tells of twenty-seven

tributary princes,

Spiegel, Eranische Alterth.

^

x^P^

and

ii.

according

to

Oppert's explanation (comp.

261).

[Bisutun means without walls.

Trans.]

BOOK OF ESTHER.

10

Further on more will be told

seven had established in Persia.

men

of the seven great

14), the

(i.

in the kingdom,

first

who

hold interview with the king, which, according to Herodotus,

was the

accordingly

consists

seven

of

Persia proper,

friends of Darius.

privilege of the

or

tribes^

divisions,

which

120 other countries make the total number

must not be overlooked that the number 127

together with the

of

127; but

is

an indivisible one.

it

homily

of R.

Akiba

declares that

Esther was elevated to reign over 127 provinces, because she

was

a descendant of Sarah,

who

127 years

lived just

(Megilla

Esther S6d).

2. "

Ver.
sat

on

That in

the throne

those days,

when

king Ahhashverosh

the

of his kingdom, which

Shushan

ivas in

the

capital."

The

first

whom

verse mentions the ruler from

the event

proceeded, to introduce the history and to throw light upon

The second verse

exhibits the place in the

The third verse

happened.

sets

it.

kingdom where

it

forth the year of the reign,

and the occasion which produced the narrated catastrophe.

There appears, in beautiful simplicity, a

premeditated

fine

historical art in the composition.

In

\T'i,

" it

was

in the

days of Ahhashverosh,"

the whole reign of the king

days," points out that the

season the

king

recorded

memorable event took place when

the great king sat on his throne in Shushan.

hot

is

but the expression " in these

left

the

capital

and

residence in cooler Ecbatana in Media.^

For during the

took

Some

up

his

writers have

been more precise on this point, and assigned the sojourn of

the king at Shushan to the season of spring, at which time the

weather

is

most lovely there even now, in

being in ruins (see Eawlinson in Eitter,

ix.

spite of the

302).

city

The reason

Comp. Ritter, Asien, viii. 13. Dunker, Alterth. 270 and 445, note.
The Babylonian Jewish teachers imply a sojourn of the king in
summer and winter in different palaces in the words, jn^'D^'a ""J^ )^ Vn,
M. Esther, 87a.
1

CHAP.

may

for this

11

2.

I.

because the king returned to his capital to

be,

celebrate the festival of the

new year

in spring.

For Shushan, though very much embellished by Darius, had

already been the capital since the accession of the Persian

Xenophon

dynasty.

account of

its

Cyropaedia does rightly speak

the

in

of Cyrus sojourning there

(lib. viii.

splendid situation, surrounded

and streams, and abounding in

the lily \m^^ which gave

reason

When

for their

it

and

fruit

name.

it its

It

monarchs as

so attractive to the older

choose

was probably on

It

6).

But

residence.

had already become

to

this

by mountains

flowers, especially

induce them to

was not the only

why
the

the Persian monarchs made it their residence.

Medes and the Persians became masters over the

whole complex

territory

Assyro-Babylonian empire,

of the

they soon perceived that in order to become great kings they

must come out

As

and

of the national, local,

tribal surroundings.

the later Caliphs left Arabia and established their seat of

government in Bagdad, so did the Medo-Persians leave their

tribal territories in order to

countries.

would

found the capital in the subjugated

Babylon could not enjoy

recall the

hostility of the old

although the assertion

resided there for

this honour, because it

may

be well grounded, that Cyrus

Shushan became, especially

some months.

since the time of

form of government,

Darius, the

residence of the Persian kings, as

official,
it

The observations which we have

before.

table of Gen. x. are of inestimable value.

there

was a national

distinction

magnificent, famous

certainly

had never been

in the ethnographical

They teach us

between the nation

Babylonian-Assyrian empire and their confederates

who were

that

of the

and not

Ham, but also between

Elam, Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram, who were descended
only between those

from Shem, and the nations

sons of

of

Madai, to which also belonged

Paras.

ii. 623, does not give the reason

not convinced of this etymological derivation, but holds it as
Any other explanation is not to be thought of.

Spiegel in Eranische Alterthumslcunde,

why he
suitable.

is

BOOK OF ESTHER.

12

When

the Persians established the capital in Shushan, they

themselves in Elam, that

found

country, and yet in

its vicinity

in subjugated but in peaceful

countries, as Strabo remarks (comp. Dunker,

As

a centre and seat of the

great

by the appellation of

characterized

their national

outside

is,

693).

ii.

kingdom the

n'^'^^n,^

city is

habeera (meaning

properly, the castle, and in an especial sense the royal castle,

the residence), as Shushan

1)

(i.

is

everywhere called by Nehemiah

and Esther and Daniel, even without special personal

For in the

reference to the reigning king.

was the

fortified

castle

seat of the king.

In a similar manner have modern

pound name,

cities

received a com-

as Edinburgh, Petersburg, etc.

For

this reason

ought never to have been questioned that Daniel could not

it

speak of any other capital but that of Shushan, which he

calls ni^nn, or that there is a difference

Shushan

of

Esther and the Greeks

by Eawlinson).
reasons,

Apart

from

must appear from the

it

which he sees the decisive

in

between

and the

this

(as Kitter thinks, influenced

all

verbal and archaeological

spirit of the vision of Daniel,

battles of the Medo-Persians with

Alexander, that the vision took place in the centre and seat of the
Iranic dynasty.

It

must

same internal

clearly appear from the

evidence that the vision was seen by

him near

the river Ulai,

because this river w^as connected with the great glory of the
Persian kings.

It flowed

of the royal residence

said,

It

whither the king went

as

went everywhere with him

if

the glory

for,

the great king drank no other water but from

as

it is

its springs.

ought also to be observed, that though the river near

Shushan

is

elsewhere called Choaspes (comp. the passages in

Brisson,

i.

1.

9,

and Choaspes are not on that

82), Ulai

account two rivers, as some in ancient and modern times have

thought;
1

The

Loftus, for

derivation of the

"to defend."
the Greek

instance,

word

is

who deems

known.

In

Scr. vr%

Therefore Zendic vara, Persian haru.

(icHpts,

it

necessary to

Zend,

vere,

means

From

this

comes

which must again not be confounded with

Egyptian origin (comp. Sturz, de

dialecto

Macedon.

p. 89).

iSoiptg

of

CHAP.

new

establish

13

2.

I.

theories concerning the changes of rivers

Journal of the Royal Geographical Society

comp. Eodiger,

Zeitschr. deutsch. Morgenl.

But Eulaeus-Ulai
the fact that

is

130,

vol. xxvii. p.

Gesellsch.

xiii.

(see
etc.

715).

name which Choaspes bore owing

the

to

alone contained the pure water of which the

it

king drank.

The Midrash

has, p. 8 7a, the following homiletic legend

The angels appeared

" Lord, the holy

is

destroyed, and this wicked

But

on the throne in joys."

sits

ways

of

judgment and

had come

to pass in

Lord with the complaint,

before the

temple

to

an awful manner.

Shushan
It has

an habitation for lions and hyenas.

lies

These
in ruins,

become a

desert,

Superstitious fanatical

Benjamin

custodians.

its

j;5jn

their attention is called to the

the changes of the times.

so that one might doubt its identity.

robbers are

man

of Tudela

found the

country deserted as early as in the twelfth century, and he

describes the ruins of the palace of Ahhashverosh (ed. Asher,

He

p. 73).

inhabitants

Petachia

of

could

still

number

report of a large

(ed.

Carmoly,

65).

p.

extensive investigations undertaken

Not
among

Jews have

as yet received

1851 were
But

before

these ruins.

though, indeed, the proud capital of ancient Persia

the

of Jewish

but they also have gone, according to the reports

is

destroyed,

no comforting compensation to

their above complaint, for the temple in Jerusalem is also

still

in ruins.

nor the later

destruction.

And certainly neither

Eoman Caesar must be
The ruins

contributed to

were not

The

its

political,

ideas

of

The causes

for its downfall

spiritual.

which the Rabbis

in

their

homilies

concerning the throne on which the king

what

its

Shushan and of Babylon have not

restoration.

but

the great king of Persia

held responsible for

peculiar, are yet profound.

sat,

entertain

though some-

For while the words,

"

when

the king Ahhashverosh sat on the throne of his kingdom,"

express only figuratively the time in which the king returned
to

Shushan, the Jewish interpretation takes the figurative

expression in

its

original

literal

meaning.

The throne was

BOOK OF ESTHER.

14

the symbol of the royal power, and they connect their observation with

symbolic-phantastic (symholisch-phantastisch)

its

They do

ornamentation.

usage and

The
itself

this in accordance

with the Oriental

spirit.

and the possession

acquisition

of a throne denotes in

power, as well as the besieging and the removal of a

The

throne denotes victory.^

transition

universal

the

of

monarchies from Babylon to Media, thence to Alexander, and

thence to Eome,

represented by them as a transition of the

is

But what

throne.

throne of Israel

described in

royal

prophecy as ruling over

ii.

this

Kings

No

x.

18.

other but

For the

which the Son of David establishes

universal

tually the

was

sort of a throne

that of Solomon, as

He

throne.

the nations

all

is

spiri-

represented

is

of the

earth

in
(Ps.

8, etc.).

But they embodied

this

truth

the

in

They likewise made Solomon

dominion.

to

type of political

be a real universal

Their historical insight appears to have been greater

king.

than

generally

is

it

universal dominion,

i.e.

admitted,

in

they

that

also

ascribe

For

preponderating power, to Egypt.

they say that the throne of Solomon came after his death
into

hands of Shishak, king of Egypt, and then Asa

the

recovered

it

when he conquered Serach

further assert that Nebuchadnezzar

and that Cyrus

Yose,
it,

its

for

upon

sat

upon

it.

" I

had

have

Cu shite.

the
it

seen,^

says Elasar bar

fragments in Eome, but Ahhashverosh did not get

only a Kosmokrator ("iimplDnp) had a right to

sit

it."

The application
applies

it

several

of this

word

is

interesting.

times to great kings.

It

The Midrash
originated

Jewish speculative theology, hence in the Orphic

^

They

in his possession,

Comp.

my

Ahhandlung

icber

hymn

in

it is

Kaiser und Konigsthrone, p. 23, BerHn

1874.
2

Elasar bar Yose was, together with

Simon bar Yochai,

the war of Barcochba in the second century.

VniK^j he

may

When

he

in

Rome

says, TT't^l

after
'J31")3

perhaps mean the booty which the Romans took from

Jerusalem, of which they put a facsimile on the triumphal arch of Titus.

CHAP.

(Hymn

applied to heaven

I.

15

3.

but heaven shared

4. 3),

It has

other epithets with potentates of this world.

applied

by the Church Fathers,

after

it

and
been

example of the

the

Apostle Paul/ to the tyranny of the princes of this world, to

Satan, and to

But
(pNI

D''DB^

T\^\>)

has alone the right to

and

upon the throne,

sit

which the tyrants of the world usurp

is

not restored,

David does not take possession

"In

of it in

the third year of his reign."

was in the second year

Xerxes,

721).

in truth.

Ver. 3.
It

Gloss. Graec. p.

and the Solomonic throne also

so long as the son of

spirit

Cange,

because the only potentate of the world

therefore the thrones

are destroyed,

Du

demons (comp.

precisely

Herodotus reports

as

rebellion in Egypt,

of Darius that

the death

after

(vii. 7),

down

had put

and so in the third year

the

after his return,

he convoked a council of the princes to learn their views,

but chiefly to impart his

own

(Herod,

The agreement

vii. 8).

of this narrative of Herodotus on a secondary point with the

verse above, by itself indicates the identity of Xerxes with

Ahhashverosh, although our book does not mention the conclusion of the

For the

war against Greece.

and

solid,

aiming to come to the

the necessary limits of

It does not

known, and
Israelitish
first-rate

tell

and

concise

is

presupposing

its report.
it

was

derive

the

Greek campaign,^ because

of the

main aim was

also because its

history from things

to

which were not considered of

was in

It is satisfied to narrate that it

importance.

Epli. vi. 12, TTpos

point,

matter

historical

book of Esther,

of the Scripture, especially of the

Tovg

Just be-

Koaf^oKpotTOpxg tov aKorovg tovtov.

cause the Midrash mostly uses Kosmokrator for earthly great kings is the
homily (Wayikra Rabba, 18, p. 160a) of interest, when it says " Wlien-I
:

made
less

thee for a Kosmokrator, for a tyrant, over all men, I have neverthe-

given thee no power over those

note of Schenkel to Eph.

2

Comp. Havernik,

Edinr.].

vi.

12

is

Einleitiing^

who

are called sons of God."

The

not correct.
torn.

ii.

p.

340 [Eng.

trans.,

Clark,

BOOK OF ESTHER.

16

when

the third year of Xerxes

the princes and the satraps

assembled in the palace, in order to intimate thereby that a

For in order

great political fact underlay the occurrence.

that what

book

told in the

is

of

Esther

should actually

God a

happen, there must be according to the purpose of

special council of the great

an important

men

political motive,

to the narrator.

It

enough

was

There must be

of the State.

but this

no consequence

is of

him

for

to

record

the

general magnitude of the kingdom, because this only throws

light

An

upon the coming event.

invest

it

ordinary banquet could not

There was just

with a psychological explanation.

one campaign to which

very often

tells

all

the events

The Scripture

were gathered.
in

Israel as apparently separate

from the events in the world, and yet they flow through

them

like a river, which, in passing

mingle

through a

and

waters, but becomes clearer

its

sea,

clearer, like the

Rhine passing through the Lake of Constance.

threads which connect

experience

the

does not

of

Yet the

great powers of the world are to be found everywhere.

seem

to hear in universal

fall of

not to be separated from the

Nineveh, Babylon, and Media.

of saying that there

Our book

was once a great

feast,

also, instead

when

this

that happened, quietly but instructively reminds us

great fact with

We

history a quiet sound, an echo of

Israel's history is

the future.

fine

Israel with the

which Xerxes was occupied

and

of the

at the time during

which the sudden and unexpected intrigue was brooding, a

fact

which

at

once produced Israel's calamity and redemp-

For the historian shows us both the external

tion.

political

condition and the internal party intrigues of the corrupt royal

seraihs.

"

He

made, a feast unto all Ids princes

and

his servants"

Herodotus, in reporting the council of war against the

Greeks, did not need to

tell

what was a natural and common

occurrence, that there had been a great feast provided for all

the chiefs of the country.

For

his

main

object, according to

CHAP.

manner, was to

his

I.

17

3.

illustrate the

directions

of

the gods, and

the dream through which the great event passed.

book of Esther, the

the

ground of

modern

The

From

its historical record.

the narrated catastrophe.

in

feast "

unto

being given to the

its

When

sake of

the

of the

fact

men

feast

about

and

servants "

mim

(D''DmQ),

new

p.

88),

These " princes

Haman.
more

closely called Parthe-

the provinces (districts, ni:nD).

of

interesting

upon

which

princes,

occasion

but for Israel the world-

local,

The Midrash has an

these

but with

{fratama, Scr. pratlmraa, comp.

first

and princes

With

sake.

connected the domestic

is

Esther and

the

own

its

universal culture

of the king are

i.e.

mentioned here,

joined the great war, which

is

out of which proceeded the

events

but for

guests,

included the germs of a

it is

persons that are enumerated, not

of the

the significance of the

Benfey,

as

and potentates of the universally famous Persian

for the

wide,

itself,

the princes and servants " would not have

all

not because

the

was then in

great feast

times, nothing extraordinary in the Persian court.

expedition against the Greeks.

is

for

the royal table issued

a place in universal history, in spite of

generals

it

But

was the great fundamental

feast

and

instructive

certainly,

on

comment

account

of

the

corruption of the text^ and the general neglect of scientific

knowledge, has scarcely ever been considered.

The passage reads thus

are

two legions of the king,

until these

This

is

tion of the

for

two nominate him."

Isaak said they were the

^

" E. Eliezer says,

no king

Paras,

i.e.

'':j<^iddi:ki

^JVDlpl,
is

Augustus

are these

when

E.

these gave

given a homiletic defini-

It is so called because it

Persia.

severed asunder, once in the days of

called

And who

seen on the same page, where there

word

Farthemim, these

is

was twice

mnn and once in

the days of |S2''nx.

Jezdegerd, the last new Persian

The first name should be read mi^nnS

king whom the Arabs vanquished and the other is Artaban, the ast
Parthian king whom the Sassanides dethroned. By this the age of the
book is to be seen. This gloss could only have been written shortly after
the fall of the kingdom of the Sassanides, about the end of the seventh
century.
Of course this cannot be proved to a demonstration, but it
gives everywhere the impression of the Roman dominion.
;

BOOK OF ESTHER.

18

counsel to JSTebuchadnezzar (Titus), and he marched to Jeru-

salem and destroyed the temple, then God destroyed them,

and appointed others in

Yehudah ben Shimon

their

in the

place

name of

and these

Eliezer says,

as E.

are,

'ji'i^v

'jfe^np-ini

The explanation of this passage, as given by Sachs {Beitrdfjer

zur Spracli- und AUerthumsforsch. i. 113), is a complete misunderstanding, because it is based upon a conjectural emendation of the text instead of

This

is

from

as follows

the

upon observing the general thought.

The Jewish commentators always proceed

that

standpoint

the

experiences

various

the

of

princes and the kingdoms of the world are to be explained

from

their relation

to

They thus

Israel.

considered, not

only the history of Babylon, but also of Eome, which broke

up the

last

remnants

of

parliamentary independence,

de-

The

stroyed Jerusalem and Bethel, and burned the temple.

aim of the contemporaries of the

that the

Eoman

later

Eoman

emperors was

Senate should only be an institution in

appearance, and the real power to elect the imperators and to

To

keep them on the throne should be vested in the army.

this the

above comment

refers.

When

Titus (who

is

to

be

understood under Nebuchadnezzar) destroyed Jerusalem, he

did

it

still

so is the tradition (which

Benjamin

speak of in the Middle Ages)

Senate.

by

the "JVn^pl and

its

moral degradation.

What

"jn^ddijn, viz.

the

the Decurions and Augustani, in

The Decurions were considered

Augustani were understood those

"

whom

Augustalioi, ^aaCKiKol, officers

in

Comp. Salmasius,

Spartian, Didius,

the

By

imperial
the

term

the Greek writers

of the

Comp. my Historische Versuche, p. 20.

Even in later times this was the formula

qiiem Senatns elegerat."

Parthemim

"jVDipT or rather

provinces what the Senators were in Eome.

could

special order of the

were to Ahhashverosh," that exactly were the

call

For this the State was punished.

Hence comes

Eome.^

Tudela

of

"

Et

highest dignity.^

is

esset

imperator

5.

Vopisc. Aurelianus, cap. 33.

Concerning these, comp. Du Cange, Gloss. Gr. p. 151. Concerning the

Augustani in similar and original meaning, Tacit. Ann, xiv. 15. 2 " Tunc4

CHAP.

They want

19

4.

I.

to say tliat before Titus the

men who

prominent

appointed the emperor were the senators and consuls, but

now they
^JN''i1p"i2,

are the

which stands

'J^'I^S

which stands for ^JsniDiS,

for ^:b3,

i.e.

Calones/ and

i-^-

The

Praetoriani.

reins

government passed from the hands of the senators into

of

The cause

those of the life-guards.

now

of this is

ascribed

to the evil counsel of the patricians against Jerusalem.

But the eyes

the Jewish teachers ought not to have

of

been closed to the fact that the same could be said of the

They were

Jews themselves.

when they

right

directed the

attention of their people to the history of the nations for an

explanation of the judgments of God.

the

Eoman Empire

many and

must not conceal from themselves the cause

awful, only they

why

The experiences which

supply on this point are indeed

they themselves

their freedom

lost

and independence.

Formerly they were masters, but now they are servants

now

a nation, but

Parthemim

of

God

Israel also

dispersed.

and

great

free in

once

was once a people

the doctrine and love of

until they destroyed their " temple."

Ver.

4.

"

When

he

showed

the

riches

of

his

glorious

kingdom,"

He

proved the fulness of his royal power, in that he enter-

tained

the assembled princes for the space of a half-year,

180

days.

But

feast

this

feast,

instituted

to

distinguished from

is

the one

verse.

The former was the council

deliberate

about the great enterprise of

mentioned in the 5 th

the king.
It

is

repeatedly

reported by the ancient writers that

was a custom with the Persians

war and other

affairs

to hold consultations

it

about

(de apparatu bellorum et seriis rebus,

Ammian. Marc.) during meals

(Brisson, lib.

reports are to be understood to

mean

ii. c.

131).

These

that their custom

was

que primum conscript! sunt equites Romani cognomento Augustanorum

aetate ac robore conspicui et pari ingenio procaces, alii in spe potentiae."
i

Tacit.

Hist

ii.

87-iii. 33.

20

BOOK OF ESTHER.

not like ours, to carry on important business

entertain, but they did both at the

first

and then to

The Midrash

same time.

says (876) the king manifested his greatness by displaying

before

guests the trophies

the

Herodotus,

the

for

of

glorification

So likewise

Jerusalem.

of

represents

people,

his

Mardonius and Xerxes as boasting of their hitherto achieved

victories,

in order to incite to the

(vii.

Clericus

9).

of

is

war against the Greeks

opinion that

the princes did not

all

remain together during the 180 days of the

they took their turn, some

feast,

when new ones

left

but that

But

arrived.

this supposition is not necessary.

Ver.

made a

"And when

5.

Shushan"

the

were

the king

fulfilled,

that

were

present

in

and was held in the garden of the

After the feastings

princes, at

days
people

It lasted seven days,

palace.

these

unto all

feast

and the consultations of the

which the king displayed his whole power which

he put in motion against the Greeks, there followed a feast

specially for the people,

In the Vierzig

held a great

which lasted a week.^

Vezieren, ed.

feast, at

Behrnauer,

which high and low

p. 340,

we

There

read

sat at table

and

"

is

The king

ate to their

satisfaction."
2

Comp. Epische Dichtungen

of Firdussi, translated

"Whereupon they

When Eustem
p.

p. 203,

celebrated seven days long,

A merry feast with wine and

Shah,

by Schack,

song,"

obtained a victory there was a feast at the court of the

248,
" After this sort, with wine and song,

They
P.

133,

revelled a

week

long."

" Nigh the castle in Yredsh's gardens.

Even in the palatial chambers,

Eesounded the mirth of the

P. 47,

"

The Shah,

Had

festive days."

after the arrival of the expected,

the royal garden decorated."

Hence the use of trees in the royal rooms (comp.

83, etc., and Hammer, Gemaldsaal, iv. 265).

\).

my

Kaiser Konigsthmne,

CHAP.

I.

21

5.

passage in the Schahnameh of Firdussi giving also an account

of a feast lasting seven days,

custom

it is

and according to the old Oriental

Then

held in the delightful groves of a park.

follows the description, as

that was there.

by the

epic poet, of the splendour

There were curtains of white

and of

(iin)

blue (rh^n) karpas, which originally in Sanscr. Xarpdsa meant

cotton, but afterwards fine linen also.^

been observed^ that Curtius

It has

3.

(iii.

19) describes the

cap of the Persian kings as having a white and blue stripe.

But the same author says afterwards

had white and purple

dress

{cculaea,

and of the

sky

4) that the head-

These

(caeruleus)?

silver poles,

It is described that

and

To

names

of

this
tl\e

class

byssus

of the

Jewish teacher remarks in the

their

garments with cords of

mark

of their dependence.

of party distinction are

same extent

as

Mohammedans

of old, yet

the

my "Geschichte der

mark

even to-day

white

Juden," in Ersch unci Gruher,

the use of silk

ComiD. Lassen, Ind. Alterthumsk.

The Targum, Midrash Esther

dipivog,

Though colours

no longer in vogue to the

is

among

of the masters of the country (comp.

name which should imply

1

well

is

Khalid, the Arab, ordered the Taghlebites to wear

a black band as a

Many

88).

(c.

marks

as the

garden

and purple.

That white was in many cases the sign of liberty

as

marble

ancient materials described also their colours.

Midrash that freemen fasten

known.

linen)

(fine

what was then considered

belonged

Cords of byssus are white.

byssus

curtains

tied to

most costly material was used in the decoration

tents.

correct

is

are the colours of the

were furnished with cords of pn

vela)

and purple, suspended on

pillars.

6.

Perhaps he

White and blue

in both passages.

atmosphere

(vi.

stripes.

i.

250 and

iii.

ii.

27,

236).

not found in

25.

Ritter, v. 436.

has paraphrased n^3n with

88c,

p.

is

p:n''''i<,

Gr.

sky-blue.

Dunker,

Comp,

Gesch. des Alterth.

ii.

608, note.

Philostratus, Life of Apollo,

of sapphires

upon the royal palace

where this tells him of the dome

Magi " For this stone is dark-

of the

blue, according to the colour of the sky."

BOOK OF ESTHER.

22

The

book of Esther.

the

marble

Both are white

fixed.

{'^yh^)

are movable, the latter are

from the colour of white, but also

likewise

name

for not only 5]D3, silver, has its

the

stand opposite

poles

silver

The former

pillars.

^'K^'

white marble, and

is

Egyptian byssus was called so on account of

its

The great residence in which the feast took place

whiteness.

was named

from

Shushan,

of uni (from

which came

the

The

cultivated in the garden.

white

which were

lilies

was a mosaic pavement

floor

alabaster, alahastrum, Goth. Alabcd-

straum, probably with the article

as rannbx or

hii,

known among the Greeks and Eomans),

of 11 and mno.

of

to be

tonni'K,

like the pillars

^\i^,

These two words, as well as Dnn, occur only once here.

IT

is

taken, since Bochart, to be pearl; yet the objection of Gesenius,

that the language used here can only refer to stone, has its

weight, and therefore

stone, as

the

it

LXX.

must mean mother-of-pearl,

mno, according

translates,

should be read mpD, from the Chald.

taken for red marble, which was

explanation

If so,

"ipD.

very

much
we

be preferred, because thus

is to

mingling of colour, white and red, for the

cords

of the

chairs

and

The

tent.

Upon

this

floor

or pearlto

it

Fiirst,

must be

used.^

This

see the

same

floor

stood gold

as for the

and

silver

tables.

description given here

is

so

little

exaggerated,

tliat

The

even Mardonius had similar magnificence in his camp.

Greeks found

and

silver,

after their victory " tents

decorated with gold

couches wrought in silver and gold, and other

precious things" (Herod,

ix.

80).

Xerxes had

tent to Mardonius, and Pausanias was

amazed

the golden and silver beds and tables,

etc.

interesting to observe that the gloss of the

read, instead of

mnoi

"n%

mnoa

Comp. Lamprid, Elagabal, 24

Til,^

left

own

his

at the sight of
(ix.

82).

It is

Greek translation

and therefore translated

" Stravit et saxis

porphyreticis

plateas in palatio, quas Antonisnianas vocavit, quae saxa usque ad nostraiu

niemoriam manserunt sed nuper eruta et execta sunt."

2 The form
for rose, for the first time in the Mishna (comp.

my

Rose

CHAP.

KVfcXo)

poSa

I.

roses (poBa)

ireTTaa-fjieva,

23

7.

were scattered about,

for

the custom of decorating with roses was then and afterwards

considered as the greatest festive ornamentation.

Firdussi describes,

p.

47,

" There stood a golden throne 'mid beds of roses,

Where flowers gaily shone in perfumed posies

The silken carpets, precious stones of splendour,
Gleam in the groves where lamps their glories render."
;

The whole description

of ver. 6 begins with the

In the Masoretic text the

would be in vain

letter

to try to find

is

word

longer than usual

"nn.

but

it

a reason for the custom of

Bible copyists of making some letters more prominent (see

my

p.

225), and such peculiarities in the

old and well-preserved

manuscripts can sometimes only be

on Buth,

note

explained from the casual notes of the copyists.

Yer.
vessels

of gold, the vessels being diverse one

number

18; comp. Athenaeus,

were many changes

of

of drinking vessels {Cyrop.

lib.

even

now

at

xi.

p.

viii.

8.

Accordingly, there

465).

cups at a royal entertainment in order

display the abundance

custom

from another"

says of the Persians, that they were proud of

Xenophon

possessing a large

to

''And they gave them drink in

nnr "^32 niptJ^m

7.

of possession

the

and so

festive

entertainment

wine of

the

is

it

of

the

great

people.

21 ni^fj^

p"""!

"

And

the

dance, according to the bounty or

kingdom was in abun-

hand

(tid)

of the king, as

the great king is."

There could be no thought of insufficiency.

sion r^dyo p, " the wine of the kingdom,"

proves also

how

the king entertained his

would be wine of the king

niai'Dn

p*"

is

is

The expresstriking, for it

guests.

royal wine,

l^JDn
i.e.

X">

such

The linguistic form, to which poho? also belongs,

appears to be found only, after my supposition in the Biblical canon, in
the name Ruth (see my Gomm. on Euth, p. 206).

unci Nachtigal, p. 19).

24

BOOK OF ESTHER.

as the king himself used.

for quantity,

the feasts

but for quality

(comp.

This was

in

the best wine, such as befits

Brisson,

i.

Cana

of

May we

84).

c.

to another table, at

direct our attention

sat

The king himself drank only Syrian

of kings.

(chalybonic) wine

was not distinguished merely

It

insufficient for all the invited guests until the

mercy

Friend supplied them with the royal wine of the

King gave

cation, this

for the purpose

miracle,

new

of intoxi-

upon the grace

sober reflection

for

of their

first

taste of the joy of the

What Ahhashverosh gave

faith.

also a king

which

There the wine was

Galilee.

and turned the old drink into

not

of God.

Ver. 8.
cording

DJli^

to the

px

man

for the

"

And

the

drinking ivas ac-

law, none coidd compel."

The king had

every

ma n^n^J^ni

strictly

commanded every steward

do as he liked in this matter.

purpose of teaching the people to be temperate in

by leaving them

drink, but rather to enhance their pleasure

to please themselves without

passage

to let

This order was not

that

is

it

any

restraint.

was the custom

at

The sense

of the

court that, in spite of

the wine being so costly, the courtiers were to see that every

much

one should have as

of

such large drinking companies

one was to
kings

of

Tricliniis

feel

at

home.

as he liked to drink.^

it

all restrictions

ceased.

The Eoman custom

to

For

Every

nominate

the table and modimperatores (comp. Ursinus, de

Boman.

383,

p.

has no parallel here.

etc.)

Persians were great drinkers.

"

They drink

Xenophon, "that they cannot stand upright upon

and must be carried
to get drunk.

out."

When

The

so much," says
their feet,

Every occasion was used by them

Themistocles fled to the King of Persia,

^ The Midrash explains the non-compulsion to have consisted in that

every one could drink the wine of his country. But this was a feast
especially for the people of Shushan.
E. Levi says the Persians used
to have a very large cup at their feasts, which every one was obliged to
empty, no matter whether he could or not, or whether he died from the

effect.

This cup the king did not have at his feast (Jalkut Esther 1048),

CHAP.
the

I.

25

9.

embraced the opportunity of making a drinking

latter

Themistocl.

feast (Plut.

Mohammedan

Eirdussi of the

28).

time faithfully represents this ancient custom.

we

hero was about to march to the war,

read

music resounded, the cups were

filled

shah was merry at the

Eustem

feast."

(p.

When
151),

the

"Then

with wiue, and the

describes

it

thus

481),

(p.

"

The cups were handed round

And

to every head,
cheeks of guests have grown, like spring flowers, red."

When Kai

Chosru gave a

feast (p. 511),

" All heroes deep in lust have sunk,

And

reel

from out the palace drunk."

In this revelry in the palace

every one could share
his like-minded

who

of the

garden at Shushan

but, says the Mishna,

companions had no part in

it.

Mordecai and

For the pious,

adore their God, and are penitent as long as they are in

exile,

such feasts are unsuitable.

Yer.

9.

n:hi2'n Ticn Di

Vashti the queen made a

" Also

feast for the wome7i in the royal house.''

It

was not unusual

feasts in their

told

for the royal

women

apartments for the court

of the East to hold

ladies.

This

we

are

by Firdussi of the Princess Menishe, that she had an

annual spring-feast with her ladies

and likewise Sudabe, the

wife of the shah, invited her stepson Sijawush to a female

feast (p. 389),
"

The music rang, and foamed the sparkling wine,

The minstrels diamond decked in glittering line,
Loud sang."

Chardin remarks

" In

Persia

as

well as in the whole

1 Xenophon lets Cyrus accurately describe the condition of a Persian

drunken company (Cyrop. i. 3): "You all screamed without understanding a word. You also said such funny things that caused laughter.
Without hearing the singer, you swore that he sang excellently.
After you rose up to dance
you could not stand erect upon your
.

feet."

26

BOOK OF ESTHER.

Orient, the

women

used to celebrate feasts at the same time

with the men, but

separate " (comp. Eosenmliller, Morgen-

land, note 705).

might appear that the mentioning of the women's

It
is

feast

unessential to the narrative, inasmuch as the catastrophe

proceeded from the revelry of the men, but not of the women.

But the notice introduces

to

make known

the queen

first

in the

history,

that she was the legitimate queen, because she

occupied in the royal house the same position with regard

women

to the

We

also learn

as

Ahhashverosh did with regard to the men.

from this that Vashti was equally hilarious at

his.
The Jewish teachers
when they blame her equally

her feast as her husband was at

refer to this in their homilies,

with her husband as a seducer to luxury and

the

women

vice, so that

They apply

of Israel, too, caught the infection.

"As for my people, children are their

oppressors, and women rule over them."
There were such
four wicked women in the world, Jezebel and Athaliah in Israel,
to

Vashti

Isa.

iii.

12,

and Semiramis and Vashti among the nations (M. Esther

name Vashti undoubtedly means

The

"beautiful woman," and

name

the proper

(rj

in

Old Persian,

either an epithet, or

is

stands for

The LXX. reproduces

KaWca).

891)).

it

by

In Aeschylus occurs the name Astaspes {Pers. 22).

'AaTLv.

Ver.

10. ^T2^^ DVa

"

On

seventh

the

day,

when

the

heart of the hing was merry with wine^' etc.

Eunuchs were always

in

the monarchies of

The

Orient the most influential courtiers.

army

(2

(Gen.

Kings xxv. 19), the chief butler and chief baker

xl. 2),

as well as the chief treasurers, chief guards of

the harem, and chamberlains,

from
V.

this

class.

Hammer

360) that down

the

the Asiatic

chief officer of the

chamberlain,

to

the

D''D"iD, i.e.

spadones, were chosen

observes (Gesch. des osman. Beichs,

modern
other

times, with the exception of

court

officers

were

eunuchs.

Their names, he says, are usually in the East borrowed from

flowers

and perfumes (such as hyacinth,

tulip, narcissus,

musk,

CHAP
amber, camphor)

mentioned in

I.

27

10.

but as regards the names of the

not perhaps without

ver. 10, the supposition is

ground that they denote

We

official designations.

a position the more easily to explain

fore in

officers

are there-

them by

intro-

ducing the Syro-Chaldaic element, because the Medo-Persian

kingdom has surely

the

of

in

the

[DinD

qualification

upon the inheritance

in this but entered

power of Babylon.

great

Syriac

Consequently

meaning

we have

reliable,-^

which was considered necessary, particularly

to

p\-iD,

faithful,

eunuchs.

The Syriac
the word
2 Kings

translator therefore renders in several passages

Dno simply by meliiman (see 1 Kings xxii. 9

The first-mentioned in our passage was
32).

ix.

either the chief officer of

second
nrn,

which

The

or a cabinet minister.

meaning the

NnT3, hiztha,

is

all,

treasurer,

kd

from

(comp. Dan.

signifies prey, substance, riches

xi.

bodyguard, from mn,

must be understood the

or

24).

n:u"in, hharhona, the chief of the

i<l"in,

" a sword."

office

In

t?n33,

abagthaj

which the Turkish court designates by

kislarga,

i.e.

the guard

of the harem, for which office eunuchs were specially suitable.

For the explanation of the word,

it

may

be useful to draw

attention to the oft-repeated assertion of ancient writers, that

^aycoa<; or ^aycoo^; is the Persian

the other hand,

the

signify

comes from

chief

means

in

Kapuaga

is

baker and the chief butler.

-inr

more

"in:^,

from

nnsj>,

cf.

to

easily explained from

Syriac " a castle " or "

or chief

eunuch.

for

bread, food (Sanscr. hhag,

J3,

the second from

name, D^nD,

word

not improbable that &nnx and

it is

commander

fort,"

But, on
nnt, zethar,

The

first

/3eVo9, (pdyecv),

drink.
^-iD

The

i<Di3,

last

which

and represents the

of the castle or tower.

That we have to do here with

officials

and not merely

^ Comp. Herod, viii. 105,

In Xenophon, Cyrop. vii. 5. 64, we read
" That they are faithful, of this they gave the best proof at the fall of their
masters.
For of no one can be shown such fidelity in the misfortunes of
" Aussi trouvetheir masters as of the eunuchs." Chardin, Voy. vi. p. 247
:

t-on dans le pais, quils sont sans exception plus rusez, plus secrets, jjZws
retensus,

plus fideles et

m^me

plus prudens que les autres hommes."

28

BOOK OF ESTHER.

with accidentally mentioned names, appears from the added

clause

"

The seven sarisim (eunuchs) that ministered

presence of Ahhashverosh the king."

gible

why

these seven

men

It

becomes thus

in the
intelli-

received the order to fetch Vashti.

Eoyal etiquette required that she should be accompanied by

the greatest dignitaries of the State to the dining-room of the
king.

The king was inebriated when he issued

this order.

It

was not the custom among the Persians that the wives of
kings should take part in such general drinking

This

feasts.

appears from the fact that Vashti had a separate feast for the

To

women.
i.

1),

this

which

effect

what Plutarch

is

others, " that

repeated by

is

tells

us (Si/mpos.

the Persians never

play and dance with their wives, but with their concubines."

In Firdussi's
customs,

it

is

which are true pictures

poems,

ancient

of

not mentioned that the wife of the shah, but

that the female singers and slaves, were present at the intoxicating

festivities.

Herod,

v.

us in Persia,

which

True,

in

well-known passage

the

18, the Persians say to the Macedonians,

also

it

the

is

in

"With

the custom to prepare a great feast, to

concubines
"

and

the

housewives, KovpiBLa<;

but they appear thereby, for the sake

yvvaLKa<;, are invited

of their pleasures, to

have expressed themselves in equivocal

terms.

Had

it

been the usual custom, Vashti would have

taken part in the preceding feast of

180

and her

days,

appearance would not have had to be postponed

till

the

seventh day of the feast for men.

The unusualness of the

custom, moreover, appears from what we are told, that
Ahhashverosh wanted to show the great men of the country
her beauty, as they

had never seen

her.

For

Plutarch's

report (Themist. 26) as well as Justin's (41. 3), that even the
faces of the wives
is

true with

and concubines were not seen by

some exceptions.

and conscious

of his might,

jealousy and

of the

come.

strangers,

But the king being drunk,

thought himself above feelings of

petty customs, and

ordered Vashti to

CHAP.

whom

wife, over

just because she enjoyed extra liberty, she

own

its

Ahhashverosh was

peculiar

usurper

was the granddaughter

When

the

of

my

and therefore the

him

to

father's

this

stable,

message

thou wast

accustomed to fetch prostitutes, and dost thou regard

one of them
to apply to

"

noteworthy that the word she

It is

him

is

D^OIp,

'nsi'nnDi^

Comes
office

of

the French

the king's

to fetch her, she

refuses

the chamberlain.

to

the

If

come

much

but

wine, and con-

scious of her beauty, she asserted her self-respect.

and they in

at

he had

would have readily gone

excited as she was, like himself, through

to say no to the messengers,

said

i.e.

(By the

origin.

its

The queen

commandment by

come himself

as

from which the great

Connetable has

Byzantines KovroaravXo^)

me

is

Comes stabulatus,

stahuli, Comestahilis, Coucstabilis,

it,

and Yashti

throne,

She sent

thou wast groom in

explains

(90<2)

According to

fashion.

of Nebuchadnezzar,

legitimate heir to the throne.

*'

show the other concubines

The Midrash

power of her charms.

the refusal in

The

have exercised his

especially he ought to

refused to come, for she wanted to

the

"

with the exception of his

for slaves,

all

Now,

authority."

gitem refused"

the

the ill-instructed Prince Anf.)

(to

Persian king held

29

12.

"But

Ver. 12. HD^ttn |Xni

Plutarch says

I.

She dared

their turn did not

bring to the king this refusal in a mild form.

" Therefore

No

was

the

king very wroth."

good ever comes from pride aroused by drunkenness.

Herodotus narrates the

story, according to

which Kandaules,

king of Lydia, had boasted of the beauty of his wife, and

this

was the cause

came

to

Amyntas

of his losing his

of

life.

Macedonia were

The Persians who

so greedy after intoxi-

cating drinks and things of extravagance, that the embittered

inhabitants killed them.

sidered

In the case above, the king con-

himself greatly insulted, because his will was not

obeyed in the presence of his princes and

courtiers.

His

who

could

dreadful anger was excited, and the only person

BOOK OF ESTHER.
appease

it,

Vashti herself, was too proud and stubborn to

come.^

"

Ver. 13.

knew

Then

the

king spake

to

the ivise

men, which

the tirnes."

The affair did not end with the king's becoming sober.
The ancient writers often remark, that the transactions which
used to

resumed

place

take

during

time of inebriation

the

after the people got sober (Brisson,

circumstance

is

instructive, as

The

were
This

of small

etiquette of royalty

especially in the East, the type of authority,

restraining influence to

131).

shows the power

it

things at the great royal court.

ii.

is,

and the only

which the king himself

is

subject.

Vanity and consciousness of power have sometimes also in

Christian States given rise to high political questions, because
of non-observance of proper etiquette towards the sovereign.

The

king, indeed, should not have

should be fetched by main force

allowed that the queen

but whether

that any one should disobey his will

highest council

The D^nvn

"jni"'

of the

kingdom

it

was

was a question

to hear

and

possible
for tlie

to determine.

are the Magi, as they are so called,

not on

account of their superstition (as Clericus thinks), but because

they are experienced, such as

know what

circumstances; they correspond to those

as worldly wise, or savants.

They

is

proper under the

whom we

designate

are acquainted with the

times and customs, are the judges concerning ceremonies and

ordinances

how

(pni

m)

in the land.

It is intentionally

mentioned

seriously the king took the matter in hand.

In spite of the great

affairs of

the kingdom which occupied

In the Vierzig Vezieren, ed. Behrnauer, p. 107, it is told that the

Harim Arrashid got into such a passionate rage, that it lasted for
days, and that was because the citizens of Cairo came too late to do him
Just then, a female slave in placing a disli upon the table
homage.
happened to spill some of its contents, so he wanted to tear her to pieces.
Then she turned to him, and exclaimed " Caliph, God has commanded
to restrain one's passion, and to forgive people their offences."
This had
an effect upon the caliph, his anger disappeared, and he forgave. But
none had spoken in this manner to Ahhashverosh.
1

Caliph

CHAP.

I.

31

14.

his mind, the apparently insignificant incident

from drunkenness he could not

one

like

it

was

as

insignificant.

He

important.

with

all

most

the

of

kingdom such

was that

which resulted

pass without discussing

let

State

difficult

In a

questions.

of the great Persian king, nothing

Everything that concerned his person was

proposed the matter before the cabinet council

the judicial formalities, as in cases of greater con-

who were

cern he was accustomed to consult those

the ordinances and laws of justice (comp. Herod,

Ver.

v^x

14.

I'^pn)

"

The ministers

iii.

versed in
31).

whom

hefore

he

'proposed the matter luere standing necct unto him."

They that

sat near

him

in the cabinet,

who saw

the face of

the king, were the seven princes of Persia and Media.

matter which concerned the persons of the king and of the

queen could only be discussed by the highest tribunal.

known

that

Herodotus

of

tells

the

seven

tribal

It is

chiefs

of

Persia, that they always enjoyed free access to the king.

Darius belonged to the order of these seven

when he became king another succeeded

the king was the head of
princes, as the seven

the sun.

all,

to his place.

known)

Hence the number seven appears

institutions of the Persians.

stars

king.

Firdussi could

as

surround

w^as

issued

Aeschylus

standing nearest to the

report of seven heroes surrounding

Therefore the names which are mentioned do not,

the shah.^
as the

officials

still

For

in all the State

To Ezra the order

from the king and his seven privy councillors.

mentions seven highest

and

and was surrounded by seven

the time

(at

chiefs,

Midrash

says, signify offices, but are

names

of the great

^ How the names of the seven stars became the names

of the seven days
of the week, and with regard to the astrological opinions in connection

what influence
Esmun, chap. ii.

therewith, and
see
2

my

Ep. Dicht.

p.

this

had upon the formation of numbers,

248,

" Kai

Kawus

Kenewed

the throne ascended,

and Rustem vanquished,

Gurgin, Bahram, Euham, Eustem,
Tus, Giw, and Guders around him."
in health,

BOOK OF ESTHER.

32

who surrounded Xerxes, of the highest dignitaries,

who administered the affairs of the

officers

statesmen, and generals

and accompanied him in

State,

It

is

worthy

his campaigns.

remark that the names here mentioned

of

And

appear again in the well-known Persian histories.

and importance

also of great interest

truth

of

names

in the

to the testimony of the

that Herodotus reproduces the

book, to find

this

The narrative

Greek form of writing.

when we

special vividness

same persons

whom

of

it is

at the

find

on account

Herodotus,

receives

court of justice the

their

of

military participation in the Persian war, gives us more full

One

information.

caution

is

recting each other

due to the

-,

for the

texts

purpose of cor-

they both agree, but their variations are

different pronunciation of the

and by the

The two

here necessary.

of the names must not be compared

names by the Greeks

Moreover, great stress must not be

local Jews.

put on the Masoretic punctuation, which was the work of

Jews had

centuries in which the

In order to proceed securely in

of these names.
of identification,

Marsena.

forgotten the pronunciation

we begin with

One can

Modes (and

prominent man,
therefore also

the

originally

of

called

read

&<:tjnn,

know
as

prefix

Parmys,

79),

is

(vii.

In the

by the Greeks Ariomardos.

to

all

the Mardos

is

and

Darius

the maternal grandson of Cyrus

same manner we learn

was

son

62) that

Ari, is often only a family

The above did

a proper one.

Herodotus, where

of

(vii.

Hence the

Persians) were called Arians.

name and not

of

There can be no doubt

Herodotus says

which occurs in the name

Ario,

fc<DD"in,

him Mardonius the son

recognise in

Gobryas, the inciter of the war.

about the person of did.

attempt

this

the sixth name, with

the

8<:t^D,

Carsluna, but which

name Barzanes

by

(cited

Diodorus and Arrian as of a king of Armenia, but with the

spelling of Barzaentes).

Ariobarzanes

is

also the

the Persian satrap (comp. Xenophon, Cyrop.

the annotation of Schneider).

for

Arta (Herod,

vii.

Here

61), like Ario,

viii.

name
8.

4,

of

and

is

meant Artabazanes,

is

to be understood as

CHAP.

S3

14.

I.

denoting nobility of pedigree,

who was an

Xerxes

"iriK^,

Just so

(vii. 2).

is

elder brother of

Shetliar, easily to

be recog-

name of Hydarnes. One of

who subdued Pseudo-Smerdis bore this name (Herod,
iii. 70), and his son Hydarnes was the leader of the "memorUpon the
able ten thousand " in the Persian war (vii. 84).
cuneiform inscriptions the interpreters read the name Vidarna
nised in the strongly aspirated

the seven

Uwaihi and Kabujia

as also they read

and Cambyses.

for the so-called Susia

According to similar vocal laws, the writing

of ^5nD'^x, Achymtha, in Esther, corresponds to Aspathines.

Greek p,

transition of the

Achmetha,

xncrii?,

b into the

cuneiform inscriptions Bartya.

the seven from
of

c^^'Enn

whom

well known.
called in

Aspathines also was one of

The two names

Darius rose to be king.

offer greater philo-

but their solution can with probability be

changes in the forms are taken

easy

the

if

is

Smerdis

is

and plDD, Tarshish and Memucan,

logical difficulties,

effected

Hebrew d
So

Ecbathana.

is

The

into

consideration.

Tarshish has indeed a resemblance in sound to the

bearer

Tirshata,

called

the

name

Theresh,

office-

and occurs in

cuneiform in the name of an Armenian general of Darius,

which

is

read Darshi

easily explained

{sh).

The pointing

standing in the Bible for a certain

But one must

country and for a maritime power.

SJ>-Knn,

appears.

This

among

the

is

;)^

for the

evident from the circumstance of his position

seven,

we

he stands near Admetha, whose son

for

tainly been introduced

or rather

p3n,

of D3 with DD the double

double

D.

name

97).

The Greek

name

of Xerxes.

piDD.

The

has cer-

by the vocalization of the Masora.

pDD should be read pDD

phemes),

vii.

have already found in the

It remains yet to speak of the

for

finally read

from which the Greek name Prexaspes easily

Asthapines was a naval captain (Herod,

^>

is

from the fact that the name of Tarshish was

too familiar to them, as

^^-^2 for

of the Masoretes

The name

of

(comp. Vidafrana and Inta-

so that

through the

consonant a

Ahhaemenes
c

But

interchange

was changed
in

the

for a

cuneiform

BOOK OF ESTHER.

34
Hakhamanish

is

be recognised in

to

original ancestor of a Persian family,

This was the

this.

and of a brother and

This explanation of the names receives

general of Xerxes.

support from the positions in which they stand.

its

First,

the elder brother of Xerxes, then the two old and former
of

friends

younger

The

why were

just

Xerxes.

of

answered, because

left out, is

who were

only of seven, and those

consisted

cabinet

two

and why are

chosen,

these

Otanes and his son Smerdomenes

the

then

Aspathines),

and two younger brothers

tribal chiefs,

question

and

(Hydarues

Darius

entitled to cabinet rank were probably not appointed at the

same
by

time, but as a vacancy occurred

special

Otanes

of the

choice

king, or

was perhaps not chosen,

and

for

according

to

law

shall

reason that

the

daughter was the wife of Xerxes (Herod,

Ver. 15. " Wliat

was either

this

by other arrangements.

61).

vii.

wc do unto

his

Vashti

qiieen

the

.^

This formal question was put to the seven princes, and

whether we should undertake the war with Greece or

this respect, that the latter

not, in

was mainly pleaded by Mardonius

and was opposed by Artaban

but the former, although one

only pronounced the decision, was in fact agreed to by

The

it

by Xerxes,

varies from the question put before the council

description of the whole transaction

is

all.

a most valuable

Not only does

representation of ancient court history.

it

teach that there were not wanting good old forms which the

king was obliged to use when he desired to place 'important

measures before the council of princes

how

these forms

had

what

spirit to

avail are prescribed statutes

?

council which

when

is

come

manifests a dependent

to the revelry of
spirit,

which

also

it

shows

the

men

animate them.

Of

there

when
is

no heart to

incompetent to refuse to

entertain the question whether the queen

in refusing to

but

lost their intrinsic value

and the times had no longer the

beat in them

was

right or not

her husband already

disqualifies it

from pro-

CHAP.

I.

nouiicing an impartial judgment.

35

15.

But they do not

refer the

question back to the king, because the behaviour of the queen

them the opportunity

gives

of intriguing.

spirit of jealousy

has always existed in Oriental countries between persons and

who

corporations,

Thus

an

exercised

upon the

influence

king.

Ahhashverosh appears to have been led by his

far

Therefore the momentary anger which she excited in

by them

eagerly grasped
influence.

was

It

him was

for destroying her

according to the beautiful story

too,

so,

an occasion

as

wife.

which Firdussi communicates, when Sudabe's intrigues with

the king failed, no one rose up in the council to speak for her,
"

The

princes brought their homage,

And

shouted

Death disgraceful

Be the punishment

The

to the shameful."

instructive stories of the Forty Viziers, properly speak-

ing, contain

nothing else but the struggle between the queen

and the royal councillors

tive influences

happens in

all

upon the decision of

The same

the king.

countries, but especially in the East

Hammer

recent times.^

predominance of their respec-

as to

is

also in

of opinion that in the empire of

the Osmans, since the time of Soliman the Fair, the iiifluence
of the wives

was more often directed against the grand

Something of the same kind took place here

the sentence in the hands of her enemies,
If

any wished

to

no voice was

The king had placed

raised either to defend or to excuse her.

timid judges.

or,

at least, of her

defend her, he was deterred

by the thought that he would arouse the suspicion

doubtful

views

as

to

sovereignty of the king.

the

vizier.

irrevocable

of holding

character

Herodotus gives a

of

the

example of

fair

the caution practised by a timidly prudent court of justice

which Cambyses convoked, in order

to

whether he might marry his

31).

But

it

sister

(iii.

decide the question

The judges found

did not always result favourably to the viziers.

dahari had such great influence under

Tash could no longer

resist

it,

Mahmud

and was obliged

Richardson, Treatise of Eastern Nations,

Djemila CauOmra Altun

of Gasna, that

to resign his office.

German

trans, p. 264.)

(See

36

BOOK OF ESTHER.
to say yes or no, but tliey perceived that

it difficult

he wanted

an affirmative answer, and that he would consider a negative

one as an insult upon his
that, "

riglit to

do as he

Whereas they did not know

they decided

liked, so

any law which allowed

of

such a marriage, on the other hand they

knew

Here

king was allowed to act as he pleases."

well that the

also

was not

it

entirely without danger to appear as a decided opponent of

The

the queen.

great affection

which the king had

might eventually cause her conduct

to appear before

for her

him

in a

different aspect,

which would excuse her and be dangerous to

the opponent.

Memucan (Ahhaemenes)

He

speech.

act of Vashti,

and makes

to

it,

of all his subjects.

own

The king has

interests,

in this affair

but also the interests

For the queen has not only sinned against

him, but by her example she has also excited

What

country.

where

and

if

Vashti had dared

this

in the

a certain degree, as a social

matter which concerns the State.

not only to consider his

implies this in his

upon the principle involved

lays emphasis

deed

is

to

the whole

known

do will be

every-

remain unpunished, then will

to

the rights of the husbands be disregarded all over the country.

The wives

will refer to the

example of Vashti, and repudiate

the authority of their husbands, so that p*D, great contempt,

and

?ivp,

Memucan makes
manner.

enter

anger, will

With

liis

assault

to

disturb

the

upon the queen

family

peace.^

in a Machiavelian

great subtlety he tries to conceal this under

the pretence of wishing the welfare of the people, which he

knows the king has

at heart.

He

gives to the accusation

such a turn of apparent impartiality, as to make

for the king, especially after the affair

to yield to the

queen.

And

there

it difficult

became known abroad,

was none on the council

^According to Mohammedan custom, a woman must appear at the call of

her husband, and render obedience and subjection to him, " even should
both her hands be occupied at the time with kneading bread
as
the messenger of God had said (peace be upon him).
And if it were
permitted to prostrate oneself before any one but God, I should command
the wives to prostrate themselves before their husbands " (comp. Vierzig
Veziere, ed, Behrnaucr, c. vii. p. 95).

...

'

'

CHAP.

board
tions

who had the courage

of Memucan.
For it
by not coming

jqueen

her royal spouse than

Z%

19.

could have been proved that the

banquet was more obedient to

she had come.

But these moral maxims had no place

one, perhaps

deceitful machina-

to expose the

to the
if

I.

in the heart of

any

not even in the heart of Vashti herself.

It

could again have been proved that the power of

neither founded nor abrogated by law.

known

those

to

who

neither unheard

of,

ordinary occurrence.

it

would

whom
bad

all

is

conduct was

any extra-

that the exemplary

alter the

women

of

woman

also certainly

result in

knew

Moreover, they

beauty and amiability

the

was

sat together, that Vashti's

nor that

punishment of Vashti would not at

of

It

influence

over those upon

they exercise the power of their attractions even in

things,

where the will

Indeed,

resistance.

not powerful enough to offer

is

in allusion to Persian

it is

manners that

the First Book of Esdras speaks of the highest and greatest

power which Zerubbabel

He

says (chap.

do not

iv.

28)

ascribes to wives
" Is

Apame

not the king great in his power

touch him

all regions fear to

and their husbands.

Yet did I see him and

the king's concubine, the daughter of the admirable

Bartacus, sitting at the right hand of the king, and taking the

crown from the king's head, and setting

head

she also struck the king with her

men, how can

they do thus

it

women

be but that

it

left

upon her own

hand ...

ye

should be strong, seeing

"
?

Ver. 19. Titn snn^?5'

"iC^X

"

That Vashti come no more" etc.

That tyranny, which does not know even the fear of God,
is

the greatest

clearness

and

folly,

our narrative teaches with unsurpassable

simplicity.

king more than the wine

He
his

Excessive vanity demented the

It lasted longer

than his wrath.

neither could see that the doing of Vashti

was caused by

own

whom

he

fault,
still

did.

nor the nature of the intrif^ues

loved.

a^Tjainst

her

In his state of excitement he had not

the sagacity either to palliate her offence or to detect the snare

BOOK OF ESTHER.

38
which was

laid against

him by

him

can's impudent accusation has for

from the royal palace, and

is
it

than

better

she.

The Midrash,

his sycophants.

in reference to this, rightly calls

C>2t2

aim

its

Memu-

fool.

remove Yashti

to

to give her throne to another that

From

the expression n^DD nnion

r^rrw^h

must not be supposed that Vashti was not the queen, but one

of the

women

of the harem, who, on account of her beauty,

had raised herself

it is

to

said that her throne should be given to her companion,

another inmate of the harem,

tractable, obliging,

that this
tries

For although

such an influential position.

is

is

better,

nniD,

i.e.

more

the language of contempt, in which the vile courtier

wreak

to

who

and submissive, yet we must remember

his

private

Such examples of

vengeance.

queens having to quit their thrones to make room for new

beauties are not only found in Oriental, but also in European,
particularly in

modern French

But

histories.

it

must be

also

observed that the autocrat of the ancient great empire apparently

asserted his capricious will in a legal manner, whereas

modern

sultans, in their arbitrary acts,

the external forms of legality.

the

have even thrown

off'

Chardin relates that one of

him not

the favourite wives of the shah had once besought

to

touch her on a certain day on account of her bodily condition,

which made

it

necessary that she should have

caused her to be examined, and

when

it

The shah

rest.

was found that her

plea had no foundation iu fact, she was at once burned alive

{Voijages, vi. 229).

Queen Vashti would not have succumbed if the royal privy

had not voted against her. But he used the oppor-

councillor

The same

tunity to destroy the female influence at court.

attempt, only in a coarser manner, was
to avert the

Ahmed
told

I.,

him

harem

made by

the viziers

influence frovi the Sultan of the Osmans,

at the beginning of the seventeenth century.

that these

They

women were witches, and had bewitched

father Solimau, so that he was entirely dependent

Memucan's accusation went deeper, was more

flattering to the vanity of the king,

inasmuch as

his

upon them.
refined
it

made

and
the

CHAP.

affair of Vashti's

he yielded to

of all the

her,

women

own position was

had the supreme power,

must everywhere pay

Ver. 20. ^^dh

It

was

re-

at stake in the matter.

he would be the cause of the disobedience

in the country,

and something dreadful might

But, on the other hand,

happen.
as he

39

20.

disobedience a question of principle.

presented to him that his

If

I.

was

it

bounden duty,

his

to issue a decree that the wives

implicit obedience to their husbands.

DIiriD

V^^^)

which he shall make shall

"And when

he

kings decree

the

published"

Although Memucan's aim was to have Vashti deposed, yet

he laid special
ciple, that

stress

upon

tmis.

propounded a general prin-

He made

to the peace of the State.

deposition

He

disobedience of wives to their husbands was dangerous

appear that Vashti's

it

must be the natural outcome

rather than the aim of his advice.

unhurt /rom

this ordeal,

principle,

of this

Should she even escape

such a decree, when publicly pro-

claimed under the sanction of royal prerogative and authority,

would, at any

rate,

the country.

He

have a deterrent

effect

upon the women of

and

therefore changed the dangerous

dis-

agreeable negative verdict concerning Vashti into a positive

royal decree, which should affect the
generally.

By

this

subtle

into an implicit pledge

of

of the country

was entrapped
His own

removing the queen.

decree precluded

him from saving

been of direful

life -

long

women

the king

device

Vashti, which

consequence

Through the publication of a royal

to

would have

his

councillors.

DJns, official

document,

a reconciliation of the king with his former favourite became

extremely

difficult,

and the intrigue which probably began

already at the feast received thereby

To our

ideas

it

its

crowning victory.

appears almost comical, that a king should

send out a circular in which the

women

render due honour to their husbands.^

are

But

it

commanded

to

did not appear

in this light to the ancient Persians.

1

That

this is in

harmony with the

Oriental

mind may be seen

story of The Thousand and One Nights (xxiv. 68), where

it is

in the

told that a

40

BOOK OF ESTHER.

The power
really

was

of the great Persian king over his subjects

universal.^

In

fact,

there

was not a domestic

family right in which he could not interfere.

This

is

or

evident

which Xenophon represents the

from the ideal

glorification in

institutions of

Cyrus when developing their application.

He

says that the Persian laws precluded beforehand the possibility

of the citizen thinking of evil {Cyrop.

i.

2).

Again he reports

that Cyrus had forbidden to spit or to sneeze, or even to turn

round in public
viii.

if

1.

in

this

148).

Memucan,
to

of the

i.

4).

Osmans

he hunted of

The decree which the

king, on the proposal of

issued,

had not to do with the accomplishment of

an actual duty, but with the subjection

man

{Cyrop.

fathers

100 switches upon the

his own accord (Ham-

to give his kiaja

soles of his feet because

vi.

their

was yet copied by the Sultan

1664, who ordered

mer,

of Cyrus cannot go hunting

command

Astyages does not

And, indeed,

something to be admired {Cyrop.

places, as

The companions

42).

a command.

Civil right

of the

disposition of

was not taken from the

women, but obedience was enjoined upon them.

The husbands

did not receive a substantial, but only an ideal privilege.

But

just for this reason, the subtle plan pleased the adulated vanity

of the conceited

He

king.

which could be done by no

undertook to accomplish that

Had

one.

it

been possible by the

application of external special force to restore order

husbands in the house,

it

among the

would have been done long

ago.

The Persian king must have known from his own history
and from that of his family how little the greatest force could
prevent one becoming subject to the humour of one's beloved
in the house.

But being dazzled by

his fancied

rated omnipotence, he adopted this proposal as a

and over-

means whereby

" It is not proper that any one

should follow the advice of women."
^ The whole history about Vashti is certainly based upon a grand political thought.
The Persian monarchy is founded upon the monarchy in

sultan ordered to proclaim everywhere

the family.

What

the husband

is

in the family, that he

If his rights are disputed in the former, they are at the

in the latter.

is

in the State.

same time injured

CHAP.

to

and

assert his power,

had destroyed his

bastinaded

their

for

him

of

desire

Only the truth

says)

and

(Herod,

their

mightier than the

was

it

obtain that which

women

to cause the

by

But

35).

vii.

to beat the sea than to

governing
is

told

bridges, he gave order that it should be

commanded, namely,

his edict

is

the inundation of the Hellespont

for disobedience

more easy

feel the terror

no fable which

It is certainly

when

of Xerxes, viz. that

41

21.

make everybody

to

of his autocratic rule.

I.

to

renounce

own peculiar powers.

women (as Zerubbabel

alone could keep their power wdthin bounds and

it

Even

hallow them.

the

command

of kings, of the Apostle Paul, that

King

of the servant of the

women

should not speak in

the churches, could not exert a compulsory force upon them.

Though

apparently externally obeyed, yet

is

it

it is

only ex-

ternally so.

Ver. 21.

"And

The proposal

No

the saying pleased the Jcing."

Memucan was

of

one among the ministers offered opposition.

her influence, probably also her

pressly mentioned
king,

favourite,

had her

of a Sandjak,

(Hammer,

life

enemies

But

be quickly executed.
of a tyrant has often

He had
who

also,

each Chasseki,

i.e.

if

set

income

with precious stones

she had been deprived of

must have

female

still

all this,

to be feared

by her

insisted that she should

The enjoyment

of the

enough ended

sadly.

momentary favour
Vashti

fell

in a

frequently carried on in Eastern courts between

women and

Cyrus,

not ex-

(ni3^o) should be given to another.

had been spared, she was

is

is

court, her chamberlain (kiaja), the

therefore they

war which

Vashti lost

although this

and a gilded equipage,

329).

v.

and her

life,

by him.^

but only that she should not come to the

and that her royalty

In the empire of the Osmans

the

readily sanctioned

the eunuchs and the princes.^

That her

fall

not the nobility of character nor the intellect of the young

did not apply force to Aspasia for refusing to act as the other

wives, but treated her with gentleness.

(Comp. Plutarch, Artaxerxes, 26.)

Concerning the penalties which are meted out to the favourites when
they have displeased the sultan, Chardin writes {Voyages^ vi. 233) "Car
2

42

BOOK OF ESTHEK.

did not lead to serious disasters after the king; had sobered

down and cahnly

he

undertook

reflected

upon

was owing

it,

campaign, which

great

to the fact that

occupied

his

all

attention.

"And

Ver. 22.

he sent letters into all the hinc/s provinces,

into eveonj province according to the luriting

thereof^

and

to

every people after their language^

It is

here emphatically declared that the decree addressed

to all the peoples

|1t^i3,

was written both in the

and in the distinctive alphabet,

learn

from

a particular

nriD,

distinctive language,

this that the Persian Government did not use

official

language in

its

proceedings with the people,

but addressed them in their

own

The contents

were, That every

be

of this

decree

his house,

lord, "nc>, in

language.

We

of each nation.

dialects (comp.

man

9).

should

and should command, inoi, in his

Hence the decree was

in Persia, but everywhere,

c. viii.

be in force not only

to

and valid not merely in Persian

language, but in every language.

The Midrash makes a

peculiar remark

upon

decree was written in four principal languages.

(as

The

this.
ryi',

Greek

Hellenic was considered the same as Heathenism.

The

Talmud says
the wisdom
Alterth. pp.

"

Cursed be the

of the

Greeks"

196 and 338),

Persian, for lamentation

man who

{Sotah, p.

for the

(3) in

(1)

shall teach his son

49Z>),

purpose of singing

Hebrew,

more

especially in

History has taught, that in

Hebrew, the voice

One might almost say

that

Mag,

(2)

in

for holding intercourse

with one another; (4) in Latin, the language which

carrying on war.

my

comp.

is

suitable for

all

languages,

of lamentation resounded.

Hebrew

literature has ceased to

Roi ... en degrade les lines, changeant ces Favorites en esclaves, qu'on
en voye servir aiix plus has emplois et dans les quartiers reciilez dii Serail
il en fait dirtier d'autres k coups de verge et de bS,ton, il en fait tuer, 11 en
fait m^me brMer les unes et enterrer les autres toutes vives."
According to
the story of The Thousand and One Nights (xiii. 16), Harun Arrashid
had a dark tower in which the favourites were imprisoned when they
committed an offence.

le

CHAP.

43

22.

I.

that they need

modern times the Jews think

exist, since in

no longer mourn.

The author

(M. Esther,

91.)

p.

under which Vashti

of the verdict

was

fell

Memucan, the last mentioned among the privy councillors.

The Midrash tries to find out the personal motives which led
him to entertain such hostile feelinsjs aj^ainst Vashti. One
on

was, that

with a

slipper.

certain

she had struck

occasion

Such disgraceful treatment

is

his

face

certainly

no

rare occurrence in the East.^

The second was, because

had not been invited by

his wife

the queen to the feast.

The

third was, because he wanted to see his

Whether

promoted in the place of Vashti.

own daughter

the reasons given

by the Midrash were exactly the same which actuated the

hatred of

Memucan

or not, one thing

is certain,

that he could

not tolerate the petticoat government of Vashti, and that such

and similar reasons

by the Eabbis have often led

as are given

to such results.

That Herodotus does not mention

be wondered

at,

inasmuch as

Apart from

paign.

should have

this, it

not

to

court,

is

many

to

place in the inner

and that he should have incor-

porated this in his brief reports of the Persian war.

were

not

be expected that he

known everything which took

of the Persian

circle

event

happened before the cam-

it

is

this

There

writings and administrative measures issued from

Shushan, and these were of such a character as to be deposited

by

all

the governors

among

the acts of administration.^

1 In the legend The Thousand and One Nights, it is told that a king
punished his son by beating him with his slipper on the face (iii. 24, ed.
Konig). But the sUpper is specially an instrument of punishment in the
hands of the women, as the story represents it in chap. xxiv. p. 40. [In
Mohammedan schools in Palestine the teacher often throws a slipper upon
a delinquent boy, when he, without crying, puts it on the foot of his
master, and kisses his hands.
Trans.]
2 In Athenaeus, lib. xiii. p. 556, we read
"Among the Persians, the queen
:

must
the

tolerate

command

>aoi'kiet.

many

concubines, because the king, like a master, has

over his wife."

lioi

ro

&};

Zsa'^c'ryiu

oip^cstu tjjj

yet/^csTi^s

tou

CHAPTER
Ver.

wrath
herecl

1.

nbi^n D''"imn

of

the

TI.

"After

-ini<

these

king Ahhashverosh ivas

things, ivhen

the

remem-

Vashti."

named

This did not happen soon after the feast

16)

which

this

In the third year

identical.

of his reign the above event took place,

(comp. ver.

is

i.,

see here

our book shows that

the chronology of

exactly even

Xerxes and Ahhashverosh are

in chap,

We

but there was an anxious interval between.

how

he

opacified,

told

and in the

seventli

In this year

here.

Xerxes returned from his campaign (480-479), and there-

now

only

fore

Shushan
fatigues

want

which

of the

the thread

could

resumed

be

he

(ver.

went through

Now

his

exhaustive

whom

lie

had

really
for

feelings of love to the

they arose the more strongly, as in the enjoy-

When we

read, " he

was decreed against

may

history of

the

in that war, he felt the

of a specially agreeable favourite he

a care.

court

Formerly the ambitious desire

war and conquest had eclipsed the

ment

After

companionship of Vashti,

once affectionately loved.

women.

the

of

16).

her,"

might forget many

remembered Vashti, and what

still

now

after

three

years

we

suppose that he somehow connected the misfortunes of

campaign with the wrath and the severity with which he

had treated

her.

Herodotus narrates (vii. 46) that Xerxes in the midst of his glory on
" In this short life the^e is no man either
to Greece had said
among these or others so happy, that he should not often and more than
once be in such a position as to prefer death to life. For misfortunes
come, and diseases rage, which make our life to appear so long, though it
'

his

march

is so short."

CHAP.

When

Xerxes gave

would not

his courtiers

Vashti to

life

expression

pronounced a sentence
the

vizier

When

such thoughts, what

to
if

they could have brought

But there was no one present

is told,

it

45

1.

have given

vizier of the story of the

where

II.

Forty Viziers

king had once in his

of

to

do like the

Behrnauer,

(ed.

141),

p.

drunken hours

death against his favourite friend, but

did not execute the order, but hid the culprit.

the king became sober, he was

in great distress of

mind, on account of the supposed death of his friend

then

the vizier rejoiced his heart by introducing the friend well

But Vashti was no longer

and sound.

to be got,

plexed courtiers did not know any other

way

and the per-

of

extricating

themselves from the dilemma but to look for another woman,

who by

her especial charms would captivate the king and

would occupy
no one

else.

officers

his leisure, as only Vashti could,

They

all

therefore propose to the king to send out

over the country to bring every beautiful girl to

They should be brought

Shushan.

and since her

to the

and placed under the supervision of the

who would

(Sanscr. dja), the keeper,

harem

(n^^:r\ n''n),

xjn, viz. of the

Aga

introduce them to the

king after they had undergone a due course of preparation

Among

(vers. 9, 12).

whom

to

called

the king would take a fancy, and

in the

make her what

is

court language of the Osmans, a Chasseki, a

favourite, in the place

king,

many, there would certainly be one

so

of Vashti.

The proposal pleased the

and he issued an order accordingly.

One cannot but admire

the simple, quiet historical style ofl

Laying aside

our narrative.

only prolong our

way

of

all

coming

contents of the book, there

is

which would

the reports

to the

essential part of the

nothing omitted which would

contribute to the historical and psychological introduction and

illustration.

Israel

How much

was necessary

could have ready help in time of need

things, according to external appearance,

*

to

D'^T'pS are

not

common

officers,

happen before
!

AVhat great

must precede,

but eunuchs and overseers,

here this name, from the charge entrusted to them.

in order

who

bear

BOOK OF ESTHER.

46

make

to

possible that a Jewish girl by the influence of

it

her charms should ascend the throne

Persian kingdom

The great conference

Chasseki in the

of a

of all the officers of

the State, the dreadful war with Greece, and the unfortunate
issue of the same, were they not in the hands of Providence

stepping-stones in the path of Esther's ascendancy

many

so

woman

of equal

endowments must be sought

wherever and however

might be

it

subserve to

king,

for the

How many

must

things

Haman's wicked plan

the frustration of

beauty of Vashti,

loss of the special

In order to replace the

The

wrath of Xerxes against Greece, and his wrath against his

Court intrigues against the powerful influences of a

wife.

drunkenness,

redemption of

homicidal

then

were

sensuality,

the sad

way in which Vashti

main

the

penitence

woman

of

like Vashti

had

to die a violent

the

His

life

that

of penitence

passed through the

Israel
their road

to conversion.

must

that Christ gave

and the Gentiles might

and sword in order

deep

if

reflection

live,

that the apostles of the truth, walking in His footsteps,

fire

the

death in order that

God should live, what kind

thought call forth when we remember

through

the

was one

And

deliverance.

their

in order that Israel

excited

especially considered

not herself guiltless

must have resulted from the

the people of

new

preceded

the people were delivered, they

when they

though

causes

then

passion,

instruments wliich

When

Israel.

could well be penitent

of

First

and the vain conceit of offended sovereignty.

wife,

and

went

to save souls

conflagration

of Jerusalem on

In the court of Nebuchadnezzar

originated the prophecy of Daniel.

Through the harem went

the wonderful intervention of Esther on behalf of her people.

The Hebrew word

this book), does not

for

harem,

nu

(which only occurs in

correspond to the Arabic haram, meaning

sacredness, devotion, but

Odalik

n^\^:r\

comes rather near

to

the Turkish

the Gynaeceum, the house of the women, in contra-

distinction to the house of the

that the formation of the

men.

It

must not be assumed

word implies an immoral motive.

CHAP.

II.

47

1.

nor that the institution of polygamy was in

greater depravity of

of

man commonly

human

the

harem was the consequence

erroneous.
viz.

that

the

passions

of the

restrained, but legalized

husband over
but

to

be

of Oriental

despotism,

and

natural

man

are

to his

left

not to

he

by moral

rules,

arbitrary will, as an indisputable

and

With both polygamy and despotism

right.

social conditions of

also

is

also that the natural right of a

his wife is not to be controlled

constitutional

some, that the

of

from the radical views of heathenism,

arose

It

the product

heart than the natural

The opinion

possesses.

itself

time and place were so closely connected,

that they survived in their degenerating and baneful influence

the principle of heathenism which originated them.

we

Old Testament,

find of both, in the history of Israel of the

are relics of social customs,

before

thought

the

Decalogue

of

the

which had themselves vanished

living

and even these during

"What

and holy God of

the

their continuance appeared

in their purest possible form.

The repentance

of David, the deepest

human

self-abasement

in confession and faith, touches his pleasures in the

and

faith

the pure and holy

towards

heathenism.

was therefore

harem

But repentance

as well as the abuse of his royal power.

God

are

wanting in

This corrective of the deepest social wisdom

also

unknown both

to

Oriental and occidental

Hence the kingdom of the countries on the

Tigris had become a despotic caricature
the
Euphrates and
heathen States.

hence, too, the institution of the harem, and the degrading

effects, especially

upon women, that were connected with

and proceeded from

it,

made such

legendary in the story that

is

progress.

told in the

There

is

it

nothing

commencement

of

The Thousand and One Nights, that the caliph believed he had
a right to behead his wife any day.

The Persian king

sultan, arrogated

of antiquity, like the

to himself this

modern shah and

historical prerogative.

his privilege to do everything there

In

was a representation of

the highest power of the husband over his wife, at least so

BOOK OF ESTHER.

48

the

life

He had

means allowed.

far as external

and death of

all

the

command

over

the men, so also over the bodies and

women.

Xerxes should send out a

enjoyment of

all

commission

over the country in search of beautiful damsels,

all

the

in order that his longing after a favourite might be satisfied.

This was not a sudden outbreak of an unheard-of act of

universally

When

was nothing

It

violence.

recognised

the

rather

or

expression

of

of

heavy yoke.

Alexander the Great did the same, and caused beauti-

women from

ful

but

else

right,

all

Asia^ to be

brought to his house, he

intended also to show therewith that he completely succeeded

to the

new

The harem

claims of the Persian great king.

Persian shah

supplied in the same manner.

is

of the

Chardin

gives an instructive representation of the process of fetching

and despatching the

In some

beauties.

cases,

modern

in

parents rather like the idea that a daughter of

times, the

demanded

theirs should be

for the harem, for they promise

themselves to obtain thereby a certain amount of influence

and

Sometimes,

interest at court.

himself goes

among the Armenians

their daughters

when

But, alas

away.

still

in

search

of beautiful

young, because such are not taken

sometimes

were used as a means

further said, the king

custom among these to betroth

It is therefore the

wives.

it is

it

happened that these searches

of exercising private spite, hatred,

and

revenge, and the Armenians (so-called Christians) have de-

nounced each other when

had

families

concealed

their

daughters from the vile inquisitors of the king (Voyage,

Married

242).

want

women were

of right, but because virgins were needed.^

Among

the Mongolian shahs,

a statute right to
^

vi.

mostly spared, not because of

Diodor. xvii. 77

demand
1^ UTrccaZu

it is

said that the prince has

the wives of his subjects.

rau

x,a.ra,

rojy

On

^Aaixu yvvuiKuv WiKzhiy-

and 3 it is said nblDl mj?3 5?3 shall be sought. Chardin

226 " II n'y entre que des vierges. Quand on en sait quelqu'une
parfaite en beaute, en quelque endroit que ce soit, on la demande pour le
Haram et cela ne se refuse point."
2

In

says, vi.

vers. 2
:

'

CHAP.

II.

49

5.

account of this circumstance there was a long war in 1320,

because an emir would not give up his wife, Bagdad-Khatun
(Desguignes,

some

New

In the Osman Empire

303).

iii.

used to be sought for Sultan Ibrahim, in order

slaves

each Friday he

that

him

should

have a new one brought to

He

as to a religious solemnity.

a favourite of high

made

stature,

and

fancied he would like

search

was consequently

over Constantinople for such a person

all

good deal of trouble, they found at

who was

last

and, after a

an Armenian

woman

She succeeded in ingratiating her-

a giant.

tall as

his favour, so that, she

self into

under

also,

such cruelty was carried on to great excess.

sultans,

became most powerful, and

provoked the jealousy of the other women,

until, at last, the

sultana invited her to an entertainment, where she caused her

to be strangled.

(Hammer,

It

was then reported that she died suddenly

359).

v.

For David also a handsome damsel was sought in

Israel

but

it

read, " she cherished the

knew

the king

Yer.

The

"

5.

her not

"

Kings

(1

now

for

reference

to

the sake

into that of Israel.

whom

introducing

of

the

all

These are two in number, a

niece, guardian

Jew was

in

Shushan the

in

to

only in-

persons,

castle."

the

in

made.

far

a woman, uncle and

"A

deliverers of Israel.

under Eehoboam.

opposition

certain

narrative

is

were thus

reports

man and

of

certain

The name Yehudi (Jew)

vogue in Southern Palestine

in

ten tribes

stood

are the

The

harem

etc.

They form the central point

and minor.

They

the book.

but

4).

i.

There was a certain Jew in Shushan"

history passes

terrupted

him

king, and ministered to

of the selection of a virgin for the royal

came

We

After he repented he became master of himself.

man.

the

all

was in order that she might nurse the old

after the

separation of

The kingdom

kingdom

of

Israel.

of

Judah

It

still

continued for a century after that of Israel had passed away,

and during

this time there

was but one Yehudah, or Judea,

D

BOOK OF ESTHER.

50
in

The conquest and the

Holy Land.

the

obscured

chadnezzar

Shalmaneser
nezzar

receded

holy

the

preceding

all

The deeds

conquered, and

was

Jerusalem

of

By Nebuchad-

background.

the

to

city

Nebu-

rule of

events.

the

inhabitants of the kingdom, who were called Jews (2 Kings

xvi.

him

XXV. 25), were by

6,

keeping

through

made

the national faith, have

These

led into exile.

maintain

the

name Yehudi

especially

The sharp contrast between Judah and

distinguished.

was given up in a strange land.

penitent sorrow of the exile, the
a dearly loved

and cherished

last,

to

order

in

together,

closely

To the ten

name

Israel

the

tribes, in

of Jerusalem

was again

The breach caused by

one.

the secession of Jeroboam was only repaired in the captivity.

While

Israel,

the

name, only expressed their

ideal Biblical

humiliated

position

universally

known

God,

before

designation

the

as

Jews

proved that

all

book of Esther, although

in the

all of

Jew

whom

it

became

every one

of

Therefore

manifested the faith of Israel.

are called

name

the

treats belonged to the

who

the captives
it

cannot be

captivity of

Nebuchadnezzar, as there must have been some there

who

were taken captives by his predecessor Shalmaneser.

The
Jews

which Nebuchadnezzar distributed

in

districts

We

are not clearly defined.

that they were taken to Shinar,

brought back Jews

ii.

1).

But such

who had

p.

i.e.

It is well

173).

Loristan (see

known

home was

Babylon (Ezra

my

districts

It

i.

11
Tel-

Geschichte der Juden,

came back under,

The permission

of

Cyrus

for

evidently not merely an act of kind-

ness on his part, but also an act of policy, as

farther on.

Zerubbabel

Babylon.

that not all

the leadership of Zerubbabel.

their return

to

i.

and Addan, names which define

nielach, Telcharsha, Cherub,

the old Elymais,

i.e.

lived in

them who had come from

also joined

tlie

learn only from Dan.

we

was certainly only Jewish colonies

which emigrated.

It

ance to Cyrus to found there a

was not

shall see

of definite

of the highest import-

new mighty

State,

which might

afterwards become independent, but only that these territories

CHAP.

II.

51

0.

who

should be settled by weak and thankful colonies

tained

anti

Babylonian

There

sentiments.

enter-

remained

yet

behind a multitude, notably in Shushan, from which place,

Nehemiah, none seem

the residence of Daniel and

been sent back (Dan.

The man

viii.

Neh.

with Zerubbabel

name

so

is

of one

have

1).

name does not occur

This

Another captive who returned

in Israel before the captivity.

the

i.

called Mordecai.

is

to

Ezra

called

who was born

ii.

in exile.

Neh.

It is

vii. 7.

It is according to

Persian analogy.^

In the

syllable

first

Mardontes, Mardus

it

corresponds to Mardonius

in the last

Artachaes (comp. Herod,

vii.

thing similar in the names of

Canon

in the

had

his

be true

of Ptolemy.

it is

like that of

(siD">lD),

Artachaeus or

One is reminded of some22).

Mardokempad and Mesesimordak
To say that Mordecai the Jew-

name from the idol Merodach, would not certainly

but the name of the idol is itself derived from the
Arm. martj

Sanscr. martiya^

Pers. mere?

= man,

and

it

does not

preclude the supposition that other compounds were used witii

Moreover, when the name of Mordecai was once

this word.^

currently used, the

Jew

name, which

At any
Merodach

who

rate,

decai

is

St.

Martin could bear his

the

derivation of

the

it

is

" soft."

name

proposed

by Oppert,

derived from the modern Persian mardic,

But

it

is

remarkable that the name Mor-

only given to a native of the captivity

circumstance

apart from

mart, merd =m.QXi, signifying "the manly,"

and surer than the one

thinks

meaning

with as great indifference

derived from Mars.

from

clearer

is

is

it

could bear

to its allusion as the Christian

corroborates

the

otherwise

evident

and

this

fact,

that

was not a happy conjecture of the learned Molinus of Venice (de

lipsanis St. Marci Evangelistae, Eomae 1864, p. 10), that the name
of Mark the evangelist was originally Mordecai, from wliich the Roman
name Marcus was formed. It cannot be established that this was always
^

vita

It

et

name of Marcus, nor why it should be so (comp. Gotting,

Nadir. 1865, p. 905).
See my article " Mordecai in Herzog's Realencyklop. p. 365.

the case with the

fjelehr.
^

'*

BOOK OF

52

Mordecai was not one

ESTIIEE.

who were

of those

exiled, as it

curiously enough concluded from ver. 6, where

his

name was Mordecai,

we

read

was

"And

the son of Jair, the son of Shimei,

the son of Kish, a Benjamite

who had been

carried

away

from Jerusalem with the captives, which had been carried

away with Jechoniah

(Jehoiachin),

whom

king of Judah,

jN'ebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away."

The

clear

genealogical

and instructive intentions of the historian in the

passage are

evident.

He

points

through

out,

the enumeration of the four generations from Kish to Mordecai,

the time which elapsed since the banishment of Jechoniah,

which took place before the destruction

period of about

115-120

of the temple.

years which since then elapsed to the

sixth year of Xerxes are exactly expressed

We

tions.

The

by the four genera-

have also some intimation concerning the period of

the narrative, which

is

assigned to the reign of Xerxes

That Kish was a Benjamite,

distinguishing

I.

only told for the purpose of

is

him from other men with the same name who

One might have thought

belonged to the tribe of Levi.

it

impossible that Biblical expositors should commit the mistake

of

making the information concerning the

Mordecai himself,

refer to

an

Jechoniah

exile of

idea for which there

is

neither

textual nor historical foundation, but rather both against

had been the

If this

case,

Ahhashverosh immediately
could not be

so,

Ezra, whoever

author
of

is

whom

why

author would have placed

the

Nebuchadnezzar

after

but this

according to the narrative in Daniel and

we may

consider Ahhashverosh to be.

The

well acquainted with the fact that a king of Persia,

he reports, succeeded Cyrus

before Media.

and not

it.

to

If the relation

is^j?

for

he puts Persia

in ver. 6 refers to

Mordecai

Nebuchadnezzar, there would have been no reason

the narrator should only mention the three generations

Jair, Shimei,

and Kish, and, indeed, why he should mention

more than Mordecai's

father, as

where he mentions only Esther's

of the Midrash, that

by Kish

he does similarly in
father, Abihhail.

is

ver. 15,

The opinion

here to be understood the

CHAP.

King

of

jfiither

II.

53

5.

and hardly

Saul, is only hoiniletical trifling,

deserves notice.

Kish had been meant, King Saul or any other

that

If

member

in the genealogical line as given in 1 Sam. ix.

have been mentioned

but this

opinion that this Mordecai

ii.

who

2,

is

would

Again, the

not the case.

Ezra

identical with the one of

is

returned to Jerusalem,

also groundless.

is

First,

because this one came from Babylon, and not from Shushan.
Secondly, the book of Ezra itself reports that Ahhashverosh,

whoever he

may

reigned

be,

after

Cyrus,

and therefore

Mordecai would have reached an excessively great age

had been one of those carried

as

were

there

if

by Nebuchadnezzar,

into exile

about sixty years from the banishment of

We

Jechoniah to the return of the captives with Zerubbabel.

would

reach

he

monstrous

the

conclusion

of

Duke

the

of

Manchester, and of the German doctors after him, which the

Biblical

genealogy

destroys,

itself

the relation

if

arbitrarily connected with ^lordecai, instead of, as

is,

with the

last

Above

name.

all things, it is

it

"i^t?

be

naturally

necessary to be

cautious of theories, for the sake of which all the hitherto

received and well-established views are

when we

whilst,

follow the simple rendering of the verse as

indicated, everything

is

beautifully harmonious.

The Midrash (Esther 92a) makes

peculiar and groundless assertion

ya^ his name.

It says

When

man, the word yo^ stands

when

it

Micah
"a

upon the

fanciful

his

way

position of the

word

the Scripture speaks of a bad

after his

name, as Nabal his name

name was Mordecai."

But

iDtJ^I

it

stands

stands before

in Judg. xvii. 1; before Doeg, 1 Sam. xxi. 7; before Sheba,

man

of Belial," 2

after Josiah, 1

1;

and before others who cannot be

On

the other hand, the word stands

Sam. xx.

reckoned among the good.

Kings

xiii.

after Daniel,

the names of the best m,en, and, above

Zech.

own

in its

speaks of a good man, as here of Mordecai,

"And

before.

thrown overboard

vi.

Branch)

12, where
is

his

we

read,

Dan.

all,

x.

and after

after the Messiah,

"Behold the man, Zemach

{i.e.

name, he shall build the temple of the Lord."

BOOK OF ESTHER.

54

The fourth generation from the

exile of Jechoniah witnessed

Mordecai must

the events of which this book treats.

have been in the prime of

who

He had

life.

an orphan daughter behind.

died and left

Mordecai, of whose wife or children nothing

was no nearer

to his house, as there

the nurse of the child of

and as Moses said to the Lord

people

have I brought them

"

girl,

and he became

For the word pi? or

infancy, as

its

Kuth from

This

reported, took

is

relative,

her nursing father, pt?, from her youth.

n^DS implies nursing of a child from

still

a relation Abihhail,

Have

Naomi was

birth (Ruth

its

conceived

forth, that

iv.

16),

all

this

Thou shouldest say

unto me. Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father carries

the suckling child?" (Num.

narrative shows that this

He

12).

xi.

own

father and mother cherish their

cherished her as a

child

and the whole

was not done perfunctorily, but with

his whole heart.

Ver.

The

nriDS

7.

girl

was

X'-n

nonn-nj^

"

Hadassah, that

is,

Esther."

and of

called in the house of her parents

Mordecai, Hadassah,

" Myrtle,"

i.e.

Myrto, a name which in

very ancient times had reference to the connection of beauty

with fruitfulness
therefore

hence

appropriately

it

was a symbol

chosen

an

as

and was

of Venus,

epithet

the

to

girl.

Jewish women, as among other Eastern nations, have always

had names borrowed from

the names of Jewish

from

all

Fiore, etc. (see Zunz,

The Midrash acknowledges

the

It says, Mordecai's

righteous,

because

she

Isa.

Iv.

1 3,

where we

Namen

this

to us

dcr Juden,

73,

in

read

etc.).

always

They apply

winter.
" Instead

and by the

was

but

faded,

shall come up the fir tree, and instead

come up the myrtle tree," understanding,

thorn and brier Vashti,

p.

comment on the

in its

cousin was called Myrtle, like

never

blooming both in summer and

her

need only refer to

the Middle Ages, such as Flora, Myrrha, Blumchen,

Blume, Rosa,

passage.

We

flowers.

women which have come down

of

of the

the

brier shall

of course,

myrtle

to

thorn

by the

Esther (Bab.

CHAP.

Megilla

On

lOh).

II.

hand,

other

the

55

7.

the

Church

time," says he, "

when

and could

We

ii.

15),

say,

he

{Comm. ad

'

Jes., ed.

are a sweet savour of

of

the truth to the truth

Talmudical word for myrtle

with

it

(2 Cor.

'

But the prophecy goes

The
itself.

538).

iv.

Christ

and myrtle tree"

cypress

called

Migne,

beyond the preacher

that

he preached the gospel in the world,

rightly

is

Father

At

"

[Jerome] refers this passage to the Apostle Pauh

is ndj^,

as in Syriac.

the Persian i^DlDDN (see Vullers,

Compare

601).

i.

"iriDx N\i.

Esther was the name which the

Pers.

it, i<-i^nD''N,

m^no

Greek

after the

Zend, stara.

received in the harem

name from innox,

correctly derives the

writes

girl

E. Nehemia

as a favourite of the king.

And

loh)^

(in Megilla

the

or as

aarrip, star

in Persian

it

Targum

Syr. N"inDS

has the special

sense of the lustre of Venus, Fortuna {sidus genethliacum), of

the morning star (see Vullers,

ii.

the king, "the morning star of

were customary

for the

Caliph Hisham

II.

220), as the Persians call

the throne."

Such names

wives and favourites in the East.

of Spain gave to his beloved Eadhiyet the

surname of Fortunate Star (Hammer, Namen der Araher,

The name
(Herod,

vii.

of

The

the

legitimate wife

61-114, and

ix.

p.

11).

Xerxes, Amestris^

of

likewise

169), will

be

best

Amesha (nt^'DS) and Sitra,

For with Amesha (heavenly,

explained from the compound of

mriD, meaning heavenly star.

immortal) and Cpenta are also the

which

that they could find the

duced in the

name

We may
Yehudah

name

of

the

of Atossa,

circumstance against this

word.

seven genii designated,

Some have thought

are the gods of the seven planets.

is,

that

rather consider

name

Hadassah, myrtle, reproof Darius.

wife

Hadassah
that

it

is

only a

The

Hebrew

has some relation

is derived from "iDD, to

Trans.]
2 Comp. the name of the beautiful Amazon in Hyrcania, Qx'Kriarpis, in
Diodor. xvii. 77, in respect to the latter part of the name, and of Amytis
(by Ctesias), daughter of Cyaxares, in respect to the first part.
^

[R.

says, that the

of Esther

hide, because she did not tell of her origin.

56

BOOK OF ESTHER.

with the Persian word

I^TIX,

light, splendour, fire.

"With this

word the Persians designated the phoenix on account

magnificent brilliancy, and by the term "isnn CTii^ they

called

the red rose and the tulip, as the splendour of spring.

Like-

name Eoxane/

wise the
explained

" the

meaning

the beautiful wife of Alexander,

derived from

be

to

of its

The

shining one."

Eoshen Pehlvi,

the

is

njc^sn,

favourite of the Spanish

Caliph Abderrahman III. was called ISTureddunja, " the light

of the world."

was

famous woman in the harem

"

[N'urbanu,

called

Muhamedan

India

woman

of

name

had the

Famous Chassekis

the harem."

light

of

of the

"

Stamboul

of

another

Nurmahal,

Osman

the

in

" light

of

sultans were

called Mahpeiker, " moonlike " (this is a favourite expression

Mahfirus, " favourite of the crescent

of Pirdussi for a girl).

Mihrmah,

"

follows:

Parysatis, the

sun-moon."

form

Perisade,

wife

of

"

" the

Chasseki

viii.

meat

of

Grecian

the

"

birth

was

"the one with

Favourite
Dshanfeda, " offering of soul
;

plaited

hair"

(Hammer,

Gescli,

358); Sheckerbuli, "sugar-plum;" Sheckerpara, "sweet;

Sheckerchatun,

"

" sugar- woman."

This

Delhi at the time of Firuzshah.

Kosem was

called Ssafiye, " the pure."

so

of Eeine, Eeinchen occur

names

the

was

The famous

p.

among them.

186), as the

We

conclude

two wives of Darius, Phaidyme and

The former may properly be compared with Fatime

Parmys.
later

of

last

Jewesses also were

(comp. Weil, Lehen Mohammeds,

called

names

of

named Kothronneda,

princess at

with

child

as

later

Gulnusch, "rose-drink of spring."

female slaves had such names

Sudshbagii,

names are

" angel's

or

Mothaded was

An Osman

dewdrop."

called Eebia

peculiar

mother of Artaxerxes IL, in

perichild "

Caliph

the

Other such

"
;

times

duction of

but Parmys

n''i<D"in,

the

name

is

to

be taken as the repro-

of a cow,

which according

to

the legend suckled King Feridon, the most renowned person

She was the daughter of Ahmed ibn Tanhm, ruler of Egypt. Her
was so great, that in the kitchen there were no less than 1000
golden mortars (Hammer, Geinaldesaal, iv. 268).
1

outfit

CHAP.

II.

7.

in all Persian traditions (Vullers,

i.

represented by the Oriental

is

names

of

name

Queen Labe

as

slaves

with

We

meet there with such a

The Caliph Harun had female

(sun).

names

the

truth

seen from the collection

contained in the story of

is

The Tliousand and One Nights.

How much

226).

fable, is

which

of favourites

57

Coral -mouth,

Alabaster -throat,

of

Coral-branch, Moon-face, Full-moon of the full-moons, Sunshine, Pearl-necklace,

Dawn

of the morning, Garden-flower,

name

Sugarcane, and the most favourite

of

all,

Morning-star

(see xi. 27, xii. 102).^

nsno nniDl

and

The

mr^ni

"li^riTiS''

And

"

maiden

the

vjas

fair

heautifid."
first

adjective expresses in the original, to a certain

degree, the regular beauty of her figure

the second expresses

the gracefulness and amiability of her manners.

The Mid-

rash has a very curious homily about her age.

In spite of

the text, which calls her a

the Eabbis

a young

nnj;^, i-e.

girl,

Some maintain

are divided in their opinion about her age.

that she was from forty to eighty years old.
declare that she

was seventy-four years

old,

Others again

because the letters

of Hadassah, noin, are numerically equivalent to seventy-four,

and because Abraham was

he

The sense

Haran.

left

years old

also seventy-five

when

of this homiletical peculiarity

is,

that there was something very wonderful in the reception of

Esther by the king.

Although she was so

miraculously found favour in his sight.

would not have come

Piabbis

they had not

felt

to

this

old,

Nevertheless the
strange

an advanced

make the supposition that Mordecai had

among the captives of Nebuchadnezzar tenable.
to

Conip. the names which, according

wives had
bird, etc.

Tender-violet, Shining-star,

(Hammer,

Khiljy, to

whom

comment

if

the logical necessity of assigning to Esther

at this period of the story such

yet she so

Rosendl.

i.

243).

age, in order

already been
It is their

to Oriental legend, Solomon's

Sun-lustre, Phoenix, Paradise-

heroic female slave of Alaeddin

he entrusted the defence of a

Guli Behesht, Rose of paradise {Gemcildesaal,

castle,

iv. 218).

had the name of

BOOK OF ESTHER.

58

fashion thus to meet by

way

homily historical

of

and solve them by combinations of

difficulties,

Now,

letters.

as such

homiletical solutions are contrary to reason, they just prove

what they want

to

by which Mordecai

avoid,

anachronism

the monstrous

viz.

placed as far back as the time of

is

Nebuchadnezzar.

Ver. 8. yotJTin

commandment
The notice

in this verse

Esther was so
itself

"So

NT*"!

tradition

Mordecai, her

not given without reason.

If

circumstance easily explains

the

of beauties that

of the great choice

informs

through

us,

guardian and

second

the

father,

Targum, that

had

but people

who knew

some time among the

girls,

her,

kept her

drew

and had not seen her

their attention

concealment.

This they reported to the king,

diately issued

an order,

come

the kinrjs

order not to be obliged to deliver her to the

concealed, in

royal agents
for

when

to pass,

hea^rd!'

be brought to Shushan, she was not overlooked.

w^ere- to

Jewish

was

is

beautiful,

why, in the midst

came

it

a.nd his decree

to

tlie

effect

that wherever

the knowledge of the authorities that a

to

to the

who immeit

has

man had

refused to deliver his daughter, he should be hanged

by the

neck before his own house.

What

here told does certainly correspond

is

custom, but our book gives no occasion for

it.

originated in the East, where the search after

harem had become an

oppressed

to Eastern

The

tradition

women

for the

intolerable nuisance, especially to the

population.

was

It

suppose that Mordecai did

all

therefore

quite

natural

to

he could, as loving parents do

sometimes now-a-days, to keep Esther away from the covetous

eyes

of the royal

manner

to

The Midrash wanted

eunuchs.

characterize

more

closely

both

the

in

this

admirable

beauty of Esther and the prudent precaution and love of her

uncle.

But

this does not at all

ideas of the narrative.

Here

intimated, that no especial

it is

harmonize with the higher

precisely

attention had

and instructively
been directed

to

CHAP.

She was fetched

Esther.

As one plucks

girls.

II.

59

9.

in the ordinary

flowers

way with crowds

a garden

in

present

to

of

bouquet to a dear friend, so they here collected a variety

human

of

provided

beings from

had

they

gardener w^as the

w^omen,

who had

for

attractiveness

(t?jn,

''^n

places

all

any

ver.

enjoyment,

sensual

and

The

colour.

Aga, the keeper of the

3),

This was

the charge of the women's house.

the most important person in such acts as here described.

As the damsels were introduced by him

the

of

book

our

narrative of

to the

show the

manifestly to

is

king, his

The intention

was of great weight.

influence and his favour

wonderful help which was provided for Israel for the time
This

of their need.
fact,

appear exactly from the opposite

to

is

that Esther was not concealed^ but at once found and

The cleverness and the

given up.

fetched her, and of those

taste of the people

who administered

who

the affairs of the

harem, were also instruments of deliverance in God's hands.

Among

the hundreds

who were placed under

the Aga, the gracefulness of Esther struck

Ver.

mv:n

9.

nDTil

Curtius narrates

"

And

the

23,

etc.)

(viii. 4.

the care of

him the most.

maiden pleased him."

that

it

happened when

once Alexander was at a banquet, there were thirty noble

him

virgins presented to

but although they were

all of

the

choicest beauty, yet the eyes of all were directed to Eoxane,

as she surpassed
electas

them

processerat,

The same was the

the

(Quae quanquam inter

in good looks.

omnium tamen

Aga was beyond

all

attracted

in

oculos convertit

se.)

The experienced eye

case with Esther.

by

her,

of

and he paid her

the best attention, and showed her favours, which were of

importance

to

Midrash says

and

her
that

her

is

pleased

false.

him

so

career.

he foresaw that she would

become queen, and therefore he was

this

future

friend's

Eather

much

was

it,

eventually

so friendly to

that

Esther's

The

her.

But

gracefulness

that he undertook, so far as lay in his

power, to risk everything in order to

make her

queen.

The

60

BOOK OF ESTHER.
which he had in

pleasure

he

her

by

natural beauty

n^pnion

" nt?

organic root
hasten.

The

is hn, is

Yes,

means.

artificial

bni'^).

German

The Greek word a^aiXkaaOai

ilian.

a^.

cause for doing

so,

The idea

Here

did not

similarly

is

of hastening contains in

it

therefore also trembling, terror in

He

delivered

even before her turn came to

to Esther prior to all others,

women's

receive them, the necessary materials provided for the

before they could be introduced to the king

meant the quick despatch

and he

of this business as a favour to her

lor the longer she participated in his nursing care, the

We

would become.

beautiful she

read

"

And

to the

harem must

order to refresh herself,

in the

case

of

young

etc.

girls,

first

and

more

he speedily

gave her things for purification, with her portions."

newcomer

the

in our passage the verb 5>n2 has the sense of

hurrying to carry out a duty and a privilege.

toilet

Old

illa^i,

an anxiety to carry out some important

duty or strenuous order

general.

Grimm

Old German word

discern, is connected with the

connected with

whose

t'nn,

German word eilen, to

German word, which does

not occur in the Gothic, and whose origin

S.

of him,

first

of

represented by the

clear that this

it is

said

It is

special

increasing her

meaning

original

by

manifested

exertions in her behalf, for the purpose of

Each

undergo an ablution in

custom

this

is also

because the bath

is

observed
the most

essential part, according to Oriental custom, in the process

of effecting a good bodily appearance, with wdiich all other

adornment

is

connected.

So

then

the

word

evidently received the meaning of preparing the

of things generally necessary for

The

portions (niiD)

making a good

consisted of

has

toilet,

and

ddhut.

magnificent dresses and

ornaments, which were given to every

Not only was Esther

pnttn

woman

of the harem.^

privileged in speedily receiving every-

thing necessary for her external appearance, but she

^

The explanation

meant
times.

of Clericus on this passage, that

food, is quite erroneous.

The women

also

by the portions

is

naturally received food at all

CHAP.

61

9.

seven selected slaves to wait upon her.

received

word

11.

ni*5<")n,

part.

pass.

In the

pL, which only occurs in

pers.

this

passage, lies the significance of the selection of the servants

which were proper

for

As

her.

who were

all

received their share of servants, the distinction

the

received

shown

to her

have consisted in the point of time ivhen she

not

could

gathered

but in point of their

servants,

They were

and appearance.

q^iialifications

of the very best sort.

Likewise

number

in point of numher, they were seven, the same

of

servants as were allotted to the great court ladies.

The Targum has a peculiar comment upon the number of

In order to show how Esther could, amidst her

servants.

surroundings,

remember which day was the Sabbath, it says

this from the number of her slaves
for every

knew

that she

day she had another

name

to wait

of the day of the

upon

who was
when

her,

the one

who

knew

that

served on the Sabbath came to wait upon her, she

it

was the Sabbath day.

thought which

Targum

It is certainly a peculiar Oriental

makes a calendar

also further gives the

of

names

human

servants

well

as

poetical names, borrowed from nature.

the Targum;
noticed

We

mistresses

as

This

and

have already

is

have

imitated in

but the Jewish teachers themselves

had not

They took these names from the

before.

it

The

beings.

of the seven slaves,

that in a poetical and instructive manner.

mentioned that the

by the

called

week, and thus

history

of the creation, so that they can only be elucidated from the

things that were created in the

gives

"

slave

We

ideas.

firmament or

fore

called

and

day was

begin

with

sky was created.

Monday,

This

which waited upon Esther on

better

xn^ypn,

Heaven's child."

fruit

this

comment

undoubtedly the appearance of being tinctured with

Christian

The

But

week.

first

" Garden-flower."

from

in

this

which the

Hebrew

j;''P"i.

day was there-

meaning something

On Tuesday were

all vegetables,
xn''3i3:i,

xn^yp"),

is

in

like

created the trees, their

and so the name of the slave of the

"
p, NnjJ,

the garden," corresponding to

'

62

BOOK OF ESTHER.

On

the fourth day, Wednesday, were created the stars of

heaven

they are called in the Targum, Gen,

(as

and therefore the name of the servant

On Thursday were

" Starlight."

The Hebrew

word

By

" Butterfly."

reading

way,

the

Eemarkable

erroneous.

the

is

Talmud by
named xn^ti'm,

the

in

through

and the

established,

is

created all creeping things.

expressed

is

attendant of this day

the

tTTn, therefore

ptj'

14, pvi:),

i.

day was Nnninj,

of the

is

explanation

this

attended her on the sixth day, in which the cattle and

were created.

meaning

It is

Be

29), "Little lamb."

xxi.

it

Lamb "

remembrance

Christian

to the slaughter

The seventh day

For

yjn

is

name

The servant

"

Quiet "

is

accord with the

Lamb

the

as

of the servant is
"

of

God

rest,

NrT'VJ"),

the quiet
" Quiet."

both by Jewish and Christian

xxxv. 20

Ps.

Gen.

Targ.

on that day.

rendered " quiet

commentators in

Him who

is in

the Sabbath, the day of

is

Therefore the

time.

of

(see

remembered that Friday

designated by a lamb, which certainly

was led

man

the diminutive form of NQ-nn,

xn^an^n,

Chald. and Syriac the "

in

the

Mezahh Ahron, etc., is

name of the slave who

of

"the

reminded

quiet in the

Esther

that

it

land."

was the

The day following the Sabbath, our Lord's day,

on which the light was created, Esther had an attendant
whose name was ND^n, which is best explained from ij^n, the
Sabbath.

name

of a rare bird,

rightly, to be the
is

which

phoenix

a symbol of light

is

taken mostly, though not always

(see

my Schwan,

and so we see

p. L).

The phoenix

here, as in connection

with Friday, traces of Christian symbolism, in which the

lamb

of

was not

Friday

is

satisfied

sooner than to the

also to her

house.

and

the risen phoenix of Sunday.

But the Aga

with the mere giving to Esther her ornaments

rest,

and the best

of servants.

to her servants the best

He

assigned

apartments in the

The phrase

w^:r\ n^n niDi^ n^nnyrriNT n:c'^i can have

no other sense than that he changed the place where she had
dwelt into a better.
But if n^B^^l refers to her person, then it
reads,

"he wrought a change

in her for the best

(niL3^)

in

CHAP.

63

10.

II.

We may

women."

reference to the house

of the

the verb

Syriac example in Acts

nr^',

" transtulit," "

after the

translate

43, by

vii.

he transferred her."

"Esther had not shoiml

Ver. 10. nDy-nx^ iddx nTt^n-t?^

had charged her

her people nor her kindred; for Mordecai

that she should not shoiv it"

This prohibition

his

to

testifies

becomes now evident why so much

wisdom and

piety.

It

on

stress is laid in ver. 7

the fact that Esther had lost her parents, and that Mordecai

had adopted her

alive,

as his daughter.

her parents had been

If

such concealment of nationality on her part would have

been next to impossible.

to hide her origin,

It

would have been

love would have sooner or later betrayed

who

difficult for

and the parental love and her own

did not love her less than her

filial

But Mordecai,

it.

own

her

had that

parents,

good sense and that judgment which are better safeguards to

love than vanity and self-pleasing, which are so often

mixed

up with the

Esther

better feelings in the hearts of parents.

belonged to a people in the kingdom which politically and

religiously represented a

The accusation which

them had

marked contrast

Haman

afterwards

brought

against

surely occupied the public attention of the

At

querors and

the priests before.

been useful

for Esther to conceal her

now

to the ruling people.

all

events,

it

exalted to such a high position, her only aim

of the

been to find favour in the eyes

king

must have

As

descent.

and

con-

she was

must have
to this

end

a knowledge of her nationality in the circle of the house of

women

could in nowise be advantageous to her.

might rather, sooner or

Persia,

Mordecai,

who was

at

home

in

was well acquainted with the conditions of the court

and of the
as

it

imperil both the position of

later,

Esther and that of her people.

Indeed

capital.

Vashti did,

How

and so

people's misfortunes (see

easily could Esther fall into disgrace,

herself

be the main

Yalkut on the passage)

cause
!

of

her

So also in

the contrary event, as the history has taught, what dangers

BOOK OF ESTHER.

64
would ensue

from her nationality being known,

to Esther

Jews should -arise

persecutions against the

which she was

later

if

The deliverance

humanly

called to achieve succeeded,

speaking, only because no one knew that she belonged to

Israel.
Had it been known, the intrigues for her destruction

Add

would have been commenced.

whose

perhaps favourably disposed to other Jews besides her,

had

position

been known

to be taken into

was

to this that the king

consideration; and

that she also was a Jewess,

if

it.

had

envious tongues

would have been busy with the charge of preponderating

Jewish influence at

court.

The Midrash says that Mordecai showed his modesty

by prohibiting Esther from making her pedigree known.
Xhere

truth

is

in

He

this.

certainly

thereby renounced

claims upon honours and presents which would have fallen

him

to

as her nearest kindred.

Chardin says that

it is still

the custom in modern Persia to give pensions to the family

of a lady of the seraglio

and the more she

the king, the greater are the pensions {Voyage,

But Mordecai had love

daughter

was going on

secret

that

Thus he could the more

at

It

court.

Esther's

But the

? ^

and

esteemed by

vi.

626, 627).

for his [adopted]

but he had no desire for the acquisition of

and honours.

possible

for his people

is

what

might be asked, how was

nationality

secret

money

freely observe

should

was in Esther's own hands, and

depended upon her discretion as to the time

entirely

revealing

it.

it

remain a sealed

For the arbitrary and domineering

spirit

of

with

which women are sought and bought in the name of the king
above

is

all

the petty differences of nationality, which

not care to inquire into.

The person who

is

have physical good

1

Out

it

does

Beauty and enjoyment are sought.

admitted into the seraglio needs only to

looks.

History, name, parents, and birth

of this question arose the Talmudical opinion (Megilla

13rt),

that

we must not
but

n'^ii',

read that Mordecai took Esther T\lh for a daughter (ver. 7),
into the house.
We are reminded of Bathsheba the wife of

whom Nathan said in his sermon on penitence to David, that

he had robbed her husband of the one ewe-lamb he had.
Uriah, of

CHAP.

are of no

II.

65

10.

During the time in which the Turks

account.

war with Christian nations

carried on a prolonged

in Europe,

the sultans carried on their vicious amusements with

women

from Greece, Eussia, Poland, Hungary, and

So was

Italy.

the Sultana Tarslian in the seventeenth century a Pole, Bafifa

Murad

the powerful concubine of

Kosen
That

had

mother

the

the

origin

by the various
I.,

even

mark upon

left their

Soliman

Ibrahim the Vicious was a Greek.

of

of

IV. was from Venice, and

such

distinguished persons

was unknown,

history

w^ho

testified

Churem, the favourite

reports concerning

who was an

is

extraordinary woman.

say that she was a peasant woman.

of

French authors

Other writers affirm that

she was the sister of King Sigismund, so that the latter would
be, of course, Soliman's

brother

in

law.

Others again say

that she was a native of Siena in Italy, a daughter of

Marsigli,

and had been kidnapped by robbers.

If so,

her the Pope Alexander became related to the sultan.

she

is

But

as

usually called a Eussian, she must have come from

Galicia.

Count Ezewuski asserted that she was the daughter

of a poor pope (priest) of Eohatyn, a small

(comp.

Nani

through

Hammer, Osm.

Gcsch.

iii.

town

in Galicia

The

672, 673, and 736).

Oriental legend tells that even slaves sometimes kept their

origin

lie

a profound secret.

not want a favourite of

sultan said once that he did

unknown

origin, for

he feared that

would have bad children by her (The Thousand and

One Nights,

xix. p. 97).

Aga without
bodies,

The maidens were delivered

name and without

a history, only as so

to the

many

and not even as a modern flock of camels, which

possess a history, biography,

before

him a multitude

as to

which nation they belonged.

knowledge,

it

The Aga had

and photography.

of beautiful faces

and he cared nothing

When

it

came

to

his

was through the women themselves, who sought

1 The Mid rash speaks of such experience and life at court when
it
remarks that Ahhasliverosh did not want to ascertain the origin of
Esther, because various nations have severally claimed her as belonging
to them.

BOOK OF ESTHER.

66
lo

It

therefore

Mordecai should forbid Esther herself

to tell of

gain some

sufficed that

advantage for

their

relations.

her origin, as the information would not come from other

For as soon as she was

quarters.

and Mordecai was

to her ceased,

"And

11.

Ver.

court of the

the seraglio all access

in

silent.

Mordecai walked every day hefore the

women's

liouse^^ etc.

But though he asked Esther

to

deny any knowledge of him,

As an
him to

yet his anxious paternal care for her did not cease.

apparent stranger,

make

it

was perhaps the more easy

inquiries about her welfare

he was daily

to

for

and proceedings

and so

be seen in the neighbourhood of the court.

The Midrash thinks that he was anxious

be enchanted, a belief which to this day

she should

lest

exists in

still

the

East.

Ver. 12.

We

"Now

vjhen the turn of evei^y

maiden

loas come!'

have here an exact description of the events that took

place in the inner circle of the house of

women.

But

this is

not for the purpose of telling us an anecdote from the secrets of

It is thereby emphatically intimated

the harem.

ful the providences

goal.

We

how wonder-

were by which Esther reached her happy

learn from Herodotus

(iii.

69) that Phaedyme, in

order to investigate whether there were certain marks

the body of the false Smerdis, had to wait

to

be called to the king

for,

wives come to them by turns

(f>OLT6ovo-t

Tolat Heparjo-t).

slight interval

then, in

it

he adds,
"

"

till

upon

her turn came

the Persians let their

(eV irepirpoirfi 'yap

Brj

yvva2K6<;

This successive turn was not a

lasted, it is

said, a

twelvemonth,

a year

which every newly -received woman had time

prepare herself for the day of meeting the king.

turns were

daily

occurrences,

Now

to

such

consequently the number of

women must have been about 360. In this matter

we see how closely our book agrees with the otherwise
known notices of classical writers, and how much liglit it
court

also

CHAP.

throws upon them.

67

12.

Curtius narrates (and

confirmed by

is

360 women with him

Plutarch) that Darius had

When

IT.

Dicaearch says in Athenaeus

(iii.

3. 24).

557) that there

(lib. xiii.

were only 350, the notice in our book leads us to give more
credence

to

the

report of

feature of the great

King

Curtius.

It

having every day in the year another

This Diodorus expressly says

a characteristic

is

he has the liberty of

of Persia that

woman

when he

to wait

upon him.

narrates of Alexander

the Great, that he had entirely adopted the luxurious habits

Persian

of a

His words are

ruler.

who were not

concubines, like Darius,

the days of the year

iviavTov

r)fjLp(oi^,"

"

("

xvii.

satisfied

princes

implebant).

in

as

evident

is

from

the

Yet the

times was not

later

The Osman sultan Murad

even with this number.

the round

Kara tov

Pellices ccc. et Ix.

6. 8,

(vi.

quot Dario fuerant, regiam

appears to be

number than

TrkiiOei tcjv

had 40 favourites and 500 female

III.

him

led with

in

These were to the number of

77).

avarice and luxury of the

He

less

ovk eXctTTOf ?

360, as Curtius expressly states

totidem,

"

number with

400

slaves; but

the Persian shahs,

Chardin {Voyage,

narrative of

vi.

243).

These twelve months were spent by the

women

in going

through a course of preparation by the application of the

means then usual

this

for

embellishing

of

one single occasion.

caricature of

all

and disgrace of woman, than was manifested

Certainly

women whether

with the selected

as special favourites
^

and

There was never a greater

in the institution of the harem.

life

bodies,

monarchical and manly power, never a more

legal degradation

of

their

and queens or

For their year was 360 days (comp.

it

was a question

they would be raised

not.

They

Ideler,

Handh. der

therefore

must

Chronologie^

Abimassr, a governor of Diarbekr, had for the number of new

calendar 365 female slaves, in order to have one a day (Hammer,
Gemdldesaal^ v. p. 40). This throws light upon what is told of tlie
" Hac igitur lege vivens ipse
Emperor Commodus (Lainprid, c. 5)

ii.

514).

cum

trecentis concubinis

aequo ex plebe

trecentisque aliis puberibus exoletis

et nobilitate coUegerat."

qjiios

BOOK OF ESTHER.

68

have considered the regulation which required a whole year

of personal preparation before meeting the king as a special

which

act of indulgence

his refined taste dictated.

his pleasure to see a rivalry

full

among

was given them

liberty

women, and

the

was

It

therefore

Everything of

to this effect.

luxury and pleasure was placed at their disposal

but this was

not in consideration for themselves personally, but only in

eventual enjoyment of the king, just as a

reference to the

landlord

house with

decorates

no exact information in reference

own

from what we read, that

six

months were spent in the application

six

months

resin of

as

is

tlie

fragrant

halsamodendron myrrha, which was esteemed very

Famous ointments were made

it.

The Arabs, says Athenaeus

call

ointments

in the time of Pliny

ointment," because
It consists of a

it

(Rist. Nat.

of ingredients,

as

in the

It.

Hhiya-bar Abba explains

viz. (jTaKTi)

it

and in Athenaeus

meant which

was

called " royal

among which

correctly
also

it

means

{6/jL(j)dKLov)

day the Orientals

IS

we

like tlie

is

myrrh,

xxx. 25).

by nDDD (Meg. 13a),

find that myrrha, called

stakte the

The explanation

of

not so correct, as ekaiov

of uuripc

olives.

To

this

very

perfume of very fragrant ointments

and pomades

as well as of other odours

one lives and

is

refreshed," says Chardin

instead of feeling, as in

(Ex.

They understand by

|i:pD?DX, is

oil

of the Parthians.

Scriptures

issuing from fresh myrrh.

Yehudah, that

ofMcfxiKLVov

the

of

oil

stakte, is a kind of ointment.

oil

3)

it.

is

was used by the kings

number

anointing

xiii.

of

688), generally

xv. p.

(lib.

myrrh, because they are produced from

Here, without doubt, the precious ointment

It.

purifications.

well known, fivppa, o-fivpva,

precious in olden times.

drops of

and

of oil of myrrh,

and other

in the use of sweet odours

"1^ is,

have

women

That there was a

year.

definite order in this respect is evident

p^

We

pleasure.

the toilet of the

to

which was given them during the

ion

not for

fine gilded paper,

the sake of the walls, but for his

(D^D'ki'n).

" In the East

158), "by perfumes,

overcome by them."

(iv.

our countries,

Eastern stories vividly describe the pleasures of the baths and

ciiAr.

II.

69

13.

the embrocations, and of the use

of

rose-water and other

fragrant essences, ointments, and odorous combs, in connection

with the course that people go through for improving and

adorning their external appearance.^

Ver. 1

mj;3n nmi

3.

"

Then

i7i

this wise

came

the inaiden

unto the king!'

This verse

means which,
"

him.

in her estimation,

she

had the liberty to use any

might conduce

to her pleasing

Whatsoever she desired was given her

out of the house of the

term

Every maiden that was

very instructive.

is

called to appear before the king

&<ni?, " to

could

women unto

to go

with her

the king's house."

By

the

go with," the Midrash finely understands that

choose any one to accompany her.

Every one
had the right of taking servants with them, so that they
might form the background in the interview.

But

it

belle to

was no

slight matter

even for the most pronounced

And

win the most spoiled and sensual king.

meeting together was to decide her

fate, either

secluded and uninfluential career, or of living

splendid though luxurious

life.

For

if

all

one single

of getting a

her

life

long a

she had failed to win the

affections of the king, she did not return the next

morning

to

the house of the women, which was superintended by the Aga,

but she w^ent to the harem, the house of the concubines,

where such women were kept and maintained who belonged

to the king,

and

whom

he disposed of according

Ver. 14. The eunuch

house of
IJ'X^,

women was

" beautiful,"

who was

at the

called Shaashgaz,

so

that

his

to his pleasure.

head of

rr^yiJ',

this

second

from the Persian

name means

"

minister

of

beauties " (as Kislar-Aga).

We

Ameny

{The Thousand and

found in Aelian
( Verm. Gesch. xii. 1), where he tells of a Greek woman that was brought
to the camp of Cyrus
women followed her whose duty was to plait her
hair and to anoint and to rouge her face.
Plutarch narrates (seven wise)
tliat the Sybarite women gave invitations to their friends a year before, in
order that they miglit have time to prepare their toilets.
1

refer particularly to the narrative of

One Nights, xx.

49).

Especially instructive matter

is

to be

BOOK OF ESTHER.

70
Ver.

15.

Esther"

"Now

when

turn

the

of

etc.

All that

good

their

rjnm

"iriDN-nn

her were

preceded
looks,

but none of

impression upon the king.

certainly distinguished

for

them had made any good

Finally,

was Esther's chance.

it

In order to intimate the significance of the moment, the

what he has not done

narrator just here adds,

name

He had

of Abihhail her father.^

in ver. 7, the

died early, and the

education of Esther, which suited her so well in her present

position,

was entirely the work of Mordecai.

her second father, due honour

fore, as

that she

is

originally " friend," " beloved,"

meant

Abihhail was

Though nn
on it came to

the father of Mordecai.

Jair,

word uncle

signify "uncle," as the

yet later

still

there-

given in ver. 7, in

is

only called " his uncle's daughter."

brother of

the

To him,

meaning

retains the

of " a friend of the house."

So Mishael and Elizaphan are called the sons of the

Til,

uncle of Aaron, for their father Uzziel was the brother of Amram
(Ex.

vi.

22; Lev.

x.

So also Abner

4).

of the uncle, nn, of Saul, for his father

Kish

(1

Sam.

derives from Saner,

Comp.

my Comm.

compared with
to

the

The Greek name

xiv. 51).
clhe,

it

213); and when

mother,

as

it

of

eto?, Pott rightly

follows that originally

it, it

brother of the

only that

p.

the son

called

{Eiym. Forsch.

to nourish

on Ruth,

is

Ner was a brother

is

it

xiv. 51.

rrjdki^

jrjdr]

was applied

mostly

used

so,

naturally was extended to the brother of the

The same connection of ideas must be ascribed

Hebrew nn. Its radical signification of " love " points

father also.
to the
to

maternal tenderness

breast.

nn

belongs

Comp. 1^ and

to

in

m,

Tn

popular

represents in

avunculus.

"breast,"

her child with her

"mamma,"

"nipple."

nn.

To the prominence which

Israelitish

nourishing

life

is

is

to

given to the father in the

be

ascribed

Scripture only the

We may
1

notice that

it is

the

fact,

patruus and

characteristic of

The LXX. has Aminadab.

that

not the

Roman

CHAP.

II.

"71

15.

nations, that for the brother of both parents avunculus

rather than patruus, although

Diez,

cf.

Lex.

der rom.

we meet such words

Targuni

former means only the

(Comp. uncle. Wall, unchin, Albanes.

brother of the mother.

miki

the

Spraclie,

In

697.)

p.

from this Hebrew Ahh'em comes

German word Oheim, and

Dnj< or

There can be no doubt that

mother's brother.

for

the

as nnx, viz. nxns, father's brother.

Evidently there must have been a corresponding word,

DNHN',

usual

is

the hitherto unexplained

that this also

meant

originally the

mother's brother.

"

The

She required nothing."

characteristic

artificial

king.

feature

which these words indicate

The other women could not

very significant.

means with which

The supplies

of

to

is

enough

find

make an impression upon

the

ornaments and other things which

they had received for this purpose from the Aga was deemed

by them as
to

insufficient,

satisfy their

and they demanded more in order

burning desire to become

She had no such

Esther cared nothing about these things.

ambitious desires.

Her

But

favourites.

become some-

heart did not burn to

thing which was indeed illustrious, yet not becoming to a

believing Jewess.
reluctantly

Eeluctantly she had

left

her home, and

and passively she put on her ornaments, and did

not exert herself to take a single active step to reach the

pinnacle of her fellow-women's glory.

ordered to

appear, and

therefore

she

She was wanted, and

obeyed

the

Aga

in

causing herself to be dressed up for the occasion, but did

not express an urgent desire to see the

She was compelled

to be there

pomp

but that was no reason for

is

not

women, who

are

her to profane her lips and her believing heart.

to be lightly estimated.

of the harem.

In the midst

of

This

more jealous and ambitious than men, tempted by her own

heart to believe that she was the most beautiful of them all,
and occupying such vantage ground, to which she was
certain extent already

to a

committed and pledged, a desire on her

BOOK OF ESTHER.

72

become the mightiest woman, or, at least, to be

crowned with the greatest honours, might have found some

part to

But Esther was superior

extenuation.

possessed was only obedience

But ambition, a

the necessity.

To have

she had none.

when

What

to this.

to her second father,

desire to rule, lust of pleasure,

and chastity in the heart

virtue

home, under the protection of parents,

at

But

difficult.

she

and to

is

not so

in the harem, in the midst of all the provisions

which sensuality has prepared and ordered, where everything

excites the passions,

and where royal power

such a position

lustre, in

still

to

casts its dazzling

remain virtuous, requires an

education in the divine law of a holy God, such as Esther

had received in the house of Mordecai.

"

And

looked

Esther found favour in the sight of all them that

upon

her."

She desired nothing, and yet she received what the others
had with

Her

their arts [vainly] endeavoured to obtain.

all

natural gracefulness of manner, heightened by a charm which

all

the others did not possess,

and chaste

heart,

all

who saw

pleased

all,

which

pomp

wantonness and

her,

no

viz.

the charm of an innocent

toilet

can supply, and which

leave the more missing,

captivated

even before she went to the king.

She

not merely on account of her beauty, but what

Her modest and

unpretentious behaviour towards everybody won for her the

is

more, on account of her amiability.

respect of

all.

Being of a simple and contented disposition,

she excited no envy or dislike in others.

those

who preceded

which they used

were yet

her,

dissatisfied,

themselves, she was

she received.

who, in spite of

for obtaining

In contrast with
all

the artful means

more ostentatious ornaments,

and therefore excited

satisfied

with the

gifts

dislike

against

and treatment

But where should the others get the charms

which only a quiet believing heart can supply in such a place ?

In the house of sensuality true chastity makes an

irresistible

impression upon the eyes, countenance, and demeanour.

But

CHAP.

it

was the grace

place

73

16.

II.

God which brought such

of

a girl to

this

not for the sake of the king, but for the sake of the

whom

danger that was impending upon the people to

and

longed,

to

whom

she was attached both in heart and belief.

"So Esther

Ver. 16.

she be-

into his house royal,

ivas taken unto

King

Alihashverosli,

month, which

the tenth

the

is

month

Teheth, in the seventh year of his reign.''

Tebeth

the tenth

is

month

in the

Jewish year which begins

with Nisan according to the Scriptures, and the fourth month

Jewish year which begins with Tishri according to

in the

The name was indigenous

the traditions.

Syria and

in

Mesopotamia, where the Jews in the time of the captivity

had adopted

it

and

the

all

new names

The

of the months.

statement that the introduction took place in the tenth month

of the seventh year of the reign of the king, evidently refers
to

Tebeth,

it

Persian

from

of the

would follow
began

already under

that,

the

in

spring,

as

teaching

the

of

spirit

also

if

their tenth

then called Tebeth, or corresponded to

either

year

the

would

that

Now,

Persian computation of time.

the

month was

of

is

Xerxes, the
manifest

also

the

Avesta.

It

not be erroneous to infer that the introduction

women

to the

king began in the Persian spring, so

nine months had

The ground

for the

passed

before

Esther's

turn

came.

successive turns cannot be ascertained

probably

it

was

in

selection

for

the

harem by the Aga.

accordance

with

of

the

The wonderful

dis-

the

priority

pensation by which Esther was chosen as a favourite of the

king

is

more prominently brought

to

view by the

fact that

her turn was not before the tenth month, after hundreds
of

candidates

It

may

and as

had gone before her and had been

be asked why,
it

if

the

Aga was

rejected.

well disposed to her,

appears from ver. 9 that he facilitated matters for

her speedy advancement, did he not introduce her before

To

this

we

answer, that his postponement was actuated by

friendly feelings

towards

her, in

not wishing

to

risk

her

74*

BOOK OF ESTHER.

knew

first

were not usually successful.

The LXX. and Josephus have on

this a surprisingly deviating

chance, as he

date, viz. that

{BcoBeKaTM

that the

took place in the twelfth month, which

it

fjLr]vi,

is

Adar

These chronological variations

09 earov 'ABdp).

did not arise from homiletical traditions, which rather adhered to

month Tebeth, but only from a gloss, which must have been
made by one who was acquainted with Persian chronology. The
same must have added to or explained the statement " which
is Tebeth, -nx."
For this is the Persian name of the ninth

the

month, with which the tenth month of the Jewish calendar

But the LXX.

partly agrees.

Adar

the

translators took this

of the Jewish calendar,

"in the twelfth month."

nx

for

and consequently had added

The ancient

expositors pa^ss over

any indication that the tenth of the month Tebeth

recalls

the sad event of Nebuchadnezzar's encompassing Jerusalem

with his besieging army

which had a
might

she

fast day,

finally

oppression and

save

of

In the month

by

Israel

fasting.

The month

of

caused by the anger of the king,

distress,

became the month

xxiv. 1, 2).

(Elzek.

Esther appeared before the king, that

deliverance occasioned by the love of

the king.

Ver. 17.

*'

And

he

made

her queen instead of Vashti."

The same favour which Esther experienced everywhere, she

also
all

found in the eyes of the king.

No

the women."

"

He

loved her more than

other maiden found such grace before

him, and she became his cherished wife, so that he set the
royal crown upon her head.

Jewish teachers, who did not

like to entertain the notion that Esther enjoyed his love, say

that

it

spirit

was not

at

while she was

But although a

whom

he embraced, but a

all

herself

all

the time in the house of Mordecai.

similar

superstition

was

to

a great extent

prevalent in the Middle Ages, yet the authors of the Zohar

ought to have been mindful of the

to

shield

cised

Esther

fact, that

in their zeal

from contamination with the uncircum-

and vicious king, they thereby made her a deceiver.

CHAP.

The Midrash informs us

Esther saw

it,

stead (Esther

king

the

he had

removed, and placed hers in

it

Eabba 99b; Yalkut).

This observation

agreement with contemporary experience.

(vii.

Jewish teachers quote on

Berachia,

E.

Israel

was in

mother.

exile,

God

I will send

a father.' "^

made out

in

Eabba

(Esther

said to them,

like

indeed,

"When

92&),

You weep

'

before me,

orphans who have no father and

you a redeemer, who

will also be without

But she had once a

This they apply to Esther.

Israel,

was redeemed by the Messiah, who had no human

Yer. 18. "And the. king made a

The other women were dismissed.

The

loved.

But Esther, the king

lot of these great earthly potentates

They possessed power, but no

command, but they knew

affection,

little

father.

great feast."

not an enviable one, in spite of their great

ficence.

The

of embossed gold.

father and a mother, and a second father in Mordecai.

was usually

pomp and magnilove

they could

of the emotions of the heart's

which are extended to the person loved

own

for his

Just because they extracted sensual enjoyment by

force of royal
love.

is

Herodotus narrates

occasion a remarko.ble saying

this

son of Levi

and say that you are

sake.

its

69) that Darius, the father of Xerxes, had a portrait of

his favourite wife Artystone

of

had hitherto the

suspended over his bed, and now since

of Yashti

portrait

that

75

18.

11.

command, they were not

Extravagant

in actual possession of

and luxurious persons and times, im-

poverish the ideal thought of true love, of husband to the

wife and of wife to husband,
of divine creation.

Persia, that

It is

told of

is

also to her the

Khosru, the great king of

artist

named Ferhad.

and inmost love grows only out

out of the belief in an omniscient God.

^

["

shall

For
bud

image

he chose the highly gifted Sherin as his favourite,

but that she loved a poor

also of true

who

it is

written, Behold the

vi.

12,

Midrash of Moses Hadarshan on Gen. xxxvii.

of morality

and

"

The

It is written

man whose name

forth under liim" (Zech.

The joy

R. V.).
22.

is

Branch, and he

Again

Trans.]

Isa.

xi.

1.

BOOK OF ESTHER.

76

He

king loved Esther."

other women.

was modest and unassuming in her

She

Virtue

bearing.

found in her a different person from

without

only beautified her face, but also gave

spiritual nobility, not

king was moved by

her such an imposing charm that the

higher than mere common

In this

for

feast (iDDX

feelings

him unusual joy he

nriEJ'D)

or

nmn

paraphrases by

Nn^

looking at her.

instituted a feast

Besides

the provinces, which the

to

when

an Esther-

banquet to celebrate her coronation, as

was the custom everywhere.

this

and obedience in

covetousness,

this,

he gave an

Chaldaic version properly

pUK^, " remission of taxes."

Just so the

Latin word remissio means, giving rest to the soul (like nn^n,

from

nij),

LXX., according

the

dimissio

When

The word

as well as release of tribute.

to

its

and remissio

use, has

ancient

the

d<peaL^ of

meaning of

also in the higher senses of the word.

the pseudo-Smerdis entered upon his reign, he likewise

on the ground of such a celebration remitted the taxes

three years

(Herod,

iii.

word

drekrjLT), viz.

it is

spoken of areXeta? koX alpiaew^,

Herodotus
taxes

the

Osman
and

is

ariXeca <^6pov (comp. 1 Mace.

feasts

"

when they began

to

reign

remitted the taxes on such occasions.

pelled their subjects to give

them

where the king gave the

^'on

gifts,
Ti^, is

(vi.

eclat,

have remitted

But the

59).

have never yet

They have rather com-

presents, unlike this case,

n^D, to his subjects.

correctly rendered in the E. V.

"according to the bounty of the king,"

plentiful in quantity

where

have often celebrated weddings

of circumcision with great

This expression, -j^Dn

x. 34),

days without taxes."

of opinion that all Persian kings

sultans, although they

for

which occasion he used the

67), on

and worthy in

i.e.

quality.^

the gifts were

When,

in

1675,

one of the most pompous feasts were held in Stamboul, every

Greek family was obliged

1

On

to contribute thirty aspers (a

royal bounty.

The most magnificent wedding was that

Of this Hammer, in

the daughter of his Vizier Buran.

ii.

of

Mamun

were overloaded with presents.

with

his Gemdldesaal,

231, reports that all the guests, including the camel-drivers

sailors,

Turkish

the other hand, the ancient caliphs magnanimously imitated this

and the

CHAP.

II.

V7

19.

and every ten taxed families at Adrianople had

coin),

two

fat

geese,

delivery

of

other

six hens,

The

and four ducks (Hammer,

was

presents

Jews and Christians who belonged

also

he gave with

"

9.

upon

to corporations and guilds.

King

of

hands, remitted the income-tax with

full

a joyful heart, for he loved Esther

Ver. 1

308).

vi.

imposed

Entirely different was the munificent action of the

Persia

send

to

And when

and he who loves

gives.

mrgins were gathered together

the

the second time."

This verse remained obscure to former commentators, and

especially

in ancient

But

altogether.

an important

times,

that

so

the

was very wrong.

this

LXX.

omitted

It closely connects the foregoing

position.

it

The verse occupies

with

the following, and only shows the beauty and the simplicity

circumstances under which a

tlie

new event took

the conspiracy of the eunuchs and

rence

is

the

And when

time

place, viz,

This occur-

its collapse.

placed close to the election of Esther as queen.

19

ver.
"

It introduces

the thoughts contained in the narrative.

of

elevation

as well as the

contrast

and when Mordecai

of

connection

the virgins were gathered

sat in

is

the king's gate

loved Esther, but of the tyrannical Persian lust of

acquire

not

extravacjance.

as

The temptation
strong with him

his

sensual

particle.

new wives was

could

"

subdue

He did

the
all

Ahhashverosh indeed

interrupted the routine of the harem.

he

shown

together the second

Esther to the rank of queen had not at

had not given up a

In

women he

to continually

infirmities

as

ever,

and

and love of

not issue a decree to recall and annul his

former one for the seeking out of women, although his heart

had found

The narrator intentionally

satisfaction in Esther.

brings out the contrast.

"

Look," says he, "just

has shown that he loved Esther above

other
is

women

truth

are so soon sought

in that

"
!

which the Jewish

rightly understood,

seem

to

On

all

now

the king

women, and yet

the other hand, there

expositors,

if

they are

have surmised, namely, that the

BOOK OF ESTHER.

78
search

new women was

for

intentionally organized in the

might possibly be

court, in order that the person of Esther

One might

background.

eclipsed and placed in the

easily

bring analo^jous cases in Oriental courts as illustrations.

The

intriguing courtiers and their retinue did not find in Esther,

whose

was not even known

origin

would patronise and support

them, a person

to

and farther

their plans

This they could only secure by the elevation of

influence.

who was more

another favourite

intimately connected with

This endeavour would not only meet with impunity,

them.

but would

according to Persian court fashion, be con-

also,

The

sidered as an act of loyal demonstration.

to Esther did not at all hinder

him from

shadow of the thought that such conduct was in

against

his

and against her who

love,

To

loved by him.

wishes to say

when they

place,

" Scarcely

again

wliich

oum

was

life,

had the

began

was in

gratitude on his part

"

feast

of Esther taken

collect virgins

to

and

so

new queen had already begun

of such a character that

hut

was momentarily

was then that the following event occurred,

It

decline."

fact directed

the narrator significantly alludes.

this

apparently the power of the

to

king's love

receiving such fresh

In his haughty and dark heart there was not a

enjoyments.

He

who
their

While they

the
to

loere

endangered the king's

it

end ^productive of greater

love

and

Esther.

again

collecting virgins,

Mordccai sat

in the king's gate."

Not

as an

official,

but as an independent man, Mordecai sat

in the public place before the king's palace,^ and spent his
leisure

hours, as

news, making

it

and acquaintances.
only does
^

it

Herodotus

is

inquiries,

the custom in the East, in hearing

and

This clause

represent the
calls

the place

is also

external

'Trpodvpx.

petition to Darius to ask for Samos,

fixai'hT^og oIkio)v (iii.

140).

conversations with friends

in

of importance

circumstance,

When

we read

for not

without

Syloson came with a

i'^ero

i;

rx

-Trpodvpoc

ra

CHAP.

II.

79

19.

which the discovery of the conspiracy could not have been

made by him, but

the
of

"

clause,

first

new women

it

also expresses the sharp contrast to

While they were

The seeking

collecting."

could only have been directed against Esther,

while Mordecai's sitting

before

had

palace

the

no

other

had

intention [than to guard her interests], for before this he

nothing to do there except to be near the palace in order

to assist his dear daughter with his paternal advice.

Before the narrator proceeds to give a detailed account of

what he has

the episode, he restrains himself from

in ver. 20,

and

inserts parenthetically

two memorable

facts,

that Esther did not disclose her parentage and nationality,

viz.

and

now

she

that

aspect.

It

of Esther herself.

first

The clause

reveals, first of

all,

is

when

remarkable from

new

characteristic

As the favoured queen she remained

modest and as obedient to her

she was

followed

carefully

things as she formerly did

all

she was under his humble roof.

many an

and

punctually

as

Mordecai's injunctions in

to

say

to

foster father as she

She

received into the harem.

do what he told her, as

she had

if

still

still

as

was when
continued

been in his house.

The royal pomp which surrounded her on every side did not
make her head dizzy. She had not forgotten that the whole
royalty was not for her a matter of pleasure, but only a duty

Her

of obedience.

interest

and not with the luxury

Xothing

else

was with the father out

of doors,

inside.

but his wisdom influenced

her.

Xow,

if

the

picture of Esther's character gains in our estimation through

this parenthetical
this

notice, its

importance

Not merely because she did not

and did not

suffer herself to

is

further

seen in

disclose her parentage,

be influenced by any one but

Mordecai, did she maintain her position at court (on account

of

which

influential

courtiers were searching for other

more manageable women) but

;

which more

is

to

also because the fact; concerning

be spoken in detail, shows

arrangement of Mordecai

and

was.

how

wise the

The knowledge that he

acquired of the conspiracy he certainly owed only to the fact

80

BOOK OF ESTHER.

Had

that no one had paid any particular attention to him.

it

been known that he was a countryman and relation of the

queen, he would not have been able to

of the

the gate

The

palace.

so leisurely before

would have been

Thus wisdom rewarded the

cautious with their design.

and obedience the

sit

intriguers

because she was no less humble

now than

when only

she was

She rose in power and influence, because, out

a poor orphan.

of gratitude to her uncle, she did not think of either.

parenthesis

the

is

significance

uncommon

also of

discovered

of the

fact

and interest

The

importance, for without

it

conspiracy would have had no

for our book.

Ver. 21. Dnn Dvo^n

Now,

one,

Esther continued to be queen,

other.

''In those days,"

after the short digression, the narrator takes

"

In those days," says he

up the

(as

they

were again collecting virgins, and) as Mordecai used to

sit at

thread of the narrative.

the gate,

happened that two eunuchs belonging to the

it

sentinels of the

made
is

and

palace,

a conspiracy against the king's

not stated, but

it

confidential persons,

therefore

life.

The reason

for it

probably was because their ambition had

been thwarted and their influence had been damaged.

Others

sought to gain promotion in a different way, by seeking to

substitute another favourite in the place of Esther

but these

thought that they could only reach their aim by murdering

the king, and substituting another in his place.

Through the

wonderful guidance of Providence, the plan of the one party

must become the means

of salvation from the design of the other

in reference to the king and the queen.

Teresh, mn, and Bigthan, |rm.

(s.

a), Bagoas, Bagistanes

(Ezra

ii.

63)

were not high

officials.

This

who kept

TTvXovpoi, (j>v\aKaL
(iii.

The name |rm

that of

U'\t\

72).

(iii.

is

like

nJ3

offices.

But they

shown by the qualifying words

the door.

140), without

The name

is

reminds us of xntnn

both are derived from their

t)Dn nDC^D, those

the castle

Their names were

Herodotus called them

whom no

fjon '^'\'2W

one could enter

was not unfamiliar

to

CHAP.
the narrator, as

II.

81

21.

they had reached the zenith of glory (2 Kings

xii.

XXV. 18

24).

2 Chron. xxxiv. 9

Moreover,

by

when

often occurs in the history of Israel

it

said that

it is

Jer. xxxv. 4,

Xerxes was at

lii.

1 0, xxii. 4,

last actually killed

Artaban, the commander of his cavalry,

conspirators.

who

conspired with Mithridates, his confidential chamberlain,

admitted him into the bedroom of the king during the night,

and so he stabbed the king with

asleep (Diodor.
nation.

It is

But

69. 1).

xi.

was

his dagger while he

he escaped

this time

assassi-

emphatically told that the conspirators were

watchers of the threshold, the guard at the entrance of the

From

gate.

this it appears probable that Mordecai,

loitering about the gate,

their treacherous conversation.

slave

was one

of

opinion

of

that

as he

give of this

Josephus thinks that a Jewish

name

them, by the

Mordecai understood their language, inas-

spoke seventy languages

is,

who

of Barnabazus,

The Jewish commentators are

betrayed them to Mordecai.

much

who was

and unnoticed by them, overheard

that

another

name

man

in

and the proof they

Ezra

ii.

is

called

name

Bilshan, which

they take as an adjective meaning linguist.

The language

Mordecai, whose

stands near the

they spoke was the language of Tarshish,

come
of

to this strange idea

one of the conspirators was

which

But

l^nn,

How

they

The name

which reminded of ^^^m,

sometimes explained as standing

is

it is

"^^dhld.

can easily be guessed.

for Tarsus in Cilicia.

curious to note that with this Mordecai the

Ben-

jamite, according to the Eabbis, a Barnabas stands in

fidential

and

fraternal relationship,

and he

is

the language of Tarsus, like the Apostle Paul,

a Barnabas for an intimate

LXX.

friend

con-

conversant with

who

also

and companion

had

The

does not even mention the traitors by name, but simply

speaks of them as commanders of the body-guard (ap^Lo-co/juaro(f>v\aK<;).

Josephus

used

manuscript

which read

Enn

him Theodestes. Mordecai diswisdom and by his observation, which

instead of tnn, for he calls

covered the plot by his

his love to Esther inspired.

Was

he not sitting day by day

82

BOOK OF ESTHER.

in the square before the palatial gate for

was quite

certain (ynvi) that the king's

he

that

so

could

would not

this

substantiate

his

fall

20, and so the queen

was

life

he

in danger,

and

of Esther, he

that

once

at

Evidently he must have kept

fact.

up a continual correspondence with

V.

And when

accusation,

upon the head

acquainted her with the

very purpose of

tlie

being vigilant, and yet to be unobserved

revealed

her,

to

it

as

appears from

Ahhashverosh.

searching investigation was immediately made, the accusation

was proved, and both eunuchs were hanged on the

Upon

this

mode

we

of execution

The incident was a wonderful

Eedeemer

of Israel,

Without

who

saved the king's

whom

speak

farther

of

the

on.

great

made known His name.

thus already

Esther might perhaps have fallen a victim

this,

new

through the instrumentality of a

from

shall

interposition

gallows.

rival.

But now she had

She had told him that

life.

it

was Mordecai

she had learned the secret of the conspiracy, and

he had his name duly registered in the archives

but to

reward him, he had momentarily forgotten,^ and Esther, acting

on the advice of her

friend,

would have been exalted

was her uncle and

many

with

thoufTjhts

for the

said

hour

but there are some valuable

to

it,

the

conspirators

a snake

his

into

wanted to poison the

cup of wine or

coffee.

they saw that this plan was discovered, they indeed

removed the snake

hastily

had she said that he

But she obeyed, and

The Midrash adorns the above

quaint sayings

king by putting

affair

there

He

on the point.

amonix them.

According

the

to high rank,

foster-father.

and of deliverance.

of danger

When

silent

The instruments have been prepared

nothing.

fact

was

was made,

lo,

the snake was

Even

in the history of

but when the investigation of

in order to

save Mordecai's head,

again in the cup.

Germany

it

The story

of the

occuiTed, as Archenholz narrates

of the Seven Years' War, 7th ed. p. 462), that the court
preacher Gerlach had warned Frederick II. against the treachery of
Warkotsch, and saved his life ; but his fidehty was not acknowledged nor

{Histm^y

rewarded,

CHAP.

snake in the cup^

11.

83

21.

borrowed by the Midrash from the

is

King Xerxes was not

experience and notions of the time.

exactly a John, wlio, according to the Lord's promise to all

His

disciples,

full

play, without being hurt.

The Midrash further says

the

wonderful

God, that

might drink from a cup

providence

of

against bis servants was like that

which a snake had

in

the

from

in order that Joseph might be set free

against his

prison

that the anger of the servants against the king

Mordecai

was

phesied

his intervention

the

interpreted
to

question whether

In answer to the
in

king, the Midrash

of such a

Joseph

right

and

happened

might become instrumental in the

in order that Mordecai

deliverance of Israel.

anger

king's

Pharaoh

of

of

says

The

Nebuchadnezzar.

the

life

Jacob blessed Pharaoh,

and

dream,

king's

save

to

pious

of

Daniel

pro-

Israel

have

always been obedient to the existing authorities, and have

always done what they could

for

welfare.

their

showed
spirit

his

became the means of the salvation of those who

it.

The king had

certainly

and the sentiments of Esther.

wives

When

ex-

and Daniel, so

hibition of loyalty, as in the case of Joseph

also here,

This

esteeming his

life

of the

not

appreciated

He was

the

accustomed to

highest

consequence.

Darius recovered from sickness, through the instru-

mentality of the clever Greek physician Demokedes, he sent

him to the house of the women, in order that they might see
him who saved his life and they gave him rich presents
;

(Herod,

iii.

130).

For the

life

of these w^omen was, after the

The report of

death of their king, very sad and miserable.

Athenaeus, that the Persian king was guarded by 3

women,

has no other sense except that to none

life

The narrative

life,

his

Ahhashverosh, indeed, rejoiced

precious as to them.

Esther saved his

was

and she gained in

of the noble

his estimation,

Omar Ben-Abdul- Aziz

so

that

and

has taken hold of

was poisoned by a treacherous

servant, and from the poison he became green like as grass (comp.
Tutinameh, iibers. v. Rosen, ii. 139).

the Oriental legends, which

tell

that he

84

BOOK OF ESTHER.
her

secured

against

position

possible

But

rivals.

tyrannical selfishness of an Oriental mighty king

the

neither

is

They are to
bound up with

diminished nor refined by such catastrophes.

him usual

and

acts

government.

Holding

thousands, his heart

by an

occurrences that are

is

unlimited power

exhibition of dutiful love.

He

had

gotten to

condemn the

deliverer,

and the warning lesson which the

intended

to

evident from
tragic

teach
the

over the lives of

not softened nor his wisdom increased

not, indeed, for-

conspirators, but the reward

due

him, these he had forgotten.

narrative farther on,

to the

hostile assault

when

it

was

This

reaches

is

its

Through extraordinary interventions, that

height.

which was prevented from happening helped

things from happening.

The

failure of the

to prevent other

attempt to murder

the king, and his omission to reward Mordecai, were factors in

the frustration of the

formed.

by the

But

it

plan which hatred and caprice had

also proves that the preparatory steps taken

king, as recorded in

chap,

iii.,

although they were

intended to prevent similar catastrophes, yet they did not

proceed from a sense of dereliction of duty and love on his

part,

but were entirely based upon his right of exercising his

arbitrary will.

CHAPTEE
Ver.

1.

"

III.

After these things."

The narrator

in our

book has not undertaken the task

report the circumstances

to

is

of

His chief object

giving a complete history of Ahhashverosh.

which were connected with

the drama of the danger and of the deliverance of Israel.

True, he gives the exact dates in which the recorded events

happened, but at the same time

we must remember

He

does not write annals of the Persian court.

that he

rather very

ably places those events in succession after each other which

have any ethical tendency or bearing upon the history, in

which

spite of the intervals of time

disaster

which

Haman

lie

seeks to bring

the hinge upon which his history turns.

implies,

between them.

upon

Israel is to

The
him

All these things, he

must necessarily have happened, in order that the

plan of an angry

man

should be frustrated.

Instead of giving

us diffusive reflections, he lets the facts speak for themselves.

He

does not speak

which these successive

of the miracles

occurrences reveal, but he makes

becomes powerful just

at that

clear that

it

Haman

only

moment when the exaltation of

when the saving of the

Esther to the position of queen, and

king's life through Mordecai

"

Haman

the son

The narrator

of

Rammedatha

reports his elevation

preceding events had taken

ground for this elevation.

to be

had taken

place,

and not

before.

the Agagite."

by the king

after the

place, but omits to indicate the

Kegarded

superficially, there

seems

no connection between these events and his promotion,

nevertheless they form the historical basis or the ladder upon

BOOK OF ESTHER.

86

he climbed up to his high position.

\vhicli

known

There

i,

Although

42, 43).

questioned whether this Vistagpa

it

has been

the same as Hystaspes,

is

the father of Darius, yet the identity of the names

established from the

fact

that

house

the

may

be

was

Darius

of

particularly zealous for the doctrine of the

is

a well-

Avesta was introduced into

later Gustasp, the religion of the

Persia (Spiegel, Avesta,

is

King Vistagpa,

Persian tradition, that in the reign of

Zarathustra.

It

remarkable enough that we do not meet with the name

Hystaspes, except in the case of the father and the son of

This king says of himself, in

Darius.

Bisutun, according to Benfey,

the

p.

of

inscription

12, as follows:

"I have

again restored the temple, and the worship of the protector

kingdom and

of the
notices

we have

name

this religious

and an Iranian

doctrines,

cultus.

In the elevation of

the few

magus by the
him on

his

to propagate Persian

had even ordered the destruc-

Haman we must

and participation

Haman

priest

and the images in the

tion of the temples

of

if

of Osthanes (see Pliny, 30. 1) accompanied

war expedition, and was commissioned

of,

also,

was closely connected with,

are an indication,

and influenced by,

Xerxes

of the gods."

hostile countries.

therefore see an approval

The whole

in, his religious zeal.

betrays religious sentiments, and his

activity

name has

religious sound.

Haman
Haoma,

(pn)

or

is

be derived from the wonderfully holy

to

Hom, who was thought

to be

as a sacrificial potion, possessing life-giving

Avesta,

75).

ii.

service

sacrificial

Plutarch)
functions,

and as

we may

The

significance

was
it

at

all

of

times

was connected

infer

Hom

well

spirit as

power

(Spiegel,

the

Persian

in

known (Omomi

in

especially with priestly

from this that one who bore a name

which was derived from Hom, was endowed with priestly

qualities.

In fact the name pn, Gr. Omanes

(like

Otanes,

Azanes, Hystanes), does not occur in the classics as a

of
p.

name

any Persian, and only the inscription of Bisutun (Benfey,

14)

contains

the

following

passage:

"A man

named

CHAP.

son

Martiya,
Persian

Umanish, king

in

in

is

the
is

'

am

Though it is doubtful whether

name of Umanish, but the context
It says that a
similar to Haman.

Haman

Shushan (where

royal

the

Kliuganaka, a

lived in

of Susiana.' "

"

shows that the name

man

who

rose in the Susian kingdom, and said

city,

the letter " u

Chicliikrish,

of

87

III. 1.

And

Umanish.

of

title

lived) arrogated to himself

is

it

precisely of such a

we may presume he was actuated by religious

What enhances the probability of the identity of

person, that

motives.

Haman

with this person

Homdata

Hom

appellation of

was

(^jjn), is

Haman which

of his father, i^mon,

gift

We may

woven a good

Haman

saying that

against the

assume that the third

The Jewish commentators

it.

this, that

Jews a

Haman was

king of Amalek (1 Sam. xv.

Jacob's brother and

Jews was

also

deal of fantastical interpreta-

near to the historical truth save in

their

The

Hom."

name, but which in no other point comes

tion around this

hatred of

of

sounds as a family name, Agagite

closely connected with

have, forsooth,

name
"the

then, like the functions of the priests,

hereditary in the family.

epithet of

the

is

Pherendates],

in

[as

hereditary,

enemy,

8),

they give to the

But

religious colour.

a descendant

of Agag,

who descended from

and

the

Esau,

hence his hatred of the

cannot be proved from

history, although

Haman, as we
The Midrash goes
have already shown, is certainly correct.
even so far as to give a whole list of names which form the
genealogy of Haman up to Esau, but in spite of the corruptheir pointing out an historical contrast in

tion of the text,

it

can be seen that the names mostly arose

from the Piabbinical views of the morality of this generation.

First,

names

are given

which denote

figure as the ancestors of

Haman

in the Herodian-Pioman era,

origin.^
^

The genealogy

The passage

who

of the

"

bad qualities

"

then

those persecutors of the Jews

are of

Idumean and heathen

Targum

is

for this

reason

in the corrupt text, Amst. ed., compared with another, is

as follows (a similar genealogy in Herod, vii. 204, viii. 131)

BOOK OF ESTHEE.

remarkable, because we get thereby a clue to the time

it

was written

date the

but

epithet

our opinion,

it is

it

when

does not contribute anything to eluci-

Agagite in

Haman.

connection with

Haman

quite improbable that

In

should be a

descendant of Amalek/

Tor the son of a certain Hamedatha, a

man whose name

was derived from Haoma, must be of pure Medo- Persian

descent.
If the narrator had wanted to say that Haman was
really

an Amalekite, he would have at once written Amalek

Agag was indeed a king of Amalek, but

him in the Book of Samuel cannot stamp
him as a type of Haman, as he rather suffered than executed
judgment.
One cannot also assert that the narrator, in calling
him Agagite, w^anted to represent him as the ethnical as well
as the political persecutor of his people, as Amalek was, for
instead of Agagi.

what

"11

is

told of

DnoTi^N^ in {al ipi^D) jpybn^ in (?. pxn) nyo*

in ^pDiD in j:ix -m xnri in xnt^DiQ "in "i:ii

"in

p^iDV

nnmn

.i!^y"j

Diia^ in d^d^^^

nn

'

i:t^ "in

Ta"''^N"i

nn^in

xnrn^ -m

To read ^DID^D ^D'^Dvb '^DT^Q ^nyS ^ DISS'S ^Dns^D^N, "It^S^Dit^ ''\i2The translation according to the corrected text is Haman the son of Ham:

datha of Agagi, son of Stench, son of Robbery, son of Pilath, son of Lysias,
son of Florus, son of Fadus, son of Flaccus, son of Antipater, son of Herod,
son of Refuse, son of Decay, son of Parmashta, son of Waizata, son of
Agag, son of the Red One (Rufiis), son of Amalek, of the wliore of Eliphaz,
son of Esau. These are, with the exception of Lysias, a Syrian general,

names of Roman persecutors of

who were Idumeans, and therefore

and Antipater and

entirely

the Jews

Herod,

sons of Esau, have a place in

the ignoble roll because of their similarity of character with the rest
(comp. Targum, ed. Amsterdam, 58d).
*
The Midrash, as is usual with hostile parties, tries its best to stain
Haman's pedigree. It declares him to be a descendant of a prostitute, as
the nickname bastard is common in the East. However, Hammer tells us
(Namen der Araher, p. 50) that the expression is not a nickname among the

Turks, but rather a term in praise of natural gifts [so also among the
Tr.]. Yet it is not always so, for when used by Ibrahim, the Osman

Jews.

was certainly not an expression of praise (Hammer, 58d). That

Agagi represents the ethical hostility of Haman may be seen from the
analogy of the LXX. on ix. 21, when it calls him 'MksI&>u, inasmuch as
the hostility of the Syrians, in the time of the Maccabean persecution,
was designated by Macedonian names. The garrison of the castle, whose
expulsion was for a long time commemorated by a feast, was also called
Macedonian (Joseph. Ant. xii. 5. 4).
sultan, it

CHAP.

III.

would have been unique in

this

would have

89

1.

In that

Scripture.

named Amalek.

explicitly

he

case,

Apart from

this, it

did not even occur to the interpreters to ask whether, according to

Sam. XV. and 1 Chron.

even

feel

and act

an Amalekite,

like

the Jews before

to persecute

43, which record the

But Haman

any one descended from him.

be

for

he need not have added in

If the narrator

of

had wanted
of the Jews,

10 the words Dnin\n

ver.

not

bearing

by the appellative Agagite an enemy

to designate

still

does

he does not begin

independent

the

Mordecai excites his indignation.

''

iv.

whole race of Amalek, there could

of the

destruction

"iilV,

There can therefore be no doubt that

the Jews' enemy."

the word Agagite has received the prevalent notion from the

punctuation of the Masoretes.

The

similarity of the letters of

Amalekite king led them to

of jest they

of the

'':i:ix

with the name of the

way
enemy

punctuation, so that by

tliis

might transfer the character of the ancient

Jews

to

Haman.

But

the more interesting, as in

was changed by

it

all

narrator, then

it

change in the punctuation

is

probability an honourable title

into a polemical one.

this appellation in the first

nickname given

this

For

mention of him.

Haman

bears

If

not a

it is

him by the Jews and reproduced by the

must be a Persian name, which is somewhat
to

connected with the purport of the father's and the son's names.
It is very probable that in

Guageh, which means a

njt^lJ,

therefore

it

who belongs

to the

we

Bovyalo<i instead of

New

and

of authority

of

dignity,

cui

and

honour (Vullers, Lex.

i.

same corporation, which

shall afterwards show.

'Jix,

is

perhaps more

The LXX. reads

and thereby prove that they,

at

any

They

is

royal confidants of Alexander the Great.^

" Inter qiiem Bagoas erat specie singulari

vi. 5. 23
Darius fuit adsuetus et mox Alexander adsiievit."

Comp. Curtius,
.

Persian

have thought of Bagoas, which was also the name

to

number

spado

found the

had not thought that he was a descendant of Agag.

seem thus
of

man

to be

has also the sense of a comrade or companion,

characteristic, as

rate,

is

also used as a title of

is

But

735).

one

''JJ&5

90

BOOK OF ESTHER.

But the Bagoas were eunuchs, and Haman was

not.

Perhaps

we may recognise this Guageh (Gogeh) in the name Gyges,

who was a favourite among the retinue of Candaules of Lydia,
and who afterwards became king (Herod, i. 8).

"And

advaiiced

him, and

ahove

seat

the

all

set

Jiis

was

figuratively represented

princes.''

The elevation

of a

by the elevation of

man

at court

highest seat was occupied by the king, and the one

the nearest to

When
we

him was the most honoured and

the hero

The

his seat in the presence of the king.

Eustem was

read (Firdussi, ed. Schack,

p.

who

sat

distinguished.

rewarded by the shah,

to be

266),

" And Eustem, witli the adorning crown,

Sat nearest to the lofty throne."

When he
him

quarrelled with

Kai Kawus, and

to remain, they promised

"

Thy

his friends persuaded

him

seat a throne as for a king."

Therefore at great conferences of princes, the various dignities

were displayed by the various elevations of the thrones they

occupied.

When

the

to Constantinople, the

German kings came during

the Crusade

emperor occupied a higher throne than

they.

Geiseddin Balbun, the ninth prince of the Ghurid dynasty

in

Delhi, permitted only those of the fifteen expelled kings

who formed

his court to sit

on lower seats near him, who were

descended from the caliphs (comp.

thron,

p.

49).

When

my

Apollonius

of

Kaiser und Konigs-

Tyana came on

fabulous journey to the Indian sages (Phil.

sat "upon a high seat, the other sages

iii.

upon lower

his

16), Jarchas
ones,

and

to

Apollonius was offered, as a mark of special honour, the throne

of Phraortes the king (17).^

Such elevations through personal

^ The famous Vizier Melekshahs, Nisamolmlik, narrates in his autobiography, of the great honour which was shown him. He alone rode on
horseback, the others were on foot.
"From this moment I sat upon

CHAP.

91

III. 2.

favouT of the rulers were not unusual in

by Ktesias

told

courts,

It is

Darius Nothos,

a eunuch under

of

Oriental

and under weak princes.

especially in times of peace,

through the favour of the king, he succeeded in getting

power

much

So also

at court into his hands.

under Artaxerxes

Mentor had

relations, TrkelaTOV la'^vaai,

'Apra^ep^r)"

(Diodor.

must surely have a

twv

own

xvi.

him homage

Ver.

to

down

fall

before

him and

to

as to a king.

"All

2.

Haman

of

elevation

and

rwu Trap

special significance, for all the courtiers

and guards were compelled

render

The

50).

friends

kol avyjevoov

(J)lX(ov

so

king that

ingratiated themselves into the favour of the

they had more influence than the king's

the

told of Bagoas,

is

it

that he and the Greek

II.,

that,

all

the king's servants

lowed down and

did

reverence."

Servants of the king included

The expression corresponds

which Malcolm says

was the

title of

" Slave "

New

to the

Pers.

{Gesch.

i.

Persian Gholam, of

185) Gholam, or

tlie title

is

slave,

When

the body-guard of Eastern princes.

son of a great Persian nobleman

he claims

the courtiers and guards.

all

the

admitted into the guard,

of Gholam-e-shah, or " slave of the king."

was the usual

addressed the highest

title

by which the

officials,

rulers

when angry

as pashas and grand viziers.

To

the demented Ibrahim, sultan of the Osmans, his grand vizier

said

You

"

are the caliph, the

and what enters your mind

absurd

it

may

appear,

it

slave^ respects, although

V.

399).

The

religious

is

shadow
divine

of

God upon

revelation

earth,

however

has a hidden meaning, which your

he does not understand

it "

(Hammer,

power which the adulating minister

men walked by my
(Hammer, Gemdldesaal, v. 71). So the Barmekide Giafar at the
court of Harun was allowed to sit alongside the caliph.
^ Aloisius Gritti was the plenipotentiary ambassador of Soliman I. in

the wished-for horse, and all the great and eminent

stirrups"

his treaties with Charles V.

In the

official

communication of the

as given in a Latin report, are the words, "Aloisius Gritti sclavus

proficiscitur "

(Hammer,

Gesch. des osman. Reichs,

iii.

137, note).

sultan,

meus eo

92

BOOK OF

ESTHEll.

ascribes in these words to the sultan

Eastern rulers.

"The important thing with

Themistocles (Plutarch, Th.

and

is

an exact copy of the

is

words which were used in very ancient times to

flattering

us," says

27), "is that a king

c.

is

looked upon as the very image of God."

lonian and Assyrian princes had

names which

indicated the people's high reverence for them.

Solomon, according to the

Muhamedan

Artaban

to

worshipped,

The Baby-

in themselves

The saying

of

legend, that a great king

always includes the prophet, but the prophet does not always
include the king {Rosenol,
of that

which Cleo dared

(Curtius,

11):

viii. 5.

234), does not reach to the height

i.

Alexander the Macedonian

to say to

"The

Persians did not simply out of

piety worship their kings as gods, but also out of wisdom, for

kingdom

the majesty of the

this

reason he

adoration

like

Persian

is

king.

among the

properly speaking,

to accept prostration

and

custom had

not,

Tor

this

Persians,

East, a slavish, but a religious sense.

and generally in the

They did not bow down

Hence

before a worldly, but rather before a spiritual power.

the

same homage was

also

due

images of the king.

to the

Philostratus narrates in the Life of Apollonius

barbarians

who came

to

Babylon were

the image of the king.^

For

a refuge of salvation."

him

advised

also

first

(i.

2 7) that all

obliged to adore

When, therefore, the king ordered

shown to Haman as to him-

that the same honour should be

self, it

was a recognition that he was

so long as

Mordecai

queen, no

courtier

sat at the gate,

Hitherto,

his alter ego.

i.e.

since Esther

became

had received such honours, though,

as

Plutarch reports, Xerxes had chosen his brother Ari(a)menes

next to himself.

Perhaps

it

is

necessary to explain this as

connected with the inherent dignity of the

which corresponds
nection

between

to his

the

name.

New

There

Persian

office

may

of

Haman,

be some con-

Gogeh and the idea of

^ In order to sliow distinction to his general Dsliewlier, the Caliph

Moiseddin of Egypt commanded his governors to dismount from their
horses before him and to kiss his hand, a distinction which is generally
only due to princes (Hammer, Gemcildesaal, iii. 214).

CHAP.
spirituality in

more ancient times,

joins the Sanscr. okhlia,

'*

Benfey {Gr. Gr.

as

as an

134)

i.

pure," with the Greek a7i09,

was applied

in Persian life

93

III. 2.

which

epithet to distinguished

pious and great men, and which Burnouf (Yacna,

16) finds

i.

name Achaemenes. The surname Sofi, which the

shah, who had established his new seat of government

again in the

Persian

with his family, likewise meant

pure,"

and

referred to the ascetic habits of the otherwise political

and

at Ispahan, bore

''

warlike house, even before Ismael's accession to the throne.

"

But Mordecai

loioecl

not

down"

This refusal of Mordecai to

perhaps from an opposite cause from

arose

the

etc.

render adoration to

They considered such an

Greeks.

the refusal of

act

mean and

as

degrading, because, as the Spartans said afterwards,

their

custom

down

to fall

(Yaler.

Max.

vi.

3,

man

before a

The Athenians punished Timagoras

for

Haman

(Herod,

it is

136).

vii.

performing adoration

Pelopidas nobly declined

Ext. 2).

not

it

because he looked upon the Persian king as only a man, to

whom

would

he

in

Themistocles was a captain in Persia, he thought

to

perform such homage, on the ground that

God who had

so

exalted Persia

(Plutarch,

in

Th.

his

duty

But

27).

refusal.

demanded

the adoration which the king

it

would please

it

Mordecai had just the opposite motive for his

saw

When

nowise render divine honour.

for

He

Haman,

not merely an act of etiquette to a man, but an act which

Daniel and his three

involved the recognition of false gods.

young

friends submitted rather to every hazard of their lives,

than to recognise the existence of any other deity but Jehovah.

The word

i;-i3,

here used, expresses the sense of falling down,

as in the adoration of idols,

and

it

therefore not used in

is

the history of Israel to denote polite

homage paid

and those who are high in authority, or

word

nr\^ instead.

It

is

irpoaKvpeo), expressing the

Elijah as a

man

of

God

strangers, but the

analogous to n^a, Gr.

same

act of worship.

the captain falls

to kings

down

(2

/cvvio),

and

But before
Kings

i.

13).

94

BOOK OF ESTHER.

In the time of the same prophet there were only 7000 who

bow

did not

the

knee,"ij;i3, to

time of Hezekiah, he and

selves, yiD,

Baal (1 Kings xix. 18).

Mordecai could not

fall

down

a false lustre of a false god.

through

Israel

all

"

him bowed them-

that were with

all

and worshipped the living God

before

In the

(2 Chron. xxix. 29).

Haman

as the reflex of

For the prophetic words ring

To me every knee

bow, every

shall

tongue shall swear."

The Persian
ii.

history,

Hammer

Dshami, which

came

time to Persia after

for the first

its

inhabitants according to the Old Persian

conquest, that the

manner

When

the governor saw

it,

he also

They

down.

replied, " Before thee

whom didst thou

whom alone worship

before
" to

who

ambassadors,

God

before

kneel

"

"

before

And

down.

fell

as they all rose from their knees, he asked before

fell

down

fell

down

before him, as the servants of Ahhashverosh fell

Haman.

in Bosenol,

Omar, when he

3, quotes, narrates of a governor of Caliph

whom

but thou,

they

prince,

Before God," said he,

Thereupon Omar sent

belongs."

forbade the people

to

down except

fall

and consequently the Persian custom did not

But instead
become one of the Muhamedan ceremonies.
of this, the Muhamedan and Osman sultans made the kissing
of the hand, and especially of the garments, obligatory, as the

when he lost his power was no longer

pomp by the sultan, but was satisfied to kiss

humiliated Tatarchan
received with

the coat of the grand vizier {Gesch. des osman. Beichs,

The

Midrash

has

its

explanations

of

the

iv.

644).

subject

in

question, which were employed in the homiletical discourses

According to one, Haman had actually
in the synagogue.

worn an image

of

an idol upon his

coat, for the

purpose of

compelling the people to worship him, and thus Mordecai the

more

resisted.

In

fact, this

remark only shows that in the

view of the authors of the Midrash, Mordecai's refusal to fall

down

arose from religious scruples.

glorification

Stranger

still is

which they bestow upon Mordecai.

really been Mordecai's servant.

another

Haman had

They were once both sent out

CHAP.

Both had a separate

on a military expedition.

command, but Haman

95

III. 3.

ammunition before he could take the enemy's

much on

too

disgrace

Haman becoming

of

Mordecai refused

make

to

fort; for

and

he relied

and he would have been dismissed with

himself,

But

had not Mordecai saved him.

condition

division to

carelessly spent all the provision

his

own

national vanity, as represented in this fiction of

a slave of Mordecai, has overlooked the

he did on

And

slave.

obeisance to his

this

therefore

slave.

The

Haman

being

fact, that it

gave to

the former the character of humility and submissiveness in

and

certain circumstances,

to the latter a

want of refinement

and duty towards a comrade in arms.

Ver. 3. " Then the king's servants, that were in the king's
gate, said

Whj

unto Mordecai,

commandment

transgresseth thou the kings

"
?

It is a sign that they

had greater concern

for

Mordecai

than for Haman, that they gave him timely warning, instead

They

of at once accusing him.

Not

danger before him.

it

was a law

without

could, indeed,

Haman, but because

which could not be transgressed

of the kinc:,

Mordecai knew

peril.

called his attention to the

for the sake of

this,

withdraw from the

the gate, but his love to Esther forbade

by not appearing
it.

He would

be killed, his loss to Esther would be irreparable.

God triumphs over

he

is

sure that no

will

ill

happen

Jew

refused to

fall

down

Yet

his

these difficulties, and

to him, as

no

ill

to Daniel in his stedfast opposition to idolatry.

not reckon upon escaping

at

not

But should he

leave this post of loving duty at all hazards.

courageous faith in

He

and yet remained.

conflict,

harm on the ground

happened

He

could

that he as a

before strange gods, nor could he

depend upon the assistance which Esther might render him

at a critical

he

strictly

have been

moment,

bound her
frustrated

whole plan, according

for his

to

be

but

silent

upon her

to

which

origin,

would

he trusted in God, who would

surely protect him, whether he fled or whether he remained at

96

BOOK OF ESTHER.
Nevertheless, the servants of the king contributed

the gate.

to the acceleration of the danger

and

homage,

to render

till

at
it.

his refusal, it

When

he gave them this reason for

was because he considered

could not comprehend his reason.

why

was a Jew, should be exempted from

he, because he

might have calmed themselves and

himself had noticed

into oblivion.

But

it,

let the

or until

Certainly, they

matter go until

had altogether passed

it

was

incited

by their vexation at the stubbornness

so they

denounced him.

now

him

told

What Haman had

of Mordecai,

not yet noticed,

Jew had

in order to learn, whether a

They

the privilege of not bowing before him.

see whether Mordecai

would remain

had been drawn

attention

law

their exaggerated zeal for upholding the

and

they

to

not appear to them

It did

a duty which they were obliged to perform.

Haman

amounting

as

it

Naturally, the courtiers, being themselves heathen,

idolatry.

clear

trait is

and companionships

They had encouraged him every day

last he had told them that he was a

of such worldly people.

Jew, and could not do

unseemly

this

perfectly characteristic of the friendships

to his

Dnai;, servants, slaves, excited

by

also

wanted

to

stedfast after

Haman's

They

are just

conduct.

curiosity, their pride offended,

displaying slavish zeal, without any regard as to the danger

man's

to another

life

whose conscience

and whose character they ought

they represent to

homage, only

Haman

the}'-

to admire.

ought to reverence,

But

at all events,

that Mordecai refused to pay

for the reason that

he

is

a Jew.

Haman

him

learns

not a personal matter, but one of principle with him.

that

it is

Not

wilful disobedience, but religious legal ground underlies

Haman had

his refusal.

in Mordecai hitherto, but

not noticed anything in particular

now he pays

close attention.

gives Mordecai to understand that he has his eye

The emphasis
" that

lowed
^

he

was a

The anger
i.

of

134

"

Jetv''

dovm^

not

Herodotus,

in vers. 4, 5, is

upon the words (mn*

And Hainan

saio

that

upon him.
xin i^ii)

Mordecai

This shows that he did not notice

Haman
" When

is

explained by the

following

He

remark

it

ot

Persians of equal standing meet, they kiss

CHAP.

III.

97

6.

A man

"And he was full of wrath."

ment would have overlooked and excused

before.

vain

(as

men

ridicule of the courtiers

down

break

think),
(as little

person, but the

"

Haman

principle

ground upon which

6.

to him,

and to expose him

souls think)

to the

he did not

if

noble-minded

respected his conscientious religious scruples;

but a puffed-up man, as

Ver.

no personal

as

homage

to refuse

the stubbornness of Mordecai.

man would have

of refine-

But the vain parvenu was vexed that

slight w^as intended.

anybody should have the courage

even him

it,

it

But he

was, did not consider the

involved in

his refusal,

and the

was made.^

tliought

scmm

to

lay hands on Mordecai

aloner

The haughtiness

of the

man was

with taking vengeance on

too great to be satisfied

Mordecai alone.

appeared to him too small a person to hurl

bolts against,

He must

others.

left alone.

in the presence of the courtiers, and obtain

But

if

may have

a deterrent effect

he called Mordecai alone

to

judgment,

might be understood as an act of private and personal

spite,

which would not redound

rather bring hatred and intrigue

stress

to

point,

his

upon

honour, but would

himself.

So he lays

on the fact that Mordecai, as a Jew, incurred the guilt

Looking from

of transgressing the royal decree.

In

offender

his thunder-

and yet too important a person to be

him by Mordecai

it

The

avenge the disgrace which was so publicly cast upon

such satisfaction for himself as

upon

all

he found

this

it

easier to

way he could

wreak

his vengeance

this stand-

upon him.

conceal his personal malice under the

each other upon the lips instead of saluting. But if one of them is
and if one of them is quite an
inferior to the other, they kiss the cheeks
inferior, he falls down and worships the other."
1 The comparison of the French Minister Yillele with Haman was not
;

happy one he is reported to have said, when he reached the

pinnacle of glory, " Only two persons, Labourdonnaye and Delalot, did
not, like Mordecai, bow the knee before me " (comp. Miinch, Gesch. der
quite a

neuesten Zeit, v. 195).

98

BOOK OF ESTHER.

cloak of zeal for resisting the rising influence of Judaism.

He

thought he could earn merit for himself by vindicating

the interests of the State, while at the same time avenging

Should Mordecai

his offended pride.

in the midst of

fall

a general massacre, there would, of course, be no suspicion

that he

met with

homage

to him.

his death for the trifling offence of refusing

For

would be said that the king simply

it

put down the rebellion in general.

There would also then be

wanting an avenger and an accuser.

Haman

hatred which brooded in

This psychology of the

has undergone a manifold

development in Oriental courts, where

powerful have

the

way

often to be cautious in exercising vengeance, because the

to it lies

always between the mood and the caprice of the

autocrat.

Great and small citizens have at

the pretext of
welfare

who
in

either

and of seeking

patriotism,

the

of

Many

State.

possessed

to

times sought

promote the

to

an ambitious

office - seeker,

no qualifications or was unfortunate

demands, became by

his

royalist

all

private hatred and personal passions under

to give vent to

converted from a

this process

The offended pride

rebel.

Hassan Ibn

of

Sabbah, which was provoked by Melekshah and his Vizier

Nisamolmiilk,

contributed

establishment

the

to

ancient sect of murderers, the Assassins

saal, V.

19; comp. Weil, Kalifen,

p.

to

feel

religious

discord

zeal,

on

1500

during

little

It

all

account

some

of

enough

"

We

offence

slight

King

the

Jews

are

cheese " (Shebet Jehudah, chap.

family

of

somebody.

of Spain, a
like

viii.

mice,

and chap.

was remarked before that the names of

take

by personal
to

Jew
upon

throw the guilt when some one has nibbled

be indicative of his priestly origin.

may

always arose from

but very often was occasioned

strikingly

whom

not

years

In a speech of defence before

said

The Jews

205).

iii.

The hatred which they were

experienced this plentifully.

made

the

of

(Hammer, Gemalde-

Haman
those

as

in

religious

If this

Ixii.).

Haman mioht
o

be

so,

and

if

we

some degree connected with the

persons

whom

the

Greeks

and

CHAP.

Eomans

99

6.

way

specially call Magi, then the

observes that Mordecai

a Jew, and at once

is

Haman

which

in

decides

to

Judaism root and branch, would be

the whole of

strike

III.

more explicable from

a psychological

was consistent with the character

and

attention to the Jews,

point

Magus

of a

view.

of

It

to direct his

their opposition to the customs of

the country, in order to constitute the supposed misdemeanour

of Mordecai into a principle of rebellion.

would be inclined

to

up the

stir

Just such a person

religious animosities of the

people against the whole Jewish nation

witnessed

more recent

in

the boasted

of

century

have

[as, alas

that

we have

midst

the

in

and culture of the nineteenth

civilisation

!].

Haman had

If

and

times,

thought

been merely a secular

only concerned
surely he alone

would

he

that

upon Mordecai and

pour

family.

his

transgression

the

was the guilty

out

If his
of

one would

vizier,

wrath

his

refusal

a royal

only

homage

of

decree,

then

But Haman regarded

party.

Mordecai as a representative of a religious persuasion, and

therefore he

wanted

did not consider

He

whole of Judaism.

to destroy the

merely as an offence against the majesty

it

of the king, but also against the established religion of the

country, and hence his great wrath.

of

dramatic

the

between

conflict

The whole perception

the

Jewish -believing

Mordecai and the Persian Magus gains in clearness

place

them

in

sharp

shown that the name

contrast
of

change of the ISTew Persian

of " fellow-comrade,"

tion

with

to

We

one another.

Haman, Agagite, is
The word has

nji<lJ.

Masoretic

and therefore appears to be in connec-

Ui^n, socius,

consors

VuUers,

(see

i.

414).

the Jews, at least those of Talmudical times, caU a

and

priest of fire

"

comrade."

the same as
"

house

In

by the Hebrew name

and

task,

Thus

it

of

this,

But
Magus

tan, which, in every

means "a companion,"

consequence

'ii^^j,

father."

we

have

the meaning

now

sense of the word,

if

its

"fellow-disciple,"
signification

is

"wise man," "learned master,"

appears

that

in

the

surname

100

BOOK OF ESTHER.
which Hainan bore,

^Jis/

member

which

'^jtimes

any

at

his

The

perfectly agree.

With

name

titular

as

and Magi, with

fire- worshippers

rate, hostile to the

of the Sassanides.

fire-ministers

Jews down

to the

the appearance of the Sas-

began also in Persia restrictions upon

sanides
cult,

names

also his other

and Magi were,

expressed

is

the order of

of

the Jewish

because with them was completed the restoration of the

my

Persian fire-worship (see

Griiber,

27,

ii.

p.

184

" Gesch. der

Juden

and Spiegel, Avesfa,

The Talmud frequently mentions the

Dnnn,

" in Erscli

und

p. 18).

i.

hostility

of

the

the Magi, who, in contrast to the Parthians, have

i.e.

oppressed the Jews (comp. the passages in the Aruch, suh

wee, whence Buxtorf and Hyde,

relig.

vet.

Persar, p.

360).

Therefore the Jews remember them with scorn and aversion.

They explain
referring

Ps. xiv. 1

the

to

Dnnn,"

IMuhamedans usually
i.e.

it

"

call

The

fool,

h^'i,

says in his heart, as

" companions."

the

So

them by the nickname

also

the

of Philiva,

instead of Kalivan, " fire-worshippers."

fools,

But when the Jews gave

to the

must have corresponded

to

Magi the name of D^inn,

name which was

a similar

peculiar to the whole order, and which was perhaps handed

down

in the

^ew

Persian

father,"

so

also does

^laviirra^,

moipet,

(Avesta,

p.

ii.

to

It is interesting to notice,

n:ixij.

that as this at the same time

was the designation

for " house-

back the name Mobed,

Spiegel

trace

Sanscr.

itmdna-;paiti,

"

house -father

15).

The name inn

for

of the Sassanides.

Magus

This

is

is

manifestly older than the time

especially seen in Isa. xlvii. 9-13,

where the prophet addresses Babylon in these words

loss of children

come upon

and widowhood

in their full

"The

thee, despite of the multitude of thy sorceries,

and the great abundance of thine enchantments

1

measure shall

"

(l^inn).

Oppert quotes from the Sargonidic Inscriptions, "Countries like

Agag and Arubanda in Media" (Spiegel, Eranische Alterthumskunde,

ii. 247).
Even if Agag should mean a country in Media, it would not
militate against our view, as the Magi were considered Medians.

CHAP.

And

and

13:" Let now

ver.

thee from the things that shall

come upon

which the prophet in olden times ^ used

and which was
this

idea

acquainted with such passages as Deut.

is

"

used for

to the

verb

The

xviii.

enchantment," have transferred

the

that

"i?n

meaning

also

its

"inn.

and Chaldeans formed a

prognosticators, astrologers,

them

"

They form a

the priests in Egypt

very diligent in augury.

mitted

through

Persian

Magi.

the
"

they are famous in astrology, and

Amongst them
The same

is

therefore
titular

to

science

family."^

The

Diodorus

society in the State similar to

trans-

is

said

is

the

of

religious service

like a priestly order, transmitted

their

Jews,

11, where

separate caste, society, and fraternity in Babylon.

says of

"i?n,

Indeed,

societas.

support from the fact

receives

So, then,

to designate magic,

word

also included in the

thee."

name Dnnn with

a close relation between the

is

the astrologers, the

monthly prognosticators, stand up and save

star-gazers, the

there

iDf

6.

12: "Stand now with thine enchant-

further, in ver.

ments," ^nan

III.

from father to son."

be understood that

the

of

Persians
^

is

It

companions, was

D''"^2n,

name, as covenanted members, just as sodalis

was the appellation

of the

Augustales], or as the

Eoman

name

priestly associations [Titii

fratres Arvales, ir ova

frater,

was

applied in Ptome to Christian orders in the Middle Ages, and

to societies in

modern

times.

Even among the Jews

a titular name, which implied that he

in the spiritual

communion

who

bore

it

participated

of a certain society.

The name

Dnnn received then the same general sense

Magi.*

According to

what the

etymology,

associates did as the other

Comp. Bibliotheca-Antiquar. i. 635, 860, etc.

The beautiful passage is fully given in Historij,

Sozomen,

Hist.

Ecd.

ii.

8,

11, distinctly affirms that

of Brisson, p. 383.

and

as Chaldeans

expressed as

it

names

p.

its

was

"inn

ii.

but as

all

little

magic

30.

[Raslii

on Tal-Shabhath,

the Persian priests were called

D''"inn

from Kiddushin, p. 72, it appears that some Persians were called

were natives of Atabur, 2 Kings xv. 12. Tr.]
* See Chaldeans and names of priests in Herod, i. 151.

so

but

who

*105'

BOOK OF ESTHER.

proceeded from the Magi, so from the knowledge possessed

by the inn proceeded the formation of the word "^?n^ which

expresses this knowledge, to divine and to pronounce enThus, therefore,

chanting formulas.

meaning of magic, and

"inn (also in

to signify " to

know,"

" to investigate

we

should

read,

maintains

in

" astrologers," instead of nain.

"ijn

has

received

the

Arabic and Persian) came

Isa.

"

as

xlvii.

Knobel

rightly

n^D^ n^in,

13,

It is not necessary to assume,

with Schelling,^ a mixture of these names with the deities

of the Kabires.

When
nor

His

Origen says {contra

apostles

have

Kabires" (Jlepawv

famous

classical

23) that neither Jesus

from

" the

Ka^eipav), he indeed

7)

name

Cels. vi.

borrowed

Kabires, but he

Persians

alludes

to

means the name

or

the

of the

Chaberim, the Persian savants, as he can only speak of these.

But when the Arabs have applied

Gheber, or Caphir,

it

is

wanted

by

this

show

to express

name

that tliey did not consider

To the

to the Parsees the

name

of

probable that this was because they

their scorn for them,

them wise men, but

special arts of the Dnan, the wise

men

of

and

to

infidels.'*^

Mesopo-

tamia and Iran, as well as to the ancient wisdom in general,

belonged horoscopy,
subsist between the

i.e.

the observation of the relations that

movements and the

position of the stars,

and

their reciprocal influences upon the life of man.

The prophet speaks in the passage quoted above " of the
monthly prognosticators of the things that shall come upon

thee."

As they pretended

to

be able to

foretell fortune

misfortune, success or failure, good or evil days,

or

by means of

horoscopy, so their science for kings and statesmen was not of

slight importance.
court.

It

was evidently in vogue

The Magi must have

latterly

at the Persian

been called Chaberim,

See his Commentary on Isaiah, p. 353.

Die Gottheiten von Samothrake, pp. Ill, 112.
^ Just as pagani is from pagus, so somewhat similar is the Arabic "1S2,
from which, as applied perhaps to heathen, was derived the meaning, " to
deny," " to doubt."
The Hebrew 123, texit, is quite remote from this
meaning.
^

CHAP.

III.

103

7.

Pliny narrates {Hist.

not without reference to this science.

JS'at.

XXX.

the

2), in

Xerxes, that

name

of Osthanes, the royal

from the

a magic

there existed

Magus

of

The

stars.

who accompanied Darius, Curtius calls by the

common name of Chaldeans but the astrological idea pervades the name and the legend of Zoroaster (Zarathustra).
The star which the wise men of the East saw appear at the
birth of Christ, receives its significance only when such divinaastrologers

tion

instance of this

"
to

An

connected with the truth announced by the Magi.

is

They

day,

is the

is

given us in ver.

cast the

Pur, that

and from month

7,

the

is,

lot,

month,

to

where we read

Haman,from day

before

to the twelfth

month, which

month Adar."

The narrator

translates the

" share," pars, sors,

religious sense.

The

word

we

just as

lis

by

New Persian

2mrs, segmentum (com p. Vullers,

which means

has also an analogous word

It is not necessary to bring the

for pur.^

i?il3,

use the word " lot " in a

317;

i.

110), to elucidate the meaning of

"la.

-iiD,

New

Persian mt^n,

Eosen. Narrat.

p.

For inasmuch as

the " lot " here spoken of was cast from day to day, and from

month to month, and finally fell on the twelfth month Adar,

must evidently refer to the horoscope which was set up,

it

and whose apparent indication of fortune the Greeks,

Komans, called the

as the
sors.
n^tJ'ini'

Indeed, the prophet

D'*j;niO, " the

It fell before

observations and
is really

result of horoscoping, K\r\po^, or

may

monthly

Haman,

i.e.

allude to this

n:iS"iJ

"

he caused

Hyde,

de

rel. vet.

it

to fall,"

If the

says

he made

meaning of

(with which the Sanscr. salchja

be compared) as a Persian expression for

^

when he

prognosticators " (Isa. xlvii. 1 3).^

obtained the result.

found in

as well

Pers. p. 195, says

"

-inn,

Notandum

est

is

'Jjs

to

then the knowquod Persae vulgo

sunt proni ad pronuntiandum, p pro b, unde scribunt Panaem pro Ban^m

et Deypadur pro Deybadur," etc.
2 The lot was, according to
Herod, (iii. 128), customary among the
Persians.

For when thirty men volunteered

against Oroetes, the lot was cast

who

to

follow the expedition

the chosen ones should be.

104

BOOK OF ESTHER.

ledge of

Haman

in the use of the horoscope gains through this

a clearer explanation. The narrator has already indicated this by

the mentioning of
hachaber, or

''i:i&5,

"

Haman, son

Sors, pur, the result

Hamadatha the

of

magician.

up the horoscope, was

setting

of

Agagite," as

^JDH, fire- worshipper

equivalent to

is

so

termed, as according to ancient ideas every day and every

hour had

its

allotted fortune,

undertakings and

which was suitable

to the various

How

man.

exercises of the will of

these

observations were made, the ancients have left us an abun-

dance of information.

merely depend upon the

It did not

more particularly upon

position of the planets, but

tion to the zodiacal signs, every one of

month.

In

reference to

Chaldeans, as Censorin

the

this,

their rela-

which controlled a

expressly narrates, had a special era, dodecaeteris, consisting

of twelve years, "

observations

to

because

which the horoscopians made applicable, not

of sun

and moon, but

they say that

in

revolve

it

crops, drought, as well as diseases

{Be die Natali, cap.

was

still

in use

by the astronomers

is

of opinion that this era

of the

East in the Middle

Ages.^

The years

The

year was called Mouse, and the last had the

Pig.

first

What form

the twelfth
enterprise

had

of the era

of horoscopy it

month

names

different

was that gave

of animals.

to

name

of

Haman

(the Jewish Adar) as favourable for his

against the

Jews,

could not

difficult

is

Jewish exposition (Megilla 135)

out that he

of

and conditions of healing"

Scaliger

xviii.).

other purposes,

to

weather, fertility

harm

to

tries

in

Israel

to

establish.

The

show that he found

any other of

their

months but Adar, because he knew that Moses died on the

7th of that month
also
^

but he deceived himself, as Moses was

born on the 7th of Adar.^

Isagog. Clironolog. Canon, lib.

[So

iii.

p.

was not an unfortunate

it

181

"Ea

signant sua tempora

Persae, Chatai, Tartari, Turcae, sed Indi praecipue." Likewise in his notes
to Manilius,
I).

comp. Eschenbach, Epigenes de Poesi Orphic (Norib. 1702),

165a.

^ [The reason for assigning the same day of the month to the birth and
death of Moses is given by Rashi, in loc. Because he said " I am an
:

hundred and twenty years old

this

day " (Deut. xxxi.

4).

Trans.]

CHAP.

day

them

for

by the second Targum)

why

exclaimed

Now

'

they are caught by

me

But he noticed that the children

And

(Gen.

let

explicit as to

he came to make observations in the month

pared in the Scripture to the

'

more

is

which stands under the zodiacal sign

of Adar,

sea.'

The Midrash

the other months were less favourable for his

When

"

purpose.

105

7.

the end proved.]

after all, as

(93&, followed

the reason

III.

them multiply

like the fish of

of Joseph are

fish of the sea, as it

is

com-

written

as the fish in the midst of the earth

Haman's mind,

enter

course,

but perhaps he made use of the Persian customary

the

the

16)."

xlviii.

This thought did not, of

that

he

of the fish,

twelfth

month

propitious

is

for

taking

idea,

action

against the hostile principle under the figure of serpents, by

them (Hyde,

the writing of amulets which would kill

vet.

Pers. p. 258).

among many
fish

"

The

But surely more

suitable

is

star does not

come out

upon men, who bring bad words

Thus the

them.

what Manilius,

at the beginning of this

are bestowed

unaccustomed

to ears

(lib. iv.

5.

574,

gations concerning the

first

He

lot.

month, which

is

says, |D3

the

by

etc.).

The narrator mentions the time when Haman made

In the

to hear

faults of the people are blazed abroad

these ambiguous tongues"

"

rel.

other things, says of the zodiacal sign of the

Hateful gossip and poisonous tongues

sign.

de

investi-

t^^nn-^in ptJ^^in K^inn,

month Msan."

It

must be

taken for granted that he understands by the expression, " the

first

month," the

Persian month, as he paraphrases the

first

word pur by the Hebrew

would have been
wrote for Jews.

was in which the

tions,

was

cast.

upon the month.

advantage to

month had

hy\in ^\r\,

i.e.

sufficient to say, in the

But he wanted
lot,

lot.

Otherwise

it

month Nisan, for he

which month it

to specify

according to Haman's scientific observait

depended

The Jewish month Nisan had no

particular

Just because

offer for

it

was a horoscopy,

Haman's purpose, but the

certainly its significance.

undoubtedly

the

tallied in

first

Persian

The Persian new year

ancient times with

Msan,

for as

an

106

BOOK OF ESTHER.

astronomer of the Middle Ages says, " Their

first

month always

began when the sun entered the zodiacal sign of the Eam."
This ram

of this

The

the symbol of Nisan.

is

book of Esther,

New

description.

year,

was from time immemorial,

the nations, exactly the proper time for

We

attempting to ascertain the future.

Sadder, a Persian

compendium

of the

new

upon

it.^

new

year,

lotteries

year, for the welfare of the

The

superstition

and

also

oracles, is to

to ascertain

first

day

coming year depends

which has fastened

itself

upon Whitsuntide, by the

and the seeking

book

find in the

still

of doctrines (in Porta 66), that

necessary to offer sacrifices and to feast on the

is

all

specification in the

therefore, confirms the oldest authentic notice

in the opinion of

it

the future

upon our

practice

of

by means

of

be traced back to the highest antiquity.

It is at

events very remarkable, that on the feast of Epiphan}^,

January

6,

by which

On

there

was a custom
were

lots

the same day was

cast

day

is also

to

elect

the king of

i.e.

beans,

the

feast.

arrival of the

Magi

Again, the same

new-born King.

the chief festive day of the

among

game with

to play a

commemorated the

of the East to seek the

year

week

first

of the

the Persians, properly the great Neuruz.^

new
It is

not previously mentioned that the king did not enter upon

an enterprise without

And

ver. 7.

strange,

this is the

if

when

The omission

we had not

more important,

nected the memorable day

take place.

casting the pur.

first

would not have appeared

the notice in

as with

is

it

con-

the whole disaster was to

It brings out the fact prominently, that

Haman

put the arts of astrology into motion, in order to secure the

destruction of Israel.

He had

wisdom

against the

of heathenism

The

God.

likewise

much

the

Handbuch

Ideler,

See Hyde, de

We

to his

personal antipathy of
der Chronologie,

ii.

in

array the

people and the will of

diabolic character of his hatred

he called the lottery of divination

not so

set

is

shown

in that

assistance.

one

man

It is

towards

547.

comp. Spiegel, Avesta, p. 100.

shall enter upon this more particularly in another place.
rel. vet.

Pers. p.

465

CHAP.

107

III. 7.

make use of
make sure

another man, but the hostile sentiments, which

the hidden arts of magical calculations, in order to

of the enterprises that are here characterized
is

expressed the fanatical zeal of

applied

his

power

official

against

magical arts against the people

report in ver. 7
narrative,

mode of procedure.
Haman, who not only

here considered as an unusual

the lot

For

it

the casting of

is

Mordecai, but also his

of

properly the central point of the whole

though the author only mentions

The contrivance

whisper.

of

Haman

it,

as

it

against Israel

were, in a
is

the casting of the

lot,

Haman,

as shall be

He

casts the lot in the

new year

have the fortune of the star

which, as he

of

as

Balaam

though he wants

knows, has a peculiar religion and an

well

from

appears

ver.

drawing of a lottery at the court of the king was in

The wisdom

extraordinary thing.

in all important affairs.

says

"

This

of his time

are perfectly suitable to

they made their

polities

own

no

command

Later times give an illustration of

^

of the Persian court

antiquity,

But among the Oriental princes

were no

there

The

Magi was consulted

of the

That the descriptions of Chardin

assert.

8.

itself

what Pliny means when he

is

This wisdom has assumed in the Orient the

of the kings" (xxx. 1).

this.

to hurt

for himself against a people

reverence for God, as

especial

fully showai

placed in the rank of the magicians of Pharaoh,

is

and near Balak, who sought by the curses

to

more

the

Through

people, but also as a rebellion against their God.

Israel.

thereby

merely as an act of tyranny against

represented, not

farther on,

the

Therefore

Israel.

of the

without astrologers.

we do not
Middle Ages

Through these

wishes and intentions legitimate.

The

Mongolian Khan Hulaku destroyed the Caliphat, because the

astrologer said that the house of

Even
^

etc.

Comp.
:

"

Osman

the

On

Abbas must

fall

before him.'^

sultan requested Frederick (1769) to send

particularly,

Voyages, torn. v.

consulte les Astrologues

siir

Descript. des sciences, xi. p. 76,

toutes les choses importantes et

quelquefois le Roi les consulte sur les moindres choses par exemple
doit aller h la promenade, s'il doit entrer dans le Serail," etc.
^

Malcolm,

Gesch.

v.

Pers.

ii.

p. 73.

s'il

108

BOOK OF ESTHER.

him three expert

did not quite please the

astrologer, saying, "

is

the

he then turned to the

request

send

to

That although the knowledge of

only with the most high God, yet

it is

him an
all secrets

legitimately allowed

knowledge of the true moments of the day

to cultivate the

and

full treasury," it appears,

sultan, for

Morocco, with

of

answer, " That his

his

army and a

astrology was an efficient

Emperor

But

astrologers.

of the night."

But though

similar astrological polities

existed in the court of Xexes, yet the casting of the pur for
Israel

had just as distinct a significance as the

Egyptian magicians and the curses

what these generally were

they did against

Israel,

The narrator does not

the

first

month

arts of the

Balaam.

of

For,

not

the habit of doing, but what

in

could be taken into consideration.

happened on

forget to note that this

of the twelfth year in the reign of the king.

It appears that in the

view of

Haman

month was

this twelfth

particularly favourable for his design.

The second Targum

man who

calls the

casting of the die,

Shamshai the

interpretations of

which the Midrash

scribe.

assisted

him

This

one of the

is

is

in the

Among

fond.

the

enemies who sought to hinder the rebuilding of the temple in

Jerusalem by writing a denunciatory

King Artah-

letter to

shasta against the Jews, was one Shamshai, the scribe (Ezra
iv.

It

9).

is

be noticed that his

to

name

derived

from

signifies

"sun-servant," as Epiphanius also

the

name

On

the

adoration

the

of

" Sampsaei," translated

heavenly

At

the

lights,

knew

and

a sect by

by 'HXcaKoL

the other hand, the Midrash has

explanation

apparently

is

another beautiful

moment when Haman

challenged

the

diabolical chance of the lot of the stars against Israel, a divine

voice was heard exclaiming, " Fear not, congregation of Israel

If thou wilt repent towards God, then the lot will befall

instead of thee."

Instructive

is

the Midrash scoffs at the vain haughtiness of

wanted
1

to

soothe

Hammer,

his

him

also the parable by which

offended vanity by

Gesch. des osman. EeicheSj viii. pp.

Haman, who

the adoption
328 and 428.

of

CHAP.

III.

109

8.

"to a bird which built

says,

One day

Then the

the waves swept the nest away.

empty the

angry, and wanted to

is like,"

on the seashore.

nest

its

He

"

destructive measures against the people of God.

it

sea and

bird got

with sand,

it

fill

which naturally enough caused great amusement and laughter

among

companions."

its

So

was

foolish

also

Haman, who

thought to annihilate the people for which God had appointed

such a past and such a future.

Haman,

a smaller

Shamshai, who,

had such a

says,

it

Like the

thirst for

even the Sea of Tiberias could not quench

all out,

and yet was thirsty

Ver.

8.

"

his

presence,

therefore

it

is

now communicated
for a long time

to the

(ver.

drank

it

instruction and in

pn

expressly said,

The king knew nothing about

Haman.

He

King AhhasJiverosh"

said unto

up by Haman's

set

wisdom that

it.

as before.^

And Raman

The horoscope was

bird was also

little

no Haman, but only his scribe

or rather

'':th,

before

Haman

it.

only

king what had been in his mind

For he wanted not only, as he

8).

thought, to be himself secure, but also to have the result of the

horoscope investigation, and to be able to say in the language

of Schiller, " Die

rechte

Himmels

forschend zu durchspliren

ii.,

vi.)

Hiiuser

" I

searching

more devilish than

lie,

said
^

Haman

stars,

by

coming

opening statement was

"

fine diplomatic

One could not

The

stars

do not

lie,"

words entrapped the

better represent the art

sought to win the king, both by what he

and by what he did not

The parable

so, his

his former action.

and with

unsuspicious king.

he did

des

sei,

(Wallenstein,

traces in the celestial mansions," before

And when

to the king.

with which

"

have deciphered the right hour in the

its

but he did

Sternen-Stunde ausgelesen

say,

than

it is

of the strand-snipe (Sanscr. tittihha)

done in
is

ver. 8.

found in India, of

which the people say, " It considered itself one so important that it slept
on its back, and stretched forth its legs in order that the sky should not
fall down."
The Indian fable has only changed the end (see Max
Muller on Hitoimdesa, p. 97).
2 Michelet, Gesch. der Bibel, Prague 1865, p. 11.

BOOK OF ESTHER.

110
"ins"Dj;

He

):^''

" There is

does not call

it

a certain

people'^

The name would bring

by name.

The name would

glorious history to remembrance.

their

in itself

have contradicted many a subject which he was desirous to

mention.

It was,

moreover, properly speaking, an act of

treachery against the king

hand

Haman had

himself which

in

inasmuch as the protection of the Jews had been the

policy of the

Iranic dynasty ever since

which Cyrus

just in opposition to Babylon, against

that the

Jews were favoured by him and

form a faithful advanced guard.

land to

For

Cyrus.

restored

was

it

revolted,
to

their

Darius adopted the

same policy when the Magus Gumata (Pseudo-Smerdis) fell.

It may be supposed that Xerxes would not have consented to
For

Haman's request even on that account.

Haman

speaks

Magi had spoken. Because he knew this, he entirely

suppressed the name of the people whom he was arraigning

as the

before the highest tribunal in the land.

Besides, the

name

The king must have known

Jews was extensively known.

how many of them were living in Shushan. Had he not in

the name of the Jew Mordecai been saved from the treachery
servants

of his

Therefore

somewhere a people."

word

IJC^''

occurs,

connected with

Here

it

it

says UV

besides,

of the

the

Sam.

scornful

against

it

of union,

tone

with

The people

and therefore

would require no

sacrifice

which

of.

It is

He

of

whom

without a

also destitute of the

Eepressive measures

and might

and separated fragments,

nor importance worth thinking

if

xiv. 39, xxiii. 23).

It is TiSDI ITDD, " scattered

of offering a possible resistance.

for as scattered

is

the importance of the nation, in order the

he speaks has no national consolidation.

means

There

people which he disdains to name.

and separated among the nations."

bond

"

In the other three passages where the

easily to attain his end.

national

^Je^^

has the sense of " some one, somewhat,"

(Deut. xxix. 14

expresses,

Haman speaks
He depreciates
more

it

Haman

it

easily be taken,

has neither power

speaks of the Jews as

they were gipsies, and the question had concerned a tribe.

CHAP.

III.

111

without a history, vocation, commonwealth, and connection.

So,

we

also,

and gipsies placed in juxtaposition, though

been done with Hamanic intentions.

way

in

Jews

find in elementary books of later times

Haman

which

may

it

not have

But the despicable

speaks of Israel to the king, was not

disadvantageous to his design of representing them as very

He

dangerous subjects to the State.

among

this people is scattered

the nations, but they are found

in all the territories belonging

whose

fact

historical truth

the

to

is,

is

DHTn

By

the whole

is

Of the

king and of God.

embodiment

from those of every people.

only used for the decrees of the

king, because he

of divine

They were

was considered as

power, and therefore his orders

were looked upon in the same light as

by God.

if

they had been issued

The word occurs

irrevocable.

Now, when such

statutes of a people are spoken

no others are meant than their religious customs,

cannot have another king, and other precepts,

This

used.

is

evident from

was the importance

king, that

owing to

of

its

Persian

of this

God
in

" justice,"

" destiny,"

"

and

to Gustasp,

i.

But

Hence

in

is

of jNnt^n,

to

be

so great

To

it

to

as

r\ia,

'New

well

as

The surname
have had, from

dadan

as appellatives

779-81).

Homer, which

Pehlvi

" righteousness,"

fortuitous event."

was that

word are applied

(Vullers,

m, cannot

etymology.

which the ancient Persian kings are said

Kajomors

they

their religious character they inseparably

m, meant

" chance,"

for

such decrees as were issued by the

combined justice and equity.

6efiL<;

in the

of Esther in this and other passages only in reference

to the king.

to

country.
{j^d r\)2Y^

from the inhabitants of the Persian

Israel

The word

kingdom.

of,

and

laws are to be understood the religious precepts

these

book

he has to find

fault

the principal objections to them

Dyn, their laws are diverse

which divided

the

notices

importance,

of

The

a matter that concerns

And now come

He

king.

indeed,

could not be gainsaid in any age.

with them,

therefore adds, True,

compounds

the king and

corresponds the Greek

only applied to a holy statute.

The

112

BOOK OF ESTHER.

oracles in

Dodona were

by Zeus."
is

called

6efjLL<TTe<; At6<;,

" decisions

e/^t? eVrt corresponds to the Latin fas

interesting

Among

for their observance.

sidered as gifts (Sanscr. da,

and customs given to men

the Iranians, statutes are con-

BlBco/jli,,

among the Greeks,

among the Eomans, as

dare)

Sanscr. dim)

as ordinances {tlOti^i

proclamations {fas

derived from fari, and lex from

is

cf.

But the Eoman view comes nearer

revealing which the word

what

"lox,

commands

in

this

human

For

it

it

amounted

the laws of the potentate, but

conclusion.

legere).

idea of

How-

to

rites.

When

this difference

a passive disloyalty to the

did not fully recognise the claims of the Til

the statutes of the king.

Haman must

Hebrew

people considers obligatory,

from those of the whole nation.

was emphasized,

^i'on,

to the

"im (BeKoXoyos:), contains.

The m, says Haman, which

king.

here said applies only to radical words which

is

disclose ancient divine

differs

It

compare the various ideas formed among

to

different nations with the statutes

ever,

given

est.

It

it

indeed regarded them as

denied their religious basis.

have desired that the king should draw such a

For the nations of the Persian kingdom greatly

differed in language, costumes,

and manners.

This was even

a matter of pride to the ruler, that his powerful sceptre

extended over such a heterogeneous conglomeration of peoples.

Herodotus, in his description of the Persian kingdom, por-

Haman

trays its manifold character in a very drastic manner.

therefore

must have intimated that the

Jews and the other nations

is

not so

difference

much

dress

and language, as in their sharp

their

acknowledgment of a God who

religious
is

between the

in their external
contrast, in

different

from the

gods of the other nations, who, although they vary

among

themselves, yet are at one in describing to the great king of

Persia divine honours.

But

this people

would not do

that,

because they would thereby acknowledge a principle which

is

against their religious convictions.

derogatory to
himself with

the
all

dignity of the king.

sorts of

This was, of course,

The king provided

symbols and ordinances, in order

CHAP.

he

tliat

III.

113

8.

use the words in the treatise of

(to

Mundo, which

ascribed to Aristotle

and edited by Apuleius)

venerated as a god."

But Haman

is

not yet

"

is

should be

He

satisfied.

wants to show the actual consequences which follow, when

other laws are carried out than those which emanate solely

from the king's

It is not to

will.

and

it is

sufficient that

they by their actions show themselves

to be obedient Persians (as,

king's

that " they do

is

W^^V

e.g.,

The consequence

life).

be assumed that their

merely matters of sentiment,

different religious opinions are

Mordecai who had saved the

of such diversity of principles

not practise the king's laws

Is not Mordecai's refusal

i::)\s).

a proof of this statement

"

(i?iDn Til

to kneel before Jmii

But Haman, with the subtlety of

the serpent, avoids mentioning individual cases of disobedience.

He

generalizes his accusation that the whole Jewish people,

on account

of their religious laws,

do not respect the commands

of the king.

By

this

taxes, but

he did not mean to convey that they refused to pay

he referred

all

honours to the

to their denial of divine

make throughout

king, which denial as a people they dared to

the territories of the kingdom.

This they everywhere

do with their self-willed stubbornness, and show publicly,

own laws

that they prefer their

the book of Daniel,

we

work, and when they

to those of

see that his rivals

In

the king.

went similarly

to

could not point to any omissions in his

duties as a citizen, they said

We shall not find any occasion

"

we find it against him concerning

But his resist(nnbt? mn, Dan. vi. 6).

against this Daniel, except

God

the law of his

"

ance to the king's law, because

must

cost

him

his

life.

it

was against the law of God,

The three pious men, Hananiah,

Mishael, and Azariah, were likewise placed

in a strait between the obedience they

command and

the worship which was due to

they were ready to die in defence of the

made the charge

by

owed

their enemies
to

God

latter.

the king's
alone

and

But Haman

general against the whole nation, that they

rejected the authority of the king altogether.

Had

it

been

BOOK OF ESTHER.

114

a question concerning a single person,

Haman would
"

bably have wasted one word more.

Would

But they

not pro-

many

are

not the State suffer by

(said the king), a

whole nation.

your proposal

Shall they not be tolerated because they are

useful citizens

He

removes.

This objection of the king,

"

him that they

tells

equal
bring.

by leaving them

And

the

to

(mtr px)

and

The damage which might

to enjoy rest (DH^^n^) is not

which

profit

he hastens to add,

at once

are a profitless people,

do not deserve any such regard.

possibly ensue

Haman

removal would

their

noticing that the king had

thus far approved of his speech, and wishing to remove any

which might have seriously occupied

financial consideration

the king's mind,

please the king, let

" If it

that they be destroyed (Dnasi5),

their goods spoiled,

into the treasury

and

to

pay 10,000 talents of

I will

compensate

for the possible

The subtlety with which Haman

specification of the

sum

of

for the loss

he

as

issued

it

the

order

sum was

their

for

slightingly

mattered very

they existed or not, one

of

to

the

himself guaranteed
Ti^ *1T3^

pay

As
of

he
this

king whether

of

them, would

have

But the cunning

the avarice as well as the vanity of the king

The sum was,

is

to

should have expected that he, in

in

fact,

not a small bribe which

the king might be induced to take, notably

in the

compensate

destruction.

offered a very small price for their heads.

in view.

to

the significance

little

order to confirm his low estimation

Haman had

is

the royal treasury might sustain, as soon

formerly spoke so
people, that

it

It is self-evident that the

king was to understand that this

him

damage."

money which he was ready

slaughter of the Jews.

silver

tickles the conceited king,

could not be more accurately presented, than

for the

be v/ritten

it

not merely be banished or

it.

Had

he

offered

when Haman
small

sum,

the treasury, Zend, ganza (Sanscr. ganclscha\ gaza.

it

The

amassing of solid gold and riches in the treasuries is only peculiar to the
East in respect of show. In itself it is the case everywhere. Meissner,
in his Humiliated and Exalted Esther, p. 62, etc., has collected the descriptions of Oriental treasuries

from travellers of the seventeenth century.

CHAP.

III.

115

8.

might have offended the king, and aroused his

Haman's only intention was

that

to

make

suspicion

by the

profit

Exactly because he so depreciated the people, and

bargain.

made out

it

was

of

no consequence to the king whether

they lived or not, he for that very reason named a high

Thus he entrapped the king from two

sum.

by tempting

sides,

his avarice with the large sum,

other by tempting his pride in implying that

trifle

him

to

10,000

price of

who were

to lose a multitude
talents.

It

must be a

large

from one

and from the

must be a

it

only worth the

sum

if

the offer

should not offend the pride of the king, and must so excite

shown

his vanity that he should, as is

were a considerable sum

Iletrolog. Unters. p.

the

for

round form, cake, as the Greek

Bockh,

in ver. 11, turn it into

Ten thousand

a generous gift to himself.

talents

Persian

(j)6oL8e9

king.

cf.

51) was a Babylonian talent which

Haman

in silver in Persia

wants to

the silver be weighed or stamped.

it

silver

133 (of

'^vaiov, gold cake

was stamped
let

of

therefore

was 3000 shekels and 1000 Attic drachmas in

says he

As such
value.

In a

round sum, 10,000 Babylonian talents were about 4,0 00,0 00.^

With

regard to the higher or smaller value of the sum,

we may

obtain more decisive knowledge by comparing the contemporary

value of the currency generally.

The

parallel notices in the

books of Ezra and Nehemiah with those in Herodotus make

appear that

we

72,

it

was a very important sum.

are told of the offerings

brought for their sanctuary.

In Neh.

vii.

it

70,

which the returned captives

They were 41,000

darics of

4200 minas of silver. How exact these statements

and how they agree with the money value given by the

gold and
are,

Greek

writers, appears

from the fact that the 21,000 darics

which the fathers apart from the people gave, are of the same
value as the

Now,
^

4200 minas; for five darics are equal to one mina.

500 darics, therefore the value of the

as one talent has

[According to Mr. Berewood, a BnT)y Ionian talent of silver was 218,

that ten thousand talents would be 4,680,000 but it is uncertain

15s., so

whether they were Hebrew, or Babylonian, or Grecian

talents.

Trans.]

116

BOOK OF ESTHER.

whole contribution was over 80

sum

indeed was a large

talents, wliicli

But

it

appears

by the side of the 10,000 talents which

Haman

for the poor captives of those days to raise.

insignificant

Very important

whole people.

offered as a price for the

also

were the valuable things which Ezra received from the king as

We

the property of the temple.

weighed into their hands (that

and

of silver,

100

silver vessels

To

total,

850

1000

darics, or 2 talents.

talents.

did not even amount to

this

read (Ezra

is,

26)

viii.

to the priests)

100

talents, of gold

were added 2

"I even

650

talents

talents;"

bowls of gold

So then the whole temple treasure

1000

talents.

Herodotus has given us particulars about the revenue which

the several provinces of the Persian monarchy contributed.

The

paid

provinces wdiich

Babylonian

talents

in

collected from

Babylon and the

Jews were

great

in

1000

talents.

raised

in

had

silver

rest of Assyria

Shushan and the whole

300

calculate

in

(where the

numbers), amounted annually only to

From Egypt came 700

not more than

to

The whole sum which was

89).

(iii.

talents.

The sum
was

adjacent territories

The whole income from the

talents.

Persian Empire, apart from the gold dust of India, was no

sum than 7600 Babylonian

larger a
this

certainly

talents

must be added the revenue

in
of

talents

from the Lake of Moeris, and 140 which remained in

for the

payment

offered

was about equal

of wages.^

from the whole empire.

Euboeic

talent,

So, then, the

to the

To

silver.

210

Cilicia

sum which Haman

whole annual income in

silver

Eor, according to the standard of the

which was

also valid in Persia (for

all, e.g.,

who

delivered gold were obliged, according to Herodotus, to pay in

the Euboeic talent), the income of the Persian king amounted,

with the exception of the gold dust of India, to 9540

This agreement of the
1

On

offer of

Haman

talents.

with the silver revenue

mentioning the particulars given by Herodotus,

otherwise than call attention to the difficulties which

this occasion, while

we cannot do

they occasion to historical expositors. As they are so very important

we shall endeavour to solve them in the supplement.

CHAP.
of

king has

tlie

numbers

an

also

Jews were only

of

III.

llT

8.

exegetical

found in the chief States of

to be

the Persian kingdom, and for these alone

much

king as

as

Considerable

value.^

he derived from

all,

Haman

offered the

very great

sum

apparently for the people which was represented to the king

as worthless.

But the speculation

remarked, strictly correct.

more

it.

It

Haman

was, as already

sum

greater the

was, the

appeared to the fancy of the great tyrant to

flattering it

waive

The

of

must have been thought enormous,

if

Ahhashverosh

it.
Haman knew his master well
when he once enjoyed his confidence and

should boastfully reject

enough

to guess tliat

smiles, matters of finance

the balances.

to the king, for

if

selling the Jews, he

liberal

weighed in
taking

in

could comfortably offer

all

such a

entered into the bargain of

need not trouble his head any further

He

about the money.

he at

so exactly

sultans were

Haman

as well as in giving.

sum

would not be

The Oriental

who, like Alihashverosh, delivers up a

people, without question, investigation, or consultation

and wherefore he should do

so,

does not want to

business of them, but only to show that he

who
he

treads nations under his feet

is,

as it here appears,

the slave of

his

is

why

make

the grand lord,

and yet the more boastful

the more he

in reality only

is

What Haman

ungoverned passions.

has

money for the lives of others,

of.
At the court of the SeldMohamed was offered a great sum of money

here done, in offering the king

by no means a thing unheard

is

shukian princes,

by
he

his

grand vizier

hated

viz.

for the life of

Alaeddaulet

Mohamed, who was not

so

an eminent

Abul Hashim
generous

as

in

man whom
Hamadan.

Ahhashverosh

giving, but extraordinarily greedy of receiving, entered

the bargain.

But when Alaeddaulet heard

of

it,

in

upon

he offered

The

Oriental legend, wliicli better portrays the Hfe and the spirit
East than its authentic history, teaches also analogies on this
point.
In the legend of King Heykar, one king demands as tribute from
the other " the triennal income " of his country, and about this there
^

of the

arises

the prize fight of the spirit {The Thousand and One Nights, ed.

Habichtj

xiii. p. 86).

118

BOOK OF ESTHER.

sum

the king a greater

Of course Hanian concealed

and hatred under the flimsy pretext of

his plan

prudence and necessity.

He

hostile people.

after the experience

killing all the

times

political

matter about a disobedient and

It is a

reckoned upon the distrust of the king

which he had gained in

the Greeks in his unfortunate expedition.

several

and the

for the life of the vizier,

bigger bid obtained the victory.

his dealings

Christians of the Turkish

Empire were made

the court of Stamboul under Selim

at

with

Similar devices for

I.

and

Murad IV.; and even so late as 1770 the fanatical Mufti

Perisade Osman Efendi declared his opinion, that such a
massacre was a necessity.
But when the Sultan Ibrahim,
1646, meditated a similar plan of

was
stars

who

his Mufti

killing the

were not favourable

to his intended enterprise

Gesch. des osmanischen Reiches, v. 390).

By

tliis

was not contested.

right to kill all Christians

right to kill all the

Christians,

it

dissuaded him, by telling him that the

(Hammer,

opinion the

As

also the

Jews was claimed by the Roman emperors

and

as successors to Titus,

supposed right was commuted

this

into the imposition of a head-tax.

And
to Hamanr

Ver. 10. "

gave

it

king took

the

Jiis

ring from

liis

The name ny3D which the ring bears comes from

the act of sealing.
liquid,

The

seal

was dipped

its

name from

control

finger

all

his power.

pression of the royal seal

obedience.

It

his

will.

seal-

For the ring which

The

seal

of

the king

document which bore the im-

{sigillum)

was considered

(see chap. viii. 8).

transferred

Thus the

was the symbol of the person having

and power over

included

use in

the action, because a seal without

a ring was not customary in the East.

was worn on the

its

and.

(ynto) in a coloured

and then pressed upon a docum^ent.

ring received

hand

demanded unhesitating

as a divine law, and irrevocable

Therefore with the king's great seal was

royal power.

I^ot

before

his

dying hour did

Alexander the Great deliver his ring to Perdikkas.

History

CHAP.

119

III. 10.

very characteristically narrates of the Emperor Tiberius, that

with his

last

clutches

(Suet.

breath he convulsively held his ring

Tib.

peculiar virtues of

in his

The Oriental legends about the

the seal of Solomon, by which he had
73).

power over demons and

only figurative representa-

spirits, are

Only

tions of his royal power.

an

to

alter ego,

uncon-

or

ditional representative of the will of the king, could the royal

seal-ring be delivered.

This, in a modified form,

became

for

the purpose of State administration the custom in the court

Turkish sultans, where, for a long time,

of the

it

was customary

at every accession to the throne to order four imperial seals

to be

made, three

of which, in

the highest officers

were given to

circular form,

while the fourth, in quadrangular form,

the sultan reserved for himself (Hammer, Osman. Reich,

Xo

199).

one

could

undertook without

By

power.

execute

from

obtaining

viii.

work which Haman

the

king extraordinary

the

putting on the ring which the king wore on his

own

finger,

The

narrator, in recording this act, repeats the designation

"

he was thereby invested with royal authority.

Haman, the son

of

enemy," in order to

The
it

ring stamped

remarks

impression upon the

Haman

is

now

" persecutor

which

is

Jews have ever

more by

distinguished

Jews,"

"

repent

to

with

the

since applied to all those

them

to be Jew-baiters,

Israel

enemy

the
sins.

T.,

but which the

whose blind pre-

and to lead them to

more ancient usage.

(in the singular

all

name D^^nM ^yi,

a name

The expression

and of their God are often so

the sense of

of

their

of

and avarice than by a

desire to ameliorate Israel's condition,

repentance and to salvation.

greater

and who were influenced

feelings of fanaticism, envy,

particular reference to

his receiving

hater of the Jews,"

applied to no one else in the 0.

judice caused

and

produced

Jews than the prophecies

they were led

of the

Jews'

the

impending calamity.

as the Jews' enemy,

Midrash, strikingly

for

Agagite,

call attention to the

him

the

prophets did,

Hamedatha the

styled.

and

is

chosen with

The enemies of
The word

"n^?

in

plural) occurs, besides.

120

BOOK OF ESTHER.

in

some passages in Ex. and Deut., in Amos

13

especially in the Psalms,

(comp. Ps. xxvii. 11,

xi. 1

Isa. xi.

3 in his mind, where

the enemies of Judah (imD^ min''

n-i:^),

"

for "nv

But more probably

11).

liv. 7, Ivi. 3, lix.

the narrator had Isa.

v. 1

where ii^ stands often

said of

it is

They that vex Judah

shall be cut off."

"And

Ver. 11.

given

good

to theCy the

the king said unto

Haman, The

silver is

them as

seemeth

people also, to do luith

to thee."

The haughtiness of the king

Haman

likes.

We

them

(Dna&<!?),

or does he think that

of

king " to

so

may

now

the

" as it

do

the people in

but only that he

Has he not

The narrator

can take

must observe that the king does not say

makes him a present

as he likes.

the

of

him a present

him money

king says he need not give anything, and

pleases him."

gives to

the price

first

Haman should give notliiiig, but he

As Haman said, " if it please the

destroy the Jews, he would give

that he

He

extreme.

Therefore he adds, that he makes

of the money.

what he

is

the ring, without receiving

bargain.

destroy

it

may do with them

noticed the brief hint of

this is

order to

Haman,

merely his avaricious speculation ?

gives us an insight into the tyrannical careless-

ness and indifference with which Ahhashverosh listens to

How

Haman.
with

deal

readily he gives

whole

nation

question or investigation
also

(DVn)

name.

looks

is

Haman

his
is

he

seal of authority to

likes,

For he merely

without a single
says, "

The people

upon the order simply in the

granting a favour to

him

him the

given to thee," without mentioning them by

is

He

as

light

Haman.
What can scarcely excuse
Haman, in that he believes that

confidence in

patriotic in his declaration that the people

are really dangerous to the State.

racter of Oriental tyrants to
their ministers.

and absolute

of

The more a

in power, the

(ayn)

It is the peculiar cha-

have too much confidence in

ruler is careless

more boundless

is

and capricious
his confidence

CHAP.

III.

121

12.

in persons

whom

of State.

Of the noble Giafar the Barmekide,

his autocratic will has raised to high offices

he possessed such power, that he

and executed the most important

affairs,

Abu Pharaon made upon Harun, and

as follows

is

"

to

say,

"All

This gave rise to the mocking verse which

right, Giafar."

Hammer,

told that

and then reported

who merely used

about them to the caliph,

is

it

spontaneously adopted

first

which, according to

Thou thinkest that thy hand rules the empire

Thou art mistaken indeed
Thou art nothing but the puppet, wliose wire
The hand of the great man does lead."

But Ahhashverosh

is

not in the hands of a Barmekide, but

in those of a revengeful man.

At

the conferences w^hich the

ambassador of the Hungarian pretender to the throne, Zapolya,

had with Ibrahim Pasha in 1533, the

power, and
himself,

My

said, "

master has also two seals

and the other I wear;

difference

latter boasted of his

for

between himself and

one he wears

he does not want to see any

me " (Hammer,

Osman. Reich,

129). Against this Ibrahim the Jews complained, as against

iii.

a second
fell

Haman

and they rejoiced in

(Joseph ha Cohen, Dibre hhayim,

Ver. 12. "

Then were

p.

like

103,

manner when he
ed.

Amsterdam).

the king*s scribes called in the first

month, on the thirteenth day."

This date must have been perfectly
for the letters of the

day

of the first

month

in

ix. 1.
it

to the corresponding

which the execution was

And

to the narrator,

king must have been prepared from the

month

was the thirteenth

known

day in the twelfth

to take place.

But

as the edicts were issued to the Persian authorities,

must have been

in accordance with the Persian calendar, with

which the Jewish must have been brought into harmony.

must therefore

also be

month agreed with

ficance tliat

this

of Adar, as is expressly stated in chap,

assumed that the thirteenth of the

the Jewish.

Haman

But was

it

It
first

without any signi-

should choose the thirteenth day of the

122

BOOK OF

month

ESTIIEK.

for the starting-point of his diabolical

from day

cast the lot

which he might

day

to

in order to find out the

every month was called by the Persians

the modern Persian the meaning of "
(Vullers, Lex. Pers.

We

486).

i.

considerations which throw

day.

thirteenth

It

Eoman

with regard to the

Numa

calendar

full

Idus

or

after

So also

also

the

old

wise,

was

we

the

of

beside

Ides

known

(cf.

that

adheres to the explanation that

Indian months into

bright part was called citklapaxa, and the

napaxa

the
is

it

Etruscan the same as dividere."

in

" part

thirteenth, and,

day which divides the month,

signifies the

divided

upon the

before

cap. 15)

means

and

upon the choice

falls

Macrobius

i.

lot," " share,"

moon, the time of the month was

ChronoL 239).

(lib.

of

this has still in

which have thirty-one days,

Ideler, Ilandh. der

"

in

cannot refrain from other

light

many days

reckoned as so

and

Tir,

necessary to remember that

is

other four months of the

the ides of the

month

The thirteenth day

the Jews.

strike

He had

hatred?

(see Lassen, Ind. Alterthumskunde,

i.

The

for iduarc

moon

full

two parts

the

dark part hrish-

824,

Like-

etc.).

find in Persian dictionaries that the planet Mercurius

by them

called

Tir.

But concerning Mercurius-Hermes

the ancients had, to a certain extent, the notion that he was

the god of light of the lunar year.

It

was thought that

Isis,

the Egyptian moon, was descended from Hermes, and that

Hermes has
its rotation.

his seat in the

He

lunar year, and he, as

Mars,

i.e.

Ares,

moon, and goes about with

it

in

has also added the five leap-days to the

is

elsewhere more fully told, liberated

who was chained

in the

thirteenth month,

whereby the arrangement of the leap month (among the Jews,

the second Adar)

is

The connection

may

indicated (see

my

of the thirteenth

Drackenkdmpfe,

yet be instructive from another aspect.

that Tir

is

star Tistar,
illustrious

p. 65).

day with the planet Tir

It is thought

nothing else but a part of the compound

tistrya,

the

which the Parsees have ever invoked as the most

and mighty (comp.

notably gives rain.

But

it

Spiegel, Avesta,

appears to

me

i.

273), which

that the very

name

CHAP.

III.

123

12.

Zarathustra, in a reversed form, means " the son of the star."

undoubtedly this star which the gospel tradition knew

It is

as the star of the Magi, the Persian wise men.

tradition

would

Magi

Bethlehem

at

Then the

also be remarkable, because the arrival of the

assigned to January 6, and this was

is

reckoned as the thirteenth day from the 25th of December,

the assumed birthday of Christ, as

name

times by the same

three

it

goes in

still

among

(Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar),

kings

people of North

Germany and

However, there

is

modern

of the thirteenth, in reference to the

the

of the Netherlands.

something more certain and sure.

If

we may believe that the designation of

name of Tir had reference to the

the thirteenth day by

rather decide for the connection of

significance with Tir,

the

"

its

full

an arrow," which was contracted from

arrow (see Botticher, Arica,

of the

and sun-gods).
which

The arrow

p. 28).

is

an ancient

moon as well as of the sun (hence of the moon

Even the name itself of the fourth month,

the same as of the thirteenth day,

is

(comp. Tigris,

tigr

Pliny says the Medes call Tigris an

tigra, ro^ov, Tc^ev/ia).

emblem

moon, we should

an explanation from

viz. Tir, receives

not so much, of course, according to

this,

the later Persian calendar, where the year began with spring,

but after a computation of time, of which the year began in

September, which was so
centuries

the

in

Constantinople

East,

(Ideler,

month corresponds
symbol

The
the

is

the

to

arrow,

constellation

much

that
ii.

the
or,

in use in the first Christian

it

became the
In

359).
zodiacal
as the

official

era

in

the

fourth

sign Sagittarius,

whose

this

Jews

call

era

it,

" the

bow."

of Sagittarius appears in December, hence

arrow-throwing god of the Lycians,

when winter came,

hid himself in Patara.

All this undoubtedly throws

much

light

upon the intention

Haman

to

destroy the Jews on the thirteenth of the month.

The arrow

is

the symbol of death, of sickness, of disgrace, and

of

of blasphemy.
Ixiv. 4).

Poisonous words are compared to arrows (Ps.

False tongues are called deadly arrows (Jer.

ix. 8).

124

BOOK OF ESTHEK.

The

apostle speaks of the fiery darts of the evil one (Eph. vi.

1 6).

In a similar figurative sense the Greeks used the word

t'69

one with an arrow " means, to

" to shoot

and in Persian

wish evil to any one, or to slander him (see Vullers,

The importance

kingdom
an archer

of the

coin bore the image of a bow, and

than an

hits better

483).

arrow and the bow in the Persian

well known.

is

i.

The bow was manifestly

edict.

the symbol of the king himself, and represented his victorious

and ruling power

picted

upon the

like the sun,

coins as standing with the extended bow, ready

to shoot (Vullers, Arsac.

On

hence the Persians were de-

Imperium,

the day of the arrow,

p.

i.

Haman

50, Paris 1728,

etc.).

sealed a death warrant

against unprepared Israel.

"And

ivas written according

there

commanded unto

Haman

that

cdl

to

and

the king's satraps,

governors that

to the

luere over every province!'

Haman had
" it

received the authorization from the king, and

was written,"

not, " they wrote," for the writers

instrumental in the

grand

vizier

act,

and wTote,

He

dictated.

addressed to the D^jamt^nx.

this word, both

known from

Ixvi.).

be

to

recognise

to

The X, comp. avv and

pronunciation

for the

besides, only a Semitic prefix

Semitic

what the

letters

That we are

as in tniK'ns,

li^n,

of 'E^aTpd'7Tr)<; for satrap,

as

these

in
is

classical authors as satraps, or satrapa, satrapes,

produced here by
is,

caused

according to the sound and sense, what

there can be no doubt.

The N

were only

so to speak,

^vv, is re-

in

Xerxes.

therefore the form

by Theopomp, can be recognised

(comp.

Pott,

Etymol.

Forsch.

i.

In a similar manner the Jews have reproduced later

Greek words which begin f by appending an , and by

which corresponds ^n here or fei/09 by |DDS, and
d:3, to
^vXlvov

by p^D3X.

Likewise,

it

is

certain

that

D^Jsmt^'nK

perfectly corresponds to the Old Persian Khshatrapaivan, as

it

was read upon the

inscription of Bisutun

Lie Fers. Keilinschrift,

p.

18),

and, in

by Benfey (comp.

fact,

we may

read

CHAP.

means the administrator

It

D'jismc'rii?.

domain, and pavjan,

(JchsJiatra,

125

III. 12.

government

of

Benfey, from

according to

the Sanscr. pa, to govern), as Herodotus calls satrapies ap-^ai

The second part

of the

word

(sing, ps or

D'':ia

found in the modern Persian Ban

The Greek form teaches

nounced Kssliatrapa.

the

of

fall

doubtless

is

commander.

possessor,

(|^<3),

was

that EJishatrapawa

After

p)

pro-

also

Old Persian

the

monarchy there were, properly speaking, no more satraps.

The different Oriental kingdoms have given different names
Persian

sitrap, in

Hammer

as

maimed

remarks

form, Nabob) were the

the nine, governors

were medinoth,

revenue

i.e.

mna, and therefore the

i.e.

names

first

the

or niina.

office of

in

the

the taxes

To explain

necessary to compare

it

may be
this

it said,

Now we
name

of

must

nns, pi.

provincial

also in the Assyrian

Solomon.

of

127,

of

" the satraps of

of the

name

a nns in the Persian kingdom.

1 Kings XX. 24.

it

number

while of the second

The most ancient

kingdom

sisted in collecting

it is

the

head of these stood the

was not only a

It

Babylonian Empires.
find

There were twenty

over every medina or district."

administrator in the Persian, but

we

of representatives.

were entitled

governor-generals

iinter

but in the several satrapies

remark something about the meaning

niriQ

caliphs

to the satraps, but also to

districts, to

At

including Persia proper.

who were

(pi.

single districts.

of

satraps of the king (see ver. 1)

"

airiK^,

dem
newab, whence in

{Ldnderverwaltung

But Haman did not only write

the king,"

word

old

as a reintroduction

Under the

11), and Emire or Nabbe

Chalifat, p.

looks

dictionaries, it

of provinces were called Wali, or sometimes

the governors
Am.il,

the

find

Greek name into the Persian.

the

of

When we

governors.

their

to

and

name
Nehemiah held the

notice of this

That

this office con-

seen from Neh.

v.

and

very extensively used word,

with ancient Greek notices, for

must seem strange that satrap had become Grecised and

nns not.

Now we must remember

7rd^r)Te^, " rich,"

''

that

Hesychius

uses

eminent," in the same sense as Herodotus

BOOK OF ESTHER.

12C
speaks of the

men

eminent

Megareans

'irdxe<;

of

156) as

(vii.

91),

(vi.

Naxos

(v.

30), the

and of the rich

Sicilian

as the aristocrats of

Aegina

To the same

Tra^i^e?.

effect

we read

in

Solomon received gold from the kings of

1 Kings X. 15, that

the mingled people (or of the West), and from the ]ni^n nine

which cannot in the

mean governors

sense

strictest

of the

country, as they were not called so in Judea (see 1 Kings

but must likewise be understood as a general name

Why

and the eminent of the country.

Konige,

Thenius (BUcher der

169) should conclude, from the mentioning

p.

name, that

chapter

this

The connection

of later

is

of this

date, is difficult to

fat,

see.

which

of nns in a figurative sense with 7ra;^u9,

has also the natural meaning of

iv.),

for the rich

has nothing astonishing in

it.

It is exactly in the nature of the Oriental dialect to associate

riches
size

and appearance

by one word.
p^?,

i.e.

is

and

of his body,

The Psalmist

" the fat

manner
23).

figurative way, with the

and eminence of a person, in a

two ideas

to express the

calls the

mighty of the land

this the case

with

p^

It has its analogy in the

ing to Pott {EtymoL Forsch.

(comp. Judg. iii..29

Greek iraxv^,
221),

ii.

Hesychius has the gloss ^a^alo^

fiiya^,

Isa.

Sanscr.

halm, large.

7rd\v<; ra^ix;.

It is

which was bestowed upon learned

56).

i.

nna

be recognised in the modern Turkish pasha, formerly

written basha, bassa, and was also a general

Beich.

xxx.

at least accord-

evidently to be read irayy^, and refers to similar forms,

is still to

'jtJ^T

In like

ones of the land" (comp. Isa. v. 17).

And what

is

title

of

honour

men (Hammer, Osman,

here remarkable

is,

that in the

placing together of satraps and pashas in the book of Esther,

we have

the ancient Oriental designation of governors side by

side with that given

by the modern Moslem State (probably

the last of that description).

The

State secretaryship of the

great king of Persia

evidently a very extensive institution, for the

many

were not managed and governed with uniformity

single scheme; they

were allowed

to

was

nations

after

one

have their own particular

language and customs; the orders which were addressed to

CHAP.

III.

them from the throne were sent

and writing,

It

them

to

own language

in their

emphatically stated that every province

is

and people received the

and language

(n^JiDD)

127

13.

letters in

This

(iJitJ>i5D).

own

its

peculiar writing

explained by the fact

is

who were

that they were not merely directed to the satraps

Persians,

princes

and

(mna), but also to the

to the inferior governors

(nn5i>),

who belonged

For

to the_ people themselves.

as the officers of the first rank were called governors of the

king,

and of the second rank pashas

were called princes of the people

of the

letters

extent,

it

of the provinces, so these

Indeed, the contents

(ny).

concerned them the most

was a

call

for a united

people that was scattered

certain

war against one

national

among them

to

for,

Haman

all.

in his

diabolical subtlety did not merely write to the satraps, lest

should provoke disapproval, as

them

as

an arbitrary

administrators of

act.

of the

lie

affairs,

were

and

them

to

own

in their

Thus does the abuse

organizations
institutions

into

and

constitutions

prosperity to the people, so

the hearts of the rulers

Ver. 13. "

And

much

of

local

when measures

of exciting hatred

It

is

not

country which

as the spirit

who put them

letters

local

board,

language, should

death.

of

of

their

and

power change the best

of

instruments

but he specially

management
people,

become the instrument in his hand

passion.

it;

The bureaucratic

for the instruction of the

transmitted

write merely to the

to inflame

nations,

the better

for

by

suffer

popular antipathies against the Jews.

which was instituted

he

appeared to

should demur on the

these

lest

ground that the exchequer would

wrote to the chiefs

did

jN"or

finance,

w^ould have

it

the

secure

which pervades

in motion.

should he sent hj posts into all the

king's provinces"

The

actual despatch of the letters

12 and 13.

The former speaks

of their contents.

in ver. 15.

not yet told in vers.

of their style,

The sending out

The words, the

is

letters

and the

latter

of the letters is recorded

to

be sent

{n)b*^:, iSTiphal

BOOK OF ESTHER.

128
Inf. absol,

which occurs only in

with ver.

14 and explanatory

were the royal

"

post.

this place), are connected

of

The runners

it.

Nothing in nature," says Herodotus

98), "surpasses those messengers

(viii.

many

man and

provided, one

are

horses

snow nor

rain,

For as

in swiftness.

would occupy,

days as the journey

journey, and neither

(D"'yin)

many men and

so

a horse for each day's

nor heat nor night, can

hinder any of the runners from finishing his course with the

The

greatest speed.

rider transmits his

Hebrew

29,

is

its

shows

clearly
"

" writing,"

which occurs in

the words engarc,

in

this

document,"

" codex "

(though

in

used only in the abstract sense of thinking).

is

it

mJiC, letter,

hardly to be explained from a

therefore

The modern Persian

VuUers

reaches

but must be taken as a contraction of mJ35?.

root,

engariden,

to a second,

The messengers themselves

The word

were called Angaroi.

ix.

it

This running course of the riding messengers

destination.

the Persians call Angareion."

chap.

message

second to a third, and so on, until

and the

The Talmud Erubin 62a, gives the Persian names of lettercarriers "p'ln'iD and 'jiinN, and so the first is clearly explained
from

Arab, paper (see Preytag,

p-iniD,

Persian inD, a

The second name, Eapaport

from angari

but this

is

name
"

to carry.

of a letter-carrier,

To

destroy, to slay,

young and

216), by the modern

(in HrecJi Millin, p. 6) explains

a mistake, for

from the Persian herden,

the

iv.

seal.

mna,

and

to

old, little cliildren

The contents

it is

to be read 'JTiax,

In Arabic we have

tdbellarms (Freytag,

and loomen"

tions, their

But
cruel

'T'O^nf',

to destroy,

i.e.

their

communal

First the
institu-

domestic peace, their welfare, and their property.

this is not yet enough, so it is followed

word

Jews

and the expressions used were

evidently chosen to convey the climax of cruelty.

is

106).

cause to perish, all Jews, hoth

of the writing were to the effect that all

should be totally exterminated

command

i.

still

y^rh, to put

them

all to

by the more

death at the edge of the

CHAP.

But

sword.

them

^ax^l, "

and

any

lest

escape,

129

13.

might out of pity

official

another more revolting

some of

let

expression

added,

is

to cause to perish," all without distinction of sex

When Haman

or of age.

III.

made

first

his proposal to the king,

in ver. 9, he used the w^ord Diasb, to lose

them

but he did

not explicitly say that he meant to kill them, for he would

have attained the object of his request

But

banished from the country.

ties

they had only been

if

the provincial authori-

lest

should interpret this ambiguous expression in a mild way,

he specified the manner in which he wanted them

destroyed, namely,

thought

by

Such

whole book.

history

of

had

Attention
Mithridates

upon the genuineness

and of the

rightly

king of

only displayed

critics

been

Pontus

in which he ordered the

called
(Grot,

Eomans

"

mayors

He

kill

misdeed

of

to be slain is literally the

Appian

(xii.

sent secret orders to all the satraps

upon the resident Romans and

wives and children, and upon

and

rule.

The manner

in loc).

of cities, that they should within the

fall

Oriental

the

to

of the

complete

their

of

spirit

as the one narrated in our book.

reports

days

Some commentators have

slaughter.

that they have thrown doubt

same

be

so improbable that such an edict should be issued,

it

ignorance

to

cap. 22)

and the

space of thirty

Italians,

upon

freemen of Italian

all

their

origin,

them, and throw them away unburied, and take their

goods and possessions, partly for themselves and partly for the

King

Mithridates."

sent to all at the

...
same

"

These

secret orders Mithridates

When

time.

the

came, there was wailing and lamentation

Asia."

day

appointed

in the

whole of

Mithridates was also an Oriental tyrant, and acted in

a measure according to old tradition.

It

was

to

of vengeance as w^ell as national policy, which

wise in his plan presented before the king.

him an

Haman

act

like-

But the Romans

were a mighty people who had penetrated Asia victoriously,

whilst the

jugated

Jews formed, throughout the whole country, sub-

peaceable communities.

Mithridates therefore was

the executioner of national vengeance, but

I

Haman

sought to

130

BOOK OF ESTHER.

avenge his own personal

has also

many

For the

spite.

Specially

appears the deed of Alaeddin Khiljy Sultan

cruel

motive

latter fearful

analogous examples in the Orient.

(in the

Some Mongols whom

beginning of the fourteenth century).

he had dismissed from his service were accused of treachery,

and in consequence of

this

he caused

Shah

of

century),

conquered

Chowaresmier

Mongols,

all

Mohammed,

15,000, to be slain in one day.

it is

the beginning of the thirteenth

(in

had conquered Turkestan, and had given

to

Osman Khan, who was uncommonly handsome,

But

daughter in marriage.
coarse as he

was outwardly

Samarkand, than one

fine

Mohammed,

had no sooner

his

settled in

morning he undertook a massacre

scarcely

own

wife, the

Of course he

escaped.

Hammer,

himself did not escape vengeance afterwards (comp.

172 and

the

man, being inwardly as

this
fair,

of all the people of Chowaresniier, so that his

daughter of

said

the victorious

Shah Abbas

Gemdldcsaal,

vi.

when he no

longer needed to tolerate the disobedience of the

iv.

197).

inhabitants of Ghilan, issued an order in

people should be killed (Malcolm,

also

is

not

without

Prominently among

lomew

night.

strangers,

those
pity.

ii.

such examples

all is

1634

that all the

European history

30).
of

of Persia,

tyrannical

cruelty.

the fearful sanguinary St. Bartho-

For those who were then killed were not

but Frenchmen, friends and guests.

who had been

Yea, even

invited to weddings were cut off without

Here the king himself and the princes imbrued

their

They were more bloodthirsty and guilty

than Ahhashverosh, who was deceived by another, and mishands in blood.

led

by

his

own

arrogance.

Eanke, in ]\\q French History

the alarm-bell began to ring

(i.

332), s^ys that about 3 o'clock

then the people rushed every-

where into the houses of the Huguenots, in order

and

to rob

them

of their property, crying, " It

and he has commanded

so."

is

to kill

them

the king's will,

Orders were given by word of

mouth, and these were carried with the speed of lightning

from city to city to excite fanaticism.

According to moderate

CHAP.

statistics,

131

13.

III.

5000, and in the country 20,000,

in Paris alone

people were massacred.

The Jews were

scattered in all the provinces of the empire

(Joseph. Jewish Wars,

vii.

333), but they lived everywhere

together in separate communities, as was the peculiar custom

The various

in ancient times.

reside promiscuously, as in

For

quarters.

a modern

this reason jealousies

and passion were more

hatred

In the

other.

Haman

but in separate

easily excited

each

against

not therefore be difficult for

It could

and

excite fanaticism

to

city,

were more frequent, and

where Greeks and Syrians dwelt together

cities

never ceased.

strife

nationalities of a city did not

avarice, either of

which

is

always, even without external impulse, the source of the other.

Joseph.

A^itifj. xviii. 9. 9,

from Seleucia.

gives a remarkable example of this

The Greeks and the Syrians were always

But the former were generally defeated, because

quarrelling.

the Jews took part with the latter.

had the worst in

one

way

of

"

Now when

the Greeks

and saw that they had but

this sedition,

former authority, namely by

recovering their

preventing union between the Jews and the Syrians, they

every one discoursed with such of the Syrians as were formerly

and promised they would be

their acquaintance,

Accordingly they gladly agreed so to

friendship with them.

do

and when

nations,

of

them

who

was done by the principal men of both

this

they

upon the Jews, and slew about 50,000

fell

indeed, the

escaped," etc.

and

at peace

Jews were

all

destroyed, excepting a few

similar quarrel arose at Caesarea be-

tween the Jews, the Greeks, and the Syrians as to the ownership of the city, in which the Syrians played a double

game

and though overcome by the Jews, the

severely punished
13. 7).

Jews

There

were at

last
ii.

is a history of the entire extermination of the

in Persia under

not authenticated, but

Abbas
it

may

narrative in our book (see

26-32).

latter

by the Komans (Joseph. Jewish Wars,

II.

in the year

1666.

It

is

possibly be an imitation of the

Schudt, Jiid,

Merkwilrdigh

i.

1.

BOOK OF ESTHER.

132

" In one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth

month, which
It

is the

may seem

month Adar."

Haman

that

strange

should have

the

left

governors such a wide space of time for the execution of the

was because the horoscope had cast the die

order, but it

for

the

month Adar

On

the other hand, a long interval was desirable for himself,

as

it

and

this turned out to the salvation of Israel.

would leave the various executioners time

decisive action

Jews might

that the

The

on the appointed day.

in the

to prepare for

objection to this,

meantime have

fled or

provided

themselves with places of refuge, does not hold good, for

whither could they have fled

In such a case the whole

And

extensive empire would have been their universal prison.

if

the communities had desired to emigrate, would they have

And

even

they had been willing

been suffered to do so

to forsake their faith

and nation, would they not have been

hindered from doing so

religious

For when one wants

him

he strengthens

person,

if

adherence to his

in tenacious

The command

system out of hatred.

of

and cruel enough before the actual deed.

violent

to destroy a

Haman was
He played

with them, as the cat with the mouse which she has already

He

caught.

let

them have breathing time, during which they

should prepare to

The horoscope had decided

despair.

of the

and

lament their

die, to

first

for

and to

Adar.

into

fall

In the 13th

month, the day of the arrow, the decree was issued,

the 13th of Adar,

till

fate,

was hovering over

Israel,

i.e.

a whole year, the angel of death

and pierced

souls before he

their

touched their bodies.

"

And

That

Comm.

^'2^

to

war booty

represents

onJitdg. p. 60).

TD, to plunder.
is

take the spoil of them for

Pott

(ii.

is

Jews

well

known

153),

who compares

it

and whose

my

with

with apird^eiv,

The writing

as enemies of the country,

tion is determined upon,

(comp.

It is therefore usually connected

surely right, rather than Benfey.

regards the

a prey."

of

Haman

whose subjuga-

hostility is of so

enormous

CHAP.

III.

133

14.

a nature, that slavery would be too mild a punishment for

The Persian monarch had power enough

them.

who were under

pleased with those

his dominion,

power of resistance he had nothing

The Jews have experienced a

quent history,

to deal as

and

of

he

whose

to fear.

similar fate in their subse-

not in being threatened with death, at least

if

in having their property

confiscated.

emperor used to claim the

right,

The German-Eoman

during the Middle Ages, of

levying a head-tax from them, on the ground that he was the

and could do with them

heir of the conqueror of Jerusalem,

The Emperor Charles IV.

as he liked.
rescript

" All

the Jews

their possessions, to our exchequer,

power, so that
to

we

said expressly, in a

and are in our hands and

are authorized to deal with

our pleasure."

was again a

It

and

belong, themselves personally

them according

the old Oriental

relic of

law of conquest, which was upheld against the Jews in Christian

States,

and aggravated by

Haman's

find in

of
"

When

Eoman

where the right

published

king or emperor

certain

number of them

und

" (see

Gruher,

my

we

law

political

crowned, he has every-

is

to take

ii.

as

Margrave

Achill, the

following

the

to take the goods of the

under his dominion, and also

Encyclop. Ersch

sentiment, such

when Albert

order,

Brandenburg,

religious

Jews that

their

life,

are living

and

" Geschichte der

to kill

Juden

" in

p. 86).

27,

Ver. 14. ''A copy of the writing

to

for a

he given out

decree!*

The explanation
culties.

bread"

of

pti'riD

is

not without certain great

It does not appear that the

(Dan.

" king," " lord,"

Zend, paiti, Sanscr.

5),

i.

and

" bread,"

ia,

throws any light upon

" word," " edict,"

it.

which

is

in Ezra.

ence of

With

opinion

it

Pers.
/Se/co<?,

pdd =
bread,

be compared with

other.

its

It is

oldest

D:ina,

two

certainly like

meaning, we find a

among the

diffi-

jnns, " royal

in Persian D^Q, Dn^S, for the

regard to

already

jpati,

comp. Greek

Nor can

words have no relation to each

]y^2r\'^

compound

differ-

commentators.

134

BOOK OF ESTHER.

Some

them thought that the two words

of

Ezra are of

which

different meanings,

The LXX. has rendered the word

antigraphon
versions

"

word

the

copy

for

"

gum, diatagma.

But

Esther by

original,

clearly

is

an

to the paraphrase of the Tar-

and

second half of the

the

for " writing " or " copying."

In the

is

no mention of a copy, as they only

satraps could not have sent a copy,

So also in our passage, the

the king.

to

this

The

passages in Ezra there

letter.

But

also evident that pathsliegen

is

it

compound never occurs

but the

pathsliegen in

it.

parshegen are inseparable, because

speak of one

and in

renders parshegen by diasaphesis

it

which corresponds

diatage,

in Esther

surely not the case.

hence came into Lexicons and into most modern

hypothesis of the LXX., for

and

is

We

word cannot be understood in the sense of a copy.

must

therefore take antigraphon in the sense of " contents," " purport," " tenor," as

Jerome rightly renders

it is

Persian ntnnn, Arab,

dns

"

(Castelli, Lex. Syr. p.

summa."

(Sanscr. pru, Lat. pro)

means order

738

and ahanhana

(see Eiirst, Zex.

p^ demands

" mark," " character,"

ii.

= gaoighana), which
At all events the
may dialectically be

244).

consideration.

717

to

Forscli,
z/

cognoscere,

be

and

when he reminds us

(Etym.

It

rendered

could

Sig7mim

Deut.

letter."

znd,

" intelligence,"

Only in the sense

translate

The

be correct for

this,

but untenable for

of

argumentum,
Ix.

1,

and

for the latter, other

contents of the writing to

The attempt of the Targum to derive the word from

may

Sanscr. gna,

" observation,"

DD^D, Ps.

by parshegen ; but

editions have merely parsha.

*

in fact, nearly related

Zend,

Parshegen and pathshegen cannot

by

Targum

xvii. 1 8,

is,

which the

than

the

likewise

Pott hit upon a good

of a Sanscr. form, sangna (cognitio)

183).

with

" contents."

are connected.

"contents of a

n:6J'n,

i.

(w aK6i,v,

better

cognitio,

Vullers,

composed of the Old Pers. fra

is

compared with signum, whose original idea was

idea

To

Other Orientalists, as Oppert and Gildemeister,

698).^

have thought that the word

syllable

by

not necessary to adduce the modern

obtain this meaning,

ii.

it

-parshegen.

jjns, " to explain,"

CHAP.
the authorities was published

III.

135

14.

to the populations, in order

("li'J)

These

that they might be ready for the day of the execution.

were no private instructions to the authorities, but rather open

The intention

orders to the people.

of the publicity

order that the Jews might be prevented from a possible

was in
flight.

Thus the prospect of the coming event increased the hatred

and mistrust

of the

heathen against them, severed

which had hitherto held them

humane

together,

all

the ties

and extinguished every

feeling of pity in the breasts of the people,

by harden-

The

ing their hearts during this long interval of respite.

tyrannical

command caused

themselves as for a

the Persian people to prepare

They were

feast.

to provide themselves

weapons, and to be ready and eager for the prey.^

with

Fanaticism

and avarice do not need much time to be inflamed.

thought that the more the idea was held out

Haman

But
to the

people that on a certain day they would have a chance of

robbing the Jews, the more they would calculate upon

Men must

sure.

it

as

be prepared for joys and for sorrows, for

benevolence and for hatred, in order to drink of their cup to

the brim.

In

how

ver.

15 may be seen how

plain, is the description of the narrative.

messengers run
hamelech)

dreadful

for

of

and while

down

see

children

their

and children should stand as

slaughter of

this is being proclaimed,

at the table

shot, giving

The

should

thousands, parents

and helpless witnesses of the

While the

they transmit a royal order (therefore

killed before their eyes,

Haman

yet

What a
the command is published in Shushan.
command
Life and property should be taken from

hundreds

sit

vividly graphic, and

their

Ahhashverosh and

and drink.

Just

silent

parents

Haman

now an arrow

is

the signal for the butchery of thousands, and

sits silent at

the table of the deluded and fickle king.

Midrasli Esther 94a, describes this beautifully in

When

its

own homi-

buy meat or anything else,

there the Persian met him, and said scornfully, " To-day you still buy and
pay your money to-morrow I shall kill you, and plunder all that you

letical

way.

Jew went

to

market

to

'

136

Wine

BOOK OF ESTHER.
abundantly into the cups, but the numberless

flows

which flow from many dim eyes are

tears

forgotten.

not more tragical in Shakespeare's Ricliard IIL,

where Glo'ster
atrocity,

and

represented as inciting

is

saying

we may

betimes, that afterwards

"

Buckingham,

to

sup

us

let

digest our complots in

For the banquet of Ahhashverosh

form."

new

of

acts

to

Come,

It is

scene 1,

Sict iii.

gives

some

less

the

appearance of a complot than of the malicious triumph of a

treacherous enemy.

"

But

the city of

Shushan was perplexed."

The accustomed explanation

easily be

the LXX., wdiich renders

Shushan was

have

" turning,"

" rolling,"

cannot

riDUJ

generally followed
" the

iTapdaaeTv"

horrified," deriving the

which means
and

"

by

it

word

the

of

Commentators

adopted.

city of

word from the root ^n,

and

is

cognate with 13X

Jewish grammarians have given occasion to this

*]an.

interpretation

Kimchi's W'lin^n

(see

ivin,

p.

On

72).

the

other hand, the predominating ancient Jewish opinion on the

word

w^as,

that

second Targum,

it

is

etc.

derived from nan, " to

Of course

refers to the resident

Jews

it

" so

the

was thought that the weeping

alone,

an

says, " Cunctis qui in

followed, for he

weep

opinion which Jerome

urbe erant flantibus

and another scholium has the word "Judaeis" instead of

cunctis.

of words

And

the

LXX.

also renders in other passages forms

which are likewise derived from ^n by

"weeping,"

as,

e.g.,

Joel

i.

18;

Micah

4.

vii.

K\av6fx6<i,

But

it

is

necessary to limit both significations, as they are due to the

homiletical expositions of later Jews, and both are untenable
objectively.

The word

to the Jews, for

Mordecai knew

we

all

that

the description of the

decree had

neviicha ("perplexed")

read only in chap.

was done."
effect

iv.

1,

cannot apply

"Now when

Only now commences

which the publication of the

produced upon the Jews.

Apart from this, it

would be extraordinary to intimate that the Jews are meant
by the word " city," when iv. 3 expressly relates that wher-

CHAP.

III.

137

14.

ever the report of the decree came, " there was great mourning

among

undoubtedly the

case, this

Shushan, the question

and confounded
ushered in

is

arises,

why

Did

come

it

took them by surprise

When

plunder

prospect of

all

as is

should nevucJia be taken

horrified,

had

which

event

the

at

if,

predicted of the whole city of

which implies that they were

in a sense

the

But

the Jews, and fasting and weeping."

amazed,

actually

been

of a sudden upon them, that

had

the king

before

them,

long hefore placed

can

it

it

scarcely

be

supposed that when the longed-for day had actually arrived,

the people were smitten by feelings of compassion

The

poor innocent Jews.

and

meet

tried to

by the

on the part

of the heathen,

But

city got confused

and of lamentation on the part

15 there

in ver.

and the behaviour

of the

is

of

only expressed the deeds

Then

heathen against the Jews.

in

comes the contrast afforded by the description of the

iv.

misery

Targum

discordant, tumultuous voices that were heard, of joy

the Jews.

chap.

first

by the remark, that the

it

for the

foresaw the objection,

it

had produced among the Jews.

In nsui, therefore,

there can only be intimated a parallel to the drinking of the

When Naomi

king with Haman.

Bethlehem, we are

them"

(Dnn),

i.e.

returned with Euth to

told " that all the city

was moved about

her return in such a poor condition, accom-

panied by her young daughter-in-law, excited wonder and

gossip,

but

not

does

necessarily

sympathy were aroused.

the

The

word nevucha.

imply

that

feelings

edict

compassion towards those against

Haman did not arouse

whom it was directed, but

of

While the

formed only a subject of gossip and conversation.

decree was issued to kill thousands

Haman
was

of

In the same sense w^e must take

of Israel, " the

king and

were merrily drinking wine, and the city of Shushan

full of gossip."

think that n3U3

may

be derived from

a form of in: cognate with na3 (in the onomapoetic meaning

From

of latrare), "to bark."

prattle,"

usually

comp. Odyss.

viii.

in

408,

the Gk. Bd^co, jSa^a^co, "to

secondary

bad

ctto? fie^uKrai,

sense

(fut.

/3d^a}),

from which Bd/Sa^,

138

BOOK OF ESTHER.

/3a^dKTr]<;, " gossiper," " crier,"

is

affinity

babble.
3

are derived (Suidas,

certainly the onomapoetic form,

is

with

French

the

Again,

"733

only a prefix

on Judges,

p.

may

hahil,

it

bahiller,

to

Hebraisms

It

and the English

be compared with

peculiar

etc.).

has doubtless an

it,

because the

(see

my Comm.

120).

The condition

of

Israel

annihilation was impending,

and

and

their neighbours

was sad

in the extreme.

their enemies

were gossiping.

Their

were drinking,

Where

else

to seek help, but in repentance towards the living

were they

God

CHAPTEE
Yer.

He

"Now when

1.

lY.

Mordecai hneiv

all that

was done."

got to know, not only that which was evident from the

published edict, but also the whole transaction of

the king (see ver.

7).

The order

to the city of

Haman

with

Shushan declared

perhaps only what should take place there on the 13th of

knew

Adar, but he

destruction of the

that

Jews

Haman's plan made provision

The

in general.

for the

resentful vizier

had

not told the king what was the design of his hatred, but the
suspected

courtiers

it

(iii.

3)

and

must have reminded

it

Mordecai, and touched him to the core.

to

know

terror.

was not a mere caprice

It

systematic, premeditated plan.

to

The more he got

the whole condition of things, the greater was his

weep and

repent,

friend left

who

and before

Him

If at

king, but

any time he had cause

much more now.

could help in

the

of

this

There was only one

extremity,

God

alone

confession of sin, and heartfelt supplications

must be made.

The Midrash has

Mordecai knew

all,"

for the explanation of the words, "

homily may not have been without

effect

The

his

human, but
of

which had come

thinojs
O

the

divine.

to

The prophet Elijah

accusation of

Satan

against

upon the synagogue.

were
knowledcje
CD

which, judgment was decreed.

called

upon the patriarchs

had advised, that inasmuch

gone

forth, it

was yet time

to

come

not

had informed him

Israel, that

transgressed the law and worshipped idols.

of

and

invented a heavenly scene, which as a

they had

In consequence

But the prophet Elijah

to the rescue,

and Moses

as judgment had not yet actually

for Israel to repent of their sins

BOOK OF ESTHER.

140
and

they did

if

Elijah

revoked.
is

the sentence of condemnation would be

so,

came

to

make

this

known

clear that exegesis does not gain

to Mordecai.

It

by the con-

anything

Mordecai did not need that Elijah

tribution of this legend.

should come and instruct him in the duty of repentance and

supplication,

when

the whole existence of Israel was called

in question.

Mordeccd rent his

*'

clothes,

and put on

sackcloth with

ashes"

What Mordecai
of Joseph,

did was a sign of personal as well as of

When

public mourning.

we read

that "

Jacob heard of the supposed death

he rent his garments and put on

David did the same when

sackcloth " (Gen. xxxvii. 34).

mourning

his

for

But the symbolism out

sons.

of

which

these signs were formed contains thoughts which go beyond

the mere idea of mourning.

as the pious of Israel,

Achilles

and there

is

mourned

in like

manner

nothing to prevent us

from assuming that in his display of these external signs of

anguish he recognised the idea of repentance {Iliad,

xviii. 23).^

They only show that the whole ancient Western Asiatic

world anticipated the word of the apostle, " The wages of sin
is

death."

public,

These external signs of mourning are also therefore

and

so

to

speak,

political

and

patriotic,

mourning and repentance flow from the same

by the bereaved arose

mourners had brought vividly

state of mortality.

matter.
face

also
to

from the

their

of a corpse

idea, that the

remembrance

For dust has the similarity

to

and of the form of the one buried.

the

lovely

countenance

their

decomposed

Dust and ashes represent the disfigurement

"Achilles deformed

The

source.

custom of throwing earth and ashes upon the head

at burial

because

Homer

of the

says

{fjo-'xyve)"

and

that in contrast to the washings and the anointings which

1

With regard

to the literature

on

of Leyrer in Herzog's Bealencydop.

this subject, see generally the article

and in

article in the Eealencyclop. of Antiquities.

respect to the Greek, Pauly's

CHAP.

were used

141

1.

But ointment

for the beautifying of the body.

upon the head, with

emblem

IV.

fragrance,

its

was the symbol of

an

life,

just as the flowing hair

upon

the head of a Nazarite was the type of a portaUe altar

ivJiich

of the fragrant flower

man

the holy

should

was the symbol

who

he,

and

dust or ashes upon the head

The rending

but dust.

of sackcloth

by death, and

of the person disfigured

destined to die, reminding

is

were

the

of

man

mourner that he

is

of the garments and the putting on

inseparably

expressed the opposite of

sidered as a renouncement of

the world

they

Together

connected.

and enjoyment.

life

It

when

was con-

the comely

garments were torn asunder, and when the coarse sackcloth

was put

It

on.

was a giving up

When

account of death.
signs

of

the joys of

on

life

one mourned with these external

upon him, he indicated thereby that he was mindful

the transitoriness of

earthly things, and

all

of

Plutarch narrates of one

vanities of the world.

superstitious as follows

"

He

sits

outside wrapped

or shabby garments, he rolls himself

naked

the

whom

of

insipid

he

calls

up in a sack

in the dust,

and

enumerates his sins and delinquencies one by one, that he

way
him" (Plutarch On Superwho rent his garments, sat

has eaten or drunk this or that, that he has gone in a

which

his

tutelary spirit forbade

The same did pious Job,

stition).

in ashes, his head covered with

manner near him.

in like

and patient

pious

displaying these

and

his friends sat

difference was, that the

knew what he wanted when

sufferer

symptoms

of his sorrow.

to heathenism these things

ever, although

dust, while

The only

gloomy customs

became

But

to Plutarch

How-

unintelligible.

like these, as well as those

which

were most beautiful, became in time instruments of ungodliness and superstition, yet

we cannot

fail

to recognise

that

they originally possessed the inherent thought of repentance,

and

for

death.

this

they did not

before

reason became the

Albeit

God.

among

call forth true

Ahab

pictures of

mourning and

the Syrians and Orientals in general,

did

repentance and confession of sin

the

same

as

Mordecai,

when

the

142

BOOK OF ESTHER.

him the judgment

ascetic prophet Elijah declared to

"He

and put sackcloth upon his

rent his clothes,

fasted,

and

sackcloth,

lay in

The King

27).

of Israel did

Joel exclaimed

"

Eend your

But the prophet

).

heart and not your garments

For hypocrites and worldly people used

13).

pious

the

and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into

the house of the Lord " (2 Kings xix.

(ii.

xxi.

of Eabshakeh, " he rent

King Hezekiah heard the blasphemy

his clothes,

When

30).

vi.

and

Kings

consequence of the

in

so

Kings

preaching of Elisha (2

softly " (1

and went

God.

of

flesh,

to

"

put on

sackcloth in order to appear as prophets.

Mordecai's mourning was not merely a conformity to a

custom, but

was

it

sincere, heartfelt,

and

And

true.

this

The Midrash shows deep insight

mind when it represents him as a penitent,
his own personal sins, not casting the guilt

mourning was repentance.

into his state of
of all for

first

upon

others,

"

And

and then repenting

for the sins of his people.

went out into the midst of the

a loud and a

and

city^

cried with

hitter cry!'

These words of the narrator are not without significance

and

The whole manner

difficulty.

could in

signs

visible

spectators.

a public

At

"

affair.

of

In the

streets,"

every

one

It

was

to a

sit

a Jewish
Its

city, it

is

exclaims Isaiah, " they gird

weeping abundantly

down

in ashes

city."

"

(xv.

3).

and sorrow, but

Yet surely

this is not

Shushan, the residence of the Persian

inhabitants are the very persons

task entrusted to

necessarily

on their house-tops, in their broad

howleth,

he goes into the midst of the

king.

at that time

and exhortation to the

instruction

But Mordecai does not

"

mourning

public calamities mourning was

themselves with sackcloth

places,

of

be only intelligible by publicity.

extent an ecclesiastical custom, bearing the external

certain

and

itself

them

on the 13th of Adar.

of murdering

Why

does

him and

who have
all his

the

kindred

Mordecai go to them

with the cry of penitence and mourning

The LXX. has

CHAP.

IV.

143

1.

sought to explain this by adding a clause, "

about to be destroyed which has done no

added clause

is

But the

evil."

In the

force.

first

place, the penitent

unsuitable for making remonstrating reproaches.

is

He was

people

an explanation of the Midrash of that time,

is

and has no exegetical

garment

penitent, as the

Midrash elsewhere

he

says, because

recognised that his nation had sinned before God, and therefore

he could not have said that they had done no

In

evil.

the second place, the lamentable cry to excite the sympathy

of the people

grant

and

would have been in

The

it.

vain, for they could not

king's order precludes

private sympathy,

all

self-defence, according to Persian

also

usage.

Plutarch

narrates, that Teribaz the Persian once successfully defended

himself against people

him

off

a prisoner

as

came by the command

who wanted to
but when they

told

him and carry

him that they

of the king, he at once threw

and extended his hands

his sword,

seize

down

to be bound.

The Jewish commentators say that he went

into the city

make known to the Jews what had happened with

But they must have known this, as it was
everywhere proclaimed.
Perhaps he knew it before they
did, and indeed he knew more than the proclamation contained.
If this be the case, we might expect that the same
in order to

regard to them.

would be said as occurs in

all

ver. 16, that

he gathered together

the Jews that were present in Shushan.

When
reference

"

he went into the

to

his

city,"

it

mourning and penitent

opinion of Clericus

is

must have been in

cry.

very singular, that

"

Therefore

the

Mordecai cried so

loud and so bitterly, because he was convinced of the wrong

that he

had done

to

Haman

that case Daniel must

also

in refusing to adore him."

impious commands of the tyrant.

itself

which

is

striking, but

In

have done wrong in resisting the

It is not the lamentation

the lamentation, on the

the city of Shushan, before all

way

to

the Persians, and as far as

the court of the king.

It is interesting to notice the contrast

between Mordecai

144

BOOK OF ESTHER.

and the prophet Jonah,

the

into

city,

viz.

whom

of

it

At

Nineveh.

Jonah was not

that time

penitent, but he preached repentance

he did not preach to

Jews, but to the heathen of the whole city

as well as

citizen

forcible wail

this

but

The king and the people were struck

But Mordecai was

judgment.

The

heathen

the

latter

as good

was the witness

former, his

own

of

witness, in

God

himself to belong to the people of

a witness

God

that he

as

the

before

declared

in the presence of the

men of
who were

Mordecai belonged to the most prominent

heathen.

carried

was a

in perceiving that they were to be the executioners of

Jonah.

Israel,

Mordecai, on

his appearance

sounded of judgment to come

his voice

only upon the Jews.

dumb

and the lowest

the king listened to him.

the other hand, was himself a penitent

went

written, that he

is

he was descended from the

away with King Jechoniah (ii. 6).

captives

for

To these belonged

the best class of Israel, as the poor were left behind at

(2 Kings

This certainly implied a degree of respectability.

the king."

Herodotus

home

Mordecai "sat before the gate of

xxiv. 14, 15).

(iii.

sate of the

120) informs us that those who

kin<]f

were eminent Persians.

sat before the

This

is

confirmed

by what we read in chaps, ii. and iii. ^e had facilities of

detecting the conspiracy, and could maintain himself against
the demands of

Haman

for it

that he had saved the king's

among

the Jews especially,

child of Mordecai

it

was not entirely unknown

was the queen.

issued such an order to

them

chap.

life (see

was no

But

vi. 2, 3).

secret that the foster-

How

as in chap.

else could she

iv.

15?

How

have known her when yet in the house of her uncle.

easily, at least in the opinion of the

save himself

The people

influence at high quarters.

protection of the queen,

Haman

have

They must

Jews, Mordecai could

now

are generally inclined to overrate

If

he placed himself under the

who would

dare

to

touch him

himself would not enforce the law against him,

if

he knew, what he does not know, that this Mordecai possessed

such personal protection.

With these thoughts

in the

minds

CHAP.

Haman,

of the Jews,

IV.

145

2.

as the author of their national misery,

would have appeared before them as the only one who could
save the

But Mordecai removed

of Mordecai.

life

by appearing publicly

or comforts in this respect

He

ing dress.

their fears

mourn-

in his

did not remain sitting at the gate of the king

but was not ashamed to go forward with ragged garments

before all the Persians, and to acknowledge himself as one of

who were under sentence

He went

that

people

into

the city with the cry of repentance and of sorrow, in

order to show himself before

with his people.

death.

of

others as

all

fellow-sufferer

In taking part in their national sorrow, he

does not want to assume any other position, but he wishes to

show that he

is

common

that

fate

This he makes

ready,

if

needs be, to share with them the

may have

Providence

known by

his wailing all over the

Jews and Persians may be convinced

heard

it

I^ersians,

to

he did not desire

and

No

other

midst of the

Jew needed

city, for

of the misery they

were in as he

"

the

notice

the

of

arouse by his example

to strengthen

them

in their

go in this manner into the

did.

Not ashamed

and ashes.

to the persecuted people,

2.

to

He

desired that the

Mordecai himself who goes about

it is

to be

known

as belonging

he went back to the king's

not, of course, to his old place, to

Ver.

All

no other knew so much of the depth

report should go forth that

in sackcloth

to

city, that

of his earnestness.

escape

to

and the Jews he wanted

similar acts of repentance,

faith.

in store for them.

but

gate,

which he could not come.

For none might enter within

the

king's

gate

clothed with sackcloth.'*

The

historical originality of our

book could with certainty

be established by this casual remark, for

radical

idea underlying

doctrine of the Old Persians

principles of good

Ahriman

and

it

proceeds from the

the Persian religious system.

evil

was perfectly

The

To the
Ahuramazda and

dualistic.

the powers of

corresponded the categories of clean and unclean in

the affairs of daily

life.

That which had any reference

to

BOOK OF ESTHER.

146
life

was considered

and that which had reference

clean,

and death was considered unclean.

suffering

and

corpse, with all that appertained to its burial, mourning,

the mourning garments, was unclean.

should say, the

gloves,

hands, were

be

read

"

What

buried

(see Spiegel, Avesta,

Ahuramazda answered
with dust and
Avesta,

"

man

When,

"

holy Zarathustra, the wife

goes on the perverted way, covered

According to Anquetil,

p. 80).

i.

the passage reads

vers. 36, 37,

and makes a mourning speech

dirt,

Introd.

ii.

the most unpleasant thing on earth

is

or the son of a holy

we

sacks, or, as

which the bearers wore on their

In the third Fargard of the Vendidad,

xviii.).

we

to

The

to

Therefore a

When

ed.

"

(Spiegel,

Kleucker,

ii.

311,

woman,

a righteous man, a

or

young person covers the head with dust and goes and comes

Now

with weeping and mourning."

the

among

case

the custom of mourning as practised

the

King

mazda

of Persia

was the

his

No

had participated

But

his people.
of

Ahura-

in

the holy

the arrangements of a funeral, or

His palace was

fire.

Hyde,

p.

Of

476,

this

n. 80),

it

for himself

and others."

creatures, could enter his

to a certain degree the

seat of

the book

Sadder

is

written

in

that " whosoever brings a corpse or

anything in connection with

outer and inner court.

His house was as

palace.

one who, whether in thought or in

was otherwise connected with dead

apartments.

(ed.

among

visible representative

room, or his

the temple of God.

deed,

was naturally only

and therefore what was unclean could not approach

person,

his

this

Parsees, whilst Mordecai conformed to

the

it, is

said to produce misfortune

The castle of the Persian king had an

At the gates of the latter the courtiers,

as well as Mordecai, were in the habit of sitting.

But when

he was clad in sackcloth and ashes, he could only approach

the outer court and wail.

Ver.

3.

" Whithersoever, the king's

came, there was great mourning

and

weeping,

and wailing^

among

commandment

the Jews,

and fasting,

CHAP.

We

read in Deut.

He

thy God, for

iv.

IV.

" If

30:

147

3.

thou shalt return to the Lord

He

a merciful God,

is

will not fail thee,

neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers,

He

which

thought in

Of

sware unto them."

and

distress,

this

Wherever the deadly

now.

also

came, there they remembered that

resort

for

and deliverance.

help

persecution,

when

Israel,

promise Israel always

God

In times

Where

experienced the preciousness of His word.

there at that time a people

was

else

What would

the descendants of the Milesian Branchides have done

had received a similar communication

?

God,

to

upon earth who possessed a similar

source of comfort in such an hour of distress

totally destroyed

and

terror

of

and turning

repenting

edict

alone was their last

if

they

they were to be

th;it

They would have appealed

(Curt. vii. 5. 51).

trembling for pity, with ropes upon their necks and naked
for so used the inhabitants of besieged

Ages

to supplicate

thought of

this,

cities in

the Middle

But the Jews have no

the besiegers.

human artifices,
who commanded them to

they do not put their trust in

they turn to the Lord their God,

apply to Him, but with a penitent heart, in the time of their

need

their

whole history

Lord in heaven.

but a chain of mercy from their

They do not appeal

but to the Judge of

prayer,

is

for all the congregations.

The

The manner

They

also.

consist

of humiliation

of their

mourning

of

fasting,

lively faith to

{zom,

hecJii,

Israel

on repentance and conversion said in the name

"

become

weeping, and wailing

The prophet Joel when preaching

misped).

Turn ye unto me with

all

is

traditional customs were observed,

which only require a new heart and a

new

king at Shushan,

They appoint days

and lamentation.

the old-fashioned one.

to the

They come with penitence,

flesh.

all

your heart, and with

with weeping, and with mourning" {zom,

becJii,

of

God

fasting,

misped),

to

ii.

and
12.

the tribes were engaged against the tribe

In the war in which

all

of Benjamin, they

could not obtain the victory until they

repented with fasting and weeping (see Judg. xx. 26, and

Comm.)

At

the

commencement

of the

my

time of the Judges,

148

BOOK OF

ESTIIEE.

when Israel received a message from an angel or messenger of

God who reminded them of their history, they wept, and the
" weepers " (Judg. ii. 5).
To
place was called Bochim
apart from fasting and weeping, when
mourning belonged

it

was especially on account

national sin

and on account of

of the dead,

the dirge or lamentation, the ISDtD, from nsD,

" to lament."

Most

of the expressions for the signs of

ing are

borrowed from observations

nature.

Thus

" to

bni^,

mourn,"

is

the

of

mourn-

conditions

of

borrowed from the fading

and drooping condition of a plant, and generally expresses the

One can

mourning condition of man.

if

he

is

notice

it

humbled and crushed down, then he

Therefore Isaiah speaks

mourner."
in Zion "

(Ixi.

They

3).

kingdom

condition of the

in his bearing
is

an

" those that

of

p.

As

mourn

by putting on

of God, not merely

hachct, " to

riDn,

" a

are such as deplore the lamentable

black garments, but by being contrite in heart (comp.

1 7).

fj^K,

weep," surely

arises

my Irene,
from the

observation of the drops of tears flowing from the eyes, so that

it

was taken

as akin to the
" brook,"

German Bach,

Greek

TrrjyTj,

so also ought

" spring,"

the

and the

grammarians to

have long ago accentuated the kinship between the Hebrew

ISD and the Greek

acj^aBd^o).

movements

nations, excited

For among Oriental and other

of the body,

and striking upon the

As an animal kicks

breast, are generally tokens of mourning.

about when it
man when he
" wailing,"

KoirreaOai

is

pricked and wounded, so does the uncultured

feels

has the

"mourning;" so

is

inward

pain.^

explained by

to be

double

So

7rd6o<;,

is

the Greek TreV^o?,

passion

signification

of

and so also

" striking "

and

plangere originally synonymous with tundere.

But the Scripture uses the word nsD only in its secondary
meaning.
It is the solemn mourning for the dead which used
to

accompany weeping.

came

to

mourn

for

Of Abraham we read that

Sarah and to weep for her

The prophet Ezekiel announces

" he

" (Gen. xxiii.

2).

to Israel that they will be in

^ Of the horse, which on account of its pain threw clown Cyrus,

Xenophon says " <r<poclx^6)u ocTroasiiTcct rou Kvpou" {Cyroj?. viii. 1. 37).
:

CHAP.

an extreme

sucli

IV.

149

3.

and of stupefaction that they

state of terror

mourn nor

will neither be able to

to

weep

(xxiv. 16).

In

the word nao was not' expressed the unarticulated sobbing and

spoken lamentation.

sighing, but the

"

For

this gird

The substance
where

30,

" Alas,

my

it

of

iv.

we

"

read

(iW'n).

such lamentation we hear in 1 Kings

resounds at the grave of

brother

"
!

we

or as

they shall not lament for him.

the

xiii.

prophets:

old

18:" They
or, Ah sister
Ah His glory

read in Jer. xxii.

Ah my

not lament for him.

shall

In Jer.

you with sackcloth, lament and howl

Ah

brother

Lord

or.

In later times the Jews called those who held such funeral

by the name

orations or sermons

of

Saphdanim

has been thought are the persons to

it

chap.

8,

iii.

when he

says

" Let

(n"'nsD),

whom Job

them curse

it

who

alludes in

that curse

Excessive lamentation for the dead was inseparably

the day."

connected with excessive praise of them.

choth Q2a,

it is strictly

have to give an account

Therefore in Bere-

inculcated that the funeral orators will

for

making a great

ostentation.

Among

the public rites in connection with mourning, the misped, or

" dirge,"

or

" oration,"

was

after all the

most insignificant

Hence the index of the fast days which we have under

name of Megillath Taanith, from the time of the destruction

part.

the

of the temple, constantly reminds us that lamentations

not be made.

That

is,

must

that the fast days should be observed

with sackcloth, ashes, and weeping, but without that additional

and non-essential misped}

"

In

sackcloth

and

ashes also the most prominent

wrapped

themselves up."

The Hebrew
stood.

U'l'h

It is not

W"

IDSI

\>^

cannot otherwise be under-

merely mulii, "many," by which

n'^2ib

has been

translated since the time of Jerome, as in the second Targum.

[This only refers to certain weeks in whick a feast occurred.

The pre-

be carried into the street,

ashes to he placed npon the heads of every one, and the eldest is to
Trans.]
deliver an exhortation (Taanith, i. 15a).
scribed

ceremony

for fasting is

the ark

is

to

150

BOOK OF ESTHER.

Only the

word there

Targumist perceived that in

first

is

this

supplementary

When, namely, it

something more expressed.

was great

said before, that wherever the sad nevvs came, there

mourning among the Jews,

add that many
"

it

would have been superfluous to

rahim" must have the same sense

" prominent," " rich,"

" mighty."

Job xxxv.

as in

As

He

predicted of the Messiah, that

" great people,"

No, the word

sackcloth and ashes.

sat in

in Isa.

will

12

liii.

it

9,
is

have the raUm, the

not merely

His portion or booty, and

for

is

the poor and the needy, so the same word marks the contrast

The great and

here.
'to

rich

men

sign of sincere repentance.

XV. 4,

men
"

of Israel also did not disdain

put on sackcloth and ashes, which with them was really a

A similar

where judgment against Moab

of

Moab (who

is

contrast

is

found in

Isa.

The armed

announced.

are not usually tender-hearted) cry aloud

His soul trembleth within him "

(see Delitzsch,

Comm.

p.

205).

This explanation agrees with what was said before of Mordecai.

No

one shirked the duty and the need of repentance.

There were many in Israel who in spite of their exile had

amassed riches and lived in pleasure, and were eminent, like

Mordecai

but none of them despised the external signs of

The "rahim"

repentance and conversion towards God.

for-

sook their luxurious ottomans and couches, and laid themselves

down

(yv^)

upon beds

cism of the Church.

suehcdines of the

and

of sackcloth

expression, as well as the custom

So we read,

monks

ashes, as

itself,
e.g.,

entibus fratribus
It is just the

did.

This

of the clergy in the

Con-

of Clugny: "Oineres, qui incapite jejunii

fratrum, olim pcenitentium hodie fidelium

imponuntur

Job

passed into the asceti-

omnium

capitibus

benedicti conservantur ab Infirmario, ut Mori-

cum

cilicio

substernantur

"

(comp.

Du

Cange).

complete penitence to which the Jews gave

themselves up, just their reliance upon the mercy of God, and
the committing of themselves into the hands of their heavenly

Judge, which explains the insertion of ver. 3 to connect the

preceding and the following verse.
of the deliverance

from the

distress.

Ver.

Their

4 begins the

history

human

support

first

CHAP.

151

IV. 4.

was, that Esther had received the news of what had

Haman

by

decided

with regard to

been

This was

the nation.

occasioned by Mordecai's appearing before the court of the

king in sackcloth and ashes, so that he attracted the notice of

One would have expected

the people of the palace.

narrator

without

report

to

came before the

interruption

not done,

not been made,

it

Jews was

brevity.

its

when

is

But

to be saved,

When

repentance before God.

natural and

For

as this

the insertion had

if

if

human

narrated,

the deliverance

was

assistance

this

in Israel is manifested
it

can only be through

has taken place, then

comes as a matter of course.

this reason Israel's universal humiliation

is first

But

entirely ascribed to the fact that Esther

people

For

would have appeared as

the queen, and to nothing else.

that

to Esther."

and

shows the profound thought which pervades

it

the report, in spite of

of the

it

the

And Mordecai

and ashes

king's gate in sackcloth

then the maidens came and told

is

"

and repentance

and then the history begins with the human

deliverance, in which Esther was the chief instrumentality.

Ver. 4. "

came and

And

Estliers

maidens

told it her.''

They have not

told her of the edict against the

this she only heard afterwards, vers. 5

the women, which was secluded and

nothing was as yet

had no share

and her chamberlains

known

and

Jews

11),

As

the queen

in the affairs of government, nor could even have

what did the

?

activity of the

(ver.

grand vizier concern the

Perhaps the report of his doings would have pene-

trated the secluded house ere this, if the origin of Esther

been known at

court.

But why

her chamberlains told her

The context
notice.

of

perfectly inaccessible,

of the State edict.

an interview with the king without an especial summons

harem

In the house of

6.

"

is

it

said "

had

her maidens and

leads us to guess the reason for the twofold

Esther had constant intercourse with Mordecai, other-

wise the discovery of the conspiracy (chap.

ii.

22) would not

152

BOOK OF ESTHER.

have been

Besides, Mordecai used to sit before the

possible.

gate of the king, that he might learn

made him an

intercourse

the queen, and

it

This

Esther fared.

object of notice to the servants of

when they missed him

natural

is

how

in his

usual seat at the gate of the court, that they should come and
tell it to their mistress as

But when

something very strange.

the maidens said that they did not see Mordecai within the
court, because

the Sarisim,

it

i.e.

was unusual

them

for

to leave the house, then

the eunuch chamberlains, most likely added

that he was seen sitting in the open space before the gate in a

most lamentable condition, clothed

in sackcloth

and

more such a mourning dress was against the

The

ashes.

of the

spirit

Persian law, the more astonishment would he occasion in the

Indeed,

eyes of the courtiers.

was owing

it

to this circum-

him pass within the

stance that the sentinel did not let

court.

But when the maidens and the chamberlains brought

this

report to Esther,

"

Then

raiment

queen was exceedingly grieved ; and she sent

the

Mordecai."

to

The formation
its

of the

But what was

Esther.

was unaware
had

it

that

from hn, portrays by

^n^nnni,

died, for

of

whom

made her

news caused

so afraid

As

some

other,

e.g.

he was in mourning.

But

would not explain why she sent him raiment.

why

she

that a dear relation of

this also

could not have been the only ground of her dismay

the case,

to

ground of her uncle's sorrow, she

of the political

must have thought

his

word

reduplicate sound the terror which this

If that

for it

were

should she interfere with his conforming to a

Jewish custom of long standing

However, her sending him

raiment was not a compliance with a Jewish, but with a

Persian custom
to

and

this notice also is a

remarkable testimony

the original source of our book in

modern
"

When

Persian

a person

have to care

life.

The

following

rubric;

the relations, especially the

nearest,

liturgy
dies,

Persian

for his soul.

has

still

Among

the

the rites that are to be

CHAP.

performed belongs an

IV.

153

4.

For new garments

outfit of garments.

must be given which,

modern

at least in

who

property of the ministering priest,

times,

become the

puts on the

first

in

the third night after the death of the person, the second on

the third day, the third six months afterwards, and finally the

A vesta,

fourth on the anniversary of the death " (Spiegel,

In the Persian Canon Sadder (chap.

p. xli.).

(ed.

1700),

out

be, the

garments

there

There

assembly."

is

shame before the heavenly

be

will

no doubt that we find traces of this

custom in the Judaism of a

book

later age.

contains, reports of a certain

ntJ'yD

legend which the

Eabbi Ponira

the spirit of one departed appeared, saying, that

Paradise, and requested
it

was ashamed

chap.

to

the above

The Jews

to

for

the torn sleeves.

Por

212).

ii.

upon the

in Persia, especially those

in Persian society,

mourner

mend

throws light

had

and customs of the

filial

him

whom

to

came from

it

walk in Paradise in a ragged garment,

218 (comp. Eisenmenger,

Now

ii.

Hyde

467) we read: "The more magnificent the

more honour thou shalt have. With-

p.

garments shall

Ixiv., ed.

who

to a great extent

act

moved

embraced the notions

So thinking him

Persians.

Esther.

of

like herself

to

him the new raiment

a relative, she sent

be a
as a

duty, and that he might be able to resume his inter-

course with her.

And

this

explains

also

why

she

was so

when she heard of his appearance as a mourner, beknew that as such he was considered by the Persian
law unclean, and therefore must not come near the palace.
But in her great love to Mordecai, and sympathy with his
horrified

cause she

sorrow, she involuntarily removes

was hitherto hanging over her

household.

those

who saw

it

"

How

come.

Her

disclosed, for the

origin

is it,"

have asked,

garments to the mourning Jew

was not yet

origin before the eyes of her

She sends him garments, which

relations do to mourners.

or

the veil of mystery that

still

"

is

just

what only

must the messengers

" that

the

queen sends

Nevertheless the mystery

hour of redemption had not yet

remained an obscure puzzle

to her

154

BOOK OF ESTHER.

companions, and a holy secret between her and her uncle.

But we

see in this again a clear proof of the truth, that

it is

love which becomes the instrument and occasion of succour

Mordecai refused to accept the garments.

in every distress.

He

did not wear them for a dead person, but in penitent sorrow

who were doomed

for a people

on, but

He

he said nothing.

did not put

them

did not wish to betray

had desired

If he

secret to the messengers.

He

to die.

to say

the

something

to her, he could not have refrained from making allusion to

But

her nation.

this

he could not do without being sure whether

With

he might trust the messengers.

through the bounds of caution

her, love

had broken

while he, in wisely sending

back the garments, gave her an intimation that the ground of

his being in deep

mourning was another and more appalling

He

than the loss of a friend.

one

led her, in fact, to con-

clude that some great danger had befallen, or was threatening,

all

her kindred, otherwise he would not so promptly send back

the sympathetic
possible

means

Yer.

"

5.

chamberlains,

gift of his

beloved niece, which was the only

of continuing his intercourse with her.

Then

called Esther for

whom

Hathach, one of

had appointed

he

to

the

kings

attend upon her"

became queen, had not diminished

Esther, ever since she

Her heart had not

become proud, and she did not look down haughtily from
her high position upon her relations.
How much her heart

her love and respect for her

beat for Mordecai

her

when

may

uncle.

be seen from the terror which seized

she heard that he was in mourning

still

more

so

from the decision she came to when he had returned the new
garments.

The sending

of these

was indeed already fraught

with danger with regard to the secret of her pedigree, but

was done on the spur of the moment

it

and now she increasingly

hazards her secret, deliberately and consciously, out of the anxiety

that she has for her friend.
is

emphatic

The word

the chamberlain

^^}!^^], "

is strictly

she charged him,"

charged to obtain in-

formation from Mordecai of what has occurred, and to bring

it

CHAP.

155

5.

no matter what

straight to the queen,

was

IV.

might

it

Her anxiety

be.

too great to allow her to dread lest the chamberlain might

possibly through this obtain the clue to her greatest secret.

Ancient Jewish interpreters have understood Hathach to

But the sense they meant

have been Daniel.

this explanation was, that they thought

convey by

to

Hathach was a Jew,

and therefore Esther sent him on such a confidential errand.

But
dicts

this conjecture is not only unnecessary,

the

but also contra-

True, one might think

context of the narrative.

that she would have preferred to choose a Jew,

he were at

if

hand, for the discharge of this important and delicate business

man was

but this

the

Had

appointed to attend upon her.

who knew what was

who would have

very

croincr

king

the

she had a

had

Jew near her

would have been informed

have been known to Mordecai,

transmitted

the

Under

opportunity.

first

on, she

He would

of it long ago.

whom

chamberlain

sad news
the

her at the

to

supposition

of

the

messenger being a Jew, the psychological fact of her anxiety

to learn

the grounds of Mordecai's

fear lest her secret should leak out,

plicable obscurity.

sorrow, joined with her

would remain in inex-

Hathach was a eunuch

as such

he was

appointed chamberlain of the queen, and therefore a proper

person for her to send on a confidential errand.

mination

of

termination

name Hathach reminds us of the same

name (Mordach) as Artachaeus,
above), it may be supposed that it is in Greek
Mordecai's

Otaches, like Otanes and Otaspes.

may

ter-

the
in

Artachaies (see

tion

The

perhaps illustrate

it

The etymological explana-

from the Zend, jpazend, jatan,

Huzvaresh, nx\^ as nomen dei (comp. Ized).

The eunuchs were

generally more faithful to their mistresses than other servants.

Phaedyme

also,

the wife of Cambyses, and then of pseudo-

Smerdes, must have had a reliable servant in order to transmit

the dangerous message

to her father (Herod,

iii.

68).

It is

touching to read of the fidelity of the eunuch Tyriotes which

he displayed towards his mistress, the wife of Darius Codo1

See VuUers, Lex. Pers.

ii.

1542.

[Buhlen compares

sJ^j

merely.

Tr.]

156

BOOK OF ESTHER.

inannus, even after

and

death,

lier

at the hazard of his

this

(Curtius, iv. 28).

life

Ver.

He

"So Hathacli

6.

went, that

walls

him

told

is

of the

from the palace and

to say,

open

the

into

luent forth."

confidence in her messenger,

full

communicated

and so he

him

to

Mordecai's

everything.

message in return was surely not without danger, for

tained an accusation

against the

vealed Esther's Jewish origin, and

something which might seriously

through the messenger

it

con-

it

powerful Haman.

It re-

demanded from the queen

He

affect her.

let

that " had happened "

all

and

sat,

Consequently, Mordecai

order of Esther.

understood that Esther had

enclosed

its

where Mordecai now

space

her

know

(imp)

he

did not conceal from her the fact of his refusal to

bow

Haman

(for this

happened,"

because

it is

can only be meant by the word

connected with the

offered to the king),

wrath

and that

of the vizier.

It

sum

of

"

before

money which Haman

his conduct

had provoked the

was necessary that Esther should be

informed of everything, in order that in case of need she

should

Haman

which induced

decai did at the

It

at

all

events

to persecute the

time was

surely with a

served to bring the

Esther, for the sake of

whom

he was

brought upon himself great danger.

been

touched

mean motives
Jews.
What Mor-

the trifling and

be able to expose

good conscience.

issue

clearly

before

sitting at the gate,

and

The queen must have

by observing that Mordecai had remained

stedfast in his fidelity to

God and

in

his love to her,

and

that he did not swerve either from the one or from the other.

He

did not

bow

before the idols, but he also did not desert

the gate of the

king.

the eyes of the king,

tell

How mean must Haman appear

when Esther would be in a position

him that he rewards the piety and

man by

in
to

faithfulness of such

alluring the king to issue such a terrible edict

of persecution against a
forsooth, because

whole innocent nation, and

his vanity

had been offended

that,

Mordecai

CHAP.

IV.

157

6.

was well informed

the transaction of

was not unknown

yes,

and clever

vizier offered

stated to Esther

that

said

" in reality

a present of

We

was known.

sum

(ittt?)

is

read that Mordecai

money

of the

(p]D3n nc^ia)

it,

as the king

made him

not satisfied with a mere verbal

he sends her the document of

he would pay to the king's

he did not pay

But he

it.

communication

with the king

even the exact sum which the subtle

" the exact

Haman had

treasuries

Haman

the

royal

proclamation, in order that she should see that the informa-

not founded upon mere

tion is

hearsay reports, but upon

written evidence, and be convinced of the fearful condition of

the Jews

But he does not stop with

country.

in the

He

simple narrative.

joins to

it

a request.

When

his

Esther

through her chamberlain astonished him with the present of the

made anxious

garments, and had

to

make known her

had the right

inquiries as to the causes of

saw that she was inclined gradually

his mourning, he at once

At any

origin.

to set her free

he himself had imposed upon her

not arisen from mere

not for

own

its

unto her, and

that

it is

He

he believed that he

20).

(ii.

Her inquiry had

and he gives his report also

curiosity,

sake.

rate,

from the pledge of secrecy which

tells

Hathach

" to charge her " (n)))h) l^^nb)

" to

disclose

he should

that she should

he

now

her

her uncle's and her benefactor's request, and command,

make

use of her royal prerogative, and seek an

interview with the king to obtain help from him.

" charged

tell

it

him

"

to let her

" charges "

her to obtain succour.

queen, and he does so as her uncle.

the king and

The word

make

She had

know what had happened, and

"

so

She did so as his

She should go in unto

supplication unto him, and

make

request

It must not be compared with

word par is only the preposition.
But it clearly belongs to the Heb. parash^ to be distinct, which meaning
may suffice both passages. For both contain the idea of greatness, height,
and expansion. In the above, Mordecai communicates the highest sum, as
we would say. Chap, x. 10 speaks of the expansion of the greatness which
Mordecai had obtained. Parash means originally " to spread," " to unfold,"
and so it came to be used in the sense of " explaining " and " illustrating."
^

occurs again in chap. x.

2.

parshegan, as in this evidently Persian

158

BOOK OF ESTHER.

him

before

Such weeping and supplication

her people."

for

for grace before the king

was not an unusual thing

of Intaphernes, Herodotus narrates

(iii.

the wife

119), went with weep-

ing and wailing before the gate of the king (like Mordecai),

was moved with compassion and granted her at

until Darius
least

some

demand

especially
people.

From

favour.

It

the beloved queen Mordecai could

that she should do this for the sake of her

would not have been extraordinary that a queen

should intercede in behalf of the sad lot which had befallen

a strange people

how much more

reason was there that she

should do this for her own, especially as Ahhashverosh did

not even

know

that she belonged to the

condemned

and perhaps did not even remember the name

whom he had

nation,

the people

of

so rashly appointed to die.

Ver. 11. "All the Idng's servants and the ^people of the

hnowr

king's provinces do

Esther

is

frightened at the request of Mordecai, but she

does not decline to comply with

it.

It corresponds with her

though her feminine weakness makes

feeling in the matter,

her hesitate and shudder at taking the step, that she declares
that she would gladly do
his

order to go

this is

to

it

if

she could.

no easy thing

It does

to do.

influence over

him

know

when they
is

that

not depend upon her

speak to the king when she wants.

can see him only

She would obey

the king, but he ought to

to

His own wives

are specially called,

and her

not yet paramount, as thirty days had

elapsed during which he did not even think of her.

And

should she even dare to go to him uncalled, and should he

be so benign as to receive her

throne, she

the golden sceptre

nearer.

to

her,

is sitting upon the

him unless he held out

and beckoned her

to

approach

She does not actually decline her uncle's request;

she does not say that

not petition

postpones

when he

could yet not address

it,

him

for

when

mercy

and makes

it

the king
to the

summons her

Jews

she would

but she evades and

dependent upon the

whim

of the

CHAP.

In

kino^.

the court regulations were so as Esther said.

fact,

known, as Herodotus

It is well

narrates, that at the fall of

who

the false Sraerdis the only persons

to

159

IV. 11.

could obtain admission

But

Darius without being called were his six companions.

enough

this oft-quoted passage is not

The majesty

of Esther.

words

to explain fully the

Persian king was not

of the great

only inaccessible without his permission, but also no one dared

him without

to speak to

on them

his beckoning

to approach.

For he was the human representative of Ahuramazda.

That

Alexander the Great imitated the manners of the Persian

many

king we have proofs in

Athenaeus
Briickner,

throne,

36)

p.

"no one

approach him."
sat

that

says,

while

Lucht,

100,

ed.

Alexander sat on

the

ed.

of his great friends

Ephippus in

Phylarchus in

descriptions.

Fragm.

539, comp.

(p.

p.

and servants dared

his description says

"

to

As he

with majestic look, there was a solemn silence before

This was the

him."

Oriental

idea

of

with which the august majesty of a king

When
of Persia,

we

where the

read

first

"

They entered

officials

round the walls like

sat

silence prevailed."

King

at the present time, approaches the

who had made

near,

The daughter

of Persia without

Eraser reports that

when he was asked

do not pray to be commanded

of Otanes

became

and then of pseudo-Smerdis.

so."^

Herodotus

to

to

tells

first

Her

the wife of Cambyses

father sent a messenger

whether her husband was the real Smerdis

she

through a confidant, that she would make the in-

vestigation at the risk of her

turn came

Here

one, even

sending of messengers to and from the harem.

of a similar

replied

so.

statues, not

No

his fortune,

answered, " I

approach {mi souzum), I burn to do

to ask her

surrounded.

into the audience chamber,

the repeated order from the king to do

come

is

an English Embassy was received by Shah Abbas

moving a muscle, and dead

a courtier,

solemnity and awe

when

also there
^

life,

but she must wait until her

she would be called by the king

Comp.

(iii.

6 0).

was an understanding between Esther and

my

Kaiser

und Konigskronen,

p. 172.

BOOK OF ESTHER.

160

She was

to tlie king, but a friendly one.

Mordecai with regard

requested by her foster-father to dare to approach the king

without his special permission, but

was in order that she

it

should ask for mercy in behalf of an innocent people.

"

That whosoever, luhether

form

of the peculiar

law makes no exception.

law

woman

or

to say, that she is

(m,

nni<

subject to the

it,

she

queen.

" the

For in

that the

is

Esther wishes

same law, and

coming

she trans-

if

to

him

fail

then there

his

" Except such to

is

can see from

The King

courtiers,

may

him

give

to

" If

you are not

but one law for you," |iDm s\n mn,

is

" there is but one sentence for

whatever excuse you

(xu''"")tJ^N)

We

the interpretation of his dream.

able," says he, "

"

indicates a standing rule.

that this

Nebuchadnezzar demands from

i.e.

to deaih."

him, because she would not come

included the address to

without

ivho is not

expresses that the

fern.)

without having to ask him for something.

ii.

no exception or excuse will be made, although

gresses
is

n^Dni? irn T\r\^

absolute and of universal application.

is

Dan.

one law for him, that he he put

called, there is

The sense

mem

you in

circumstances,

all

make."

whom

hing shall hold out the golden

the

sceptre."

The expression
is

D"'n")tJ>

occurs only in the book of Esther

the form of the Masora for

tDa"it^,

as the Gr. a/crjirrpov to aKiqirray

and

The

{(JKr)irTov')(p<;).

indeed the sound of sh (as in hh^, crKvXdo),

pronunciations

of

shebet

and

it

linguistic

comparison teaches thereby that the Hebrew letter

various

its relation to ^2.^ is

etc.)

aKTJTTTO)

similar dialectical differences, as sch does in

k^

rests

German

has

and the

upon

dialects,

which in Low German has completely the sound of sh

The
(ii.

1.

in the

sceptre

15

is

said to be golden, just as

Odyss. xi. 91),

name

of their

embossed with gold

(ii.

where the

gods.
1.

The

priests

Homer

calls

it

and seers carry

it

sceptre of

Achilles

was

246), as Yoss translates, or had

CHAP.

golden

Gold was generally the appendage

nails.

Everything belonging

dignity.

161

IV. 12, 13.

and

kings

Oriental

to

of royal
to

antiquity was ornamented with gold, and was called golden,

as a crown, a throne, a chair,

they used to speak

tells of

and

of " golden

Eorne

ing to the king, they qualified

it

33

com p.

sceptre

is

(//.

to speak in

sceptre

{II. xxiii.

him

Odyss.

ii.

inclining of the

was the sign

Kings and gods

for " stretching out," "

form

Dtt'"'

staff,

only occurs in Esther.

with

tlie

"

The

with the

be dialectically compared

is

to

Mordecai Esthers words."

surprising, for

it is

already said in

"Then Esther spake unto Hathach, and gave him

message unto Mordecai."

But

it

must be

at the Persian court,

so understood that

Mordecai made inquiries from others with regard

was

and in

staff.

extending the arm

may

It

Ver. 12. ''And they told

it

of permission

(priests,

and the Greek retW.

This additional clause

ver. 10,

The

work and beckon with the

wizards)

silence

the herald handed the

37).

sceptre forward towards the visitor

Lat. tendo

command

To whom permission was given

185).

given him to come near.

caricature

127).

p.

Odysseus takes

in order to

assembly, to

568;

and there-

gold,

feet {Denkvsurd.

Kaiser und Konigskronen,

Agamemnon

ii.

the

and golden

the royal staff of authority.

the royal staff of

and order

my

Eoma)} Wallace

of anything belong-

by the word

fore they spoke of his golden ears

The

" {aurea

when they spoke

the Burmese, that

Iiidicn, p.

In the Middle Ages

pillars.

to the

custom

and they confirmed Esther's words, that

really only at the risk of life that one could appear

before the king

unsummoned.

Ver. 13. " Then Mordecai hade them return answer unto
Esther."

Ancient commentators
^

[R.

Akiba promised

salem, Nedarim, p. 50a.

liis

felt it

strange that from ver. 13 the

bride ornaments under the term golden JeruPerhaps the Hymnologist borrowed from the

Talmud. Trans.]
L

1G2

BOOK OF ESTHER.

name

of the messenger

Hathach does no more

repeatedly mentioned in

is

has from

circumstance

this

Haman had

killed

of Mordecai.

procedure

is

vers. 5, 6, 9,

It

occur, while it

and 10. The Midrash

developed a

legend,

Hathach because he acted

need hardly be remarked that such violent

harmony with the

in perfect

we cannot

in Oriental courts; yet

spirit that prevailed

accept the legend, as

narrator,

was owing

name

to the fact that

it is

at

We may rather

variance with the true exposition of the passage.

explain that the further omission of the

by the

that

viz.

as a messenger

of the messenger

he had more im-

portant subjects to relate, compared with which what became

Hathach was of no consequence.

of

" Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape

(as) the

king's house

more than

The answer

of Mordecai will appear the grander the

we

earnestly
" If

consider

it.

all the Jeics."

He

does not say to her,

first

more
of

all,

thou canst not save the people, at least save me, and the

house of thy father, for thou belongest to the unassailable

This would have been natural enough

house of the king."

under the circumstances.

But we

see that with

him

there

is

not a moment's consideration of personal interest and safety.

He

thinks of nothing else but of the salvation of the whole

of Israel, and of its providential calling.

question with
of the

him about the

whole nation

individual,

at stake.

is

He

There can be no

when

the existence

does not want to be

saved alone, nor to be an exception in the hour of danger.

demands from
first of all

all his

from Esther

herself.

For she alone

is

in a position

not only to be saved herself, but also to save others.

fore it is

He

people the duty of holding together, and

There-

her bounden duty to be anxious for the salvation of

her people, even

become the

first

if

she should thereby lose her

victim.

own

life,

and

Mordecai's words are closely joined

with the report of Esther, that

it is

impossible to come to the

king spontaneously without risking one's

life.

But when

going to the king in such a manner includes the possibility

CHAP.

why

of obtaining deliverance,

worse thing can

be

163

IV. 13.

not run

expected

hazards

all

she

If

What

killed

is

her

in

attempt to save others, then she will die the death of the
martyr, as her people should die

house of the king

Jewess

Haman

and should he know

But

the law against her.

Of

course, Esther is in the

does not even

know

that she

he would not dare

it,

to enforce

make an

herself will not

can make use of

in order to save her people, but

no security

to her

own

this exceptional position is only so

far valuable, if she

it

is

safety

when

all

She

exception.

it offers

down.

Israel are cut

It is a thing of daily occurrence that a favourite wife should

lose

her

life

as

But that a

was the case with Vashti.

people like Israel, having such promises and hopes in store

for them, should be

totally destroyed,

unheard-of occurrence.

would indeed be an

therefore, Esther should think of

If,

using her advantageous position to save herself and her family

by separating

herself from Israel, the probability is that she

herself will be lost,

whole history

is

and that they

composed of wonders

will be saved.
of salvation.

Israel's

When they

were persecuted by Pharaoh, when they were in the wilderness,

when they

surrounded by enemies on every

w^ere

they were always delivered in an unexpected manner.

more

Mordecai

sure,

firmly

some way

or other

probable as

may appear,
her own life if

security for

can

see

thoughts

first,

extraordinary

Israel

that he

that

manner

than that Esther should receive

she declines to do her duty.

We

wants

two

Israel
;

impress

to

her with

was always delivered in an

secondly, that

it

was an extraordinary

providence which exalted her to the royal throne.

knoweth," says

he,

in

will

be delivered out of this trouble, im-

it

clearly

believes, that

side,

It is

"whether thou

kiugjdom for such a time as this

Esther as a daughter, seeks

for the deliverance of Israel.

art
i.e.

He who had
now

not

come

to

of Mordecai

wills

it,

is

loved and cherished

that she should risk her

He

the

whether the one did

The answer

not happen to secure the other.

a masterpiece of eloc[uence.

"

"Who

life

because he believes

164

BOOK OF ESTHER.

in the deliverance, because he

draws from the history of Israel

the hope that they cannot become extinct, and because he

way

sees in the wonderful exaltation of Esther the

reserved for himself

with regard to her.

He

by speaking

to the king,

risk her life

and would

still

begins witli

every illusion of Esther, that she

destroying

in danger

is

therefore prefer not to

and he concludes with comforting her that

she shall save her

the

her consideration with

urgency and authority which he has

paternal

the

he puts before

This

deliverance.
all

to the

It

danj^er.

life,

is

just because she will not flee from

not the danc^er which

moment, but the moral aim

for

which

it is

is

decisive

of

He

sought.

con-

vinces her that escape and silence would be of no avail to

her,

but that courage and acknowledgment have hope,

for her

own

such a history

for her own sake, who was formerly a

now become queen. His chief design

and yet

captive orphan, but

was

is

an overruling Providence,

to plant in her heart faith in

and then she would have nothing

m.an to do

because she

this,

He would

her.

is

to fear.

He was

the right

knew how very much he loved

not advise her to sacrifice her

Such confidence
which

not

sake alone, but for the sake of Israel which has

life needlessly.

necessary in order to have such a faith,

is

superior to

human

Esther was capable of having such

That

and precautions.

anxieties

faith, is

evident from her

former and later conduct.

Of verbal

peculiarifcies in the

from the Piel

ing,

as

from

nJ21,
it

passage

may be mentioned

which has completely the sense

is

lonn,

of imagin-

derived the word nim, image (imagio,

imaginari).

Eemarkable
says:

Do

is

the position of 'i^Dn-n^a

^b'orh)

Mordecai

not imagine to escape "as^ house of the king."

Esther might think that even

when

all

the houses of Israel

would be sacked, her royal house would naturally be

spared.

n''3 in 1 Sam. vii. 17 as meaning

from which they infer that wherever Samuel was there was also his
wife. Trans.]
^

[So the Rabbis understand the word

wife,

CHAP.

We

must not take the words

165

IV. 14.

mean

to

" in

which she had formed

king/' the household

the house of the

for herself.

They

"Thy

father's

stand in contrast to the expression in ver. 14,

Mordecai thinks that Esther perhaps imagines that

house."

as

house

royal

and thy fathers house

Israel shall he delivered, then wilt thou

In seeking to save

perish."

may

thee in the royal house

But when

so he says, "

would escape,

it

thyself,

who

those

are

perhaps he preserved hut

;

if

with
thou

shouldest nevertheless perish, then the house of thy father

will

The fall of male and female

we shall see in the case of

he totally destroyed.

favourites in Oriental courts, as

Haman, brought with

it

the

members

the head and

fall of

Mordecai wants in

their famiUes.

manner

this

of

to raise her

moral courage, by showing her the disgrace which she would

bring upon herself when, although Israel would be delivered,

she would

fall

together with her family, himself of course

had not attempted anything

included, although she

deliverance.

for their

would be a disgraceful death.

It

Ver. 1 4. " For if thoto altogether holdest thy peaceP

The

^l^'nnn t^^nnn.

silence, " If

thou shouldest altogether be

thy concern in the matter."

people, whether she

is

to fascinate the king

called or not called; she should attempt

by her manner and speech,

be

or death to her people.

silent,"

contested
of

from the noun tnn,

be preferred.
less

from

it is

"

dumb,"

as she can at

a question of

of the verb " to

" deaf,"

who adduces

has been

the analogy

of /cox^o? from Koirreiv, is before all others to

The verb

the

when

The derivation

yet the idea of Gesenius,

dumb, obtuse,

and suppress

silent,

Esther should speak for her

other times, and more especially now,

life

continuance of

infinitive represents the

Greek

" stake," " pile," so

" stupid fellow,"

truncus in Latin.

t^^in,

to cut, to

'x^apa.TTco.

has cnn come to

who cannot open

The

biblical

work

in art,

As from
mean a
his

this
"

is

doubt%ajoaf,

blockhead " or

mouth, as

colloquial

is

stipes

describes

word tnn, a dumb man, under the notion that he

and

by the

is like

166

BOOK OF ESTHER.

piece of wood, without

life,

dull

and awkward.

That tnn was

actually used in the sense of " stake," " pile,"

the

meaning

^p,

of

"

wood,"

The word has the

Samarit. ssni<.

When

in the Arahic.

is

it

675) he wants to join

i.

seen from

is

Chald.

"

t^cnin

signification of silence also

only a confirmation of

But Vullers

the above given derivation.

(Lex. Fers.

hush

tnn has the meaning in Persian of

" rough " (Jiomo impolitus, rudis),

is

"

it

is

mistaken when

with Knn, ursus, which

from quite a different etymology.

"

Then

shall respite

and

deliverance arise to the Jews

from

another place."

Mordecai

is

in full assurance of faith that Israel cannot he

so shamefully

and means

He

annihilated.

will be

quite certain

is

ways

that

He

found for their deliverance.

sees

But

earnest of this in the wonderful exaltation of Esther.

should she refuse to

The words

nfj^m

nn occur only

in Esther,

from the influences of the captivity,

forms,

nn

is

time will come

Israel, as

from persecution, will be able

is

an

substantive

infinitive

the Chaldaic rh^rh in Dan.

"And

ivJio

i.e.

an exclamation

But

it is

again freely,

the deliverance

whether thou art not come

Jcnoweth

The

uses.

"

ni^^n

comp.

29.

the

to

"
?

The expression "who knoweth" occurs

come.

Targum

to breathe

"kingdom for such a time as this

siastes as

and have arisen

one that has escaped breathless

of h^^, "

iii.

in spite of her.

they manifest Aramaic

the Chaldaic

avairvor), as

when

come

deliverance will

act,

an

particularly in Eccle-

of despair in not

knowing what

quite differently used in this place, where

is

to

it is

an exclamation of certainty in the ways of providence, which

man does

not

know as to

detail.

Mordecai

is

not a prophet

who

can say with certainty that Esther's errand will be successful, but

he has faith enough to see in her going to the king

and dangerous

as it is

way

describe the result in detail, but he is

sure that

He

of deliverance.
it

difficult

cannot

will be

an

CHAP.

167

IV. 16.

important turning-point in the history of

Israel,

and that

Esther was not raised in vain to occupy such a high position.

The exclamation
exclamation
xc.

'd,

as

Joel

in

ii.

For when the Psalmist

11.

power

who knoweth,"

"

yiT'

of faith,

14

says,

here also an

is

Jonah

"Who

iii.

Thine anger, and Thy wrath as he should fear

of

Ps.

knoweth the
it

he believes in the anger of God, the mystery of which had

only overwhelmed himself.

But the words

Mordecai to

of

Esther were not intended to implant despair, but

Eor

heart.

faith, in

to a special guidance of providence

and however adventurous

and sublime the demand of her uncle may appear

extraordinary

her

which ascribes Esther's exaltation solely

faith

it is

circumstance

her becoming

of

to her, the

queen should

only act as an incitement to duty, and she should be ready to

give her

life for

Ver.

16.

the salvation of Israel.

*'

Go and gather

together all the

Jev:s that are

present in Shushan."

Esther

ready to act in accordance with Mordecai's request.

is

She certainly had not said too much of the danger which she

would have
his

to encounter, but in spite of it she does not resist

demand any

her people.

longer.

It is no

She

is

ready to do everything for

common hazard which

the queen undertakes.

Clericus

the

woman and

was of opinion that Esther

only displayed timidity w^hen she thought of the possibility

that the king might kill her for venturing to transgress the

But he overlooked both the awful import-

rules of etiquette.

ance that was connected with etiquette and the feelings of a

woman's

heart.

The coming and going

of the

Persian king depended entirely on his caprice.

was inexorable law.

Vashti had

lost

manded

Esther,

to
?

Be

to the king

it

life

to the

This caprice

because she did

commanded might not the same

who came although she was not com-

not come, although she was

happen

her

women

remembered

must imply.

also

It

self-willed request for that for

what the coming of Esther

must appear
which

in his eyes as a

at other times his lust

168

BOOK OF ESTHER.

summoned

her.

She

This was then debasing to her feeling.

thought the king would misinterpret her motives and regard

her profession of fidelity to her people as the flimsiest pretext.

The wives had

to wait till

Therefore she thought that

it

if

pleased the king to call them.

which

worse.

is

women

him

she came and found

humour, not only might she lose her

in

ill-

but also her honour,

life,

She would be dishonoured among her fellow-

who

of the harem,

considered

it

honourable patiently

to wait until their turn came.

And

did Esther

most favourable

What

if

know whether

what then

failed,

would be an object
not

be

And

if

if

she

She would have lowered her royal

Henceforth, even

dignity.

should

were not withdrawn

petition

Haman, and

She would in vain have exposed herself

be misunderstood.

to

with her

she did not overcome the influence of

order of massacre

the

she would, even under the

circumstances, succeed

if

her

life

should be spared, she

hatred and intrigue.

of

now,

fulfilled

must

she

If her desire

sooner

later

or

succumb.
judge the deeds of

It is necessary to

for the

life

most part

interview with
certainly

the circum-

Torn asunder from the

stances in which they are placed.

conditions of

men by

which they are the outcome, they

of

In

all significance.

itself

lose

the seeking of an

who is the husband, is

But when we review the

Persian king,

the

no wonderful thing.

circumstances under which this was done, then Esther appears

have displayed greater heroic courage than the famous

to

Eoman women, who

out of patriotism were ready to die

the Pythagorean women,

who would

bitten off than be silent.

and

life at

result
all

hazard, without having any prospect of a certain

the Jews that are in Shushan."

She says

D1J3,

word

"

Gather together

To what place

do there

Into

gather them into the no^an n^3,

house of assembly," the Hebrew form for synagogue.

shall they

or of

Just because Esther put her throne

therefore she sent Mordecai

the synagogue.
"

rather have their tongues

They should

fast

for her

three

What
days

CHAP.

160

IV. 16.

Fasting was in the 0. T. the symbolic form of prayer,

(d^v).^

garment in which the suppliant appeared.

as well as the

It

represented the attitude and the disposition under which alone

The man who

true prayer could take place.

does not ask for food.

Out

is

The body must

the longing after spiritual things and after God.

be mortified before the soul

iirst

no

aim.

selfish

If

it

which

to the

it offers

loving soul.

is full

Fasting has

of faith.

does not by fervent and spontaneous

prayer spiritualize the body,

tion

not hungry

of a luxurious life does not flow

it

The

loses its value.

sanctifica-

body must be the vessel of the God-

If this is not the case, then fasting is absurd.

when

Therefore the prophet blames the fasting of Israel

severed from true repentance and love

shows that fasting and prayer are inseparable.

Lord said unto me. Pray not for
grace, nn^^b)

when they

11, 12).^

The character

Mordecai

is

fast,

"And

the

good

(for

this people for their

I will not hear their cry " (xiv.

of the fasting required

Neh.

also given in

it is

Jeremiah

(Isa. Iviii.).

i.

4, etc.

"

by Esther from

down and

I sat

wept, and mourned certain days, and I fasted, and prayed

before

the

God

understood in

New

disciples the reason

spirit

In the

of heaven."

the

Testament.

why

(Matt. xvii. 21),

same way

When

fasting

is

Jesus

tells

the

they could not drive out an evil

He

kind

does so by saying, "This

goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

Thus

He

describes

the devoted, penitent, and holy disposition by which alone

the suppliant

may

the apostle join

together

Trpoaevxy) (1 Cor.
stress

by a

upon

accomplish such a thing.

vii.

fasting,

fasting

5).

inasmuch

as

(vrjo-Tela

The ancient Church

laid

koI

great

as she found herself surrounded

society that lived in luxury

considered

and prayer

So also does

and extravagance.

disciplinary measure,

which an individual might overcome

and
self.

as

It

was

a means by

There were not

^ The word occurs for the first time in the O. T. in Judg. xx. 26.
Concerning its etymological connections, see my Coram, on Judg. p. 176.
2 Jerome says on this passage (ed. Migne, iv. 771, 941): "Jejunia et
preces et victimae et holocausta tunc proficiunt cum recedimus a vitiis

liemus antiqua peccata."

170

BOOK OF ESTHER.

wanting

men who

in those days

in the spirit of the prophets

Augustine comments upon

spoke against the abuses of fasting.

the above passage of the apostle thus

we

us fast and pray and give, for to-morrow

two sentences,

I prefer that they should say,

pray,' instead of the other,

be

from

it

i.e.

bodily powers

But

die.'
'

the

Again in

almsgiving."
" I, at

evangelists,

N.

fly

considered

apostle

God, give

In his

"

and on which

is

not, I

and

the

Fasting has

prescribed

of the apostles and

Therefore

it is

to arrange these

What

is

called the

but on which days to fast

find.

Church

usefulness."

prayer and

Casulanus, Augustine writes,

in the writings

do not

cannot

it

Wilt thou that thy

two wings

it

letter to

of the ministers of the

necessity

"

and in the whole document which

that fasting

T.,

commentary

his
to

events, find

all

Far

give.' "

two wings, prayer and almsgiving, without which

of the

Similar words Augustine uses in

of man.-^

prayer should

Let

salvation, to consist in the exercise of the

another place, quoted by Suicer from Severian

move."

'

Let us give and

Let us fast and not

'

thought that

the

highest good,

may say,

" Christians

is

the business

according to

said with certainty

that to prayer belongs a spirit of fasting.

By

is,

the appointing

of certain fast-days, the dignity both of fasting and of prayer

lowered.

is

Discipline of the body, moderation in eating and

drinking, the crucifying of one's lusts and propensities,

daily fasting which

the

and without which the

necessary,

is

is

whether

Lord's Prayer cannot be repeated.

It does not matter

one eats meat or

on that day, or begins

fish

on

This

is

[only]

or

this

to

for eating in this or in that hour.

satisfy his old appetite

work and external appearance, and does not

increase the strength of

wants three days

to

life

in

and prayer

to

God.

Esther

be devoted to true repentance, earnest

Oratio 151, cap. 6 {Oj)^. ed. Migne,

v. 1. 812).

On

iv. 1. 82).

Ps. xlii. cap. 8 {0])jp. ed.

Migne,

Ep. 36, cap. 11 but the last sentence "Itaque ad Ecclesiae pastores
id spectat pro necessitate vel utilitate ecclesiae decernere," I find in the
quotations of older editions (cf. Beyerlinck, theatr. vitae humanae^ iv. 300),
3

but not in the

ed.

Migne,

Ojpp.

ii.

p. 147.

CHAP.

171

IV. 16.

and intercession on her behalf before God, and says

prayer,

same

that she will do the

One might have thought

had done

her palace with her servants.

in

would have been enough

it

it is

not her own, but the people's

themselves

for

affair

when they do

She appoints

correct to begin to reckon the

Atonement.

till

forty hours,

first

commencement

after

it is

Day
Day

of
of

twenty-four hours had elapsed, but con-

the end of the third day.

It lasted

and ended when Esther went

be like that in which

(Matt.

fasts,

but

of the fast with

day, as is the case with the

The space

believed, on the third day.

disciples"

It did not, however, conclude, like the

Atonement,

is

and day, in

of the synagogue affords no other examples

the evening of the

tinued

Of such long

which nothing should be eaten or drunk.

life

Besides,

the people fast and

so for her.

the duration of the fast to be three days, night

the

she

no confidence

so herself, but in her humility she has

that her prayer alone will bring the desired answer.

pray

if

"

ix.

the bridegroom

from

15), viz.

resurrection, therefore the ancient

then about

the king, as

to

of time

it

would then

removed from the

is

the

crucifixion to the

Church had a

fast of forty

hours, strictly speaking, and afterwards forty days.

This

is

undoubtedly the passage of Irenaeus, as Bingham proves {0pp.

ix. p. 180), for the remark about counting together hours of
the day and

recent

hours of the

we
Koman

meaning

if

there was no

place a

We

read, "

comma

Catholic
distinction

forty days' fast.^

night will

only

after wpa?.

writers

then

have

It appears that

have also maintained that

between the forty hours' and the

When we remember

that the

number

forty

The word night standing

commenced with the night. [It was an
estabhshed custom among the Jews, both in biblical and post-biblical
^

Three days, night and day."

before day, shows that the fast

day as a day. Trans.]

Prayers of forty hours' duration have been appointed in the Koman
Catholic Church since the sixteenth century. There was a fraternity who

times, to regard a part of a

2

devoted forty hours to prayer in

Pope

ratified

this rule in 1560.

especially in France,
all

churches in 1592.

memory

On

The
of the death of Christ.
account of ecclesiastical abuses*

Clement VIII. appointed such a period of prayer

for

BOOK OF ESTHER.

172

Old Covenant a number used in reference

^vas already in the

and expectation, as in the

to repentance, judgment,

flood, in

the sojourn of Israel in the wilderness, and in connection with

we can

Elijah, etc.,

exactly

last

Passover

94,

(p.

Esther's fast should

Midrash

Curiously enough, the

hours.

forty

command

places the

why

see the reason

Esther to fast in the time of the

of

etc.).

Esther has by this long fast imposed no slight task upon

upon the people

herself and

but she sees in this the only

She knows the danger

hope.

the king," she says, "

(m^-^S

This

1t^'^?).

inviolable

death

in general,

is

which

m,

"

But, at

lasting.

its

had

law of God.
If

transgression.

in like

It is

men

manner feared

God, their peace would have been

all

events,

the punishment

of

the

by the Persian king was sure and unmerciful

transgressor

God

but our

like the

is

the wages of

to transgress the laws of

more

go unto

not according to the law

is

law,"

Israel in particular,

if

" I will

of her action.

mercy and love in

of

full

is

all

His judg-

ments.
"

So

let it

Do you

your

be

" she

part, fast

exclaims, " I will do

And

and pray.

as the victim of obedience

if

what

lies in

me.

I perish, I perish

and love (^m3K "TnaK

The

"iK^D)."

whole force of these thoughts lies in the repetition of the

She gives by

verb.

ever

may

to her determination,

for

a long

xliii.

time

brethren to Egypt, at

to

last,

am

Th^^

pression
{Rehr.

let

And

his

being pressed by a higher law of

if

I be

Neither

ed. p.

have a

Benjamin accompany

going,

bereaved of

exclamation

of indifference or of despair, as

Gram. 8th

Arnheim
false.

ntJ'i^D,

bereaved."

"

what-

14, where Jacob, after having

love and duty, quietly consents to his

Tii^^tJ'

We

come, to submit to the will of God.

similar passage in Gen.

refused

pent-up

this expression free vent to her

and woe, and

feelings of misery

865).

in Zunz's Bible, " I

and exclaims,

my

contains

children,

an

ex-

Ewald maintains

Therefore the translation of

am anyhow

lost,"

is

entirely

CHAP.

173

IV. 17.

Yer. 1 7. " So Mordecai went his imy."

The

word meant merely

If the

"iinyi.

translations hitherto given have not hit

Arnheim

translates, "

" ahiit!'

"

he went about,"

upon the

it,

having a definite and

well-known meaning, would not have been chosen

We

this idea.

We

have in

must not depart from

when

it,

locally

transgression of a law,

its

spoken

those Jewish interpreters

Therefore

to express

sense of passing over.

a local portraiture.

of,

who understood by

retain its proper meaning.

still

sense.

he went away," or as

maintained in the Talmud that Esther's three days'

fast

it,

It is

began

two days before the Passover, and included the first day
and this is incorrectly thought to be proved by chap. iii. 12.
Consequently,

it

asserted that Mordecai

is

transgressed the

law of the Passover (Eab. in Bab. Megilla \^a

Esther 94,

tion of

No

etc.).

For the words

"lUV^I,

other view

D]31 DD:i, " sad

as

Levy (Chald.

Lex.

transgress the joy of the feast

116) supposes, inasmuch

ii.

by nnyi

but they merely

(&5jn

How

nnn).

ascribe to the Targumist the derivation of the

testifies

Another explanation

that the

word

is

of

the

was displeased with Esther

his words.

i.e.

Levy

" anger "

Midrash likewise

According to which, Mordecai

for profaning the feast

being better instructed by her on the subject,

gressed " his words,^

can

word

to be understood in the sense of

passing over or transgressing.

drew

Targum.

Mordecai was very sad to be obliged to

to say that

from nny

first

and excited," are not the transla-

as they are immediately followed

mean

found in the

is

Midrash

"inv^l,

but after

"

he trans-

in the dialect of the Talmud, he with-

It is impossible that this

word should have

been chosen without a purpose, and E. Samuel (Megilla 15a)

felt this,

and explained that Mordecai passed over the other

side of a lake or river.

Samuel,

who

himself lived on the other

side of the Euphrates, is for this a

good authority.

Shushan was situated near the

river Ulai, as

Sefer Meg. Esther, "

Er

Uberfliret seine Red."

the sense of transgressing in Hos.

ing by transgressions."

Trans.]

vi. 7.

In Micah

The

[This verb
vii.

castle of

we know from
18

it

is

used in

means "pass-

174
Dan.

BOOK OF ESTHER.
The royal

viii. 2.

castle

was the

of this that the ancient writers speak

city as situated near the Eulaeus or

Curtius

V. 1

and

2, etc.).

real Shushan,

when they

and

it is

describe the

Choaspes (Herod,

Mordecai was in the royal

vii.

fortified

town, and transacted his business with Esther before the

The Jews resided

chief gate.

When

lie

he had

to

wanted

to

in another part of the city.

go to them to gather them together,

cross the water to

come

to the

Benjamin of Tudela in the Middle Ages

as lying

across

on both sides

it.

of the river,

Jewish quarter.
described Susa

still

and connected by a bridge

So then we see that the word

nun

has a local

and graphic meaning, and we cannot have a better testimony

for the topographical

knowledge

of the narrator

contained the idea of passing by or

in this word.

In nny

passing over.

But Mordecai did not pass

over the river, like

is

than we have

by, but he passed

Abraham and Nehemiah,

certainly not

the Euphrates, but the Ulai, into the capital of the captivity,

not to rejoice before

Him

God with

thanksgiving, but to pray to

in deep sorrow^ and in earnest repentance.

CHAPTEE
Yer. 1

"

Now

it

came

to

Y.

pass on the third day^

The emphasis which the narrator puts on

to indicate that he

day in Holy Scripture marks important

A pious

with the kingdom of God.

this occasion this

which God gave the law

new

the sun

life for

arose

seems

facts in

connection

Jewish narrator chose en

formula in remembrance of the third day on

to

Moses

Out

exiled Israel.

in

his

in the midst of thunder

and

This third day was the beginning

lightning (Ex. xix. 16).

of a

this date

had the thought in his mind, that the third

of the darkness of death

What

brilliancy.

prophet, said to Hezekiah (2 Kings xx. 5)

prayer, I have seen thy tears

God, through the

:

"I have heard thy

behold, I will heal thee

on

the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord,"

had

also

happened

He

revive us

here.

After two days of weeping came

The prophet Hosea says

deliverance.
;

on the third day

shall live before

Him

" (vi. 2).

He
It

" After

two days will

will raise us up,

and we

was on the third day

after

the day of suffering that Christ rose from the dead, to raise
others too.

It appears as if the

Midrash was thinking

of these

when it ascribes to Esther as having cried out in

moment of her great anxiety and anguish of soul, when

parallels,

the

she had to appear before the king, "

hast

Thou forsaken me

My

" (Ps. xxii. 1).

God,

my

God,

why

She repeated the very

words which were understood by the Jews as referring to the

Messiah, and according to Christian interpretation, which had
their complete Messianic realization
lips of

"

when they

fell

from the

Jesus on the cross.

That Esther put on her royal apparel"

ni270

t^'npni,

" she

put on royalty,"

is

a form of expression

BOOK OF ESTHER.

176

chosen with great precision, and means more than " she put

She appeared before the king in the

on royal apparel."

he himself had placed on her head

l3aaCkiK6<i

(ii.

ander had placed

it

in Josephus

Apocrypha bear already the Midrash

came

Koa-fio^

that Alex-

and in the Greek

The queen

character.

to the king.

"

And

stood in the inner court!'

the sense would be opposite,

But

Ahhashverosh.

this is not

n''D"'jan.

should be connected with

Tiirst is of opinion that if D^JQ

D'^Q,

relates,

again on the head of the Persian queen

The additions

{Bill. xvii. 38).

The whole

17).

meant, of which Diodorus

is

full

She wore the crown which

array and attitude of the queen.

viz. " face

even the case with

" the face," expressing the inner walls

means

opposite

just the

The use

external side.

of

of irpovooTria,

of the

to face " with

evcoTrca,

the chamber, and

which

signifies

the

word face in Hebrew, as well

as in Greek, comes from the covering of the face

being considered as the door to the

When

face.

the veil

the veil

is

opened, the inner part of the face becomes visible.

Ver.

2.

"

So Esther dreiu near and touched

the top of the

sceptred

When
sight

the king saw her standing, she gained favour in his

he was not angry with her because she came without

being called, as she feared would be the case.

in good humour.

When

She found him

Bathsheba came to King Solomon,

her son, he rose up to meet her, bowed himself unto her, then
sat

(1

down on

Kings

ii.

his throne,

19).

with the same politeness.

treatise

and seated her on

his

Of course, Ahhashverosh did not

right

Yet the report of Plutarch

about the badly instructed prince)

hand

receive Esther
(in his

that the

is correct,

And

Persian kings did not treat their wives like slaves.

Esther wore the crown upon her head

and she did not

prostrate herself at his feet, as others were obliged to

lie

saw her standing (mDiy), and he beckoned

to her

do,

but

with the

CHAP.

177

2.

one beckons with the hand, as a sign of salutation

sceptre, as

and

V.

of invitation to

come

The poet Zacharia uses the

near.^

of night as a queen, " Lo, the solitary night

imagery

with the leaden sceptre " {Adelung Lex.

worthy of remark, that by touching the sceptre she

It is

The

intimated that she had a petition to the king.

represented royal power
it

very much.

touch

for

beckons

1563).

iv.

sceptre

needed

this she touched, because she

Nothing more was certainly expressed by the

with the King of Persia, everything that was to be

obtained by petition, be

it

the smallest

or the life of a

trifle

Amongst
the Jews of old the custom was, that a petitioner who desired
the grant of a great favour from any one, fell down before
him and took hold of his feet, as the woman did to whom
whole nation, was considered as a grant of grace.

Elijah restored the child alive.

in the

same manner

knees of

man

This was a sign of humility,

contain a certain amount of sacredness in them,

according to usage of nations.

The

they stretch out their hands to them

to

altars,

Pliny says, " The

as touching the knees.

perhaps because there

is

petitioners touch

them

they pray to them, as

vital

power in them"

But

("fortassis, quia inest in iis vitalitas," Hist. Nat. xi. 45).

this

is

The

not correct.

touched

out

of

humility,

feet

or

because

the knees of
the

man were
did

petitioner

not

arrogate to himself worthiness to such a degree as to enable

him

He

to touch the higher parts of the benefactor's body.

therefore prostrates

himself upon the earth, and can only

touch the foot or the knee.

The custom among the Greeks,

the

chin,

had a

different

for a petitioner to

significance.

she laid her petition before Zeus (Ilias,

371,

avdepewvos;).

vTT

touch

Thetis did so
i.

501

when

comp.

obtain mercy from Diomedes, but he does not succeed

454), where Crusius in his Commentary on

^

What

viii.

This also Dolon would like to do, to

Homer

(x.

explains,

the Midrasli reports, as well as Josephus and the Apocrypha,

that the king was so angry that Esther fainted, and that angels accom-

panied her,

etc.,

are entirely legendary homilies of the

Jews of a

later age

178

BOOK OF ESTHER.

that

it

was the knee, and not the

speaks of

it

was even a

chin,

which was touched.

when he

passage only to which Pliny refers

It is not this

custom among the Greeks.

as a general

particular word, vTroyeveid^eiv, for

There

The under-

it.

lying thought of the custom was, that by caressing and flatter-

ing the chin the petition would be granted.

have

to do, as Eosenmtiller will

it,

Grimm

quotes from

It is remarkable, at
is

any

rate,

evidently cognate with

ffena,

and yet the two customs had

was peculiar

Gudrun 386
that

had nothing

with the Oriental notion

of the sacredness of the beard, for it

nations.

It

many

similar customs.

Sanscr. ganUj knee,

r/cnu,

Sanscr. Jiami, chin,

yiueiov,

different

to

fundamental thoughts.

Touching the knee was an appeal for mercy, but touching the
chin was an act of flattering the supposed tender part of man.

To be

sure, the humiliation of Esther in presenting her

petition in the palace of

Shushan was not

like that of the

Venetian Ambassador, Francis Dandolo, before the Pope in

1312.

He

appeared before the Pope in the presence of

guests upon

neck, and

Cane

and

thus lay under the table

(dog),

know how
still

When

he deserved

a dog until his

the

after this

who

than Diogenes,

it less

Gesch.

Italien,

v.

iii.

name

did not
p.

70);

than the pupil of Diogenes, who, when asking

a favour of a superior for some one

thigh.

like

he bore

to flatter (comp. Leo,

less

many

and carried an iron chain upon his

was granted.

petition

of

fours,

all

else,

That person became enraged,

the supplicant would

touch his

"

knee.

Crates, " are the thighs not also thine

touched him on his

for

he expected that

What," exclaimed
(Diog. Laertius,

"

vi.

cap. V. n. 7.)

Plutarch

Cold)

(on

refused in Persia
into the water.

Turks, and

when

that

adduces

(GescJi. des

is still

was not

petition

the petitioner carried

The same custom

Hammer

1638 and 1655

mentions

fire,

observed

many examples from

osman. Beiches,

v. pp.

or

went

among

the

the years

239, 630).

Esther does not touch the knee as a dependant, nor the

chin as a

woman

she touches the sceptre of royal authority.

CHAP.

V.

179

3.

because from this she seeks deliverance.

In

tyrant arrogated to himself divine power.

he dispensed

or death.

life

When

the Persian

With

his sceptre

the ancient Christians estab-

lished petitionary courses (supplicationes),

stations,

fact,

and often

called

them

they based them on the idea that they caused the cross

to be carried before them.

This

sense of material superstition.

King

the great

of Grace.

3. "

Ver.

is spiritually,

The

cross

but not in the

the true sceptre of

is

He who touches it in his heart will live.

WJiat wilt thou, Queen Esther

when

Esther came at the time

? "

{rs^h^^n nriDK.)

the king held a reception.

This appears from the circumstance that "the king sat on

At such a time those who had any business to

This throws light upon the
with him presented it.

the throne."
transact

What wilt thou

What has brought

question of Ahhashverosh, "

queen, want

thou,

room

reception

"

which he expresses

It is the

his

have something to

also
"

What

the

half

is

the

thee

canst

into

the

language of gracious favour, in

astonishment that the queen should

ask.

thy request

of

What

shall be given thee

It

even to

Nowhere does the sublime

kingdom."

munificence of the Persian shahs appear to greater advantage

than in their readiness to bestow great favours.

The more

powerful they considered themselves, the more they fancied

they could give everything.

"

Ask what thou

wilt, express

thy wishes," were the haughty phrases with which they as

The more

divine beings thought of bestowing a favour.

here,

favour.

she

so

where Esther, wearing a crown upon her head, asks a

is

As queen
his

she

is,

as

we

favour), therefore he says to her,

him
name and by

say, half or part of

companion in the government

(in

"Ask what

shalt have to the half of the kingdom."

thou wilt, thou

This was naturally

only a benignant phrase, to show Esther his love for her, and
the

claim

she

has upon him.

Yet

similar occasions whole provinces

and

from them, were really given away.

it

happened that on

cities,

i.e,

the revenues

BOOK OF ESTHER.

180

Ver. 4. " Let the king

and Haman come

this

day ^ unto

the

hanqiietr

The caution

whicli Esther uses in her invitation

us

is for

the finest characteristic of Oriental conditions.

She has two things in view, in order to succeed in her

attempt to get the edict
clear

her

to

revoked.

Ahhashverosh

that

disposed to her that he will also

mind.

to her

but the

When

For that he
of

realization

it

will

must

It

is

fulfil

indeed

first

become

favourably

so

his promise according

keep his promise was

was often worse than the

sure,

refusal.

Darius, son of Artaxerxes, realized the promise that was

given him to have the beautiful

Aspasia

he

his wife,

for

indeed received her, but she was very soon snatched from
liim

and

this also led to his lasting disgrace

When

ruin (Plutarch, Artaxerxes, 26).

and

was encouraged by former favours from Xerxes

king to leave behind one of his
the expedition, his wish was

five

fulfilled,

to his final

Pythius the Lydian

sons

to beseech the

who accompanied

he was

left

behind,

but cut into two parts, which were placed on each side of the
road,

and then the army passed through them (Herodotus,

Secondly, she wanted

39).

vii.

she

made her

Ahhashverosh the

opportunity of

Haman, and

early with

Haman

to be present

when

She thought she must not give to

petition.

talking

that the latter

the

matter over

must not have time

to

accomplish his design, or at least to arrange for his escape.

In inviting Haman,

too,

she avoided giving the appearance

of her petition being detrimental

to his interests.

Haman

himself must consider the invitation as a special sign of her

regard

for

him.

We

see

that

Esther

undertaking a bold as well as a prudent

1

[This

Hayom.

is

manifested
spirit.

in

But the

her
life

in Hebrew, DVn, pHI, ^^'DH, 5<3\ Yabo, Hamelech, Yeliaman,

this the Rabbis prove that the name of God is mentioned

From

in this book, for the initial letters of these four words compose

tlie

name Jehovah. The same form so many words in chap. i. ver. 20, only in
a reversed manner from the final letters. But they do not account for the
omission of the name of God in the Song of Solomon, as it is uncertain
whether the word n"* in viii. 6 is the name Jah or a suffix. Traxs.]

CHAP.
of a whole nation

was

V.

at stake,

which nerved and inspired her

distinction to

Haman

5,

181

6.

and

it

was her love

resolutions.

them

was a great

It

that the queen invited

to

him together

with the king to her banquet

the favourable reception she

met from the king how much

but she learned already from

she might depend upon his attachment to her, and also what

weight she might place upon his regard for Haman.

She

experimented to a certain degree as to the relations in which

Haman

really stood to Ahhashverosh.

Ver.

"Cause Hainan

make

may

he

done

This shows that the king at once appreciated Esther's

zeal.

5.

to

haste, that it

as Esther hath said."

Without a moment's

He
any

had not the

ill-feeling

hesitation he granted her very

first desire.

slightest suspicion that his minister

harboured

against his consort, and he might even have

joyfully congratulated himself that the relations between the

government and the harem were those of peace and harmony

and mutual respect

each

for

otlier.

There

is

nothing more

instructive for powerful autocrats than to observe the great

weakness with which they

believes that he

man

The haughty potentate who

able to do everything, gropes as a blind

is

dark about the designs which others out of

the

in

rule.

passion and despair are laying for him.

that he, like a
of happiness

ball.

the

human

fancies

god, can dispose of life and death,

and misery, others play with

his

humour

morning.

of a gracious

sciously to judgment, of

instrument as he was

Ver.

6.

"And

What

is

its

the

Haman

hurries

which he himself was

to

and

as with

The haste with which he makes Haman come

dawn

ivine,

While he

is

but

unconbe the

guilty cause.

king said unto Esther at the banquet of

thy petition

"
?

From the repetition of this question Esther gathered hope.

For when the king gave audience to her, he must have seen
that the invitation to the banquet was not her only object in

182

BOOK OF ESTHER.

He must

coming

to

petition

which she wanted only

him.

where according

have understood that she had a

to

custom

to Persian

granted (Hammer, Gemdldesaal,

ii.

present at the banquet,

it

could more easily be

During the drink-

162).

ing of wine, the king used to consult with his family about
the affairs which were

When

harassed on such occasions by

who took advantage

petitioners

The Persian

brought before him.

kings were often tried and

of their benevolent disposition.

Xerxes had promised Artaynte to grant whatever she

wished

(Herod,

which

she asked a present

109),

ix.

his

wife Amestris gave him, and whose jealousy must thereby have

When

been provoked.

petition to Amestris, she

up

delivered

(Herod,

he again promised

might avenge herself upon her

to her, that she

Such things were

110, 111).

ix.

to grant a similar

demanded that Artaynte should be

of daily occur-

rence,

and they took place in every department of Oriental

life.

Procopius relates (Pers. Gcsch.

that the Persian

5)

i.

shah under the Sassanides had once told a

he

petition

liked,

law

against the

visit

" in

the prisoners

the

the caliph said once to a

what thou wishest;" and she asked the

{The Tliousand and One Nights,

When,

to ask

any

and so he asked something which was

to

Almamun

oblivion."

man

therefore, the king

ed.

house of

girl,

liberation of his

Habicht,

remembered

xiii.

at the

"Ask
enemy

1-4).

banquet that

Esther had touched the sceptre, and that apparently he had

not satisfied her desire by his coming, he then really showed
devotion to her, and a readiness to do her a favour, and that
in the presence of

What

"
thee

is

Haman.

thy petition

and what

is

(in^'^>) ?

thy request

and

it

(intrp2"i)

shall he granted
it

shall he per-

formed."

The
to

ideas of

ask, to

asked

is

rh^^"^

and

demand an
granted

Ahhashverosh

first

(|n3)

7\^\>2

are not the same,

h^^

objective thing, as rogare.

by the

gift

of

an

object.

signifies

What

is

When

spoke kindly to Esther, he did not imply

CHAP.
that she might

looks as

if

the

have a

first

wish

a tangible thing to

n^KC',

time

first

The substantive form

and in Ezra, while the verb

It has

0. T.

lexicographically established.

derived from

is

It

ask.

But now he

it.

']n^p2 n, "

What

is

thy

occurs only in Esther

niifp2

found in the whole of the

C^pa is

been overlooked that

Eng. "wish,"

183

6.

term was concealed in

adds to what he said the

"

V.

its

meaning

" to

wish

" is

The German word wiinscJien,

Thus the Hebrew ^p2
it.

corresponds closely to the Sanscr. vdksh, vanksh, Norse

Anglo-Sax. vyscan, Eng. " wish " (comp. my Eddischen

(vaksJi)
dsJca,

Shcdien,

The

Wishing has more of a subjective

99).

p.

king therefore says to his wife, as to a wife, "

what

that thou wishest,

is

thy heart's desire

character.

What

is

it

Whatever

it

petition or wish, of a general or of a personal nature,

be,

speak out,

shall be granted."

it

The king considers himself

as possessing the

power which

the legends and fables ascribe to those who, as spirits and

allow

wizards,

their

appears to Solomon,
thee

"

(1

he says
ii.

iii.

to him, "

He

"

says,

When

5).

Ask what

Ask

(bi^^)

like the

powers of

and desires of the

"

He

Uven

what

I shall give

Elijah takes leave of Elisha,

shall

do for thee

Ahhashverosh fancies himself

9).

and

Kings

When God

beloved to have wishes.

fiction, to

like

the

" (2

God

Kings

of truth

be able to grant petitions

heart.

half of

to the

my kingdom

it

shall he

performed"

repeats at the banqueting table what he said in the

From

inner chamber.
that Herodotus

(ix.

and other examples

this

appears

it

110) could not have meant that the king

This

only grants petitions once a year at his dining table.

happened especially when he gave a public dinner on

coronation

to the false explanation

Se TO) Zelirvcp

surely not

which he has when he says

rovro), irepaiaTl ixev tvkto,, Be

fyXSxraav reXecov.
is

his

This mistake of Herodotus has conduced

day.

The

last

translation

word

of

riXeiov, a

tvktcl,

T'qv

ovvofia

EWrjvcov

complete

a connection

feast,

which

184

BOOK OF ESTHER.

could scarcely be

Greek joined with

tvktol be

if

Therefore the attempts hitherto

Tvy^dvecv.

the word have been in vain.

has the analogous sense

feast," " coronation

and

feast,"

to explain

me

that tvkto,

It appears to

of yevkcria, "
it

revxofiai,

made

feast," "

annual

throne

therefore to be derived

is

from the Persian tecM, meaning a throne.

This throws light

upon the narrative in the Gospel of Mark

(vi.

Herod

21).

in his vain conceit entirely imitates the court fashions of the

German

great Persian kings (as the

princes in the seventeenth

century aped the fashions and extravagances of the court of

Louis

He

XIV.).

had a

also

accession to the throne {roh

and I

says to her,

When

ask of me, I will give

it

whatsoever thou wilt,

again, "

Whatsoever thou shalt

of

And

will give it thee."

thee,

his daughter

me

Ask

"

of

origin) are in accordance

with those of the Persians, fieyLarave^,

dances, he

his

The names

avrov).

'yevealoL<;

Macedonian

his courtiers (though of

commemorate

to

feast

my

kingdom."

of Ahhashverosh,

which was

unto the half of

Thus he imitated the language

familiar to him.

Yer.

She

7.

still

"

Then answered Esther

keeps back her petition.

My

and my

^petition

She sees indeed that

she has found favour in the eyes of the king, and has good

reason to believe that he wants to do what she will ask

and yet she

petition

hesitates.

and a wish

"

Ah, indeed," she

but

if

will tell

it

thou wilt show

Haman
What

then come once more with

thee then."

says,

to

my

me

curious and expectant

desire to be kind

she does

she excites in

him

have a

a favour,

entertainment, and

now

calculated with respect to the nature of the king.

him

" I

him

and gracious by timidly

is

entirely

She makes
still

telling

greater

him

to

observe somewhat of her difficulty and embarrassment which

necessitates a

postponement of

she assures herself of his love,

telling her desire right out

when

he, the tyrant,

who

is

not in the habit of exercising patience, agrees to come once

CHAP.

more

185

7.

She increases by

the banquet.

to

V.

the proofs of

this

her feigned respect for Haman, so that he dreams of being

quite

She psychologically prepares everything as

secure.

best she can, before she ventures upon the great stroke, which

may become

in spite of the favour of the king

The two intervening days have a wonderfully

While Esther trembles

racter.

uncertainty, while she

full

tragical cha-

over with excitement and

all

stands between

life

and death, with

nation depends

consciousness that the fate of a whole

upon the success

dangerous.

must

of her enterprise, she

at the

same time

appear in the character of a cheerful wife, of an interesting

hostess,

and

an

of

must

JSTothing about her

illustrious queen.

betray that she sees in the cup of wine a reflection of the

blood of her people

with judgment.

to

The simple narrative conceals a

woman must overcome two men who

of thousands in their hands

But her trembling heart

who

pave the way

and

for

is

conflict of

The

sorrowful,

hold the destiny

she has no weapons for the

warfare except her charms and her insight into

guidance of God,

the

meet with honour, but

thoughts of a highly dramatical character.

prudent

Haman

nothing must indicate that

dreaded favourite was invited not

human

found help.

sooii

nature.

Through the

not named, things take place which

such a success far beyond her knowledge

Just then,

calculation.

when she

could not withdraw,

when delay was no longer possible, for " to-morrow I shall

make known my request," events happen wdiich powerfully
There was
influence the mind and disposition of the king.

only one night

between one banquet and the other

was long enough

to

announce

unexpected catastrophe.
one pursues a great plan,

to

Esther
it

nor to think that the result

is

is

Haman and

but

when

to experience, that

not necessary for him to

is

entirely

it

Mordecai an

fret,

dependent upon

his

own power and wisdom.

1

An

Arabic proverb says, " The nights are pregnant with

and give birth

to

der Ilchane,

291).

ii.

them

before the

dawn

of the

many

things,

morning " (Hammer,

Gesch.

186

BOOK OF ESTHER.
Ver.

Then went Hainan forth on

"

9.

day joyful

that

and glad of hearth

"

On

that day," for on the next day there was an end to

his joy.

man

To-day his heart was

in the country, and

and queen, and in

It

that

true

is

fact

was the

that he

still elated,

first

was in great favour with the king

he had reached the goal of his ambition.

generally an invited guest received special

distinctions, as Themistocles received (Plutarch, Th. 29),

and

by

as the Cretan Timagoras (according to Athenaeus, quoted

ancient commentators)

but they do not form a

Here Haman

to the case before us.

laid stress

strict parallel

upon the

fact

that the queen invited him, that she invited no one else to give

the king the pleasure of his company, that therefore she must

esteem him beyond measure; and the pleasure was enhanced

when he

that

reflected

the

attendance at

banquets

such

generally turned out very dangerous to the viziers, but in this

At any

only honours awaited him.

rate, it

appears clearly

from Haman's glee that he was quite unaware that Esther

belonged
cruel

the people against

to

orders

otherwise

He was

moderate.

his

whom

he had issued such

merriment would

the more pleased

have

when he thought

been
that

he had not noticed any jealousy on the part of the queen

concerning his predominating influence over the king.
obstacles appeared to have been overcome

no longer any

"

Henceforth

rival.

Mordecai sat in

the

all

All

He had

by him.

must bow before him.

king's gate; he stood not wp, nor

trembled before him."

]N'ow also

bow

he did not take any notice

before him, nor did he stand

was he convulsed

Haman was
not

bow

his vanity

either

full of

up

to

Haman

he did not

compliment him, nor

fear of or respect for him.

And

wrath that the Jew, the commoner, should

before the

Magus and

favourite of the

king.

In

he was ashamed that the other courtiers had seen

Mordecai's boldness.
that after

by

of

all

Haman

He was

afraid that they

cannot be so all-powerful,

would think
if

man

like

CHAP. V.

Mordecai dares to ignore him.

conduct of the

glorification, the

knew

Certainly he

destructive decree

the time for

till

to

that

187

9.

Still

excited with his selfto

could not

last

him

taking effect had not yet come, and should he

its

mentators

make

no

to wait

but

and

lono^er,

The thought occurs

and

ness of the absolute shah

and on the other

great,

The unlimited

people.

why Haman

was an exalted
take good

whim and mood

which a grand

arrogating to

belonged to the shah.

were jealous

life

he was

in,

and death,
prevented

to the

same treatment.

Haman occupied
dangerous.
He had to

vizier like

way

not in any

himself the

to the

For the nearer they were

one, but not the less

care

arbitrari-

freedom to the humble

secures

more they were exposed

position

deficient in

The

on the one hand a burden

is
it

control of the king over

to decide according to the

The

did not at once

spirit of the East.

his subordinates doing the same.

to him, the

Ancient com-

work with Mordecai; but they were

short

insight into the customs

he should

to order at once that

he restrained himself.

p2i?n''1,^

have not understood

'^

intolerable.

long, for his

had already been published everywhere; but

then tolerate the contempt of Mordecai ?

be killed

him

Jew appeared

this

He was

the appearance of

to give

and functions that

prerogatives

surrounded by enemies

who

There were many others who wanted to

of him.

supplant him, and the intrigues of the seraglio might become

at

any moment dangerous.

quiet

manner was

in itself

To do away with Mordecai

When we

the consequences.

read above

(iii.

thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone,"

he did not think

such a man.
1

pQX

is

It

rightly

German

it

in a

an easy thing for him, but he feared

6), "
it

But he

means that

worth his while to risk his position for

was permitted

to everybody to sit at the gate

compared with plK,

fassen, " to take hold."

to wrestle

its

meaning

is

certainly

And

p^t^nn is to be taken, like the

Greek dyx>.ct,u/2usiif sxvtov, in the sense of taking hold of oneself {se
colligere).
In sound it is like the German packen, Sanscr. pag pax, capere
the

(see Dieffenh. goth. Gloss,

i.

343).

This applies even to Clericus but these misconceptions always arise

from an inclination to follow a complete unhistorical criticism.
2

188

BOOK OF ESTHER.
This law was recognised even under the Turkish

of the kinsf.

Jews and Gentiles could appear

sultans.

either to present a petition or to

way

before the

pay homage, just

in the

warmed.

as all could place themselves before the sun to be

The idea was that

had the

all

that shone from royal majesty.

Haman had

liberty of receiving the

Now,

gate

same

beams

this being the case, if

privately killed Mordecai, the

of the

intriguers

Haman

palace would have eagerly reported to the king that

had murdered one that had placed himself under the protecting
wings of the king, and who appealed for protection

that he

encroached upon the rights of the king to pardon a criminal,

and that he had done

from personal spite and vanity,

this

without asking for authority, and before the very holy gates of

The mistrust

the king.

of the king

would thus have been

aroused, the enemies would have gained time to complicate

matters further, and the consequences would have been incal-

Haman

culable for him.

thought of

all

therefore he

this,

restrained himself from adopting harsh measures at present,

until

he had

first

consulted with his party.

"And

Ver. 10.

he sent

and fetched

and Zeresh

his friends,

his wife"

Every one of the great men who had obtained power had
his party.

In this the absolute government did not

from the modern constitutional forms of government.

therefore such a party meeting
calls together.

The occasion

Mordecai, but the

befallen him.

new good

which

for it is not his

at this

It is

moment

encounter with

fortune which he believes has

The narrative has

ordinary dramatical character,

Haman

differ

for this reason

since

it

presents

an extra-

Haman

as

seeing in the invitation of Esther the crowning of his ambition,

while she was actually preparing measures for his

fall.

Having

become the attached friend of the king and queen, how

powerful

is

his position

So he gives a kind of account of

to his wife, for they share in his honours

this to his friends

and

and power.

wonderful enough that to-day he describes

It is

CHAP.

them

to

is

unknown

all his glory, while,

will strip

it

how

from him

upon

faithful adherents

He

entirely.

numerous are

189

V. 13, 14.

sons

his

whom

to him, the

he can

number

the

also

to-morrow

how

shows them

He

rely.

rich

he

of

his

com-

further

municates to them that he enjoys the highest confidence of the

king,

who has

is still

more proud

is,

and

was

quite partial to him, and had so distinguished

him

upon him

that the queen

bountifully lavished his honours

that of which he

him

only, together with the king, to her banquet.

pours out his whole joyful heart before them,

as to invite

In

he

fact

more

for really

pleasures he cannot expect.^

Ver. 13. " Yet all this availeth

Mordecai the Jew

see

He

tells of this

nothing, so long as

to

is,

forsooth,

He

vexation.

his

of

emphatically gives them

He

also.

gate"

sitting at the king's

vexation

ground

of the real

tell

me

ashamed

to

simply but

understand that his joys are

embittered by being obliged to see Mordecai at the royal gate.

The more we consider Haman

party, the

religious

more

brouojht before them, as

it is

But what

advice, for his honours

But

his.

and

we

representative of

see in

still

Jew
is

being

to be

still

done

much

theirs as

the

if

and

all his friends

Mm!'

name

as related to Zairi,

Other Persian names seem to have the same compounds

(Zariadris, Zariaspa)

it is

the same

later age frequently have, like

Germany,
Comp.

Wilken,

Let them give

be suffered to sit at the gates of the king.

It is evidently correct to take this

tolerated at the

his attempts are as

Yer. 14. " Then said Zeresh, his wife,

gold.

complaint

their interests will certainly not be furthered

Jew should

unto

this

intended to awaken their general

interest in the matter of the

gate of the king.

as the

force

etc.,

Golde

(see

name which Jewesses

Zahab

Zunz,

(gold)

Namen

of a

Chryse, and in

der Juden, p.

71).

" Die GescL. eines Yeziers," in Mirchond's Histor. Samanid. ed.

p. 85.

190

BOOK OF ESTHER.

name
The German name Goltrat

Naturally they are not merely Jewish names, as the

Chryse

mentioned by Homer.

is

ninth century) has some connection with this (in opposi-

(in

Namenbuch,

tion to Forstemann,

Thus
decisive

and regardless person.

Her

the worst means.

Her

543).

i.

Haman

house of

also in the

She speaks

condemnation through

its

the fidelity of a noble and obedient wife.

Haman

to

he

while

do
has

the

N'ow he

opportunity.

pinnacle of favour with the king.

to-day he

must proceed

must by no means

come

in

and

on the

is

lost

He

sure of success.

who knows what changes may

" Let a gallows be made "
then
king.
Has not the king presented

the

to

to act,

stands

day must not be

delay, for

the interval

to-morrow

go

"What she advises

use the moment, and to act decisively

to

is

and proposes

first,

fanaticism excites the whole party.

subtlety soon finds

diabolical

Zeresh represents the

thee with the whole of this people, because they are contrary
to the

law of the empire

execute this obnoxious

when thou

then

Why

man

Go and do away

goest again to

nothing will vex thy soul

then dost thou not quickly

with him, and

the banquet of the queen,

This advice was certainly clever

and bad enough, and would have been carried

out, if a mightier

arm from heaven had not

frustrated

With

cubits high should be erected.

execution

we

shall speak

that this individual

the

gallows

happened

the gallows for

on.

it

man who

may

be

offended

the enemy should

She wants

cubit, as

Haman.

The height of

proportionally contrast with

whom

Herodotus says

he had sinned.

(i.

common

178), where,

Bockh

Accordingly, the Persian cubit had

digits,

and was in proportion

tained

234,274,280 Persian

of

So high should

without doubt, he means Persian or Greek BaKTvXoc.

decides for Persian.

mode

to intimate

Persian cubit was three digits longer than the

Greek (Olympic)

fifty

seen far and wide what

the high position of the person against

gallows

regard to the

guilty of high treason.

is

be, that

to the

later

it.

to the

24

Greek as 8:7, and con-

lines {Meferol. UntersucJi.i^. 210).

CHAP.

But

this

191

V. 14.

However

prudence came to nought.

time was in wliich her plan was to be carried out,

too long
of

judgment came

Haman was

really his

he intended going to

sooner.
fall.

Esther's

short the

was yet

it

The apparent exaltation

It is

dreadful to think that

banquet' with a complacent

But

countenance after he had murdered her dear friend.

what

is

himself.

even more striking, that the cruel deed

What he

has so long postponed,

viz.

fell

upon

the punishing

of Mordecai, in order not to give a handle to his enemies,

becomes now, when he thinks he

stepping-stone to his

fall.

may

The height

safely execute

of fifty cubits

at last the picture of the depth of his

fall.

fall

with him in the abyss of destruction.

the

becomes

His adherents

and Zeresh have rejoiced with him in his triumphs

they

it,

and so

CHAPTEE
Ver.

No

1.

"

one has

On

VI.

that night the king's sleep fled

command

from him."

When,

over sleep.

therefore,

in

ancient times sleep was represented by the figure of a lion,

it

was because the

lion subdues

would not be caught

have been on account

cupido, Horatius, Od.

fear

of

lib. IT.

been the

sleep

case.

of

happens

continued

It

him-

but sleep

need not

sordid cupidity (sordidus

or

Was

which

This also need

It often

butterfly, it

ad Grosphum).

suffer

sleep,

could he not sleep

he had taken too much wine

away

and does not

like a flying

Why

coming and going.

drives

all,

The great king wanted

self to be subdued.

it

is

it

because

said that

it

not necessarily have

to kings,

and especially

to

Oriental despots, that the care and responsibility of govern-

ment, their remorseful consciences and gloomy forebodings,

deprive

them

Suetonius (cap. 50)

of sleep.

tells of Caligula,

that he so suffered from sleeplessness, that, tired of lying in

bed awake, he used to get up and stand or roam about

the rooms of the palace.

Procopius reproaches the Emperor

Justinian with being cursed with sleeplessness, so that he

obliged

to

roam about the whole night

Bonn, pp. 81, 82).

sleeplessness

is

(Hist.

is

Arcana, ed.

Similar restlessness of conscience and

reported of the energetic but cruel Caliph

Al-Mansur (comp. Hammer, Gemdldesaal,

Of the Turkish

sultan, Selim

I., it is

ii.

pp. 70, 89).

told that

he was in

the habit of passing most nights in reading books, without

sleeping at all; sometimes he
or talk to

him about the

vMrdigheiten von Asien,

i.

would have others read

affairs

266).

to

him,

of the State (Diez, DenJc-

In the history of Ahhash-

CHAP.
verosh, that sleepless nigbt

VI.

193

1.

was illumined by the torch

people's emancipation from worse than slavery.

mind to meditate upon the past.

a means of awakening serious
mind

leisure cause the

is

The night

often becomes

Quietness and

reflections.

to collect its powers, they rouse the

remembrance what

conscience, they bring to

free

lost,

is

whom

they are as a ladder to God, to

they set

and happy

from the excitement of the daily routine;

he to

of a

It caused his

whom

belongeth

the mysteries of salvation and redemption.

"

And

he

commanded

known from

It is also

to

bring

him

the hook of records."

other sources that the Persian kings

had every service that was rendered

to

Of Phylakus we read

historical books.^

them entered
in Herod,

viii.

in

85,

that he was recorded as a benefactor of the king, and such

"

were called

opoGa^^aC

This word has surely not been

by Eosen and Botticher (Arica,

correctly explained

20)

p.

has rather a connection with the Persian Ersans, Orosans,

it

K'^Tsnt?,

dignus, " worthy,"

and means even now in modern

Persian beneficiwn, "benefit" (VuUers, Fers. Lex.

wise Herodotus reports

men

that one of his

(viii.

"As

90):

79).

i.

Like-

often as Xerxes

saw

distinguished himself by some act in the

naval battle, he made inquiries about him, and the secretaries

name, and

registered his

his captain's,

and his family name,

together with the

name

To the same

Xerxes wrote to Pausanias (Thucydides,

129)

effect

"The

remembrance

service will

(which

"

Grotius, though not

of the

town from which he came."

remain in

my

examples were

i.

house for a continual

already

correctly explained).

It

noticed
is

by

not to be

assumed that the books in which the names of benefactors

were inscribed are different from the general chronicle of the
kingdom,

for the

the kingdom.
1

A similar

de Ofic. Tov

Andachten^

events of the court were also the events of

There was a royal and grand reason

book was kept by the Byzantian

i7r\

tav

dvctfAviiaioiu.

Even

iv. n. 30, p. 25.

court.

for so

See Codin in Lib.

Scriver mentions

it

in Zufdllvje

194

BOOK OF ESTHEE.

greatly valuing every service rendered to the king as to put

on record, so that

it

On

remembrance.

his

might be brought from time

it

to time before

the one hand, what concerned the king

was considered worth remembering; and, on the

other, such a

record was an incitement to his subjects to attachment and

What

submission.

and

titles

gained

is

was gained

inscribed in the chronicle,

now by

receiving decorations

and by the

title

every case the preservation of historical

in

name

time by having one's

that

at

But

Orosang.

facts,

however

themselves, proved their beneficial power.

in

little

Eecalling to

mind past events is always instructive and useful.

The
cherishing of remembrance may become the means of leading
the individual to a higher
of the

forgotten fact

In our narrative the finding

life.

in the

book

is

records,

of

important factor in the deliverance of

becomes an

Ahhashverosh

Israel.

warned against bad deeds, and inclined towards good ones

Haman

How

already finds the

commencement

much, indeed, the occurrences

human

foresight

In that night

of his condemnation.

of this night

humble

those machinations of

all

revenge, spun in the dark, are scattered

and while Esther

trembles, because she thinks that she alone

must be the

ment

fall,

in Israel's deliverance

thereof

is

and Haman's

already laid by a higher hand.

The

Ver.

spirit of truth orders

3.

"

And

hath leen done

to

the

still

instru-

the foundation

greatest achieve-

ments of men are only portions of coinciding

which the

all

interpositions,

and directs in history.

king said,

Mordccai for

What honour and

this 1

dignity

"

The thing was indeed of the utmost importance. The life

had been at stake. What greater thing can be

of the king
for the

not he

king than the remembrance of this event

who had saved

his life be royally rewarded

Should

It

was

against the dignity and the pride of the great tyrant not to

acknowledge

this

on a grand and magnificent

scale.

But though the rewards were generally entered

book of records of the

court, it

in

tlie

was omitted in Mordecai's

CHAP.

This circumstance surprised

case.

was not only that he

that

was an

it

195

VI. 3.

the king the more.

It

grateful to his benefactor, but also

felt

offence to his majesty that the record of the

man
What honour

empire should have nothing to show of a reward to the

who had saved

and dignity
for this,

" (nhn:ii

"ip"*),

he

service to the king

;

The

courtiers reply,

and they lay the blame upon

of

"Nothing"

man who

it

was

deed, even so

This reply

and ill-humour.

much

and who, with

all

have been that those

reward were

dissatis-

no zeal and joy in the good

mention the benefactor's name with

as to

praise

it

courtiers manifest

approval and

May

to propose sucli a

with the king's escape

his

others.

detected and denounced the conspiracy of his

whose business

Did

Nothing has been

excites in the king mistrust

eunuchs has received nothing

fied

been done to Mordecai

asks, has

such he deserves who has rendered so great

for

done to him

"

his life from the conspiracy.

Mordecai did not ask anything

these meritorious services which he had

rendered to the royal house, would have remained content

without receiving a reward either openly or clandestinely

He

had no friends

whom

he could expect to recommend his

case and to promote his interests.

only when it

is to

their

own

He

independent man.

Courtiers protect others

Mordecai was a free and

advantage.

did not send in any petitions, and did

How

not court any one's favour.

should he receive anything

Merits alone are not enough for obtaining a reward.

examples reveal
power.

to us the

These

hollow condition of the whole royal

servants receive any recognition, where those

which

is

in the dark.

his chief duty.

who surround

He cannot even show gratiWhat a caricature is such a

shah who demeans himself like a god

Have no

confidence

in great men, nor in princes, says the Psalmist.

But

our comfort, that the heavenly King knows

things and

knows our

and

The king does not even know whether deserving

him keep them

tude,

heart,

that there

is

all

this is

no nepotism in His kingdom,

that His willingness to give to and atone, does not

196

BOOK OF ESTHER.

depend upon a

He

where

Him

and

in the court

is

The indignant king wants

omitted before.
of

He

pride.

is

he had done

it gratis.

Now, although

were at

it

first

Never was

make

to

this

w^ant to lose time

bestow

in the outer hall

is

for a

of

man

Haman.
in the

his court visits at the

dawn

time he was there at that

very

exhibited a more frivolous and

tliere

thoughtless judgment than

that

shown by many

their light estimation of the value

tliere

times waiting in the

to come, in order to

man who

was something unusual

the morning, yet

For surely

all

The king does not even think

Haman

man

be a

and who could say that

The king does not

The

it.

high position of

what he has

out of regard to the person

life,

any particular person

court should do

moment.

his

Officers

court to receive orders.

of

much

to think that there should

who had saved

the delayed reward.

"
?

urgent, but rather on account of his

is so

vexed

in existence

in causing

belongs to

died,

to carry out at once

It is not so

Mordecai that he

own

Supper,

Lord's

whom He

else.

JFho

*'

Ver. 4.

the

of

table

those for

of

no one

to

The

priest.

thinks

Book

of the

critics in

of Esther.

can be no more beautiful description of the

impending dramatic catastrophe than that with which the

whole of

this

book

At the moment when the mind

is full.

of

the king has but one thought, to compensate Mordecai with

the long-merited honour and dignity, and so

because

it

moment when he
just then,

this

erected.

looks for a person to carry

Haman makes

does he want

hang

To ask

his appearance
for

it

the more

at the very

out properly,

on the scene.

What

an authorization from the king to

same Mordecai on the gallows which he has already

Haman was

execution should

in a hurry.

take place

Early in the morning the

on that day he

Mordecai no more in his accustomed seat

longer

much

ought to have been done long ago,

bear

to

behold

the

obstinate

for

Jew.

should

see

he could no
Before

he

goes to the banquet of Esther with a triumphant heart (to

CHAP.

VI.

197

6.

banquet of Esther, the adopted daughter of

the

though

knows

he

The removal

of

Mordecai

not),

it

man

faithful

this

be

shall

would, in

his

Mordecai,

no

more.

opinion,

enhance the honour of enjoying the good things at Esther's

table.

make his proposal. Before he

liad yet left his house his doom was already fully developed.
Scarcely has he arrived when he is summoned to appear before
the indignant king. Mordecai, who knows nothing of what is
But time

going on,

is

not given

him

to

the object of a wonderful conflict of ideas and

is

One wants

in the royal sleeping apartment.

intentions

to

honour him, and another wants not only to degrade him, but

hang him on the gallows.

also to

who

Spectators, too, are there

They

observe these strange coincidences.

of the king (l^DH

had erected

who know of the gallows which Haman

and now hear of the purpose of

^"ly:),

for Mordecai,

They

the king to reward him.

and do not reveal

fear of this

man

Haman, even

if

act like genuine courtiers,

to the king the intention of

Haman

out of

from jealousy, do they communicate to

nor,

they have time to do

Haman in

king.

are the servants

his vanity,

and

still

so,

the thoughts of the

dizzy with excitement on

account of the special favours which he experienced yesterday,

sees in the circumstance that he

happy omen
and

is

called in so quickly, a

Never has any one

for himself.

fallen so blindly

so self-deceived into the snare of destruction as he did.

What

is

written

in Ps. xciv.

21, " They gather themselves

together against the soul of the righteous, and

cent blood.

Of course

fulfilled.

"

When

vii.

But the Lord hath been

it

case of

condemn inno-

tower,"

was now

afterwards received a greater fulfilment.

they shall go to and fro

12, " I will spread

my

my

"

(German

net upon them."

trans.),

says Hos.

This was so in the

Haman.

Ver.

6.

"And

the king said, Let

Even the highest minister

the orders of the king

is

him come

in."

not so eminent as not to accept

for in point of fact all his officers are

198

BOOK OF ESTHER.
Certainly, the king cannot

his slaves.
sible for

since at that time

him

(iii.

Haman had

1)

But the suspicion and the

power.

make Ha man respon-

Mordecai not being long ago rewarded

for his deed,

not yet been exalted to

ill-will of

the king towards

him what had

he does not ask him anything

are seen in the fact that he does not tell

passed during the night, that

about Mordecai, that he does not even mention his name, or

why he wants to reward him. The general

" What shall be done unto the man whom
question

give any reason

abstract

the king delighteth to honour

He

Haman.

fidence

in

word,

the person upon

if

shows that he has no con-

"

cannot trust him to say the right

whom the honour was to be conferred

And the king had a right to suppose

does not please him.

that that person could not be beloved by

would have long ago asked

services.
is

man

momentary

a tone of ill-humour towards

among

to him,

the court

or else he
of his

with such merits, who had received nothing,

surely not a friend of the

which he put

Haman,

some acknowledgment

for

Haman

inasmuch as he was

officials

but

Haman

There was

favourite.

in the general question

rank

of the highest

does not see

it.

In his

infatuation even the vagueness of the question appeared to

to have but one definite meaning, namely, that

it

him

contained a

He was so sure that he

his efforts.
When the king called
was no honour to Haman that he,

very flattering recognition of himself.

saw everywhere success

out, "

the

Let him come

first

to

in," it

and best man, should act merely as an instrument of

upon a man who was his subordinate.

But he believed that he had found in the early audience to
which he was ordered a new sun of royal favours which was
to shine down upon him.
When he was so early in the day
conferring high honours

and

so specifically asked as to the

should be honoured, he thought

it

any other person than himself.

self,

must be the reason why

manner

in

which a favourite

could not possibly refer to

This, he explained to

he,

and no

other,

and why the king did not mention any name,

perchance in his modesty

fail to

was
lest

him-

called in,

he should

do justice to his merits.

How

CHAP.
vain, indeed, is the

wisdom

They

own

fall into their

VI.

199

7.

of these children of the world

traps.

In his

self-love

he ascribes to

the king such a tender conscience as purposely to

make

the

question a general one in order not to hurt his delicate feelings,

and

so he thinks of using his opportunity of asking a good

He

deal.

thinks, too, that he

would

at the

same time

flatter

the king by placing the honours to be conferred in the highest

possible scale

and with

all this

Ver.

The

"

7.

And Haman

foolishness

of

he hypocritically pretends to be

know whom Ahhashverosh means.

impartial, as he does not yet

said unto the hing!'

haughty and yet

itself.

When

to ask

what he wanted, he asked

men

servile

repeats

Xerxes allowed Demaratus, the Spartan, frankly

to

have the crown

of the

king placed on his head, and to be led through the city in

the same manner as the king was.

According to Plutarch

{Themist. xxix.), Mithropaustes, the king's uncle, said to

vain Greek

head

would
{De

"

The

king's

the

crown could not cover a brainless

and should he even hold the thunder in his hands, he

still

not be Zeus."

Seneca,

who

the same story

tells

31), properly says, that he was deserving of

heneficiis, vi.

a reward so long as he did not ask for

it.

The

parallels

Haman

Clericus adduces are not properly to the point.

poses, for the person to be honoured, the

Demaratus asked, only

same

in a higher degree.

which
pro-

distinction as

The individual

concerned should be arrayed entirely as the alter ego of the

king; he should put on the royal apparel, he should ride

upon the

lot,

as

own riding horse, and he should wear the

Haman, who thinks that all this will fall to his

king's

king's crown.

wants thereby to appear throughout the whole

the " other I " of

opponents.

As

if

the king, in order to

of

subdue

Shushan
all

his

he were the king himself, one of the fore-

most princes should lead the horse by the bridle during the
procession through the city, and should proclaim before
"

Thus

shall it be

to honour."

done to the

All this has

its

man whom

him

the king delighteth

deep foundation in Oriental

life.

200

BOOK OF ESTHEK.

The Hebrew word

" crown," is

iriD,

Greek Kirapc^ or

tional

which we
praest

et

KiBapL<;,

know from

sufficiently

usu numisin.

none other than the

the

i.

p.

470).

tall

Persian imperial hat

Spanheim, De

coins (see

Such town-criers

as

we often meet in Oriental histories (Gen.

when one was led to be disgraced. Just as

here asks,

also

xli.

is

43),

he was

In a story of The

called to proclaim the reason for dishonour.

place

Haman

here the

crier is to proclaim the reason for the honour, so also

Thousand and One

tradi-

NigJtts (ed. Konig, xi. 19), the

Imam

of the

upon a camel backwards,

led through the city, seated

him and proclaims " Thus are those

punished who mix themselves up in affairs without being
and a

called

crier goes before

do

to

occasions

so."

Also the leading by the bridle on such

a well-known custom (see

is

Hammer,

Boaendl,

ii.

33).

shrewd remark of the old Jewish commentators,

It is a

that although

Haman had

distinguished,

the

yet afterwards

we

read

They concluded from

the crown to be

also asked for

the person to be

ornament of the royal Kidaris (Keter),

only of the apparel and the horse.

Ahhashverosh did not permit

this, that

given.

It

is

true that ver.

10 does not

mention the crown, yet this does not conclusively prove that
it

was not

and horse

"

used.

On

imply that the

had special functions

liis

spurs,

the other hand, the words "apparel

officer to

be appointed as attendant

to discharge besides robing, putting

and holding the

on

bridle.

How exquisite was Haman in the wishes of his vanity

How smart he thought he would look when he would plume
himself in royal magnificence before all his friends
How he
!

would tower in grandeur even over

all

kingdom, the Parthemim

i.

before a

deeper he

fall,

(comp. chap.

the highest of the

3).

But pride comes

and the higher he thinks himself

falls into disgrace.

a more striking lesson than

is

to

be,

the

The prophets could not teach

taught in the history here.

Ver. 10. " Then the king said

to

Haman, Make

These are friendly words, but they

fall

hasted

like thunderbolts

CHAP.

upon

Apparently they are unimportant orders, but

ears.

liis

201

VI. 10.

they shatter his pride

stormy wind breaks

as

The king had evidently anticipated that Haman

that he

was

thought

if

be

in

he made him the groom to Mordecai,

itself

with

as

breast,

my

descension upon
to

the

is

with

case

he thought

this

all

such

considers

his

And

all. tyrants.

Haman

he

would

up jealousy

servant wanted to play the king, and this stirred

in his

it

Then he noticed that

him.

a lesson to

reed.

Therefore

be so highly distinguished.

to

would think

He

part a mere act of grace.

yet

a con-

wants

be reckoned among the great Parthemim of the kingdom

To them would

his wishes shall be granted.

the honour

fall

of holding the horse's bridle of the person to be distinguished,

and he

new

shall

When

But Haman hears

have that honour.

For

dignity with a shudder.

pleased his pride to be attended by a compeer

now he

is

out

singled

from

abhorred

What, he

him.

caused

whom

gallows

That decided enemy of his

to

before

he breathed

attend

all

the

How

of

the

the

office

city

of

Jew of whom he
him feel his power
upon him he should
that

could he look after that in

to

when they

say

stable

meet him

boy

security

which

possessed

to

and what

see

such a

Haman's soul

how low he sunk when he heard

While he dreams

king.
ego''

let

breath,

last

he should happen

if

people

That

Haman
man as
and

It is necessary to realize the vanity, intoxication,

false

see

his

over the city

invested with

this

he just now was about to hang on the

make an example, and

Mordecai's face,

entire pressure of his humiliation.

in

order

these words of

of the glory of

of the king, he all of a sudden

process

he

command
But who else ?

Mordecai,

was going

whom

cannot

heart,

which
!

but

words

his

of

Impossible

upon the man

attend

to

bottom

the

describe the galling annoyance

that

of the

his shame.

is

he thought that these great dignities concerned him-

self, it

will

honour

this

is

becoming an

made

to

to

the

'^

alter

feel

the

If the whole psychological

which was going on in the

vain

man's

mind

is

202

BOOK OF ESTHER.
one would find that the judgment

considered,

Haman

of

has no parallel in the whole history of the world, nor has

there been a humiliation of a statesman or any other great

man

like

Many

his.

conceited

Ministers

been sternly rebuked and dismissed.

of

State

The Persian

who made another run

Gaznas,

by

like a slave

history

Mahmud

an example in the case of a vassal of

offers

have

his

of

horse,

and soon afterwards had

liimself to run in like manner

him whom he had humiliated, and to
the prison which he had built for him (Malcolm,

by the horse
live in
Gesch.

of

Per8.

V.

Haman

He

vanity.

he was,
spite

before

feet

of

he

same time wounded

at the

was an

him whose deadly enemy

man who was

piety and fidelity,

of his

of his fall

from the enormous height of his

fell

at the

fell

and

He was

But the ground

204).

i.

external one.

innocent,

so

whom,

in

persecuted.

cruelly

in his pride

and in

his

One must indeed be like Haman, a willing

Persian courtier, now as abjectly slavish as before he was
conscience.

wicked, in order to endure the humiliation that he had to

undergo.

Whilst he apparently showed unconcern in the matter,

and

acted

as

he

if

nothing

felt

amiss,

and

left

the

king as an obedient and zealous servant to discharge his

duty with regard to Mordecai, his

cowardice

was greater

One can sufficiently realize the scene

which took place when he met Mordecai at the gate of the
king.
Mordecai must have for a moment imagined himself
to be like that Hassan in the fable whom Harun Ar-rashid

than his vexation.

in

his

brought
"

into

the

in

the gaudy dress

magnificent

His mouth must have been

that
of

dreameth

his

heart

of victory.

of the
"

arrayed

sleep

"

1).

of a caliph, and
of

the

palace.

with laughter, as one

filled

But the uppermost

feeling

must have been that of praise rather than

He

Psalmist,

The Lord

(Ps. cxxvi.

apartments

then learned a fresh meaning in the words

"The Lord

releaseth

the

alone

doeth great wonders;"

prisoners."

For in what

other

CHAP.

mood

203

\1. 10.

could a believer in the living

God

and truth

of love

express his astonishment at seeiug the author of

name

against his people coming in the

fasting

the king to be

of

he and his people are

his servant, whilst

still

mourning and

His heart must, of course, have palpitated when

he heard that Haman, his implacable enemy,

him

riding through

time the

full

God

will

surely not

them

in a marvellous way.

to

lead

vizier

is

but he realized at the same

assurance of hope, that

When Haman

is

The proud

the royal town.

be his herald and slave

to

enmity

all

this

if

can happen,

His people, but will redeem

forsake

afterwards lost his

on the gallows, his

life

death-agonies were nothing in comparison to the humiliation

he

undergone when

had

he humbly begged

permit him to wait upon him.

when he was
a Jew.

The agony was great enough

and in

obliged to decorate another,

But

it

Mordecai to

this case

was quite unendurable when he remem-

bered that everybody

knew how he hated Mordecai

him

the latter had not paid the slightest respect to

above

all,

would

by

his

that

and,

that Mordecai was aware of his wicked plan, and

own

Haman

overthrow.

rejoice at its

of God, as

He

standard.

He

judged every

man

could not appreciate a servant

Shimei could not appreciate David in humiliation.

therefore suffered, not

only in reflecting upon his

own

miserable condition, but also in pondering upon the achieved

triumph of Mordecai.

It

would be worthy of the pencil of

the greatest artist to picture the two faces as they stand

That of Haman, who, in spite of the

opposite each other.

enormous internal vexation which breaks his

externally
of

and

courtly,

Mordecai,
tears

and

complacent,

careless,

much

solemn, emaciated by

and yet with a halo about

it,

heart,

and

looks
that

fasting, prayers,

arising not

from

joy over another man's misfortune, but from a heart attuned

to gratitude

to

God.

His eyes

Haman, but towards heaven.

are

"I

not

will

unto the mountains, from whence cometh

directed towards

lift

my

up mine eyes
help."

204

BOOK OF ESTHER.

N"ow the king looks intently upon Hamaii to see what

words would make upon him

his

effect

"As thou

the order twice,

he therefore repeats

hast said," and, " Let nothing

Horace, while in his

of all that thou hast spoken."

satire narrating the parable of Tantalus, uses the

sentence

"

Mutato nomine, de

non narratur."

There

is

well-known

te fabula narratur."

of irony pervades the words of the king

Do

fail
first

not

err, "

tone

de te

no thought of thee, but carry every-

thing out as thou hast said.

We

a grand

find

in

antithesis

parable

the

[N'athan

of

As if Nathan had asked What shall be done

David's anger is kindled
to the man who has done this ?
"
against the man, and he says, The man that has done this
shall surely die "
And Nathan says " Thou art the man."
Thou hast pronounced thine own sentence. But here is David,
before David.

a penitent sinner, seeing in the parable of Nathan a picture

of himself,

and soon applying

to himself;

it

and the judge

is

not Ahhashverosh, but the living God.

The explanations given

more

of

a triumphant

to this passage

than of an exegetical character, as

might be expected from them, when

brought

it

later similar experiences

The reader

vividly to their remembrance.

when he comes

synagogue,

by the Eabbis are

in the

to this passage, raises his voice as

if

momentarily triumphant; but these are notions suitable

to

them, and not in accord with the spirit of the ancient

Old Testament.

witnesses in the

borrowed from Oriental

as putting

his

mounted the
Gemdldesaal,

was much

foot

It

Such

45), but

is

when they

upon the neck

horse.
v.

life

things

of

certainly an idea

represent Mordecai

Haman when

occur

the humiliation of

(see

he

Hammer,

Haman's soul

greater.

Ver. 11. "

And

caused

him

to

ride through the street of

ihe city."

Eelihob (nim),

had a

free

street, is

space

for

an open space.

riding and

The Oriental towns

racing, something

like

CHAP.

hippodrome, which

Upon

Atmeidan

called

is

205

YI. 12.

Constantinople.

in

the open space where equestrians and equipages appeared,

Haman was
mean

lead Mordecai in procession.

to

way

the principal street, the broad

He was

city.

to display

him

may

It

also

leading through the

number and

before the greatest

the most prominent of the people.^

Yer. 12. "

And

Mordecai came again

to the king's gate!'

The pious man was not changed by the honour shown to

him he did not esteem himself the better for it. In his
;

view things were as

Whether

his life

He

inquire.

to

is

before.

now

w^as

The people were

still

in danger.

secure, this did not enter his

sufficiently

conversant with

mind

Persian

customs to knovv that this incident had in no way changed

the situation of his people, and that what had
ferred

upon him was only a

self-glorification

of

been

con-

the

king

So long as the decree which threatened destruction to

himself.

was not revoked, there could be no

his people

resumed

now

his place in sackcloth

and

He, who had just

ashes.

But how much happier was he in

who

hurried

an ^nx,

" a

is

who saw him

now seen sitting

and covered with the mourner's garment.

at the royal gate,

one

So he

the envy of all the spectators

attracted

wearing the king's crown upon his head,

as

Yet

progress.

he was sure that God would wonderfully send help.

mourning than the

his

home with bated breath

Haman looks now
who had just returned from the
!

mourner,"

burial of his beloved, for he comes back from the grave of

his insolent pride.

How

provoking to him was the ride of Mordecai through

the city
king's

while the people hailed him

life,

he

is

who had saved

Mordecai in envied array looks down upon him.

^

The

story of the Princess Hind,

Hedshadsh by causing him

cession, is a
life

the

laughed at and mocked by everybody, and

who avenged

He must

herself on the cruel

to hold the bridle of her

camel in her proromantic contrast to the above, and taken from later Arabian

(See Roseiiol,

ii.

33).

206

BOOK OF ESTHER.

hold his tongue, and hold the horse by the bridle, and perhaps

be kicked by

At length the

it.

hurriedly (f)m3, " impelled

ride is over

he went home

crushed (which

"),

properly the

is

sense of hm, mourning), and having his head covered, as one

that

ashamed

is

his family

How

to be seen

and recognised, and he related

was the scene

different

described in chap. v. 1 1

At

house from

that

in

that time he

was

how

one anxious thought troubled him,

obnoxious Mordecai

who

realized shame, vexation,

at the gate,

sat

put Mordecai out of the way

alive,

but

and only

get rid of the

now he

but

and disappointment, which

Then

balanced his former enjoyments.

still

to

it

fully

far over-

appeared so easy

now he

but

that

inflated with

recounting his successes, his influence, his favours,

to

to

what had happened.

not only

is

recognised and registered as a benefactor

is

of the king,

and who had triumphed over him in the pre-

sence of

the inhabitants of the city.

all

of his family

hung down

their heads.

members

All the

was an unheard-of

It

disaster.

Ver. 13. " Then said his

unto him, If Mordecai, before

of the Jews,"

be

How much

men and Zeresh his

whom thou hast begun to

wife

luise

fall,

etc.

worldly wisdom and admonition does this verse

contain, especially

when we compare

with chap.

it

14

v.

On

the former occasion of the party gathering, Zeresh was

the

first

decai,

boldly to advise the immediate execution of

" adherents "

and the

was said of the wise men.

Zeresh

is

speakers.
it is

in

the

Among

only chimed

in,

But now the adherents

background, and the wise

a class of

men

Mor-

while nothing
are silent,

men

are

the

such as are gathered here,

not principle or conscience which decides a point, but

the measure of

its success.

When Haman was successful, every-

thing that he did was considered wise by them, but

have not even a word

instigated him,

of comfort for him.

now they blame

him.

now they

At that time they

Did they not then

CHAP.

know
told

that Mordecai was a

them

time

so

What

their advice

by

Now

Why

Jew

Had

they act as

it

expressly

for the

first

Haman's disgrace but

of

did not they then moderate his temper

mind Mordecai,

saying, " N'ever

Haman

not

they hear

if

was the cause

else

207

VI. 13.

let

him

Had

urged him on to hang him at once.

sit,"

this not

but they

been done,

the present occurrence would not have turned out so badly

for

He would

Haman.

not have been present on that morn-

Another person would have had to

ing at the palace.

But

charge the irksome business.

liis

friends take

We

before.

result

notice, they again pretend to

be, "

And Haman

fire

is

Why

hast thou begun with that fellow

of

his

and

false

self

righteous friends.

the expression VD3n, " his wise men."

in itself to indicate the irony of the narrator.

before

They ought

Of what

contains

Haman's whole

of the "

an

also

ing to Parseeism,

instructive

we have

" wise

times
office

who

men,"

one, belong-

already attempted to show above.

are sometimes called D''i3n

like

the

priests

of

But

their

wisdom consisted

Only just now they

results.

office

by

and some-

Egypt, to whose

we have seen

belonged divination and astrology, as

above.

men

That

significance.

quasi-spiritual

This accounts for his being surrounded in his high

other such Magi,

seems

announcement to him now ?

Hhahhamim," who were with

was a

position

It

Fine wise

have given him better advice

to

avail is the

But the mentioning

Haman,

"
?

in that evil state of falling out of the frying-

is

pan into the

were these

be wise as

could have told thee at once, they say, what the

would

Kemarkable

any

dis-

of this neither his wife nor

in their superstition in

find a reason for their

ominous

prophecy.

But what causes them

fallen before Mordecai,

to declare that because

he will always continue

Haman

to fall

has

The

misfortune which has befallen him appears to them as a bad

omen.

The Jews, thought

they, are his enemies

undertaken a dreadful work against them

succeed or not, no one can

tell.

But now

whether

he has
it

will

this misfortune

208
lias

BOOK OF ESTHEK.
happened

must go on

stition, it
is

Jew

Haman.

to

and

he

if

If

in -the

is

begins

it

same way

so, propliesies

super-

Mordecai

to the end.

unfortunate with him as an individual,

a sure prognostication that he will be equally and more,

it is

The conclusion they

so in his attempt against all the Jews.

come

to is not

with regard to the Jews ^er

far as the experience in the case of the

decai leads

them

what

infer

to

regard to the whole nation.

When

is

Jew Mor-

individual

be Haman's fate with

will

This

but only in so

se,

pure belief in fetishism.

Indians have to remove a heap of

stones, if before

they proceed to the task they are hurt by one stone, they

and abstain from the work altogether.

will leave the stone

Of the high morality, according to which Haman as an

intriguing traitor and murderer must fall, they were not in
Superstition, of course, has not seldom

the least conscious.

carnal forebodings that are fulfilled

the

God

of Israel

and truth are His

ally unto those

them over

is

who

trust

in

them unto men,

Him

that

fact,

judgment had come.

fell

fall

the

first

because

Universal history bears

The saying

blessing to the persecutors.

especi-

will not give

but he began to

fall,

testimony that persecutions of believers

Haman

He

Not because Haman

to destruction.

of

In

spirit.

a living God, who, because righteousness

attributes, reveals

time he will continue to

the time

in the

never

brought a

of the wise

men

of

has an important comforting truth far above their

knowledge and understanding

carnal sense in which the

only not in the national and

Jews understood

it,

but

in the

extensive sense that "Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake

heaven

"

(Matt. v. 1 0).

No

persecutes innocent witnesses

for theirs is

the kingdom of

one will prosper

of

never been wanting, but they have

the

truth.

who wantonly
Hamans have

all fallen.

Ver. 14. " WJiile they were yet talking with him, came
the king's chamberlains"

Behold, their gloomy conversation

is

yet dispelled for a

CHAP.

while by a ray from the sun.

the house, and bring a

new

200

vi. 14.

Eoyal messengers yet come

to

Ham an

iu

invitation to

haste to the queen's banquet.

He

royal retinue through the city to the palace.

see that there is not yet an
for the last time.

lay beneath
securely.

it.

It

end of Haman.

was but a deceiving

He was

to

come

accompanied by a

still

is

Mordecai may

But he saw him

lustre.

fetched in order to

Destruction

be held more

Probably Esther had heard what had happened to

him, and feared he might not come.

morning encourages her

What

for the act at noon.

(QTiy) speaking of the misfortune

when

consequence of which he so shamefully

took place in the

They were

still

the message arrived, in

fell,

to rise

no more.

CHAPTER VIL
Ver.

We

1.

"So

the

but this repetition

wants

king and

Haman

to

is

for a

will be decisive of

The

lost too.

life
;

to ascertain

she

then she

fails,

invitation to the second banquet

is

not in
tries

whether the kindly disposition which he has

He

she was not disappointed.

time, to express her wish, whatever

now with

had

also during the interval received

continues.

still

asked her, as at the

it

her

ment.

and

If she

or death.^

if

shown towards her on the former occasion

It

Esther

Observing the changeable mood of the tyrant, she

vain.

And

v. 5,

at the table with the king

succeeds, then her people are saved

first

to hanqicet," etc.

very significant reason.

make an experiment

Haman, which
is

came

have here a repetition of what was told in chap.

might

He

be.

But she

the same tenderness as he did then.

Haman's humiliation had

was now known that

unassailable after

all.

first

treated

some tokens of encourage-

in the

meantime taken

his position with the king

place.

was not so

Esther had seen that Ahhashverosh

himself had really no antipathy against the Jews, otherwise

how

could

he

have

conferred

Mordecai, and that through the

now

clear

against the

to

such

medium

high
of

It

her that every persecution that was

Jews was only an

the king, properly speaking,

intrigue of

knew

Haman,

nothing.

upon

honour

Haman

All

was

started
of

which

this

was

revealed by the wonderful night in which the king could not

Araestris, the wife of Xerxes, asked for similar permission to

herself against the wife of Masistes at a banquet

avenge
but that banquet was

another kind, and that petition was influenced by different motives.

Herod, ix. 110.
2W

,of

CHAP.
sleep.

Esther

saw in

VII. 3,

hand

this the

211

4.

of her God, stretched

out to render assistance in the time of need, and she was

by new courage.

inspired

Ver. 3. " Then, Esther the queen answered.''

Her
if

reply shows a decided and determined tone,

"

Now,

thou art fully in earnest with thy kindness, and thou really

me

wishest to show

know

a favour,

my

desire for playthings,

my

that

heart has no

petition does not crave for female

pleasures, I do not ask for

money

or for dress,

have no

court intrigues and eunuch stories to speak of with thee, but

of a matter

upon whose

and destruction.

Thou

issue depends life or death,

expectest,

and amusement

shall supply thee with pleasure

of such

and

petition before thee

me

promised

wishes

which will cause thee pain.

to grant

my

petition

me

all at

the

of

life

her

which

must speak

Thou

it ?

he cherishes and loves

are dumb-struck

The

and trembling.

But thou hast

my

life,

which

The king

Who

fulfil

The royal

people."

listens,

Esther begs for her

besides himself can threaten

whom

my

but I bring a

willingness to

once a tragical scene.

astounded, and becomes excited

Who

then spare

Thou hast expressed a

then give

becomes

feast

to be merry,

art desirous

I fear is at stake.

is

shame

things as will excite thee to the uttermost.

sittest at table

my

king, a petition

life.

dares to threaten

All in the dining-hall

king's

brow

is

clouded

while Esther with her calm and plaintive eloquence, which the
occasion and the subject have inspired, looks handsomer and

more

dignified than before.

The

force of her tremulous voice

the author portrays in reproducing her speech in an abrupt

It should

form.

king,

sight,

have been,

and

{^rb^"^ riN T\rh), let

puts

life

if it

my

" If I

have found favour in thy

please the king to grant

life,"

etc.

my

request

but she in her excitement

before petition, and people before request.

Ver. 4. " For we are soldJ*

" There

was a bargain made about

us,

and that

for

the

212

BOOK OF ESTHER.

purpose of our being destroyed,

The

and annihilated."

slain,

words ^2vh ^nnh T'O^rh do not exactly represent a climax,

but show that Esther chose the strongest words she could

which

find with

to express the fate of her people.

by removing a thing out

destroy,

perish by

plucking

of sight

out by the root, and

it

word

slaughter, therefore the

to

by

that, too,

But notwith-

added.

^Tirh is

n^tJ^,

nnx, to let a thing

standing Esther's excited feelings, which were natural to her

under the circumstances, we must not overlook the

made

she

and ordered her language accordingly.

whom
:

She does not say

" I

and

my

man, whose will

She places herself in the

is

There

mere plea on the point

Here the

For she has

people."

is

nothing to be gained by a

is

reminded of

too despicable to him.

moment she was more

was

offers

now

sold,

whom

his

name

own deed
him than

the king loves so

her half of his empire

at the table fascinates

her, for

and the Jews are

that she

was

more than

for at this

a whole people

much

that

whose beauty just

This

what she

is

" I

emphasizes, and whereby she seeks to win the tyrant.

my

people," she says.

its

force from the insertion of the personal pronoun.

The impression

that he generously

sold,

ever.

to

the sold people,

So she mentions herself first,

valuable to

by

possessing

and she must take care not

Therefore she does not even

perhaps he

fancy of

She must not say that he has sold

has done must be well

assail hi7n.

she

fickle

of justice involved in the question.

representations which might flatter his

do with a

to

and

heart, the vain heart, is required to be inflamed

unlimited power.
Jie

front,

to

the

governed and determined by his momentary

passion and humour.

what

name

she and her people were sold, nor does she

people that were sold.

says

fact that

a masterly calculation of the nature of her husband,

and

of the speech gains all

The

people do not suffer for her sake, nor she for the people's
sake.

She who belongs

sold.

Who

can dare to

and

to the king,
sell

his wife

whom

kingdom,

if

loves, is

much

He

wants

as to estimate the value of the person he loves

to give her half of his

he

Yea, even so
!

she desires it; and she

CHAP.

VII.

begs liim with bitter tears to

which she

"

is sold.

the term city (urhs)

save her from the

sold "

To be

applicable only to slaves.

213

4.

death to

was, besides, an expression

Quintilian says

1)

(viii.

"As under

understood Eome, so by the term

is

When

venales are understood slaves."

Eoxolana got

to

be

the favourite of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman, she was re-

by her envious

proached
" sold

sultan, as
''

sold

and

an excuse

flesh "

she

(Hammer,

considered

Gesch.

unworthy

herself

osrnan. Reiclies,

cles

But if we had

been sold for

This turn in Esther's plea

One cannot

pressive.

for as

do

to

so

is

728).

iii.

hondmen and bondwomen."

more beautiful and im-

still

represent in a few words the whole of

" If

the rare position of a Persian shah.

"

further," she says,

lives

before the

no longer approaching him,

for

contributed to her complete victory over her rival

this

"

with being came venduta,

rival

Eoxolana then called herself so

flesh."

it

were nothing

but that we had been sold as slaves, our

would then be spared, and we could entertain the hope

of eventually regaining our liberty,

not trouble thee so much.

while to disturb thee just

in that case I should

would not have been worth

It

now and

spoil

For

thy appetite."

these pregnant words, although the adversary could not have

compensated the king's damage, i?Dn

"for our affliction

E. V.
king's

damage

True, 1^

"),

"

means

" tribulation," "

article points

is

pTJ3

nitJ'

enemy," but in the abstract also "

misfortune

to the

and even

"

enemy,

still

upon the

form, rather

adversary

" is

word

if it

nvn, therefore,

done to

Israel.

(or

""a

it

a parti-

it is

For
first,

the mischief would

were only to end in slavery.

means the

Esther's

that the

must be conceded that

act of the enemy.

but

distress,"

if it is insisted

no other in the second than in the

always the same Haman,

another character

pfc<

are calculated to flatter the Persian tyrant.

the emphasis cannot be on the person, but, as

cipial

i^n

not to be compared with the

evil

meaning

is

which the

evil

as follows

"

" the

it is

be

of

The

one has

The enemy,

214

BOOK OF ESTHER.

or the enmity,

threatens such things to us, uould not

it

if

sufficient value (p)^

have been considered of

the king

in fact,

True, indeed, that pn has the meaning

{i^Kin pl^2)."

may

of damage, and
is

to disturb

pt?)

radically be

used in Ezra

compared with

13) to denote the

(iv.

nocere

and,

damage done

And

the revenue, and other acts of enmity to the king.

to

yet

it

cannot be here, as some have supposed, that Esther meant

to

convey to the king that she and her people would rather

suffer slavery

than cause him any pecuniary damage

for in

both cases, whether they were sold to be killed or into slavery,

But

pecuniary damage must ensue.

in the flattering language

of the etiquette of the Persian court,

was tantamount

to

damage

the king

disturb

to

When

or injure the king.

the

king was disturbed in the enjoyment of his dinner by being

judgment upon sad

called to pass

was considered

cases, it

an injury done

to him.

because her

and the existence of her people are at

life

Esther nevertheless does

She would have rather gone into slavery than

upon the joyous hours

She

otherwise.

planation

is

of the

king.

compelled to speak

1850,

cast a

With

out.

One reading

p. 29).

indeed remarkable

is

gloom

this

act

ex-

by Ibn

Zedner, London

of this passage in the

ov yap a^LO<; 6 Bcd^oXo^

ySao-tXeo)?, for avXtj certainly

the king, but

(ed.

only

stake.

But she cannot

agrees that of an African Eabbi, quoted

Ezra in his commentary on this book

it

as

7%

LXX.

is

av\7]<; rov

mean here the court of

the Hebrew si^iy, viz. " the

does not

a Greek form of

injustice," " the evil deed," against the king.

Yer.

5.

The words
impression.

"

Then spake

They were

so forcible

She spoke from the depth

cretion.

the hing."

of Esther could not fail to produce the desired

Her high

of her heart,

full

of good sense.

and yet with

full dis-

position as the beloved wife of the king,

her beautiful appearance,

rending plea, her bitter

cause, called forth

and so

her graceful manners, her heart-

tears, and above all the justice of her

sympathy mingled with indignation from

CHAP.

every impartial heart

kindled, seeing she

VII.

215

5.

and the king's wrath was specially

had touched the

delicate

spring of his

He had

For he knew of nothing.

immeasurable vanity.

made

long ago forgotten the thoughtless grant that he had

Haman

moods, and

in one of his capricious

memory

if

to

still

served him, he was quite certain that the sale of the queen

formed no item in the contract, and that her name was not

And now

even mentioned on that occasion.

whole scheme was

Undoubtedly
but
her

to

disobedience,

sentenced

some extent brought

his wife

not present

somebody, without

death,

to

One

loving.

he was

and

upon

it

who

his wife

sees in these

his

is he,

and where

dom

does the

man

is

he

who

live

towards me, whose heart

who

"

is

"

And

Queen Esther."

(i^in.)

he

Where

in

There

my

is

king-

has the audacity to act thus

is full, i.e.

such impudence as to do so

and so

id5<''1,

This question expresses his burning indignation.

some one who dares that

sells

words that the narrator describes

the king Ahhashverosh spake and said to

Who

by

for his rash

so obedient

is

fall,

herself

knowledge,

the king's anger, in that he repeats the word

"

of her.

when she was

and yet how sorry he afterwards was

But now

deed.

him

was an intrigue which caused Yashti's

it

had

she

he sees that the

after all designed to deprive

whose heart

is filled

The LXX. pretty nearly

with

repro-

duces the sense by iroXfiriae, " that durst presume " to do

so.

who had the haughtiness," etc.

it freely,
Targum exaggerates his excitement still more, by
representing him as saying, " Who is the audacious, the
Esther,
criminal, the rebel, who ventures to do this ? "
"

Arnheim renders

The

first

impelled by the trouble of her heart, and noticing that the

king was inclined to

do her

justice,

gains confidence, and

without regarding the presence of him

whom

it

concerns,

freely speaks her mind.

1

[A speech like that in the

% "Trans.]

thine heart

K T. Acts

v. 3,

"Why

hath Satan

filled

BOOK OF ESTHER.

21
Ver.

''An adversary and an enemy, ^ even

6.

this wiclced

Haman."
"

whom

That one after

thou inquirest, the oppressor and

me and my

enemy, the one who wants to murder

me now,

who

has sold

lifts

her finger and points to her guest,

.^ot far from here

side^^that

man

dramatic

scene

there

we need

Haman

beyond

that

him

is this

he

the king looked

he

is

at our
It is a

"

How

should

Had he known

The

impossible.

when he was

'

sits

he

it,

To defend

different measures.

faces of both, of

He knew

the king and of the queen, deterred him.

how

Haman's blood runs

anticipated.

he know that Esther was a Jewess

now he knew was

Haman

wicked one

comparison.

would have adopted quite

himself

not seek

Such a storm he had never

cold.

people,

with flashing eye and angry mien she

well

angry.

The Oriental legends frequently describe the dreadful look

which Harun-Arrashid assumed when he detected a piece
legends, did not
like

one

make the slightest movement. He was quite

Harun assumed all at once such a dreadful

petrified.

up

tone, that the unfortunate prince gave

much on

his throne not so

account of obedience, but on account of the terror

which overwhelmed him.

benumbed.^
figuratively

Yer.

Dvni,

and

7. "

he give

blind wrath

The

from nyn,

really

And

The king was

less did

surprise

become

to

made him

stiff

(fyo/Selv.

king arose in his wrath"

the

so angry that he did not speak a word, still

Haman

the opportunity to speak.

generally follows

make superabundant
*

and

" alarmed," " terrified,"

tyrannical

Excessive

conceit.

same proportion in which Oriental tyranny permits

n''1X

of

Abdolmelik, king of Damascus, says one of these

roguery.

The observation
a hidden enemy,

grants,

is

of Ibn Ezra, that

is

at

any

its

")V

blind

In

the

itself to

wrath when

its

means an open enemy and

where Esther uses

rate not confirmed here,

both expressions to heighten her hatred.

2 See The Thousand and One Nights, ed. Leipzig 1790,

i.

124 and 407.

CHAP.

full

against
or

it

offended.

The Oriental legendary world

pure downright passion, which,

is

whomsoever

not,

may

it

be directed, whether he deserves

thought to be so natural, that

is

mind an adornment

Oriental

the

217

7.

of representations of

infatuated vanity
is

VII.

quality of

of the

passion

relentless

is

to the

most ideal king.

Upon

are

it

founded the Eastern

novels and stories about various catastrophes, and sons and

wives and viziers are

Haman

its

That which

habitual victims.

befell

here was experienced by Hikar, the most virtuous of

as is told in a very instructive Arabic narrative.

all viziers,

knows usually how

Intrigue

to excite jealousy

and anger, and

an investigation concerning the right or wrong of the accused

is

considered unnecessary.
non, "heated

glowing

of

fury."

The king became hot on account

excitement.

Eosenmtiller

has

collected

examples to show that when an Oriental king

from the
the

cause

The sense
as the

then there

table,

of
is

no mercy

is

{Morgenland zu

it

Buch

for

rises

some
angry

him who was

Esther,

No.

718).

that the king withdraws his favour from him,

sun departs.

His going away means the

same

as

the vanishing of the sun, the cessation of the light of mercy

and

of

The royal dining-hall was

life.

went

of the palace, whither the king

close to the garden

as a sign of his being

angry, and to cool himself.^

" And Haman stood up to make request for his life."

Haman read his fall in the face and in the movements

But

the king.

he

is

as

of

he was haughty when prosperous, so now

without manliness in ruin.

before his accuser to beg for

life.

He falls upon his knees

He is not ashamed to

ask mercy of her whose people he wanted to kill without

mercy.

He

lies

at her feet, to

whom

he owes his sudden

^ Not like Sulpicius Severus, of whom we read (Hist. Sacra, ii. Ill):
Remembering the enemy, he delayed a little. And in order somewhat
to deliberate {deliberandique gratia modicum secessit), he turned aside."
This is not the manner of an Oriental prince. The going away was a

"

sign of anger.

218

BOOK OF ESTHEE.

He

crushing defeat, crying and sobbing for help.

her to save him,

know

no reference to

But how could

her.

when

with

the

any and everybody

And

so

this plea

move

Esther's

made were

he

her

cringes before

who do

after the

not mind besfgins: from

they think they will get what they

if

They do not

respect.

and

But seeing that she alone has

king,

of knavish cowards,

want.

traitor

the efforts she had thus far

all

of her people

behalf

influence

manner

him a

called

that she was a Jewess, and that his proposal had

compassion,
in

now

just

Of course he could have said that he did not

an enemy.
then

who had

beseeches

for they

blush,

Haman

lies

are destitute of self-

prostrate before Esther's feet

crying for mercy, and not minding the contemptuous and

wrathful glance which she deigns to cast upon him.

Esther

would not and could not

forgive him.
To speak a good word
him now, if she were disposed to do so, would be to
undo the whole work that she has done. The angry king

for

feels

Who

himself deeply offended.

While he

king

the

sits,

him

finds

should

now

save

Haman

kneeling near the divan upon which Esther

is still

returns

from

in this posture.

walk in the garden and

his

It is

quite true

what Plutarch

{Themist. 26) tells of the jealousy of the Persian kings with

regard to their wives, but the words which the king addresses

Haman,

to

house

"

"

Will he even force ^ the queen before

me

do not contain jealousy, which would be absurd, but

biting irony.

It cannot be

seekest from her

whom

mercy, thinks the king, that thou

thou

hast

so atrociously offended

thou canst have no hope that she would forgive thee

may
^

be that thou art so audacious as to lay hold of

tJ>33.

in the

LXX.

fiioi^siVj

in the well-known sense.

word by " subagitare"

word

my

so

it

wife

Clericus has translated

more used by the

Latins in this sense than " subigere," especially in the popular language of

this classical

for this

is still

Old Meissner (p. 112)

iii. 3, 6, etc.).
has not understood the irony, for only in ironical bitterness has the
exclamation any sense. The same was the case with Vorstius, who, for
this reason, rendered the expression of Sulpicius Severus by " ajp'petitam"
which is a weak emendation (p. 203).
the comedians (comp. Terent. Heaut.

CHAP.

219

7.

He

manner!

in an unwarrantable

that could be so bold as

my own

to devise a plan for killing

my

VII.

who

wife,

could abuse

confidence in order to betray the love of the king, such a

man

is

quite capable of

my

queen in

presence

making an indecent

the sentence of death for

the

king,

who

Haman.

upon the

assault

words lay

In these awful ironical

They manifest the fury of

Haman was

does not stop to consider that

unaware of the origin of Esther, nor does he think of the

people whose lives were at stake, but only of the audacity

which could make

irony contained an accusation against

itself

enough

The covering

was covered.

arose from the idea that he

is

this

Haman, which was

to procure the forfeiture of his

in

Therefore

life.

when Haman's

scarcely had the words escaped the king's lips

face

And

an object of hatred.

his wife

of a criminal

of the face

henceforth no more worthy to

That

behold the light of which the king was an emblem.

with which he was previously only threatened when the king

went out

made

to the garden,

when

no more.

He

see the sun.

is

he
he must

the sun departed,

to realize after the king's return,

is

in itself defilement like death.-^

own

being covered

Mourners do

by another.

because they feel as

if

different

face is

under judgment

compulsorily covered,

it

is

first

need

it.

do not want to see the

The explanation

to cover a man's face

To

this effect the

who

reports

The

of

when

when

a sign to

Ibn Ezra, that

of Curtius is

Philotas

its

the faces

them

of

condemned.

are

the second no longer

who had provoked

reference

that

light,

The

from

spontaneously,

it

but

judgment, to intimate to them that they

The

now

a guilty criminal, and has no more right to

Guilt

voluntary covering of one's

of others are

is

see the sun

it

was customary

the king,
also

is correct.

happy

one,

was seized by order

of

This brings painful recollections

my dear departed
wife.
In a story of Lubeck, the dying monks are said to have been seen
in the monastery in a time of cholera with covered faces, as if they were
already prepared for burial (see Deecke, Liibische Geschichten und Sageu,
^

to

me

p. 120).

faces of the

of the time

dead are covered.

when

had

to cover the face of

220

BOOK OF ESTHER.

Alexander, he was brought with covered face to the place of

the king (velato

this

are

m^

while his hands

amiculo),

{ohsoleto

We

was done with an old

ad regiam)

capite

even informed further that

22.

(vi.

8).

were tied to his back.

Therefore Cicero rightly ascribes the origin of the formula,

"Lictor, tie

hands,

his

cover

Tarquinius (superbissimi

to

Rahirio, p. 3,

In

fact, as

already

face,

hang him on the

Eoman

kings, as he thinks

his

accursed tree," to the time of the

crudelissimi

et

Livius

26) informs

(i.

under

Tullus

us, this

Hostilius

account of the patriotic murder of his

for

{Pro Gajo

etc.).

applied

pleaded

regis)

him, saying,

"

punishment

w^as

Horatius,

on

to

sister.

His father

hands

which have

Should the

shortly before carried arms and obtained dominion

Eoman
this

people be tied

city be covered

So Horatius

"

with covered face under

beam

covering of the face signified his

This evidently was

practice

among

also

By

with covered heads.^

ledged and confessed

Eomans

did

this

to

"

We

i.e.

is

sentenced to pass

under a yoke.

The

ground

theological

in

the

pray, and to offer sacrifices

a sense of guilt wa^ acknow-

this,

and Plutarch's explanation, that the

humble themselves,

while other explanations are

rarely applicable.

to

as

of

guilt.^

the

Eomans

the

for the

Should the face of the liberator

flat

is

the

riojht

one,

and constrained, and only

Tertullian (Apolog. cap. 3 0) rightly says

pray with uncovered head, because we are not ashamed,"

Christians pray without fear, not as condemned, but as

reconciled,
also the

" for

meaning

love casteth out fear."

of the

words

Naturally this

of the apostle

when he

is

says

At all events, I believe that I have given to this remarkable passage

proper meaning. For it has been often quoted and misinterpreted
even by GottUng in Romische Staatsverfassung, p. 159.
* Comp. Brisson, de
formulis, i. 32, but the custom is not there explained.
When Suetonius ( Vitellius, cap. 2) reports that Vitellius, after his return
^

its

from Syria, adored the king " Velato capite," it was not necessarily an
Oriental practice, but rather the flatterer rendered homage to the emperor
in the same way as was done to the gods.

CHAP.

man should not have

covering may be, when he is
that a

fj

'X^ofievo^

was

VII.

his

221

7.

head covered, whatever the

praying or prophesying {irpoaev-

The doctrine

head.

7rpo^7]T6v(ov), for Christ is his

not, as Oosterzee thinks, against the

custom

but more particularly against that of the Jews.

the later Jews, as he says (on 1 Cor.

from time immemorial

practice, but it existed

Moses

of

The

apostles.

in the case

(as

contained at that

theological idea

time in the covering of the head during prayer

the use of the word

'Not only

107), had this

and especially at the time of Christ

at the bush),

and the

xi. 4, p.

Eomans,

of the

proved from

is

in connection wdth prayer,

5]t}y

which

the Psalmist employs to express " covering the face in sorrow,

The

affliction "

overwhelmed with

or being

(Ps. Ixxvii. 4, cvii. 5).

mourner was

act of covering of the face in the case of a

in itself not different from that of a suppliant.

feeling of repentance

presupposed to

way bemoan only one

in this

the

is

have

suppliants

covering which

read in

w^e

is

mourners, as

Levy thinks

prayer

to

1516,

not

covering/'

(Chcdd.

pat

it

became indispensable
so

much

so,

(pi''Dj;n)

(Targum on Song
"

He

and
p.

of

studied during

during

to

the

Venez.

God

night

Shabbath

wrapped himself up

in heaven

Solomon,
the

on the

so

that

far

every religious and spiritual

with

was pictured

garment
v.

10),

as white

and as

day the law

the

Mishna

and
"

it

the

as
is

[Comp. The Old Paths, by Dr. M'Caul,

p.

it

act,

as a

snow
added,

prophets,

(Eisenmenger,

%)}
1

to

210),

p.

ed.

in Tract

This practice went

that even

Eabbi covered

ii.

Agur,

only

not exclude the proper

on, covered himself,

and prayed."

(5|Dj;nD),

Worierhich,

Hence we read

covering of the head.

"He

"Every

this covering consisted in putting

Talith (praying garment), and did

IQa:

man

of

2 4^,

not

refers

it

(comp. Sefer

general

in

And

p. 4a).

whole relation

Moed Katan

not as the covering of Ishmaelites (pre-

is

Mohamedan)
but

object of temporal loss, while

view the

in

When

towards God.

In both the

The mourners

exist.

439. Trans.]

i.

222

BOOK OF ESTHER.

In the dreadful words which the king uttered to Haman,

the courtiers perceived

He was

the sentence

his

of

condemnation.

covered.

Ver.

When

"

9.

Then said Harlonali"

etc.

courtiers are unsuccessful, then all their glory is at

Former jealousy breaks now out

an end.^

Former cowardice gives place

to bold

open

in

hostility.

Haman's

accusation.

manner and conduct was of such a haughty character as to

Besides,

his friends at
of

the

him

in
of

The scene took place

all.

Harbonah was one

queen.

belonged to her party,

The word

remark.

who would

Harbonah may not have been one

preclude his making loyal friends

misfortune.

D^i

stick to

in the apartments

and now supports her victory by his

also is

explained by modern

tators (Bertheau

and Keil) in such a way as

Harbonah added

to

erroneous.

is

It is

most

to sell

And

act of treason.

He

But

this

of

the more, tliat he had

considered

it

Harbonah adds

so

said.

that he had sold her with her

the king

his wife.

commen-

imply that

to

The accusation

characteristic.

embittered

This

people.

presumed

what other eunuchs had

Haman was

Esther against

who

her eunuchs,

of

*'
:

as the highest
It

is

not

this

offence alone that he has committed, but he has also conspired

against the

life

of Mordecai,

who has saved

his majesty's

and who has just now been honoured by the

king.^

life,

Haman

was quite ready to execute him on the gallows fifty cubits

The word " also " (dj) refers then not to Harbonah's
high."

Haman's treachery against the king and

speech, but to
friends.

name

of

It is very curious

Jews

the people

is

passed over in silence.

who have been

all

It is not said tliat

sold are Jews, nor does

say, as it stands elsewhere, "

does not at

his

that, as in chap. iv. so here, the

Mordecai

the Jew."

Harbonah
For

matter to what nationality they belong

it
it

Comp. the history which Dio Cassius gives of Scrib. Procnlus, lix. 26.
" Harbonah also is to
[Therefore in the hturgy for Purim it is said
be remembered for good." Trans.]
^

CHAP.

is

VII.

223

9.

not a question about certain persons, but a royal question

which

Haman's

with here.

dealt

is

offence

consisted

in

this

wanting to slay the king's wife and the king's friends

The Midrash (Yalkut Shimeoni, n. 1059) has

Under Harbonah is to
a remarkable comment on this verse.
is

accentuated.

be understood the prophet Elijah,

Haman's

in order to effect

whom

adversary (Samael), of
will

at

by

be killed

last

his appearance

They thought that n:nin

Haman

derived from ann, " sword."

is

who assumed

death.

a type of Israel's

is

Jewish tradition says that he

In the same way, in

Elijah.

patristic writings, Elijah is represented as the great

opponent

of Antichrist at the last day (see the fragment attributed to

Lactantius in Baluzii MiscelL, ed. Mansi,

And

"

the king said

known

well

of death,

tree

hv inis

(i^yn

thereon"

The passage

body

hanged

is

among

to

Olbn) is

shall not

remain

God

accursed of

God

called o-Tavp6<;.

^
;

to

So narrates Ctesias, that

is

beam was usually

Haman had

shall refer to this again

Artayktes

is

iirl

used by Thucydides,

What

176).

reproduced in the Hebrew idiom by

is

hang," as the

expressly stated.

When

that thou

be hung, avearavpcoae

the same expression

expressed by avd

We

night

giveth thee for

dvearavpcoOr) (comp. "Biihr, zu Ctesiae Bell. p.

all

common mode of punishment

The Greek writers when they mention

had caused Inaros

TpKTL a-Tavpoh

a sin worthy

avaaravpoeLV, avaaravpovv.

king

nhn, " to

is

This was a

it.

The wood was

is

22

The condemned was drawn up upon a beam

the Persians.

it call it

xxi.

and thou hang him on a

not thy land which the Lord thy

and nailed

in Deut.

man have committed

to death,

his

n''i>ni),

an inheritance."

the

if

12).^

but thou shalt surely bury him the same day

tree,

he that

defile

And

"

and he be put

upon the
for

Hang him

means "to hang."

rhn

i.

one prepared

when we

punished we

consider the

high,
fifty

as is

number

read (Herod,

here

cubits high,

ix.

666.

20)

axvllet.

224

BOOK OF ESTHER.

condemned might be seen from a

in order that the

and

this fell

Haman's

upon

own

after the king

had taken the

When,

therefore, the

be no objection to
is

the

translation

objection
"

is

as

it

city,

Haman

also

call Christ a

" the

word

that they use the

and to Greeks

block,

the

feast

foundation,

suffering of Christ

they

therefore the

i.

of Purim,

also

But the

Jews a stumbling-

act contained

that

it

term of reproach,

as a

23).
to

When

represent

historical

may

although the suspicion in ancient times

ii.

there can

crucified."

crucified, to the

on the

^^hr\,

concerned, as

is

foolishness," etc. (1 Cor.

used,

as crucified,

without

von FranhreicJi,

the letter

of crucifixus,

But we preach Christ

the Jews

Jews

So,

he caused him to be hung

Gescliichte

far as

Henry V.

history.

in France, where the

the English prisoners.

all

on the same scaffold (Mensel,

455).

modern

Meaux

laid siege to

commander had hung

cruel

distance,

head.

fate has a parallel in

England had

of

his

truth,

not have been

mocked

thereby

Eoman emperors

the

issued in

as follows: " Judaeos

quodam festivitatis suae solemni Aman ad poenae quondam recordationem

incendere et sanctae crucis assimulatam speciem in contemtum

408 an

edict against

it,

Christianae fidei sacrilega mente exurere " (Cod. Theod.,

xvi.

8. 18).

tit.

The

lib.

allegory

occasion

is

which the Jews have in connection with

this

Targum

that

interesting.

It is told in the second

when Haman was about

to be

hanged

in the garden, he

complained to the trees that he was to be hanged on one of

them, and especially on one which was

fifty cubits high.

the vine, the Paradise-apple, the oak, and the

refused

So

pomegranate

out of pious motives to be used for that purpose.

The oak even averred that it could not have any one hung
upon itself, because it had served as a scaffold to Absalom,
the son of David.
order that he

Then the cedar came and

may have

homilies have taken

given

it

to the

away

the

offered itself, in

required height.

this

office

But

later

from the cedar, and

thorn bush, in order that

it

also

may

serve

CHAP.

should

upon another thorn."

lie

pared to thorns (MezahJi Aaron,

no doubt a hidden reference

ing to another allegory,

on which
himself,

purpose.

22^

"For equals meet

a purpose in God's creation.

tliornr

VII. 10.

p.

together, one

The wicked
There

47).

are com-

Accord-

to the thorns of Christ.

when Haman was

in this

is

looking for the tree

hang Mordecai, and on which he was hanged

to

he could find no other but the

In this

German

seen a

is

used as a Christmas tree

for

tree

fir

The

allegory.

the Jews called Christmas

which properly comes from natalis (festum natale)

admits a secondary meaning of " hanging

" (niri),

this

fir

is

i^tD^,^

but

it

by way of

polemical play upon words.

Ver. 1 0. " Then vms the king's wrath

The remark

is

'pacified!*

important for the statement that follows.

read:

"When

the wrath of the king Ahhashverosh was pacified, he

remem-

In chap.

ii.

1, after

bered Vashti

He was

"
!

this the following is

but Haman's
for

fate

Vashti was removed,

But now

sorry for her.

commentary

we

his

wrath

and

is

on

subdued;

caused him no sorrow, and this was fortunate

Esther and the Jews.

revoked, and was

order was

king's

not yet

impending over their heads, and

still

would not have been

The

difficult

who would have walked

to find

it

Haman

adherents of

The decision had

Haman. If his execution had
only been caused by the momentary anger of the king, the
only begun with the

Jews would

still

Esther depended

fall

in his footsteps.

of

have perished.

now on what

Their destiny and that of

the king was going to do after

he calmed down.
1 [This word is used by the Jerusalem Targum on Ex. xxx. 19
"Aaron
and his sons shall wash." When applied to Christmas, it must announce
to the Eabbis the glad tidings that Jesus came into the world to cleanse
and to save sinners. Trans.]
:

CHAPTER

VIII.

"On that day did the king Ahhashverosh give the

of Haman, the Jews' enemy, unto Esther the queen."

Ver.
house

What

1.

What his
And this

occurs numberless

here narrated

is

servants
also

is

The

kingdoms.

histories of Oriental

they

possess,

have

only through him.

some extent the case with

to

in the

times

will of the shah is law.

their

life.

When

they are to be punished their possession returns to

him.

The

fall of

man

what

the light of a war

so his house

is

Haman

is

always considered in

he possesses

is

spoil.

like

confiscated

when

the kinoj

Haman falls,
wills it.
When

Sultan Suleiman caused the mighty vizier of the Turkish

empire, his

own

brother-in-law, Ibrahim, to be strangled, he

confiscated all his property,

which was worth

millions.

And

when Shah Abbas ordered the execution of a certain

prominent man on account of his haughtiness, Chardin, who
informs us of it, adds " I do not now say that the king put
so

all his

property under seal, because I believe I have said

more than once, that the

ably follows the loss of
the sovereign."

confiscation of goods almost invarilife,

when

it is lost

The king Ahhashverosh

by the order

confiscates

of

Haman's

She and

Haman

house,

not for

carried

on war between them, and she had conquered through

himself,

but for Esther.

the favour of the king, therefore she receives the war booty.

"

And

He had

Mordecai came hefore the king"

not come before the

king when the king had

learned from the chronicle that he had saved his

he comes as Esther's uncle.

It

life.

Now

was now universally known

CHAP.

227

VIII. 2.

what nationality she belonged.

to

had therefore no

She

longer any cause to conceal the facts, that her connection with
the

Jew Mordecai was

had brought

of long standing, that he

her up, and that she had heard from him about the dangerous
condition of her people.

was a Jewess,

that she

but his

own

sultans).
tion, that

He

will

It

made no

It

was law

was enough

(as is the case

for

him

with

that Mordecai

took off his ring and gave

to

Ham an.

He

Oriental

it

to Mordecai, just

The persecutor

of the

as

had

(iniv)

The

and the persecuted came into power.

arbitrari-

monarch became the instrument

of retaliation.

who

read Oriental

This also will not be strange to those

In a story of the history of Harun Arrashid

history.

rela-

gave the property of the

defeated party to the conqueror.

fallen,

all

was her

she liked him, and that he had obtained his favour.

he did before

ness

difference to the king

for not the peculiarities of his subjects,

told that the governor of a prison

it

is

was once though innocent

punished by the governor of the State, and when his innocency

was proved, he was

set as inspector over his persecutor (ed.

Habicht,

Abbas ordered Murchidcalichan

killed

xiii.

20).

and made

his .^room,

who helped

governor of Herat in his place (Olearius in Meissner,

The change was

takes place in

to

p.

in itself radically not different from

modern

constitutional States.

change, but there a matter of

life.

is

114).

what

In the place of

Only

the outgoing minister comes the leader of the opposition.

here a matter of principle or ambition

be

in the execution,

involved in the

In Europe

it

came

to

be

a sign of the limited power of the monarch, while in the East

it

was a sign of the unlimited power

Ver.
It

2.

"And Esther

was given her

set

office.

Mordecai over the house of Haman''

as a present from the king, for she stood at

the head of those against

cannot be the

of the shah.

vizier,

whom Haman

conspired.

and so she nominates her uncle

Therefore she gives

him the house

of

But she
to the

Haman.

He

requires not only to have the ring, but also the property of

BOOK OF ESTHER.

228
Haman,

necessary

(Mordecai's)

his

to

Mordecai

Haman

same grandeur which

the

as

possessed

Esther

position.

from him.

for the love she liad received

is

rewards

She

is

not

only a zealous daughter of Israel, but has also a grateful heart.

Throufjh the education which she received from

him she was

become a queen, and therefore in return he must

qualified to

become her husband's

But, with all this, she had not

vizier.

which was

forgotten the higher motive

above personal

far

triumphs.
It

never

occurred

in

It

was not

for the sake

an exhibition

of

Now

authority.

of the

the death of

and done was not so much

the deliverance of Israel.

Haman

cruel decree

was

full force

though

was at an end.

own

Haman had

appeased him, and

But the queen could not yet be

For what she had dared

to

procure the

Haman,

of

fall

as

That Mordecai had the ring and

given to him could not satisfy her.

still

had

assailed

Jews that he had made such

with his condemnation.

the house of

latter

had

anger, but in vindication of his

his

he took no further trouble.

satisfied

all

there

that

The

that he

felt

and now he thought that

his sovereignty,

was not yet

all

He saw

his minister.

the king

disgrace, for

that

Haman.

of

was war between Esther and

fallen

king

the

to

finished with the hanging

impending over

Haman was

And

dead.

It

Israel.

The

was yet in

as long as this

was

not repealed, the triumph of Mordecai and herself could not be

complete.

Ver.

3.

"

And

Esthe7^ spake yet

again

'before the

hingy

She was not content with what she obtained in her

audience with the king at the banquet.
again

(pididi) to

She besought him

grant her a second audience.

And

well that this would be more difficult than the

very reason that the

first

was

so

successful.

she

first,

to another banquet.

by surprise again was impossible.

For

this

knew

for the

The means

which she on that occasion used could not be used

She could not invite

first

again.

To take the king

he had only given

CHAP.

her

one

The

opportunity.

229

VIII. 3.

personal

now

induced him to grant the former interview was

The entertainment

introduced into

is

they have had enough of

it

they soon think

The second appearance

it.

Esther before the king was therefore more

more doubtful

result than the

order that she

"

may

And

now

a weeping

knew

she

tears

more

But

time.

first

at that time she did

woman

cannot invite to a

And

Haman had

One does not

resist the

him even

anxious

(j?i),

viz.

now

she does not

personal

freedom

say, as

but

against the plan that threatens the

device

It is true that

she should be misunderstood as

for

may now undo

" the

arrow which he has thrown

And

poisonous.

one

devised against the Jews."

dead, but the

sold," lest

of the evil

But

feast.

so she beseeches

that he loved her.

weeping, that he, the gracious and powerful,

the evil (nyi)

tears."

regard and affection the king had for

beloved wife.

of a

now

also

exertions, in

She fell clown at his feet, and besought him with

know how much

lier.

conceal

impress the king.

She did not do so the

not

to

of

and of

difficult

She makes

first.

no pains

as the narrator takes

wanting.

becomes soon tedious when no

of tyrants

character of novelty

v/hich

consideration

she

Jews

is

still

before,
if

that

he

is

deadly

"we

are

she was only

entreats

his

in general.

help

This

name was not even mentioned in the former conversation

but now, since it is known that she is a relative of
Mordecai the Jew, she has courage to name them in the third
;

person.
is

The narrative

indicates nicety of style, in that she

not represented as saying

Haman had

" to

devised against us."

do away the device which

For

it

would have been

offensive to the king to entertain the idea that a plan of the

execrable

Haman

could have touched the queen.

of Esther's petition

upon the humour

between the

was

still

doubtful.

of the Persian shah.

fall of

Haman and

The

result

She could not rely

During the interval

her present interview various

influences might have been brought to bear

upon the

king's

230

BOOK OF ESTHER.
But she was mistaken in her

mind.

The king again

fears.

held out the golden sceptre, as a sign that he regarded her

graciously

and she recognised in

inclined to hear

Ver. 4.

As

"

this that

what she had further

So Esther

and

arose,

he was favourably

to ask of him.

stood hefore the

king"

a suppliant she knelt, but in consequence of his favour

she stood up as his wife, and more accurately formulated her

The speech which she now makes

petition.

shah must be addressed.

king,

and

a masterpiece

I have found

if

she spake to

mind the
"

The

first

words, " If

please the

it

favour in his sight," are, as

the usual form of addressing the king.

appears,

adds,

is

prudence and humility with which the person of the

of that

him on

the former occasion

it

Similarly

but now, bearing in

matter that she had to lay before him, she

difficult

and the thing seems right

the king."

before

(ik^d)

This adjective occurs only here, but in later Hebrew of the

Targum and the Talmud we meet with

verb

is

etymologically cognate with

" proper

"

it

16J^\ "itJ'X,

but the special sense in which

the same as in later times.

The Eabbis

The

frequently.

meaning

used here,

is

i^j^d

in the

" right,"

Talmud

is

called

that " hasher " which was permitted from a religious point of

In the same sense Esther understands the word

view.

thing appears to the king such

position

is

no judgment upon

will in his

(nnito),

of the Persian teaching,

against the king,

Evil

this

is

his

his

She

privilege,

Then she goes on

to say, "

The word

"

And

good

" is

According to the religious dualism

Ahriman

is

the

evil,

and Ahuramazda

Evil was therefore against the light and

who

represented the doctrine of Ahuramazda.

was the king's enemy, and good was the devoted

adherent of the king.

calls

good, in his eyes."

purposely chosen by her.

the good god.

it,

the

wisdom know whether what she demands,

permissible and right.

be pleasing

is

if

person, for

for his

and conscience, seems proper and allowable.

herself passes

and he

as,

him

j^in,

" the

evil

When
one

Esther accuses Haman, she

"

and in contrast

to this

she

CHAP.
"

says now,

VIII.

231

6.

And

be good in his eyes "

if I

if

the king loves

She

me, and I appear as pleasing, submissive, and attached.

prays him for the sake of the love which he has for her
but, of course, after ascertaining that her

demand

right

is

that he should invalidate and revoke the edict, and destroy

the letters

and "book" as

"letter,"

"scroll,"

(idd,

which contain Haman's device

literae)

Haman,

adds wisely that they are ni^nD, the machination of

they were the letters of the king; and

themselves

in

for

meant

therefore she guards herself against implying that she

own work should be

that the king's

She

to annihilate the Jews.

Nothing of the

destroyed.

For she knows well that a royal edict cannot be revoked,

kind.

and therefore she puts

into the king's

mouth a

They

pretation of the character of the letters.

Haman's work, of which the king

they had been smuggled

When

she adds

in,

son of

'*
:

different inter-

are entirely

knew nothing

originally

and therefore he can revoke them.

Hamedatha the

Agagite,"

it

must

be,

as already remarked, in allusion to his relation to a certain

party,

which makes

Ver.

With
that

Say

and how

my poor

people

favour and

which

if

and

force she continues to

but
;

my

how

to

it

She

to

Thus she gives the king

she would be powerless and

beloved queen

upon him.

and

She

see,"

thy

me

birth
is

from

without being able to

clearly to understand

helpless,

although

this powerlessness w^ould

effectively

me

I should have to

(She uses the word nn^lD for nation, from lb\ as natio

help.

for

should I be ashamed to

look at the destruction of the nation which gave

nascor.)

life,

have to witness the disaster

be something to thee, when in spite of

says, " endure

his

in peace and enjoyment while

how unbearable would be

kindred

move

have not prayed merely

I should

my own

befell

to see ? " etc.

endure

could I live

is slain

glory,

in the eyes of the king.

king, that thy favour protects

not,

doubtless true,

is

myself,

can

rhetorical skill

"

heart.

How

"

6.

more detestable

it

be

she

is

that

the

a reflection

shows him the contrast between

232

BOOK OF ESTHER.

the favour that he had shown to her and Mordecai, and her

being able to save her brethren

possible helplessness in not

from death and plunder.

What would

the people say, and

what would be the general popular opinion

they should see

if

that the great favourites of the king are inactive while their

people suffer

Could Esther endure that people should say of

she was sitting and enjoying herself in the harem,

her, that

and looking with indifference at the destruction of Israel

so,

The adherents

than thy wrath.

selves
eyes.

of

Haman

killing the Jews before our

Not Haman but we would be the most unfortunate.

His death would be better than our

My

live,

avenge them-

will

on Mordecai and on us by

die with the others than to

"

If

thy favour, she gives him to understand, would be worse

For

life.

better to

it is

and contempt.

in sorrow

live

people and I have not fasted and prayed that I should

but that they should

live.

My

life

is

in thy hands.

Save the poor people."

Vers. 7,

queen"

8. "

Then

the king

The answer

of the king manifests dignity

He

the same time.

It is difficult to see

answer obscure.

His language

tion of the edict is impossible

of the king

and sealed by his

any pretext
" decree,"

to

Esther the

And

whatever.-^

m,

is

and kindness at

pacifies the excited Esther,

tains his royal attitude.

finds the

Ahhashverosh said

etc.

is

and yet main-

why

clear

Clericus

a revoca-

a rescript issued in the

name

seal cannot

be made void under

this rests

upon the idea that a

ideally to be looked

upon

in the light of

an

Whether the writing and the plans

Haman's mind or not, is of no consequence.

emanation from him.

originated in

Suffice it that

they bear the name and seal of the king.

" But," says he, "

another manner.

you can obtain your wish very

he can issue any decree in

^

What

to this

{De

now
my name

Mordecai

is

easily

in

the keeper of the seals, and

that he likes.

It is

now

Brisson adduces from Diodor. xvii. 30 (not 14), has no reference

reg. Pers. princ.

1.

i.

c.

130).

CHAP.

well-known

VIII.

Haman

fact that

233

10.

9,

has fallen, that I gave to Esther

hung because

the Jewess his house, and that he was

known everywhere

my

kingdom what

my

This will show

will

governors and

is,

my

and where

and that

As

it is

not

soon as the

my

this

Persian

the

interests

They

take care not to rise against the Jews.

come

this that another party has

over

Then

lie.

hearing these reports, will

after

officials,

all

of his

Make

wanting to lay violent hands upon the Jews.

helm

to the

from

will see
of

government,

Jews should be wronged.

will that the

hear that the queen and the vizier are

officials

themselves of Jewish origin, they will instruct the people to

behave themselves

and not in the

to the

Jews

in general with proper decorum,

Haman. You can

spirit of

name, which

will virtually

be revoked.

Write," says he, "

he had before

please," just as

We

annul the

observe in

him the same

all is

now

cannot

Jews what you

liked.

arbitrary proceeding, the

same

many
it

to

people, the

was before

same tyran-

for

Haman,

easy in his hands, except to revoke his former edict,

which might be regarded as derogatory

Vers. 9, 10.

"Then

three

and

twentieth

The name
time here.

of the

Its

which

day thereof"

is

the

is

meaning, like that of most names of the old

from

The meaning can

the third

month

of the

imaginary

According
Iranian

easily be seen.

to them,

deity

named

The second and

Jewish calendar were vernal months,

whose names were transferable

We

by Benfey and Stern

Monatsnamen.

an

gpenta.

elsewhere.

the

third month, Sivan, occurs for the first

Ueber die

derived

month Sivan, on

etc.

calendar, has been entirely confused

in the book,

to the royal dignity.

were the king's scribes called at that

time, in the third month,

it

first

my

do what he

Esther as

for

an edict in

but the

also to the

Haman

left

carelessness as to the lives of

nical caprice

now

issue

first,

to each other, as is the case

frequently call June the second May.

month May, which

is

called in the later

Jewish calendar

lyar {eap, spring), goes in the Old Testament by

tlie

The
n''''5<,

name

of

234
IT

BOOK OF ESTHER.
Kings

(1

vi.

meaning blossom, the month in which

37),

1,

Now,

the trees are in bloom.

changeable

(as in inr

as the letters

and ino),

IT

became

and D are

designate the

JVD, to

The Lettes

second spring month, and the third in the year.

called
p.

Seedu,

it

month

of blossoms (comp.

my

inter-

Sunem, 1876,

182).

The decree which Haman obtained with subtlety dated from

the 13th of the

month Nisan,

first

in advance of this.

so that

to despatch the message without delay.

all

over the empire to

against the

was forty days

it

was therefore the more

It

For

consequently

to

everywhere

nations, as

all

Jews was feared

necessary

had

it

we

be sent

a rising

find here that

not runners only were employed, as in the case of Haman's

despatch, but also riders on swift steeds, mules, and young

dromedaries.

The expression

is

2yr\

tJ'lDnn

show

to

that

besides riders on ordinary horses, D^DID, there were others

The word

rode on race-horses.
places in the 0.

and
the

D''D1D,

name

13 and 1 Kings

i.

D'^'i

{Lex.

Pers.

ii.

24)

Old High Germ., Old

Iwrs.

This

explanation

{Gesch. d. deutsch. Spr. p.

Low Germ,

was overlooked
31).

rauschen.

liros

" It is

by Grimm

or sch, as evidently is

Hebrew ^ni and

the

These runners are further designated on

recent commentators

D'*i"inK^nx.

(as Bertheau, Keil, Schulz)

accepted the view of Haug, which

(v.

that

Anglo-Sax.

even

account of their excellence and swiftness as

Ewald's Annual

me

German word

In the translation into the

language, the chs became an

the case in the relation between the

literally

be

he himself

It seems to

explicitly the origin of the

Boss ;

German

in

That, therefore,

asserts, for

the general meaning of horse.

word gives us

German

8,

there can be no doubt, and not from its

colour, as Yullers
it

v.

be cognate with rachab,

to

of the famous horse of Eustem, Eekshh, is to

derived from

this

Micah

and appears

who

found in two other

express " rash and fierce driving."

to

gives

in

T.,

conjunction with

is

ej>d"i

is

All

have almost
expressed in

154), where he explained the word thus:

an adjective form

of Kshatra,

'

dominion,'

'

the king,'

CHAP.

VIII.

with the termination ana, na, and

However specious

horses.' "
it

because

Haug

from Kshatra,

If

tion.

is

was not an

and

it

first

why

meant

of distinc-

did not the author

use the Hebrew word ^^d, which he frequently uses

it

were such, what does

Or were

all

it

mean

royal horses sent

Were not

Why

is

him

D^JintJ^n^^
it

if

by way

in order

name,

official

D'^JDn^i^nj^

while in

1,

Secondly,

n.

First,

did not occur to

with a daleth,

given by a

is

would have stood

it

may momentarily

himself explains in the previous page

the same sound

it

royal State

'

observation.

close

after

" land," " dominion,"

that here in our text ^^^n

" royal,"

the

signifies

this explanation

awakens doubt

appear,

235

10.

9,

If

the rest royal

this expression not

used in connection with the State horse upon which Mordecai

rode

Then, again, the formation of the word

Kshatra means province, land (modern Pers.

observe the meaning of " stately," " lordly," in

defective.

is

We do not

int:^).

It

would

was

royal,

it.

almost, on the contrary, express a contrast to wliat

and rather express that which was provincial and belonged to

a satrapy.

Now

a closer observation will

from the Old Persian

nnt^

show that

with the prefixed syllable, and has

the signification of dromedary.

The camel, which

running ("dromas velocissimi cursus," VuUers,

name
name

ii.

is

swift in

411), has this

(Zend, ushtra, uschticr, uchtur) Schutitr, SchUir}

of the camel

" to run," derived

is

manifestly, as dromedary, from

from the habit

is

connected with

doubtless

with the Zend, takshra,

411).

One

is

" to

run

rpe^ft)

horse,

Tigris is

(for o-rpixo^),
le

This

Bpo/juico,

is swift.

" (Bournouf, Su?-

The
and

Yagna,

p.

thereby reminded of the rapid running of a

stream (comp. Dieffenbach, Goth. Glossen,

and the

The

of the animal.

therefore also called mnK>, because its current

word

derived

D^:^nt^^N is

ii.

316).

The camel

on account of their swift running, have received

various exchanges in name.

camel was called

"

In Old German glossaries the

wild horse."

The name

for horse in the

Middle Ages was warannio; Old High Germ, reinneo, reinno

^

[Sanscr. agwatora.

Trans.]

236

BOOK OF ESTHER.

(runner)

warani, icaranah,

my

camel (comp.
vol.

is

used by Caucasian nations for

essay on the camel in Mark. Forschungenj

Accordingly, I translate

ix.).

"racers, horse-

D^^intJ^nx,

is the sense of the narrative, that they

dromedaries," for this

ran swiftly, which was of greater importance than that they

should be of stately appearance.

Old Jewish commentators have really understood camel by

the word, and the swiftness of the camel
Ptitter,

xiii.

639 and 734).

posts

Persian kings in the time of Xerxes used,

were

that camels

there

employed.

In

when

(see

which the

does not appear

Aaron

MezaJih

this

them got

four of

and that the

four,

it

known

48c)

(p.

the curious remark that the sort of camel that was

is

employed in the transmission of

so that

well

is

But in the

riders

message had eight

tired

it

feet,

ran with the other

were tied to them, and had no

garments nor saddles, and that these Ahhashtranim are called

" trampeltrarius."

word by

The Chaldean

" naked,"

'^"iDny,

dromedary was added, because

months, so that

it

this loses its hair for

vii. 1270, and

To the above explanation what
'':n,

" sons of mares."

were bred of the stud

Jacob
that

Grimm
is

867).

racers.

Gram,

stud,

is

very suitable,

stud," Pers.

ramakd (comp.

follows

was not new that

it

iii

i<3?o"i,

is

repeated what

"bred

as a

stud"

mares particularly trained as

their attendants halted, in order to

some reference

to this (comp. Brisson,

Persar. n. 338, p. 312).

The sending
Sivan.

i.e.

stud mares.

Probably what Xenophon says about the places in

receive directions, has

reg.

all

327) remarks on the stud,

and grex equarum,

They were

which the postmen with

first

is "

the word properly means, bred from the

(Castelli,

some

Eitter, xiii. 654).

but in ']m, Syr.

(Deutsche

KDD*i also

De

yy\

^2^m Bundehesch, 158); but

Justi,

the

appears as naked (comp. Oken's Zicsammen-

stellungen Naturgesch.

D''DD"in

rendered

translators

and the misunderstandiug about the

of the letter took place on the

The date

is

23rd of the month

just as purposely chosen as that of the

message by Haman.

That was despatched on the loth

CHAP.

237

VIII. 11-14.

day of Nisan, which bore the name of

the Persians (see chap.

month

out on the 23rd day of the

Old Persian month

to the

among them
Persar.ip,

for

Besides

this,

among

arrow,"

which was the name

Mercurius the divine scribe (Hyde, De

Din had

name

of

rel.

Dai pa Din, on

for the expulsion of the evil of Satan.

the signification of justice and law, and

the Jews pi meant judgment

Haman and

"

which corresponded

Sivan,

also called Tir,

264), and the 23 rd day had the

which day the Parsees pray

among

Tir,

Mordecai's message was sent

12).

iii.

his adherents a

'{^^n

DV, a

it

was

day

of

then, indeed, for

judgment.

Vers. 1114. "Wherein the king granted the Jeius ivhich

in every city

vjere

The

to

gather themselves together^' etc.

was

edict of a Persian king

infallible

and irrevocable

consequently another must be published to remove the mis-

In the

chievous effect of the former.

to the party of

Haman

first,

to destroy all the

direction

Jews

Jews

to kill

The king could not order the enemies

of the

expresses that the king gives permission to the

their enemies.

Jews

to

keep the peace, but could invest with authority those

who were

appointed by them for the slaughter.

literally take

party

away

He

did not

the sword from the hands of the anti- Jewish

but he at the same time handed

was given

the second

it

to the Jews.

On

the side on which the king lent his weight and authority
victory

was

Therefore the edict in favour of the Jews,

sure.

according to the narrative,

is

verbally like the hostile edict

against them, with the exception of a few variations which

their

peculiar position required.

Because

the Jews were

scattered in different places, the decree provided that they

should assemble themselves in localities and arm themselves

so as to be able to offer a collected national opposition or

But they

assault.

against

the Dyn

are authorized to exercise this

i)^n,

"

the fighting

but not against any one

men," of their enemies,

They may only fight against

Haman. They are the Dnv, " the

else.

the party and adherents of

enemies."

power only

This was to take place on the same day which

BOOK OF ESTHER.

238

Haman had
of the

decree,

appointed for their destruction, on the 13 th day

origin

The month Adar

(Movers, Phcenic.

i.

fire,

called

the Chaldeans and Assyrians

Adramelech, a name containing the

idol to

which children were

as well as the

warmth which the

agricultural

should protect the

its

in

March

is

also so

warlike, but on account

He was

significance.
field

up

earth possesses and

Therefore

of in the vernal season.

from Mars, not on account of

of its

offered

consuming and warming power

It represented the

fire.

makes use

among

The name

340).

word Adar, was an

of

("ns) corresponds, according to

and meaning, with the month of March.

already signified " fire "

burning

day sooner would annul the former

but the present was only another which supported

the former.
its

month Adar.

from injury;

invoked that he

that he should give

prosperity to the produce of the land, and to the cattle (comp.

my

For Ares, whose power was trans-

Drachenkdmpfe,^. 91).

ferred to Mars,

my

(comp.

means

Esmun,

also nothing else but ix,

represented on both sides of

weapons with burning

Persian

He

pp. 30, 31).

is

"iv

^^,

" fire "

the flaming god, and

is

coins of Areopolis as holding

The genius

torches.

of the

modern

month Adar, although not corresponding now, as in

De rel. Pers. p. 249), but with

olden times, with March (Hyde,

November,

The 9th

is

yet connected with

of the

fire,

the hearth, and the sun.

month was illuminated by the

festive

fire,

the altars were burning like funeral piles. According to

opinion, Israel should be
of this they

became a consuming

While in chap.
of

Haman

said, "
is

consumed

iii.

15

it is

fire for

their enemies.

merely said of the messengers

that they went forth in haste, D'Sim, of these

only a transposition of ins

" to

nan,

hr\2,

It contains the idea

be anxious,"

which

is

flee,"

" to

which means the

same when the consonants are thus exchanged).

" to

it is

The word 5]m

be afraid," " to

hurry," are cognate ideas (comp. ran

the case with the verb

all

in flames of war; but instead

they hastened and hurried on," D^^nnD.

tremble."

and

Haman's

The same

is

" to flee," " to

found in the Latin

halitus, and expresses " panting for breath."

The messengers

CHAP.

and anxious

are breathlessly hurrying on,

king's

^39

VIII. 15.

The decree was published

command.

carry out the

to

at Shushan,

and

only through this the inhabitants of the capital learned what

Not only the fall of Haman, but also of his

but just now made known but it is done in such

had happened.
party, is

way

and

as to produce a visible

forcible impression of a

dramatic kind upon the great multitude.

"And Mordecai went forth"

time (chap. iv. 1) when the dreadful

Ver. 1 5.

At

the

decree against

the Jews was issued, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on
sackcloth and

Haman's

"

uniform.
this

the

so

forth,"

he

Haman and

of

fall

placed

by the king in

he went out from the palace in

He went

was shown,

He

]^ow, being

ashes.

position,

leave

to

as

let

official

himself be seen, and by

the victory of his opponent

no doubt in any one's mind.

wore an apparel of blue and white.

or violet were the Persian State colours.

White and purple

They have

to the Persian religious view about the world.

reference

White

"

wore on his head

When

a great

replied,
cidaris,
ippdrj).

Haman, on

the king asked

he should do to the

crown of

gold," nhlj nnr niDy.

that eventful night,

man whom he wanted

he should put

upon

head the

his

is

He

the colour of light, blue of the sky, purple of the sun.

what

to honour, he
ni^i^D

"in:3,

" the

which the king alone could wear," the straight one

It is not said that he conferred this honour upon

He only granted him royal dress and a

And now is mtoy to be distinguished from -iriD

Mordecai.

royal

horse.

first is

a diadem twisted round about the head.

and tiara

(in

Herod, rcdpa^ or

(Hyde, De

rel.

Pers. p.

369)

a cidaris, and

described

as

therefore

must mean such

was made

of gold.

with the

cidaris,

Nummor.

p.

V70)

TLrjpi]^)

Verbally
to be the

but, in fact, it is

rr\^]}

same

more used and

only a

diadem, and

is

really

in

our passage, for

With regard

only such

to the identity of the tiara

Spanheim says
:

seem

the

(Dissert,

de usu

et ;prcest.

"Conjuncta itaque in regione Persarum

240

BOOK OF ESTHER.

aut Armeniorum etiam culta

ilia capitis

ornamenta

In themselves

diadema non vero ut eadem, sed diversa."^

tiara

and

toijether,

cidaris
for the

were not the same

tiara ac

but they were bound

former was wound around the

latter,

and

appears also on the coins of the Arsacides without the cidaris

(comp. Vaillant, Begnurn Arsacidaricm,

tiara

came

to

So the name

p. 1, etc.).

be used for the whole ornamentation of the

head, and appeared to signify ina, a crown, while

an

niViV or

m^y.

it

Mordecai did not wear a high

was only
which

hat,

the king alone could wear, but a princely tiara, which was big

enough, and embroidered with gold.

c. iii.

19, ed. Paris,

A passage in Strabo (lib. xv.

625) clearly describes his uniform: "They,

p.

the princes, have a lined robe with sleeves

{')(^ltl6v),

inside

white, outside

it is (iin)

to read lavOivo^, viz. violet blue (nl)Dn)

a mantle of purple, but in winter

down

it is

in the

it is

to the knees

avOivo^,

better

summer they wear

of a variegated colour

or blue (just according to the reading avBivov or lavdivov)."

Mordecai was so dressed, and as

month

of Sivan, he

it

was summer, in the

wore a purple mantle.

which occurs only here

The name yi^n,

to denote the stately flowing robe, is

very frequently used by the Jews to signify a wrapping up

in general (as the case
for the grave-cloth or

with instrumentuin), and specially

is

shroud in which the dead are buried.

The second Targum renders it by no'^bj, which Buxtorf and

Levy after him consider Hebrew {Lex. Chald. p. 143) but in
2 Kings ii. 8, it is a wrapping together of the mantle, which
;

appears as contrary to enveloping.

tion in the

Talmud,

such a mantle like a

was then obscure.

Tr.

Shabbath,

D^iJ,^

The etymological explanap.

7 Ih, that one appears in

" a puppet,"

shows that the meaning

It is nothing else but the

The Midrash Esther,

Amst.

ed.

p.

Greek KaXvy^ia.

95a, speaks of coins on

which the images of Mordecai and Esther were struck on each

*

Comp. Sueton. Nero 13

"

Dein precanti

tiara

deducta diadema

imposuit."
^

[Rashi, in

cloth,

loc.^

explains that

without being cut for

it

means a garment made of one

sleeves, etc.

Trans.]

piece of

CHAP.
side.

If

241

VIII. 16.

such really existed, they must have been issued for

political reasons in later times.

we have
man on one side

It is quite probable, as

instances of Oriental coins which represent a

and a woman on the other, as Zenobia and her son, or Aurelian.

But there can be no thought of authenticating the report of the
Midrash, as Hottinger

And

"

Mordecai went fortlir

This expression

when he
out

"

inclined to do (Cippi, Hehr, p. 147).

is

says

is

reproduced by John in chap. xix.

'iTjaov^i, "

^E^rjXOev ovv 6

from the palace of

of the Persian king.

stately robe,

j^V.

Pilate, as

Mordecai from the palace

Mordecai with the golden crown and

and Jesus wearing the crown of thorns and also

a purple garment; Mordecai triumphant, but Jesus

and scourged.

went out

to

pour out His life-blood on the

from eternal death.

all

modern commentators
Ver. 16. " The Jeivs

Light

of the

had

The placing

light"

ness and joy and honour,

Esther; and this

is

is

light

Ahuramazda
161, 162).
^

the preceding

light

and

with the expressions

liberty.

of glad-

to be attributed to the influence of the

iTons was
\)b\y,

it.

The morning emanci-

of the universe, according to

was the present agency

and impure, and of

strange

certainly peculiar to the book of

view which the Persians took

which

is

ni^i^.

and good news brings

of lights,^ together

it

John

N. T. have not referred to

anxiety had been to them like night.

pates, spring redeems,

but Jesus

cross, in order to

salvation, redemption, happiness,

is

It is impossible that

should not have had this passage in mind, and

that

mocked

Mordecai went out to avenge his people by

imbruing his hands in the blood of their enemies

redeem

5,

Jesus therefore came

all

in

everything good.

the antithesis of everything defiled

and slander (comp. Hyde, pp.

and essentially like the

deceit

gladness, is radically

[This was prohably also an ilhimination, as was the custom in the East

on such

and
Trans.]

occasions,

Dedication.

it

became the pattern

for the later Feast of the

242

BOOK OF ESTHER.

German

jaAichzen, juclizen, juzen,

" to shout," " to huzzali,"

Eng.

Gr. Iv^eiv.

Ver. 1

7.

"

And many from among

land

the peoijle of the

hecame Jews."

Our

text has the

inferred from

that there

must be a verb

making a proselyte
occur.

word

And from

DnriTiO.^

this

it

was

very ancient times (even by the Targumim)

ir[\

to signify " the act of

from Tin\

But the word does nowhere

to Judaism."

Neither biblical nor post-biblical Hebrew knows

but rather for the said act the words

where occur.

-i-ij

and

-i^^'^riD

I cannot believe that the narrative

convey the idea that

"

many became

it,

do every-

meant

to

Jews," that they cut

themselves off from their national connection, and embraced

the Mosaic religion by circumcision,

etc.

This would not

have been recorded in one short sentence forming only half of

Such an event would have excited a

a verse in the original.

great deal of

The removal

comment and much

material for the historian.

of the wall of partition

which separated the Persians

from the Jews by their respective

rites

and customs, would

have produced such a change among them both, that the fact

would not have been passed over

great importance.
is this

that

What

so slightly as

the passage

means

many Persians made common

if it

had such high influence

Haman,

at court,

great favourite of the king.

of

no

cause with the Jews,

that they became friendly to them, and united with

hostility against the party of

was

in all probability

as they

them

in

saw that the Jews

and that their patron was a

I think, therefore, that

we

are to

read DnnTiD, from in\ " to unite," which word occurs frequently
in this sense in the 0.

T.,

in the

Targum, and in the Talmud.

[Although the LXX. and the Syriac read as the Masoretic text, yet it
be that the scribes had afterwards purposely exchanged the n for a n,
as some codices have even a circle to indicate that a l is wanting.
Haub
" None sine caus4 circulum habent codices.
says
Nam legendiuu
DmrrriD, inserta % quia ro ) non abest ab DnirT* Judaeis." The author's
view gains support from the comment of Ibn Ezra, who makes a comI^romise by saying, that they only assumed the name of Jew.
Trans.]
^

may

CHAPTEE
Ver.

"

1.

Now

IX.

in the twelfth month!'

The arrow which Haman was to throw on the 13th of Adar

of Israel fell upon his own head, and upon the

upon the people

That day was

heads of his family and party.

to be the great

fell.
He that
What he wanted to

day of battle against the Jews, and his own sons

digs a pit for others falls into

it

himself.

As Adonibezek said,
see
As I have done, so God hath requited me " (Judg.
7
18th
fulfilled
on
the
of
Adar.
In
it
was
my Comm. p. 7) so
the book of Wisdom (chap. xi. 15, IG) we read, "But for the
do to others was accomplished in himself.

"

i.

foolish devices of their wickedness,

wherewith being deceived

they worshipped serpents void of reason

a multitude of unreasoning beasts upon

That they might know, that wherewithal a

same

also shall

first

collections.

to suffer

by

The German

instructive story of the

offered to

it

himself,

for

vengeance

by the

sinneth,

of the artist

copper for Phalaris of

a bull of

whom

Ac^rigentum, in order to torture those

was the

man

The history

he be punished."

who had made

Perillus,

thou didst send

them

he murdered, and

repeated in

is

all

legendary

imperial chronicle tells a similar

Emperor Nerva,

to

whom

an

manufacture a horse of a wonderful kind.

so constructed, that if a knight should be placed

upon

artist

It
it,

was
the

horse w^ould fly in the air and the knight would be burned.

Nerva

tried this first

Kaiserchronik,

iii.

747).

transferred to Nerva.

But

it

is

on the

artist

himself (see Massmann,

It is not clear

Probably he

is

why

the legend was

confounded with Nero.

a matter of history that Louis XI., king of France,

put Bishop Eoland of Verdun in the iron cage which he

had invented.

Comines

reports,

"

Fecerat

caveas

ferreas

244

BOOK OF ESTHER.

ligneasque

ferreas

laminis

pedum

terribilibus claustris, octo

qui in

fuit,

extraque

XL,

lib. vi. c. xii.).

the architect the

primam earundem

Similarly

i.

it is

1,

" {Ber. Gest. Litdov.

told of Ezzelin,

quoted from Muratori).

man was

its

Roman

Massmann
horse of

artificial

make him a

torture people.

upon the

efficacy

who made

a cruel governor, and a certain

Aruntius Paterculus offered to

by which he might

facta

connection with Aemilius Censorinus

tells in

This

in Egesta.

primum

ut

has also overlooked a similar story of an

which Plutarch

altitudine

prisoner in the prison which he had

first

erected (Massmann,

unum

amplitudine,

missus quatuordecim annos habitavit

fuit

cum

inductas

Primus harum auctor Episcopus

supra staturam hominis.

Verdunensis

intra

artist

(Plut.

horse of metal

Then the tyrant

tested

Comparison of Greek and

The modern history of France shows

Reports, n. 39).

a remarkable retribution in

name and

in date.

Louis XIV.

ordered on October 12, 1693, to demolish the royal tombs at

The man who was entrusted with the superintendence

work was called Hentz. On October 12, 1793, the
revolution began by the demolishing of the royal tombs at St.
Denis, and the French representative who undertook it had
Spire.

of the

also the

name

of Hentz.

When

the narrator in the book of

Esther rightly points to the retaliation which the tyranny

of

Haman

received, the

experienced

similar

shouted triumphantly
the whole

Eoman army

Jews should not

retribution

Simon

Giora.

siege of Jerusalem

war.

forget

their

when Jesus was

that

history.

crucified.

shouted triumphantly

and Titus returned as victors to

crucified

in

they

They

And

so

when Vespasian

Eome and

there publicly

There were not trees enough at the

on which to crucify

all

the prisoners of

I have referred to these wonderful retributions in

my

small book, Israel in der Weltgeschichte.

300^1 Ver.

2.

''For the fear of them was fallen upon all the

peoples."

If

the second edict had not come,

Haman's party would

CHAP.

IX.

245

2.

naturally have obtained the ascendancy.

In such a despotic

country everything depended upon the knowledge which people

had of what was precisely the king's

will

and

the people heard that

Haman's party were

court, that their leader

was

his place,

killed,

When

caprice.

in bad odour at

and that Mordecai was in

and was ever gaining in

influence, their intention

and desire of laying violent hands on the Jews was

quished.
letter;

True, the

edict

first

was

relin-

valid according to the

still

but the second showed that the party to be attacked

had now the upper hand, and although the

revoked,

it

first

was not

would be decidedly against the will of the king

molest them.

All the

officials,

to

from the satrap downwards,

had no other will but that which was in harmony with the
royal will (under

riDt^i^^n

used to do the king's

who
now
Consequently they were

are to understood those

""J^y

will).^

just as disposed not to put

any obstacle before the Jews, as

they were before to assume a hostile attitude against them.

Courtiers and
receive

The law
changes

are

officials

is

its

therefore to

mouse, and so on.

positions are entirely dependent

what

them

is

frequently

now

whose

of the king,

the favourite prime minister of the king

time," " to arrive," and

observed in the word

is

(reached) "unto them."

Comp. chap.

"touch in point of

"reached."

Not

v^j,

K. V. had

iv. 3,

in the

accidere, a-vfi^alvecv, evenire, etc., agree,

from the same root as

y"'in,

v^^T],

means

y:i3

used in ver. 2 6 in the same

the Germans say Zustossen, Eintreffen

where

way

"

v^i^

as

come
ought

same manner do

but UviofjLaL

as well as of the

is

doubt-

same meaning.

In the same sense the words are used in chap. iii. 9 of those
cashiers brought the money into the king's treasury.
1

Jews when they hear

of analogous expressions in other languages.

to be translated

court.

satraps and pashas,

"to touch," and in the causative form

less

it

upon the favour

linguistic peculiarity is to be

by way

from the

a roaring lion, and

will they undertake against the

that one of

i.e.

them only a bugbear;

now it is
What will the

appearance

they

double-faced, according as

sunshine or cloud from above,

who

as

246

BOOK OF ESTHER.

"jianj

an

course,

of

is,

It is

absol.

infin.

used in

the

The obscure

sense of reverting, turning over, upside down.

etymology of ^sn becomes clear by a comparison with the

German

Wechsel, English " turn."

Latin

vix,

rule,"

doubtless reappears in the

vice,

German

\:h^,

Schalten,

" to

and in

Sultan having the sense of ruling powerfully.

Ver. 4.

This

""DTiD B^''n

3fordecai"

when

joined to a

it is

It represents the person as distinguished, as a

proper name.

man
man
man

man

The

"

of special significance

is

c^^KH

and name.

of influence

So in

way

Num.

xii.

3,

the word

of emphasis, that such a

is

applied to Moses by

as

Moses was very meek above

all.

Of the

false

Micah

is said: "And there was a man of the hill

Ephraim whose name was Micah," and he had his own house

country of

it

of worship, Judg. xvii. 1.

Of Jeroboam

it

Especially
Gabriel."

So

"And

said,

is

mighty man," 1 Kings

the

man Jeroboam was

ix.

21:

28.

xi.

significant

Dan.

is

"

And

the

man

used here.

it is

Mordecai had a name, position, importance, and influence,

and was continually advancing.

Ver,

"

5.

And

the

Jews smote"

The narrator lays stress upon the fact that the Jews were
mowing down their enemies with great fury, and that they
were not interfered with by the

Such

party

authentic.

opponents

The narrator
as

inflicting

merely humiliated
exterminated them.

and did not come

That

is

in

w^arfares

what

is

the

of

the

land.

kingdom

are

quite

authorities

Persian

characterizes their violence on the

death

and destruction.

them, or put them to

The
to

flight,

They not
but they

authorities were silent spectators,

the assistance of the defeated party.

meant by the

w^ord DiinD, " they did accord-

ing to their good pleasure," without let or hindrance.

The

Persian authorities saw their countrymen and co-religionists

CHAP.

hands of the Jews

in the

was more than God

IX.

was a

than love

must

did

he
his

of the

same country,

They were

but they were not fellow- citizens.

fellow-

all

Only the Jews had a God

servants under one master.

heaven, but they

he

fall.

between inhabitants

battle

and

had given

but they feared the king

more

consent, and therefore the victims

It

247

5.

not

in

His reconciliation and

imitate

love.

The names

Very

interesting remarks.
their

Haman

of the ten sons of

little

The

interpretation.

give occasion for

has as yet been done for

explanations

Oppert

Jules

of

{Extrait des Annales de jyliilosophie Chretienne, Janvier 1864,

22) are mere guesswork, paying more attention to the

p.

sound than
are

to the ideas contained in

by

pervaded

fire-worship

with

connection

in

ideas

religious

All the names

them.

the

they originated in the religion of the Magi, and

their formation

and composition bear that character.

them in

text does not give

their purity

one

But the

feels that

they

As

their

have been tortured by the hands of the conquerors.

houses have been sacked, so were their names deformed and

The popular custom

caricatured.
to assail the

to extend the strife so as

honour and name of the aggressive or opposing

I have

party took place also here.

and that this

shown elsewhere^ how

not the only place in

old the

custom

wdiich

appears in the Old Testament.

two

it

is,

parties in the Persian

is

The

kingdom went

hostility of the

so far, that they

trampled the names in the dust, and they revealed their

wrath

in

case of a few names,

so with

upon them.

caricatures

all.

The

we

last

son of

The name evidently

and

fc<nr,

natus,

was written

It
1

shall

If

we prove

this in the
it

was

means

fire,

have the probability that

Haman

signifies

is called t^nr^l.^

son of

fire,

for

^?1

"son" (comp. Justi, Zum Bicndehesch, p. 164).

which means " woe " (see chap. i. 1), and this

Comp. Panthera, Stada^ OnoJcotes, Caricaturnamen Christi, Berlin 1875.

Comp. Wahyazdata in the Inscription of Bisutum. Comp. Benfey,

The Persian Cuneiform,

p. 18.

248

BOOK OF ESTHER.

woe was

by making the

indicated

letter

Even

is pD^i.

at present the

and the

large,

Jews nickname a poor man by

Dalphon, because hi means poor, miserable, wretched.

Persian

name was properly Durpan,

of the

temple."

They

the

Aramaic

data, in order to get a secondary

one Purta instead of Purdata, in order

call

" little," " dirt," " distress,"

and

and

was (sun) horse-given (comp. asphan,

of

" a foundling."

The

have written the n

appear like

" bespattering," or

In

itself,

|xns

(Hyde,

fire

as

it

name

J)e rel.

Pers.

also,

i<nsj>D"is,

p.

= Mars,

some

editions),

D''"i&?,^

make

to

it

" dirt,"

and nij means

means

" uncleanness."

high-caste
it

family, a

comes from

hiirsin,

219).

i.

last

In

written small in order to

means one born

irvp

connect

to

meaning

The Masoretes

priest" {Lex.

Atesh- Behram,

it

dpetov

with

The names

asunder," in a degraded sense.

as in

make

or

of

v was

the

It evidently

They want

633).

they

Yet Vullers gives the

362).

fire -worshipping

pervert the sense.

(Behram

one born

it

in

name

"'21DX,

j^rnJtJnD.

thus written m^,

is

They write

Justi, 6 3)

tna again means

persona, parson, person

meaning "a

the

is

the pur,

of the

end small, in order

at the

either

is

|i<SJ^"iD,

if

name

first

KlJtJ^is, for

" shame."

Aramaic word

asafta in reference to the

it

whom

because Purta

The proper meaning

mSDS.

instead of

fc^nsDi^

d in

letter

by the direction of God,

lot, fell

]i^2'\1,

meaning that he was one upon

to obtain the

This

meaning "a guard

In the same manner they have in some

names omitted the

meaning.

The second name

smaller than usual, for the same reason.

of

Behram

comp. Hyde,

nD''")a,

Nmn

"rending

(not

Nmnx,

nnj^, Oppert brings together with

Ariyadata, Ariya^aya, Ariyadaya, but I would rather consider

them

as

compounds

of

stand by

xmnx, "an

" poison."

In nnx, I

was

to point to

'n,

*iiK, fire.

offspring

am

The Jews wanted

of a

lion;" and by

that

they
^

""Dnt?,

not sure whether the last syllable

" pain," " sickness," " trouble."

probably originally Adaria, derived from

clear

to under-

made an

effort

"Apt^o;, a Persian,

to

Herod,

-iix,

heap
vii. 38.

Adalia was

"fire."

upon the

It is
fire-

CHAP.

249

IX. 11.

This was not merely because

worshippers scornful epithets.

they were victorious over their enemies, but chiefly because

That the Jews

had received a blow.

their hateful religion

cared more for retaliating and avenging than for enriching

added clause

appears from the

themselves,

njs^

spoil they laid not their hand."

So

take spoil."
doubt,

" butin "), as

from

on the

from

n2, " to

To HD, without

apira^co.

German word

" but

Beute

(English "booty,"

frequently assimilated with n and D.

is

apTrayfia,

is

the

belongs

" spoil,"

Yer. 11. ''On that day."

The news

of the day was, of course, reported to the king

He communicated

from every quarter of Shushan.

Esther with an

air of

the greatest indifference, as

her

how

He

asks her caressingly:

provinces

to

he asked

she likes the handsome present he had given her.

have been
this has

if

it

He

"

here,
at

would express her

caught the

She

fears the

any rate expected, as

it

and

if

in the

seems, that Esther

But the grand woman has

It was not for nothing
a Persian queen.

satisfaction.

spirit of

moment, and

well? 500

it

what must have taken place

She wants

that she ascended the throne.

able

I not done

Shushan, Hainan's sons are dead

slain in

happened

"Have

to carry on the

to use the favour-

war thoroughly

to the end.

vengeance of some of the hostile party who had

not yet been vanquished.

If these are not

put down with a

strong hand, she is afraid that they will eventually retaliate,

and how

easy

it is

to

change the mind of a Persian king,

she knows well from her

500 have been

decree

(m)

She asks him

to continue the battle

There

is

the 13 th, and therefore

to

He

tells

Shushan
to

issue

her that

viz.

on the

an especial

on the next day in the city

evidently a distinction between what took

place in the two days.

was

experience.

slain in the citadel of

13 th of the month.

itself.

own

be continued.

The former decree was only valid for

a new one was necessary if the war

The partisans

the citadel, but not in the

city.

of

Hence

Haman

were killed in

Esther's petition.

250

BOOK OF ESTHER.

She

not satisfied with the slaughter of Hainan's sons.

is

They must also be hung up, as Haman was, on the gallows.

The people should see the destruction of the whole household.
They should be impressed with the fact that all the leaders of
met the same

the party

disgraceful end as their chief.

This

she considers necessary, not only for accentuating her triumph,

but that

it

might have a deterring

They should have

effect.

a visible demonstration of the end of the enemies of Israel.

Esther must not be judged by the standard of the love of

She and her people were engaged in a battle against

Christ.

a powerful party, at whose head was the king himself, and

she would have succumbed, had she not, in a wonderful

manner, won him over to her

But

tion.

that there

and enlisted his participa-

side,

a difference between the

is

warfare of the Jews and that of their enemies,

is

mode

of

seen from

that had they been defeated, all their property would

this,

have been made booty (chap.

iii.

13), while they do not touch

the property of their enemies.

Haman

That the ten sons of

gallows

Haman,

as

is

not

were hung on the same

expressly

stated

in

the

text.

The Jewish commentators take the word yv^ for the same
tree that was used at the hanging of Haman.
The manner
in which the names of the ten sons of Haman are placed in
Jewish manuscripts and books,

under the

other, is

owing

a straight column one

viz. in

to a Midrash.

In

Jews show more hatred against Haman and

fact,

the later

his family than

even his contemporaries did who were engaged in the

for

it

is

directed

Yet

judged.

this

against

hatred

is

strife,

who had long ago been

those

expressive of later experiences.

They narrate that the ten sons

Haman

of

under each other upon the gallows of

were

fifty cubits,

so

hung

that each

took up the space of three cubits, leaving the space of one

cubit between

one

forty

The remaining ten

cubits.

occupied

summit

another,

by the body

of the gallows.

of

so

that

Haman.

The picture

all

cubits

the

ten occupied

on the top was

Thus he crowned the

of the gallows is

indi-

CHAP.
cated by the large

They

name.

of the last

251

IX. 17.

also tell of a

Haman

mocking conversation which Mordecai carried on with

when he was on

Haman's thoughts.

the gallows, and

certainly reminds us of the scorn with

Christ on

They

the cross.)

one with his sons during

Even

death.

said jestingly,
so they

life,

(It

which they treated

As Haman was

must be united in their

names

at the present time they read the ten

in the synagogue in one breath, in order to intimate that they

were

made

all

punishment
So

it

to

one and the same time, as a

expire at

wanting to destroy Israel in one day.

for their

was that the

battle lasted

two days in Shushan, while

in the other parts of the Persian

kingdom

the 13 th day, in accordance with the

to

On

the 14th quiet was to be restored.

it

was confined

letter" of

75,000, sounds dreadful; but when 810

slain,

number

capital alone, the

is

the law.

The number

was very

men

75,000
the

cheap
fell

circumstance

in

in

the

eyes

of

issued

when

Human

Persian

tyrant.

origin

was in

whose only

battle,

a decree

that

in the

fell

proportionally not so large

divided between the various places of the kingdom.

life

of the

by the king

was

irrevocable.

Ver. 17.

The

elsewhere.
life

"And made

it

a day of feasting and gladness."

historical celebration of the feast of

We

Purim

is

treated

have here an unvarnished picture of the

of the ancient world,

how

the people, after the trouble

they had gone through, rejoice

and express

their

joy by

eating and drinking, just as they before express their sorrow

by

Above, in the narrative

fasting.

mentioned before
felt

repentance

whom
nor

God mentioned

Him

Yet there

feast

reference to

marked

no meal and no

God and mention

difference

God

is

not

they expressed their sorrow in heartis

expressed their gratitude to

is

of the fast,

of

now,

that

they

in the feast of rejoicing.

among

the

His name.

Jews without

But there

is

between the people in captivity and the

people which Moses brought out

of

Egypt.

The ancient

252

BOOK OF ESTHER.

Jews used

to say, that

Haman was

in his time the

the Jews that Pharaoh was to that generation.

made

a rule

it

on

that

same

They

to

also

year the feast of Purim

leap

should be kept on the 14th of the second Adar, which in an

ordinary year would be the feast of Passover.
a

great

between the

difference

But there

solemnity with

Passover was observed and the giddy joy of Purim.

first,

is

which the
In the

the unleavened bread, the Passover lamb, the blood, the

reminded them of

feast itself,

sin,

repentance, reconciliation,

and redemption, while in Purim only the voice of exultation

was and

is

Passover

heard.

is

therefore in the highest sense

the feast in which confession

made.

Purim represents

more the character of a national

holiday.

Therefore also the

Church of Christ gave great glory

to the feast of the Passover,

is

while of Purim she took no notice, as

from the

circle of the early

it

had vanished even

Jewish Christians.

Therefore the Lord's Supper

of all feasts.

Nowhere

else

his gratitude

and his joy

for

is

and should be the

fairest

can or dare one better express

redemption and salvation.

Ver. 19. " The Jeivs of the villages that dwell in unwalled
towns."

Hitherto Dn"i2 and the nins

cities

of

the

flat

""ly

w^ere

taken as people and

or open country, in contrast to Shushan.

But the idea

that these words are intended to convey is more

The narrator distinguishes three kinds of Jews.
the Jews in Shushan; secondly, ver. 16, the Jews that

precise.
First,

were in the provinces, ni:nD2

Shushan

is

the

reported D^ian.

Medina.
If these

provinces, then they

for

it

is

were

the

the

same

The

contrast to

Jews who were

as those

in

would be mentioned successively

already said in ver.

they rested, and

nK^ Dnin\n.

Thirdly,

made

it

17, that on "the

the

twice,

14th day

a day of feasting and gladness."

Moreover, the word Ferazim would have occurred in ver. 17.

The word
are others,

therefore,

who

hv, also

shows that the Jews spoken of

lived neither in

Shushan nor in the Medinoth.

CHAP.

Undoubtedly nins

'iV

many Jews were

by Ezek.

illustrated

He

tto/jo?, "

"

And

The

of sending portions.''

vefico,

noun and a

fxeipco,

of

by

Fiirst, that

erroneous.

is

and

it,

and

(Probably

n.

their relation

The opinion,

B(opov.)

Mammon

verb, is

(fiafi/jLOJva) is

The expression

Mammon

a
is

nummus.

Ver. 20.

This

belonged also to

between donum and

also shared

doubling of ni,

formed

with the transposition of

to each is like that

is

be related to

to

a ford."

originally fielpo/Mat,

which

are clearly

represents there a land having

portion or present niD, both as a

the Greek

ny

11, where nina

The word n2 seems

without walls.

the Greek

These words are clearly

scattered.

xxxviii.

described by nins p5<.

cities

and places in the

are unfortified towns

Turkestan and Taran, on whose extensive

east cauntry, in
prairies

253

IX. 20.

"And

Mordecai v;rote"

a very remarkable

is

the Jews, after

receiving

the

was quite natural

It

fact.

that

tidings

king

the

for

was

favourably disposed toward them, and that they had gained

the victory over their enemies, to express their joy by keeping

feast.

times

But that

was

no

possessed
institution.

this

feast

nevertheless

should

singular,

be

instituted

inasmuch

as

spiritual authority to order such

for

all

Mordecai

a perpetual

The importance that he possessed, he only

And now

gained through the influence of Esther.

he did

not occupy the place of a synod of the elders, nor of a high

priest,

It

was

but the place of the grand vizier at the Persian court.

this position

which gave him the authority of ordaining

a perpetual feast for the Jews.

He

considered the

King

of

Persia as the king of the Jews, and as his representative he

possessed Jewish-national authority.

to be

a national

feast,

victory over their enemies.

prescribe

any prayers

For, indeed,

it

was only

only a feast in remembrance of the

The

to be used

letters

on the

of

Mordecai do not

feast,

but only the

254

BOOK OF ESTHER.

making
of

There

of merriment.

no reference to any passage

is

Scripture in them, but only a reminder of the

Of

wonderful deliverance.

course,

present

by the remembrance of the

dangers they had gone through, he wants to strengthen and to

encourage the hearts of the Jews, but the authority by which

he commands

is

solely his own.

no

Hitherto

feasts

were

kept by them save those commanded by Moses in the name

and by the authority of God.

feast of the exile, in

means

which

It

was

to a certain extent a

men became

also the exiled

the

Mordecai, too, directs his writings

of deliverance.

only to the Jews in the empire of King Ahhashverosh, " both

nigh and

far."

It is to be observed that the

the feast

ground here given

for enjoining

not because the Jews had obtained predominance,

is

but the sudden change in their condition from trouble to

tranquillity,

from sorrow

On

to gladness.

such occasions they

sent to each other presents, according to the ciistom of the

times

but Mordecai was

particularly anxious in his letters

upon the

that they should bestow gifts

appear that Mordecai was conscious,

feast, that

he could not enjoin

of Moses.

True, it is added, "

(f'npl),

it

It does not

poor.

when

instituting this

in the spirit

and authority

and the Jews took upon them

"

they declared their readiness to comply with his order,

which was easy enough,

an annual
stances

for people are generally glad to

festival of rejoicing, especially

but there was yet wanting in

it

any previous con-

sultation with the people as to whether they

such a feast for

ordained

it

all

time.

It

who had procured

have

under such circum-

wanted

to

have

was the same Mordecai that

for

them the second decree

of

the king.
Ver.
written,"

appendix.

Now

From

23.

the

editor

Thus

the style

is

far

"and

words,

of

the

he

has

book

writing," ver. 25,

The phrase
is

as

begins

Mordecai
to

He

uses quite

"ison nv ")^N, "

only found here.

had

write

given the original

quite different.

forms of expressions.

by a

the

his

narrative.
different

he commanded

The same

idea

is

CHAP.

expressed above only by

when we read
he uses the

**

in:,

^^[^?,

when we

Further,

26, they called these days Purim

the whole book of Esther, which was sent with a

it

said (ver. 27), "the

their seed,

the " letter

memorandum

The word does not occur above.

the Jews.

when

and upon

all

read, ver.

with regard to the events

we must understand by

of this m:t<, " letter,"

to

Again,

devised to destroy them,"

which was not used above, and only because

of similar sound with pn.

it is

he gave an order."

Haman

in ver. 24, "

255

IX. 28.

Finally,

Jews took upon them, and upon

such as joined themselves unto them

one understands by this word, which does

(D^i^an-bi)),"

not

occur in the real text, and especially from the same word in

Dan.
it

is

xi.

34, that

it

much

verted to the Jewish

and

keep the
party of

feast, is

They were
and

my

such as were completely con-

faith, as to

such as had become friends

of the

those of

gained the victory, they as friends and

Jews would have perished with them.

whom

hypothesis, that

united themselves,"

should not have

Ver. 28.

also at all times

because they must reflect that in case the

Haman had

confederates

to

The reason why they should

helpers.

It appears that

to false associates.

refers

applied not so

Were it not so, we

but cnj, " proselytes," or a similar word.

thereby confirmed.

is

D''l^jn,

"And

is made in chap. viii. 1

7
are there to read onn^nD, " they

mention

we

that these days."

The Jewish commentators conclude from these words that

the book of Esther was written by inspiration, because it is
here said, " these days should be remembered, and should not
fail

from the Jews," which must be a prophecy.

They have indeed been

has never been forgotten

fulfilled,

the feast of

for

by the Jews

Purim

nevertheless, they

were not spoken in prophetical, but in legislative language.

These days of Purim shall not

fail

from among the Jews, nor

the memorial of them perish from their seed.^

^

[Jewish tradition teaches that in the days of Messiah

cease except the feast of Purim.

Trans.]

all

the feasts shall

BOOK OF ESTHER.

256

Ver. 29. "Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Ahihhail,

wrote!'

This second letter proves more decisively that Esther and

Mordecai assumed a special authority over the Jews, at least

in

as

far

so

they were connected with the related events.

of the words " daughter of Abihhail " is

The addition here

borrowed from the solemn introductory sentence of her own

letter.

But the

was not merely

object of the second letter

emphasize and to confirm the

chiefly in this, that

The emphasis

first.

Esther added her authority to that of

cipn h22, "

Therefore she inserts the words

Mordecai.

The

strength or authority."

" the

influence," " the order," of the shah.

royal

with

authority,"

Therefore the

first

word

of ver.

the letter with her

own
Jews

hand.

This letter was sent like a

in all the

127

provinces, and conIt

was comfort-

name

ing news which Mordecai could communicate in the

The more

the letter

so

and

made

queen herself wrote

tained only words of peace and of assurance.

Esther.

of

29 has in the text a

large n, thus ninani, to emphasize that the

royal decree to the

" the

Eor the celebration

the feast of Purim, the royal authority of Esther was

of.

all

occurs only once

last expression

more in Daniel, and means

use

to

consists

was the second reason

this

of
for

because the Jews, in consideration of what had

happened, are requested not only to keep the feast with gladness,

but also the previous

fast,

remembering that Mordecai

and Esther have themselves fasted during the

had in the hour

from

food.

of

danger cried to

God and

They

distress.

totally abstained

memory

This also should never vanish from the

of the Jews.

After the despatch of the

first letter of

then a serious question whether

on his

it

the influence of Esther was invoked

r\T\mh),

was possible

sole authority a feast like the

feast of joy

If they

Mordecai,
to

Mosaic ones

and

should

had passed from sorrow

it

it

became

establish

therefore

be only a

to joy

(pi"'o

they should not only commemorate the experienced joy,

but also the sorrow.

CHAP.

257

IX. 29.

The duty was enforced upon the Jews

where/and
and
this

at all times, the

to devote

the

Therefore

to imitate

example of Esther and Mordecai,

one day in the year to fasting and prayer.

authority

of

Mordecai alone was

Esther, the day before Purim.

called the fast of

day was originally the 13th of Adar

may

stated,

but

day of

distress.

this,

it

be supposed

It

so,

because Mordecai began the fast

is
(iv.

niDl^ here, as in iv. 16, of Esther,

Mordecai,

p])V),

"

indeed

But that

not expressly

is

in confirmation of

mentioned before Esther,

We

1).

and

have the word

DnpVT, as in iv.

and he cried with a loud and a

The book properly ends with

of Esther

is

13 th day was the

as the

must not be overlooked

that in ver. 31, Mordecai

For

sufficient.

commandment

written (ver. 32), "the

it is

not

confirmed these matters of Purim," and the fast

this

every-

chap. ix.

the book, the event, the help, and the

feast.

chap. X. are only a historical postscript.

All

1, of

bitter cry."
is

written in

The contents

of

CHAP TEE
Ver.
the

"And

1.

the king AhhasJiverosh laid

tribute

upon

landy

Short as the sentence

is, it

was sought

speculation.

It

the narrator

made

to

X.

has yet caused a good deal of

in various

opinion that this

He

Mordecai.

is

why

under tribute except the

all

by no means

is

to explain

Jewish commentators wanted

this record.

assume that the king had put

Jews, which

ways

was

Grotius

intimated.

of

stated in order to enhance the merits of

exclaims

"

Sunt enim Judaei, magni

artifices

talium."

More modern commentators,

as Bertheau

and Schulz, said

the author wished to show the power of the king.

Keil, as

well as others, thought that he only communicated an item

from the Persian annals.

The report must show the

tributes to

bias of the

narrator;

much when he had prevented

The king had given up

the destruction of Israel.

was not alone that he had renounced the

of

offer

but also the whole property of the Jews, which,

would have become

off,

dominion.

his

own

narrator

much

connects

loss

the

for

report

if

It

Haman,
they had

in all places of his

All this was taken from him.

the plunder was so

the

con-

magnify the wonderful change which the deliver-

ance of Israel had brought about.

been cut

it

The product

of

With

this

thought

concerning

the

tribute.

him.

away the property of the Jews, he laid a

The whole kingdom must make up the
tribute upon all.
deficiency which arose from his presenting the Jews with their
Instead of taking

own

riches.

This application of the general historical fact agrees with

CHAP. X.

In the texts in this verse

the spirit of the whole narrative.

we

find mostly

while in the other passages

scarcely a

is

The two

intentional.

the

tnc^nfc^,

This

tJmitJTiK.

ii

woe which the deed

so far

as

259

1.

it is

written

mistake of the scribe, but

in the

name Ahhashverosh

of Ahhashverosh occasioned.

believe that the reading in this verse

to

is

express
I go
is

the

proper one, and the other a homiletic corruption, although

the

in

first.

the book

used

mention of the name

last

In chap.

v.

Kings.

of

we have an
n^riD,

the sense of " the

in

it

was

as
full

pointed as in the

is

imitation of the style of

observed

sum

"

in

here

so

iv.
it

7,

" the distinguished," " the highest," influence of Mordecai.

is

is

means
It

surprising that Mordecai bears no other title but Yehudi,

" the

But

Jew."

at that
It

religious epithet.

time

was only a national and

it

had not yet received the

annoying character which was put upon

He

calls

Mordecai

"j^oi)

it

sarcastic

and

in later centuries.

n^^D, literally, "the

second to the

By which is meant the king's grand vizier, his substitute, who was the keeper of the royal seal.
That it was a
general Oriental dignity may be inferred from 2 Chron. xxviii.
king."

7,

where

It

seems to have appeared strange to the narrator that Mor-

decai,
vizier.

although

He

Elkanah the

told that Zichri slew

it is

captive Jew, should

"jfjion

n:^jD.

have become royal

was, says he, Dmn^^ hn^, " great

among

the Jews."

Just as the king of Persia and the king of Assyria were both
called h)^^n

^^jd,

power over the

" the great king," that

is,

the one

others, so this expression is used

Mordecai, he was a great one for the Jews,

sentative

and

his letters.

ministers

courts, for

for quite

as

indeed, he

Jews held

was not

offices in

like

with regard to

viz. their repre-

their prince of the captivity, as

And,

who

who had

he proved by

one of the

Muhamedan

many

or Christian

he had more power than they, and was elevated

different reasons.

The

others, not

even excepting

E. Chisdai in Cordova, were raised to their ministerial

on account

of their

offices

knowledge of finance; but not one of

them, however highly esteemed and appreciated,

"

was great

260

BOOK OF ESTHER.

among

the

Jews

" in

the sense in which Mordecai was.

was the acknowledged saviour

of the life of his

He

king and of

His only great prototype was Joseph,

the lives of the Jews.

for Daniel, as it seems, possessed only spiritual authority in

Babylon.

And

the

power that Mordecai possessed over the Jews

was popular and

He

pleasing, " accepted

did not oppress

them

(''IV"))

of the multitude."

they, his brethren (vnx)

not assume a proud and overbearing

air

he did

towards them, and

did not forget in the uniform of the grand vizier the garment
of the penitent.

Why

should he not

when he had promoted

their

safety

be beloved by

them

and welfare, and made

arrangements that his posterity should maintain the peace

For this

is

the sense of

were not merely words

n)bli^

nnn, " speaking peace."

of peace,

They

but he laboured that the

peace should remain uninterrupted for the present and the

future, that

is,

for " his seed " ()^^), viz. " the posterity of the

inasmuch as their enemies had received a mortal

people,"

blow.

Alas

the book closes without further information about

the end of the king, of Esther, and of Mordecai.

other disturbance occurred, and, in
prosperity and peace in

the Persian

time of Alexander the Great.

tion about such persons as

have given us

many

fact,

the

But no

Jews enjoyed

kingdom beyond the

But we have no more informa-

Mordecai and Esther.

Later times

speculative interpretations, but not facts

of authentic historical value.

APPENDICES.

THE SECOND TARGUM.

{Translated from the Aramaic.)

1.

And

it

to pass in tlie days of Ahhashverosli, one of the

came

ten kings

who once

And

future.

The

these are the ten kings.

King

that of the

ruled and are to rule the world in the

of

kings, the Lord of hosts,

speedily magnified upon us.

The second

kingdom

first

may

that of

is

is

it

be

Mmrod,

the

third of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the fourth of Israel, the fifth

of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the sixth of Ahhashverosh,

the seventh of Greece, the eighth of Eome, the ninth of the

King Messiah, the son

King

Lord

of kings, the

to us,

and to

of David, the
of hosts,

may

and

its

be speedily revealed

When

the inhabitants of the earth.^

all

kingdom of Babylon was about

earth,

tenth (again) of the

it

dominion

of the country did not

to pass

the

be destroyed from the

to

away from

it,

the inhabitants

know whom they should

place as king

which the
number. The idea of such
universal rulers is more peculiar to the East, where the great shahs have
always pretended to be rulers of the world. Of Kai Kawus says Firdussi,
^

In Dan.

vii. 24,

Rev. xvii. 12,

we have

i3arallel passages in

rulers of the world are spoken of as ten in

among

other things,
"

Now Kawus

as

king in the place of his father succeeded,

And

all

Now

he saw that the earth quaked and trembled."

him

the world was to

subjected.

more largely developed in a mythic-dogmatic way in the

Tshakravartin was lord of the wheel,
Universal kings were the lords of the ages. It must be
of the world.

This idea

is

" Tshakravartins " of the Buddhists.

i.e.

so understood if one of these Tshakravartins appears to

be lord of the iron

wheel, another of that of brass, another of that of silver, and another of that
Buddha had the
of gold (Remusat on Foe-koue-ki, Paris 1836, p. 134).
choice, according to the legend, of
ascetic.
2

He

Comp.

becoming either a Tshakravartin or an

chose the last (comp. Matt.

1 Cor. xv.

23-28.

iv. 8).

264

APPENDIX

over them.

And when

I.

Nebuchadnezzar,

tlie

Evil-Merodach succeeded him, and the inhabitants of

died,

him over them.

the country did not want to raise

answered and

Thy

father

how

sudden turn up, and come upon us and

surely dead and

doms

"My

he said to them,

now you do not

thy father made
thereof;

Is this the

is

do at that time

place thee

of

father

kill

us."

people

the

of

When
of his

Nebuchadnezzar

is

removed from the world, and yet until

it."
They rejoined, " Nebuchadnezzar

believe

the whole earth tremble, and

that
'

"

made

it

all

the king-

expressly written:

is

the earth to tremble, that did

(Isa. xiv. 16).

He went

him

concerning

for

man

shake kingdoms

we

shall

Nebuchadnezzar may perhaps

Evil-Merodach heard these words

country,

For they

Thy father Nebuchadnezzar had

said to him, "

not his dwelling with men, and

over us

'

king of Babylon,

What

did Evil-Merodach

to the treasuries of the king,

and

brought out from these chains of iron and of brass, and threw

them upon the

soles

of

him

"

But thou

father,^

and

As
away from thy sepulchre

like

Nebuchadnezzar

dragged him out of his grave.

it

art cast forth

is

his

written concerning

was the exposition of Isa. xiv. 19 that gave rise to the above legend,
mentioned by all commentators also on 2 Kings xxv. 27 (comp.
Munk, p. 12). Nebuchadnezzar appeared as a type of all persecutors and
destroyers.
They saw in him a national warning for all time. Moreover,
we have here represented historical experiences of the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar, as is seen from Dan. iv. 30, had for a long time been subject to a
fearful disease which made him incapable of governing.
At that time,
says the legend, Evil-Merodach ruled in his stead.
But when Nebuchadnezzar recovered, and found his son upon the throne, he threw him into
prison.
When he again claimed the throne, the Babylonians, as is said
above, refused to reinstate him, and wanted to be certain that the king
was dead. The Jews experienced a similar fate when a rumour was spread
for the purpose of raising a revolt that Herodos had died.
They were
severely punished for that (Josephus, Antiq. xAdi. 6).
He also reports
1

It

which

is

that similar dangers arose with reference to Agrippa, the favourite of

Caligula, after the decease of the
xviii. 6).

The legend

Emperor Tiberius (Josephus,

displays national animus

when

it

Antiq.

represents Evil-

Merodach treating his father in such a manner as only enemies were

wont to do. The narrative of Herodotus (iii. 16) is also important to the
expositor of Isaiah.

Amasis

He

tells of

Cambyses, " That he caused the corpse of

and ordered to beat it, to tear

to be taken out of the grave

265

THE SECOND TARGUM.

an abominable branch

"

And when

(ibid.).

the people saw

that Evil-Merodach had done the will of his heavenly Father,

they

up with great

rose

all

rejoicing,

and they clothed him

with the beautiful purple of the kingdom, and rendered him

much honour and

Then Daniel, the man greatly

" Thy father Nebuchadnezzar

glory.

beloved, said to Evil-Merodach

never in

all his

says of him,

'

days set the prisoners

thus Scripture

free, for

that let not loose his prisoners to their

(Isa. xiv. 17).

measure

their

And when

the enemies of the

of

then

guilt,-^

Jews

'

home

up

filled

Nebuchadnezzar thy father

equipped himself, and went up against them, and destroyed

their land,

and plundered the

city of Jerusalem,

and took the people of

the holy house with

fire,

and brought them

to Babylon,

king of Judah,

whom

will

of

his

and with them Jehoiachin,

he bound

thirty-seven years, because he

heavenly

Father.

and

had

beside me.

As

prison

for

submitted to

the

kept

not

is

no king and ruler

the Scripture expressly says concerning

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds

out the hairs, to prick

Homer

it,

and

to treat it

with

all

'

him

Eomans.
Pompeius

The Koman people thus

(Plut. Life of

Pomp.

we read (Lampridius,

cap.

Vit.

1).

" (Isa. xiv. 1 4).

possible disgrace."

narrates at the end of the Iliad that the wrathful Achilles

treated Hector in a similar manner.

died,

in

Nebuchadnezzar was also

exceedingly haughty, and said. There

and burned

Israel captive,

ill-

The same happened among the

ill-treated

When

Oommod.

Strabo,

the

cap.

the

father

of

Emperor Commodus

xvii.)

" Corpus

ut uneo traheretur atque in Tiberim mitteretur senatus

ejus

populus
postulavit."
The same was done before to Vitellius, as Suetonius (cap.
xvii.) reports.
Christian Eome and Constantinople have also witnessed
such scenes.
[The friendliness with which the legend treats Evil-Merodach has its
origin in 2 Kings xxv. 27.
The Talmud (Berachoth 106) records that
Hezekiah dragged the bones of his father Ahaz on a bed of ropes. Munk
may have understood it in a Rabbinical sense, i.e. when the Jews have to
say something unpleasant of themselves, they speak in the third person.
See Rashi on Ex. i. 11. Trans.]
et

1 The expression "j^linn pn"'5<JD

U'^^nDNl^l must be translated as we
have done, and not as Munk (p. 14), " when the measure of the sins of the
Jews was full." It expresses that when judgment should come upon the
enemies of Israel they attacked them, for their judgment proceeded from

their hostility to Israel.

266

APPENDIX

I.

In that hour Evil-Merodach did^ the

went

Father, and

will

of Jehoiakim, king of the tribe of Judah,

What

the prisoners with him.

all

He

heavenly

of his

and liberated Jehoiachin, son

to the prison

and they brought out

did Evil-Merodach further

then went to the royal treasuries, and brought out from

there the best balms and all kinds of aromatics, and then

washed and anointed him (Jehoiachin), and put royal garments

upon him, and allowed him
his

From him Darius

life.

days of

to eat at his table all the

Mede

the

received the kingdom.

That Ahhashverosh, the Persian king, son of Darius, the

Median

king, that Ahhashverosh

(is

who

it)

ordered wine to

be brought from a hundred and twenty-seven provinces for a

hundred and twenty-seven kings who waited before him, in

order that every one of

them should drink the wine

own country which would

not

wicked King Ahhashverosh, that

my

injure
fool,

kingdom be destroyed than that

him.

It

and whose orders were not

commanded

my

decree should not be

That Ahhashverosh who

right.

That Ahhashverosh in whose

time the house of Israel was sold for nought, as

Ye were

sold for nought."

ordered

from Lebanon and gold from Ophir, but

That Ahhashverosh in whose days

the law

morning thou
xxviii.

6*7).

the relative
others

who

of

it

bring cedars

did not come.

what

fulfilled

Israel

"

is

In the

Would God it were even " (Deut.

There are five men in connection with whom
in is written who are called wicked, and five
1

The righteous with whom

are called righteous.

:

Abraham, Aaron and Moses, Moses and

Aaron, Hezekiah, Ezra.

whom

was

Moses concerning

to
it

shalt say,

in is written are

of

like the sides of a cooking

That Ahhashverosh who

in

written

it is

That Ahhashverosh in whose

became black

face

Israel's

vessel.

written

that

w^ho said, " Eather let

Queen Yashti should appear naked before

that

him, but she did not appear.

time

of his

That Ahhashverosh whose counsels were perverse,

obeyed."

"

is

is
1

The

written, "

Some

He

five

wicked men are

(t^in)

Nimrod,

was a mighty hunter

editions read "i^D instead of l^y.

267

THE SECOND TAKGUM.

(Gen.

X. 8).

whom it

Esau, of

(Geu. xxxvi. 8)

Hodu

in the west unto

Gush

yet he ruled from

who

Haman

Hodu

Gush near each other

over

Hodu and

who

That Ahhashverosh

But were not Hodu and

to Gush.

The sense

it

and who killed his

for the sake of his wife.

ruled from

hundred and

in the east, over a

That Ahhashverosh was

provinces.

killed his wife for the sake of his friend,

friend

Edom "

And

not keep them, his days were shortened

tv/enty-seven

(in) is

Dathan and Abiram, that King Ahaz,

as the last made promises and did

that

that Ahhashverosh.

Esau

written, "

is

is

this

As he

ruled

Gush, which are near each other, so he held

unlimited sway over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces

and the governments that belonged to them.
Similar to
this,

thou findest in reference to King Solomon,

He

"

ruled

over the whole side of the river from Tiphsah unto Gaza
(1

Kings

Were not Tiphsah and Gaza near

V. 4).

to

"

each

other ?
But the meaning is, as he ruled over the Tiphsah
and Gaza, so he ruled over the whole region of the side of
the stream of the world.
There were four men who ruled from

one end of the world to the other.

to the nations of the world,

and Ahab were of

Two

and two

to

them belonged
Solomon
Israel.
of

In connection with Solomon

Israel.

Goncerning Ahab
or a kingdom ? "

written as said already.

there anywhere a ^people

it

is

it

is

said, " Is

The universal

kings from the nations are Nebuchadnezzar and Ahhashverosh,

only the extent of the

kingdom was shortened, and

latter's

he ruled but over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces.

But why did he deserve

seven

provinces

to rule over a

Because God

future take Esther to wife,

lived a

who

is

hundred and twenty-

said,

"

He

will

in

the

a descendant of Sarah that

hundred and twenty-seven years, so she

shall rule

over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces."

II-

In those days, when the king Ahhashverosh sat upon his

throne,

which was prepared

for

him

in

Shushan the

capital.

268

APPENDIX

This throne was neither his

I.

own nor

that of his father's, but

was the throne of Solomon, which Hiram, the son of a

it

widow

of Tyre,

had made with great

whom

Solomon

womb, revealed

mother's

wisdom, and

beginning.

him

the

to

other.

this

King

set to reign

He

chose

him

he was born, loved him when he was yet in his

showed him deep hidden

and

was

It

Holy One, blessed be He

the

from one end of the world

before

skill.

to

He

an

him hidden

to

things.

He

understanding

and

mysteries,

gave him knowledge

heart

from the very

looked through the persons

who came

adjudicate their differences so that they could

say what was false before him, for he

knew

to

not

to distinguish

him who was right and him who was wrong. The
Lord bestowed upon him splendour and glory, put the royal
crown upon his head, and invested him with grace and

between,

mercy, as

He was

He

did once to his father David

first day when he

him Jedidiah (beloved),
the King of the world, of the

They

because he was beloved of

Lord of

days.

twenty-three^ years old on the

received the kingdom.

"

his

all

hosts.

And He

sent

Thus

it is

called

written (and the Lord loved him)

by the hand

of IsTathan the prophet,

and he

called his name Jedidiah" (2 Sam. xii. 25).

They called
him Solomon (peace), because there was peace in his days.
For thus it is written " And Judah and Israel dwelt safely."
They called him Ben^ (builder), because he built the temple,
:

its

n instead of tDThe glorifying

of Solomon in the Jewish legend has its ground in

opposition to Christianity (see my Kaiser und Konigsthrone, p. 60).

What

belonged to the Messiah, the son of David, was transferred to

Solomon. The names in Prov. xxx. 1, with the exception of Agiir, are
here applied to Solomon. Ben is taken in the sense of builder (not son),

to give the idea of stone,

stone (lapis

herillis^

in

px

Isa.).

(as

Ben and

When

Ibn).

For Christ

is

also called

the Targumist says that he

is

called

Yaka, because he was king and lord over the nations, it is because he
sees in t?tJ*Dn Np'' a correspondence to X!^Dn "^"O, and derives it from the
Greek viysu oiya, or we consider Np^ = i<p3 = j/e6i. In Bemidbar Kabba,
cap. 10 (ed. Amst. 199a), seven names of Solomon are enumerated
Solomon Koheleth, Jedidiah, Agur, Ben, Yaka, Lemiel, and Ethiel, and
80 Ben and Yaka are not separated.
:

269

THE SECOND TARGUM.

as

written

it is

(2

Chron.

vi.

" I

They

2).

written

is

it

and ruler over

so

"

Solomon

because he was lord

upon the throne

sat

devils,

kinds of

all

fish

and the fowls of heaven, together with the

came

animals,

own

their

of

in the possession

much

of

He was

friends,

his

His

and

face,

kings

came

all

of his

The

and

perfect

true,

trembled

him.

All

him

they desired to

sit

p^-ii)

is

loved

kings

they

and

to

him;
him

brought

servants,

They

sayings,

and
all

their

run before

his wisdom.

When

he began

and prostrated themselves before him

to

come

their cities, even hated their

1

the
;

(the globe).

of his wise

before him, and yearned to hear

mouth and

who were about

was more powerful

Mahhol

fame and

before

salute

to

to speak, they knelt

all

his

understanding was greater

the children of

the words of his

'^

became

for the sake of David

His kingdom

sons and daughters to be his

him

explained

All came to see

He was

wise.

things.

heard everywhere

governors

He

words of his knowledge.

the kingdoms, and his

than that of

all

house

understood the mysteries of heaven, and was

evil,

wise in divine
all

and powerful

rich

gold.

obeyed him.

to hear

power among the

than

sea,

and wild

His fame was spread among the kings, and

His servant.

shunned

from the
cattle

and made known mysteries

High One elevated and exalted him

his

his

and adversaries

enemies

the

all

and longed

and

silver

parables, solved hidden problems,

end.

into

accord to his slaughter

to be slaughtered for his banquet.

without

of his

demons,^ and ferocious

and accidents, were delivered

spirits

Imps brought him

hands.

And
He was

men."

All the kingdoms feared him, nations and

father David."

evil

with

is

assistance.

all

of obedience)

languages were obedient to him

beasts,

his

wiser than

"

the kings of the earth, east and west.

all

written

it is

God

Ethi-el, "

God was

of

He was

Yaka (commander

called

And

"

him

called

Word

me/' because the

so

have built Thee an house of habitation

him neglected and despised

places and countries, and came

to

by mistake omitted in Amst.

ed.

270

APPENDIX

to hear amiable words of

he manifested the

I.

wisdom from

his lips with

When

of the Lord of lords.

j)raise

which
he

opened his mouth, he spake like a trumpet the praise to

To him was given a

the Most High King.

to

large

key whereby

open the gates of wisdom and understanding of the heart.

He

understood the languaires of birds and of animals,

command,

and rams ran

at his

before him.

He

he instructed

all schools, all

him.

and

lions

All rulers were seized with terror, to him was given

of all kings,

and (through

all
all

countries

no kingdom could

his influence)

revealed

the secrets of

men, he was the head

all

take up weapons against another.^

knew

weapons

all nations,

kings and queens trembled before

the crown of victory, he subdued

him,

tigers seized

understood languages better than

staiirs

All kings shook before

mysteries

men

he

because

him, so that he

to

did

works of

righteousness and charity, he was from the beginning worthy

be king in this world, and he shall be worthy in the

to

world to come.^

This King Solomon was

royal

throne to be

overlaid

with

beryl

HI.

who had caused

it

a glorious

made, covered with gold from Ophir,

stones,

marble,

brilliants,^

samaragel,

carbuncle, diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones.*

For no king was the throne made

like

it,

and no kingdom

To be read ^n.
The discovery is higlily interesting, that the praise here given to
Solomon consists of two alphabetical acrostics, which even compilers of
the Targums had failed to notice. The acrostic is forward and backward,
1

and can only be seen in the

original.

This also

a contrasting imitation

is

of the Byzantian acrostical song of praise in reference to Christ.

3 The SV"*!; ^J3S are lustrous stones.
p^ = j^|, as nTJ = 1V3. p^ is
applied to things white and shining, to the ornament worn by the high

upon his forehead, and to white blossom as |>yj, to shine, and

p, blossom (comp. my treatise on " Nazareth " in IFege nach Damascus,

priest

p. 11).
* Bead p3113nD and not p:nD13,
has for the Hebrew ubn\ For ontJ^

derived the French word " briller."

viz.
it

Targum
From this is

chalcedony, which the

has

pi)"lU, beryllus.

'

2 71

THE SECOND TARGUM.

could

produce

similar

follows: Twelve
to

them twelve

upon

of gold,

eagles

and an eagle opposite a

wing

The

lion.

made

was

throne

This

ones.

of gold stood

lions

an

opposite

lion

right

as

and opposite

it,

paw

eagle,

of the golden

and the

lion

was toward the

left

wing of the golden eagle was toward the right paw

left

The sum

of the golden lion.

seventy

Towards the
round.

the same

upon

number

it

of

was

eagles.

where the king's seat was, the throne was

top,

had

It

of all the lions

there were

two, and

of the golden eagle,

of gold,

steps

six

as

it

is

written

"

The

king made a throne of ivory, and this throne had six steps."

Upon

the

first

lay a

step

golden ox, and opposite to

it

golden lion; upon the second step lay a golden bear, and
opposite

to

it

a golden lamb

golden panther, and opposite to

upon the third step lay a

it

a golden owl

fourth step lay a golden eagle, and opposite to

peacock
to

it

upon the

fifth

a golden hen

hawk, and opposite

stood
its

likewise

claws.

step lay a golden cat,

upon the

it

a golden

and opposite

and upon the sixth step lay a golden

to it

-a

golden dove.

a golden dove, holding a

Thus one day

Upon

the throne

golden

will all the nations

hawk

in

and languages

be delivered into the hands of King Messiah, and into the

hands of the house

of Israel.

Upon

the top of the throne

stood a candlestick, properly arranged with lamps, ornaments

(or pomegranates), snuffers, ash-pans, cups,

and

pictures of the seven patriarchs were engraven.

of these are as follows

Abraham,

To one

lilies.

were attached seven pipes, upon which the

side of the shaft

Isaac,

Adam, Noah,

Jacob,

The names

his eldest son

and Job among them.

Shem,

To the

other side of the shaft were likewise attached seven pipes,

upon which were represented seven pious men

whose

names

Eldad, Medad,
rather Hur).^

are

Levi,

and the

Upon

of the world,

Amram, Moses, Aaron,

prophet Haggai among them (or
Kehath,

the top of the candlestick stood a golden

1 The proper reading is "i"in, for Haggai was not, of course, in the time of
Solomon. The reading of 'jn must have arisen from the word s-^aj. Hur

272

APPENDIX

I.

which

jar filled with the purest olive oil

of the temple

taining the

purest

the candlestick,

Two

and under
olive

was a great golden vessel con-

it

which supplied the lamps of

oil

and upon

was portrayed the high

it

priest.

branches proceeded from this great vessel, and upon

them were depicted the two sons

and Phinehas,^ and
bearing

pipes

the

Kadab and Abihu.

gold,

lamps

suj^plied the

out of

these

pictures

of

of

Eli,

namely, Hophni
proceeded two

branches

two sons

Aaron,

of

There were also upon

two

it

viz.

seats of

one for the high priest and the other for the vice high

priest.

Towards the top of the throne were attached seventy

golden

chairs,

upon which

as judges before

Solomon.

the

sat

Two

seventy

doves were

Synhedrists

sitting,

one on

each side of the ears of Solomon, in order that he should

not be frightened

upper side of the

of gold,

throne were

which formed a shade

Solomon wanted
wheels.

When

On

the tumult of the judges).

(at

And wherever

for the king.

the throne

to go,

the

placed twenty -four vines

moved under him upon

he placed his foot upon the

golden ox raised him to the second, and so

first
it

step, the

went from

the second to the third, from the third to the fourth, from
the fourth to the

fifth,

the eagles took hold of

and from the

him and

There was also a serpent

When

fifth

seated

of silver

to the sixth,

him upon the

where
throne.

around the wheels.

the kings heard the fame of the royal throne of

was the father ot the architect Bezaleel, and stands everywhere near
The Midrash represents him as a martyr. The
Moses and Aaron.
jjeople wanted him to make the golden calf, which he refused to do, and
Shemoth Kabba, cap. 41, 42, ed. Amst. p. 139.
therefore they killed him.
The legend seems to have arisen for
inii^ IJim lino bn:> n\i^ HM ^6the sake of excusing Aaron, to show that his life also was in danger.
1 From 1 Sam. ii. it appears clearly that the two sons of Eli were not
virtuous and exemplary characters. And yet the Midrash (Beresh, cap. 54,
Thou hast offered
ed. Amst. 49a) represents God as saying to Abraham
seven lambs, and so the Philistines will slay thy seven righteous (D''pnv),
among whom Hophni and Phinehas stand first. This legendary view of
their character, though in opposition to the view of Scripture, occasioned
It displays a desire to
their being depicted upon the candlestick.
pei^petuate the fame of their priest warriors.
:

273

THE SECOND TAEGUM.

King Solomon, they assembled themselves and came and

bowed before him, and exclaimed No such throne was ever
:

made

for

any king, and no nation can manufacture

And when

the kings saw

they prostrated themselves

its glory,

and praised the Creator

of the

like

its

As

World.

Solomon ascended the throne and

King

as

oft

down, the crown was

sat

placed upon his head, and after this a great serpent artificially

wound

itself,

and also

lions

and eagles rose up and

artificially

shaded his head, a golden dove descended from one

pillar,

opened a cabinet and took out the book of the law and placed
it

in his hands, in accordance with the words of

it

shall be with him,

all

the elders sat on the right and on the

bear false

moved

testimony

artificially,

growled,

Israel.

left of

the throne to

cats

before

who wanted

Solomon, then the wheels

the oxen lowed, the lions roared,^ the bears

the lambs

hooted, the

And

King Solomon, and

the high priest came to salute

administer justice, and there appeared witnesses

to

"

shall read therein all the days of

and his sons may long reign in

his life," that he

When

and he

Moses

bleated,

the

panthers yelled, the owls

mewed, the peacocks

cocks

shrieked, the

crowed, the hawks screamed, and the birds chirped, and caused
terror in the hearts of the false witnesses, so that they said to

themselves

"

We

world will be

must bear witness

destroyed

to the truth

on account of

Solomon went up upon the throne,

if not,

When King

us."

rivers of spices flowed

And when

no other king had such a throne.

The words describing the voices of the animals

Targum emended, py^ is used of lambs, but

and

the enemies of

Israel reached the height of their guilt (see above), the

the

the

are in

my

wicked

edition ot

of the panther should

be used pys (boare). In reference to the voice of cats, instead of |''D''"'tD read
Of peacocks, instead of p^^''^ read p^^JSO (pupulare).
J''D''^D (miza mica, etc.).
Of a bear may be said pat^riD, but of a hawk must be {'DQDD. as it is called
pipitare, pipare, piplire.
|V3

""J^,

the last occurs.

Comp.

my Kaiser

und

Konigsthrone, p. 140.

Levi quotes a MS: on Job xxxix. 29, where

It is
is somewhat strange.
The expression son of

elsewhere

t<^fJ "13.

by which the sea

sometimes denominated. The name

and the
from the rapidity of

certainly a kind of Nisus,

eagle, the sparrow,

hawk

arises

is

the flight of the bird.

274

APPENDIX

I.

He went up

Nebuchadnezzar equipped himself.

against them,

destroyed their land, plundered the city of Jerusalem, burned

the temple, took the people of Israel captive, and brought

them

Diblah in the land of Hamath

to

know

the throne, he did not

artificial

step, a

to

and with them he

And when

also brought the throne of Solomon,

King Nebuchadnezzar wanted

the wicked

ascend and seat himself upon

that an ascent

was

effected

means, and so when he put his foot upon the

golden lion stretched out his

a blow upon his

left

foot, so

riglit

by

first

paw, and gave him

that he became lame until the

day of his death.^

After the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, came Alex-

ander the Macedonian and took the throne of Solomon, and

brought

it

When

to Egypt.

throne, and that

it

Shishak, king of Egypt, saw this

surpassed in beauty

he wanted to seat himself upon

that he

must ascend by means

when he put

his

foot

stretched out his right

it

of

upon the

all

the royal thrones,

but he also did not know

artificial
first

step,

wheels, and so

a golden lion

paw and smote him upon

his left foot,

and so he was called the lame Pharaoh unto the day of his
These remarks are legendary, but they contain historical impressions.
He slew Josiah, and
occasion for them was given by King Necho.
heavily taxed Jerusalem. The name was translated the lame (as if it had
Another Egyptian king, p^^% plundered
been derived from 5^33).
Jerusalem in the time of Rehoboam (1 Kings xiv. 26), and the quality of
lameness was ascribed to him, as if his name is derived from pic^, " a leg.''
But although this is said of Nebuchadnezzar, yet a political allusion to a
Nebuchadnezzar stands for the Roman
later time is easily discerned.
emperor who also destroyed Jerusalem. The war began under Claudius
Nero, and Claudius is derived from Claudus, " lame." It is interesting
^

The

to note that the leader of the Vandals, Genseric (Geiserich),

away from the Romans the Jerusalem temple

to Africa (Procop. Vand.

ii. 9
" equi casu claudicans."
;

who

took

and carried them

comp. Papencordt, Vandalen, p. 350), was
treasures

A remarkable parallel
found in the Mongolian legend (comp. Jlilg,
Mongalische Miihrehen, p. 206).
A golden throne is shown upon thirtytwo steps stand thirty-two wooden figures.
It was the throne of the
god Churmista, and after him the throne of the king Vikramaditja.
When Ardshi Bordshi wanted to sit down upon it, the wooden figures did
beat and push him, and said, " If thou dost sit down upon it, thou wilt
die."
Then he and his people prayed.
lame (Jordanes,

to the throne of

Get. 53),

Solomon

is

THE SECOND TARGUM.

And

death.

King Antioclms, came

wlien Epiphanes/ son of

Egypt and destroyed

to

Solomon and brought

it

it,

275

he took with him the throne of

There a leg of the throne

into a ship.

with the chain of gold was broken, and they brought

artists

and goldsmiths of the world

not do

it

up

it,

all

the

but they could

until this day.

And when
rose

to repair

his

kingdom was

after him,

at

an end, and Cyrus the Persian

he for the sake of building the temple had the

merit of being able to ascend and seat himself upon the throne
of

Solomon, the like of which there was not in

all

the kingdoms.

IV.

In the third year of King Nebuchadnezzar the house of

and exclaimed

Israel wept, groaned, sighed,

enemy has

the

Woe

"

to us

prevailed over us, he has plundered our land,

destroyed our provinces, carried us into exile, and has done

every injustice against

us.

Our

old

men he put in chains,

men he slew with the

our princes he dragged away, our young

sword, and our children he took captive

our glory

is

taken from us."

Ah

the crown of

For when the kings

of the

house of David were in existence they reigned over the whole

After David succeeded Solomon his son, whom the
Holy One, blessed be He made to rule over all the beasts of

world.

the

field,

and over the fowls of the

air,

and over the creeping

things of the earth, and over devils, demons, and spirits, whose

language he understood as they also understood

it is

written:

And when

"And

the heart of

wine, he sent to invite

West who were near

in the royal palace.^

his.

he spake of trees" (1 Kings

all

iv.

For thus
33).

King Solomon was once merry with

the kings of the East and of the

the land of Israel, and he lodged

And when

them

again merry with wine, he

ordered that the violins, cymbals, tambourines, and harps upon

^

Read instead of

D''J"lS^iX.

Concerning the Solomonic legend, I have treated in my "Thron

Salomo's" {Wissenscfiaftl. Bericht der Erfurter Akadamie, 1851) in my
Kaiser und Konigsthrone, Berlin 1873, and in the treatise Schamir (Erfurt
^

1856).

276

APPENDIX

I.

which his father played should be brought

further merry with wine, he

commanded

birds, the reptiles, the devils,

demons, and

who were

called

them

all

by

the wild beasts, the

At

his greatness

and hear

my

"

my

my

not subject to

country, the

name

of

JVeihrauchland in Arahien,
says: "roaxvrcc.

Kiel rv]g

'hi

xxvaif^ov

iy.7:op'iocg

)C<^vai

months

since thou

my

upon

of truth

o'

v7^r,i-

ovroi rs (the

Troif/.TrT^Ti&'yjx,

KOCl rpiTTohuV

made an
kingdom which

over the world and

all

lord the king

whose

xii. p. 356).

Salja, in

is

saw a

certain

Kitor,^

whose

Arabia, was famous for

(comp. Kitter, Weihrauch und

The note of Strabo is interesting
frankincense)

y^pvjiGui Ktuucifio^urj)
koci

town

it

sari ro ttA'^^o? (of

Sabeans)

Then

fortified

^
"l^DV is from n"lDp, " frankincense."
frankincense.
Many authors report of

tln-ee

heart and words

I thought, Is there a country or a

inspection.

uuu

said

Since then I have not eaten any food, nor drank

when lie

in

lord of the earth, incline thine ears

any water, and have flown

is

wood answered and

of the

Are there not

words.

hast put counsel in

tongue

leading

should appear before him, or else he would

Then the cock

King Solomon

to

man

wood was missed among

Then the king commanded

the fowls, and was not found.

anger that he

to

scribes

and they came together with-

their names,

that time, the cock of the

destroy him.

be brought,

The royal

staying with him.

out being bound or ibrced, and without even a

them.

And,

liim.

spirits to

show

that they should dance before him, to

the kings

to

kuI

"hotii'oc

(tpvyu-

coar oivrl

kui roig oeAAo/j

Ysppxlot 'Vhovaiuroirot ttxvtom/

utocoksv^v ^cpviuf^ocTUv T Kxl ypvpa[/,ccro}'j, yJhivov

Kul KpoClVipOW GVV

'^JCTTUflCtdl KCll

ffvpoifiuroe. kolI rdly^ot kocI cpo(pxi Oi

t'hi^ct.VTOg

T^ TUV OiKUV

'7:

UKVT ihi'l

(X.

kxI 'Kpvaoi' kxI ocpyvpov

sh'iu,

Kul yup
'hi6oKO>.-

rvyxavii li wtt oi Ki'Afii v x" (Mh. xvi. 4, 19, ed. Paris, p. 662). "There
is such a great quantity of frankincense that they use cinnamon and cassia
Through this commerce,
for fuel instead of faggots and other firewood.
the Sabeans and the Gerrhaons are the richest of all, and they have a great
TiTiTov

of gold and silver vessels, of beds, tripods, basins, together with

cups and the whole decoration of the houses. Even the doors, walls, and
Kemarkable details,
ceilings are decorated with gold, silver, and ivory."
which Ritter had overlooked, are in the fragments of Juba (Fragm. Histor,

number

Graecor.

iii.

479).

Strabo says also

"

On account of abundance of servants,

the inhabitants are lazy and careless in their

manner of life."

The authors

from which Strabo drew his information tell indeed a strange story of a
king of Saba " It has a king who presides over the court of justice and
other things. He is not allowed to leave the palace, the people would at
:

THE SECOND TAEGmr.

dust
like

is

more precious than

dung

277

and where

gold,

silver lies

about

Trees also are there standing from

in the streets.

primeval times, and are watered from the garden of Eden.

Great crowds of people are there from the garden of Eden,

having crowns upon their heads, who know nothing of warfare,

nor can they draw the bow.

Not only he,

The Targum

once stone him, in consequence of a saying of an oracle.

but also all his companions live in effeminate luxury."
evidently regards Saba as Arabia.

Targum on Job

i.

15,

seen one

For, indeed, I have

curious oj)inion

is

found in the

where, on the words, "and the Sabeans

fell

upon

This hitherto unexplained

It should be read, not }iym2"n, but jliTniOTl, viz.
passage is interesting.
the Mauritians. The Targum Jerushalmi on Gen. x. 7 has for Saba and
Dedan :iTDl 1^112'!- Instead of njiDT should be read IJilJOJ or nnjij, viz.
Nigrotes, and ||tD for ^fo, the Musones, well-known Mauri tanian nations.
The Targum on Job understands the peoples who fell upon the sons of
Job to have been Moors, black people (hence Nigros, from Niger, MauriFrom this is seen why the queen is called n'h*'?, who is also
tanians).
vmderstood as a night spectre, from np*"^, night. Such a one appears here
as queen and murderess, because Satan, who is also called the black one
(Shahhr), has caused her to be so. There was also a tradition that the
Queen of Saba came from Ethiopia, as even Josephus reports {Antiq. viii.
6. 5).
An opinion had therefore arisen that Cush stood at the head of the
whole race. As T\'h'h is here, and ^h'h, spectres, is in the text several
times spoken of, I shall add a note upon the peculiar story of Jerushalmi
Hhagiga, because the word D"'"'i< which occurs there was not j)roperly understood either by Rapaport {Erech Millin, sub wee) or by Wiinsche {Jerus.
Talmud, p. 181). It is there told that R. Simon ben Shetahh was judging
eighty witches in Askalon. He went there with eighty young men whom
he had concealed. He called the witches D''''^, D''''X hut the name is not
Greek, it is not companions, but rather refers to Jer. 1. 39. The Arabic is
bne avri, from morning, as Delitzsch has already explained it, according to
Bochart (i. 848). Jerome renders this w^ord by Fauni, "a spirit of the forest."
The Syriac version renders it by Sirens, which on the whole is correct.
tliem," it says

p^TliQ'Tl "IJIIDT

It is also instructive that the

The
500

Targum on

Jer. renders

O'lij^

by

|''7inn,

witches, according to the opinion of the ancients, appeared in

the form of cats (comp.

62, p.

JT'^"'^.

cats.

D^^O

my

Sunem,

Grimm,

MytJiol.

vol. vii. 256).

1051

also Ausland, 1855, Nr.

The people

by
The saying
lift them up

called the witches

such and other names (like weather-cats, thunder-cats, etc.).

also of Simon ben Shetahh to the young men, that they must

from the earth in order that they should no more be injurious, wap in
accordance with the common notion. It was, e.g., taught in connection
with lawsuits about witches, that they should not be permitted to touch
the ground, otherwise they would again become transformed (comp.
Grimm, Mythol. p. 1028). We are reminded of similar ideas in the conflict between Heracles and Antaeus.

278

APPENDIX

woman who
loins like a

them

rules over

Now,

Saba.

if it

and her name

all,

my

please

I.

Queen

is

mighty man, and

and go

shall arise

of Kitor, in the land of Saba,

and

to the city

shall bind its kings

and

my

lord

governor in chains of iron, and shall bring them to

This speech pleased the king, and royal scribes

the king."

were

called, a letter

was written and

cock of the wood, who

the

lifted

up

the city of

to

Kitor, in

wings of the

tied to the

his

and compelled other birds to

air,

came

of

my

lord the king, I shall gird

wings and soared up in

fly

with

Then they

it.

Toward
when the

the land of Saba.

morning the queen went out to worship the

sea,

birds obscured the sunlight, so that the queen out of astonish-

ment took hold

of her clothes

now came down, and

cock of the wood

was

letter

and tore them in

tied to its wings,

which she

once opened and

From me. King

Thou must
thee and to thy princes.
the Holy One, blessed be He made me

Solomon, peace to

know

The

she observed that a

at

read what was written therein, as follows

certainly

pieces.

that

"

to rule over the wild beasts, over the fowls of the air, over
devils,

demons, and

spirits,

and that

all

the kings of the East

and of the West, of the South and of the North, come

If thou wilt

salute me.

come and

are sojourning with

me

but

if

me, I shall show

salute

thee greater dignity than I shall show to

all

the kings that

thou wilt not come to salute

me, I shall send kings, legions, and riders against thee.

if

thou wilt ask.

King Solomon
and the

army
you

legions,

What

sort of kings, legions,

But

and riders has

So know, that the wild beasts are the kings

and the riders are the birds in the

consists of devils, demons,

and

spirits,

in your beds, the wild beasts will kill

and the fowls of the

When

to

air will

who

air.

My

will strangle

you in your houses,

devour your flesh in the

field."

the queen heard the words of the letter she again rent

Then she sent for the elders and prominent men,

Do you know what King Solomon has
?
sent to me "
They answered, " We do not know Solomon,
But she did not trust them,
nor do we esteem his kingdom."
her clothes.

and said

to them, "

279

THE SECOND TARGUM.

nor listen to their words, but caused

all

the

ships to be

collected

and loaded with presents of pearls and of precious

stones.

And

she also sent

him

six

thousand boys and

girls

who were born in the same year, month, day, and hour, and
who were of the same stature and of the same proportion
and they were

all

^ 5<J"i:nX
i^K^nf',

p and

dressed in purple.^

purple garments, pjnj^

is tlie

known Hebrew

p are undoubtedly corresponding terminations.

The

pi"lX

letters

the

and

n exchange in all languages (comp. heav-en and himmel, etc.). j-ij5 is

found again in the Greek ctAoy/iyoV, purple-dyed, namely a A, sea, and g/sy,
which has nothing to do with soyog, work. Pape's explanation, that it
means sea- work, is ])eculiar in connection with the significance of dye. It
surely means the shell-fish from which the purple dye is extracted, just as
in Latin murex comes from mare.
The words Sili"lt< Xt^^3P correspond
That hlatteus came to
to blatteae vestes ; hlatta is also properly a worm.
mean purple, is to be explained from the use of purple silk. Silk and
purple-silk are identical, and blatteus of silk is connected with words in
which it means only purple-dyed, like blatteus colour. Eutrop. speaks of
Uattei funes.
A senator was called blattifer. From this the use has
arisen of even saying, sericoblatta and pallium hlattoserium (comp. Gerard,
Joh. Voss. de theologia Gentili, p. 1612).
From this promiscuous use of
purple dye and of silk material arose the expression of " silkworm " and
" purple worm " but we shall touch upon this afterwards. About the
names of silk there is yet something to be said. In the Mishna (Kilayim,
9. 1) the word ^^^ stands near D"''T'JJ^, which scholars have long ago
recognised as related to sericum. But the opinion that D''1"'K^ must be
read somewhat like sei'is or serie cannot be allowed, for even the
;

say sheram for " silk." ^ More

word which the Jerusalem Talmud has in
the same passage, viz. &<D3t2C which should be read SD30D, Gr. fiirec^oc
or fiotTot^ec (ed. Krotoschin, p. 32a). Another passage in which it occurs
is found in Bereshith Rabba, 40, p. 35c (ed. Amst.).
When Abraham was
on his journey to Egypt he had locked up his wife in a box, in order to
conceal her from the Egyptians. Arrived in Egypt, he was asked to pay
duty for his goods. He said that he was ready to pay for everything,
only they must not open that particular box. They said to him " Hast

Armenians
interesting

also,

and

the great merchants,

difficult is the

thou gold in

nX3m) ?

then j)ay duty or hast thou silk (|"'D3DD

pay duty." Metaxa was then here used for valuable articles which
]'^V'^12)
are taxed, as it stands between gold and pearls, \'hT\0 (comp. Yalkut
Shimoni, n. 67). There is a curious passage in Bereshith Rabba, chap. 77,
p. 67c (comp. Yalkut Shimoni, n. 132, ed. Venice, i. 39a), where we read
" R. Hhiya Rabba and R. Simon had business with Metaxa, and they also
it (jy^t3

'^

^ [This evidently originated from the fact that the shell-fish from which the
purple dye of the silk was extracted was first found at Tyre, which was pronounced
in the original Sar or Sur, with a strong sibilant like Sc.
The fish was likewise

called Scar.

Hence

also the

name

scarlet. Trans.]

280

APPENDIX

She wrote a
follows

"

letter

From

and sent

it

I.

through them, which ran as

the city of Kitor to the land of Israel

is

indeed a journey of seven years, but owing to the questions

which

have

to

three years, the

ask thee, I shall come in three years."

Queen

of

After

Saba really came to King Solomon,

found a forgotten parcel of silk (pD3DC"l N^''^nD)." The word ^b^^riD has
not yet been explained. It is Persian and Arabic, ^r\ is quilts and other
utensils.
D?no is in Arabic volumen, "a book," as well as sform (comp.
Freytag, Lex. Arab.

i.

290a).

Interesting

Chaleb of Giscala in Koheleth Rabha

the word in these passages
is

is

(ed.

is

by Gush
The mentioning of

the mention of Metaxa

Amst.

65&).

important, because

it

shows how groundless

the doubt which ancient scholars have thrown upon the use of metaxa

in the title of Marcianus which was received in the

canis

et

Vediglibus, lib. 39, iv. 16.

They

7),

Pandects {De Publi-

and which they held

as interpo-

enumeration of metaxa vestes serica sub

serica vel attinda, Tribonian has interpolated the word metaxa.
This
opinion is groundless when contemporaries of Marcian (R. Hhiya) use the
word. Rather are the words " Vestis serica " to be considered as a gloss.
The word also occurs in Cod. Theod. (lib. 10, tit. xx. de Murilegibus comp.
Jus. Gib. Antejustin, ed. Hugo, p. 777) in an edict of the year 406, and
which is not surprising in Cod. Justin (lib. 8, tit. xvi. 28, de pignoribus)
All these quotations are older than those
in an edict of the year 528.
which Du Cange has {Gloss. Graec. p. 917), where Hesychius and Menander
occupy the first rank. Michaelis (in Castelli, Lex. Syr. p. 495) quotes it
Syr. {<D3D?D, without giving the source of the quotation.
It must not be
overlooked that metaxae is used by Vitruvius, vii. 3, in the senses of
" coil " and " skein."
In Turkish Tartaric also, silk was originally called
ipek jipek ( Vambery, Die primitive Cultur der Turktataren, p. 88). Metaxa is
also twisting {stria taenia), like twisting of hair (com p. Reiske, Zu Constant
Forphyr. ii. 791). Festus quotes it from Lucillius, as is further to be seen
by Alberti on Hesychius, sub voce avic. A sufficient etymological explanation of the word is not yet given.
Ritter has found none in his sources
{Geogr. viii. 708), and Lassen says {Ind. Alterthumskunde, i. 321, note): "The
word f^iTu^oc is still of obscure origin among the later Greeks." Salmasius
(comp. Vopisc. Aurelian, ed. Haack, ii. p. 540) is of opinion that the name
that was applied to a silk thread afterwards signified silk in general. This
He thought of a formation of /airoi: (from /icia) like
is improbable.
7,spta(roi, and TTipt^ from
Braun, De
tso/, and like af^i'Kog and a^/Aa^.
Vestitu Sac, Hebr., approved of this, and thought that fA-iTu^a, is for
I think that the explanation of metaxa has
fiiTu^i;, which is unacceptable.
its analogy in the other names which silk had in the East and in the West.
The spinning of silk by a worm has ever been the astonishment of nations.
Legend and fiction are connected with it. Gervasius of Tilbury has the
strangest story in his Otia Imprialia, chap. Ivi. (Leibnitz, i. 978) " Est
enim a sui principio quasi semen sinapis minutissimum cumque tempus
panniculum inclusum coactum illud semen in sinu dominarum ac virginum
lated.

assert that, in the

281

THE SECOND TAllGUM.

who, when he heard of her

Yehayada, to meet

Venus the

arrival,

He was

her.

sent Benayahu, son of

beautiful as sunrise (or like

lustrous star), and like the white lily

by brooks

Now when

water.

of

Benayahu, son

of

the

Queen

which stands
of

Saba saw

Yehoyada, she dismounted from her riding

beneficio caloris vivifactum foliis mori siipponitiir et super

tabulam vernucuh extensi nutrimentuni folium mori in brevi crescunt ad
grossorum vermium quantitatem," etc. According to the Arab legend,
Solomon wanted to have a thread l)rought through a diamond, so he commanded Satan to bring a worm to do it. He brought the worm, which,
When Solomon
after accomplishing the work, left a silk thread behind.
wanted to reward the worm, it besought him to be allowed to choose a
fruit tree for its dwelling, and he assigned to it the mulberry tree {TFeil
bibl. Legenden, p. 263).
Paulus Silentarius poetizes of silk, " Als dem
tenetiir

Gespiunst der fremden emsigen

AUchristl.

Bandenkm.

(Bamberg, 1628,

p. xlvi.).

p. 483, v.

"

Was
Wer

WUrmer " (ed. Kortiim. near Salzenberg,

In a Roman Catholic book of songs

Degen) we read,
ist

der Seyden Pracht,

hat die Pracht gemacht

Es haben

Wurm

Den ganzen
Even
there

Seydenpracht."

the traveller Olarius exclaims,

is

Owing

in such a

little

worm

gemacht

in

its

"What wonderful work

of nature

and production
In
after the worm.

variation, work,

most of the names of silk are called

is called Kitaga, worm-product (comp. Lassen, Ind. Alterth.
ii. pp. 564, 614, note).
The well-known Sericum has long ago been derived
from the name of the worm, called in Mongol, sirkek, in Mandshu sirghi,
From the
in Corean sir, in Chinese sze or szu (the Chinese have no r).
Greek bomhyx, caterpillar, silk dresses were called homhycinias. Hesychius adduces a name (ipv6oc^ (fipv^ociag) for silk stuff, from a form
to this,

Mahabarata,, silk

iSovTouy which is a worm (perhaps the German Brut) (comp. Salmasius

on Tertidlian de Fallio, p. 240).
The Latin hlatta, " moth," is in well-known use applied to materials of
As already remarked, we meet with hlattei funes, blattei, blattifer
silk.
senatus, with which the idea of purple-dyed is connected (comp. Voss, De
theologia gentili, p. 1012).
The best known name was Seide (silk), derived
from the Greek ttis (in older forms, gen. aeog and then ff'^ro;), originally
also the moth.
In the Middle Ages it was called Seta, and the name
came with the silk from Byzantium (comp. Du Cange, and Bitter, viii. pp.
The Aruch also mentions the name as i^T\^ i^i the twelfth century
708-9).

The name passed then over

in Italy.
foi

from

fides,

Ezek. xvi.

10.

also it is given in the

^]} (Isa.

1.

Doubtful

is

into French, as soie (from sida, like

and vair from videre). It is found as n5<"'''1t^ in Bashi on

The Greek avu is the same as the Hebrew DD, for which
Job

Greek version on Isa.

and for

iv. 19, xxvii. 18),

Elsewhere

li. 8.

it

stands for

3p-| (Prov. xiv. 32, etc.).

the Persian Ebrisim (Vullei'.^ Lex.

i.

67),

Armenian aprsoum

282

APPENDIX

"

animal.

1.

Why," asked Benayahu, son

thou dismount from thy riding animal

not thou King Solomon

"

He

of Yelioyada, " dost

She

"

replied,

who

Solomon, but one of his servants

" I

rejoined, "

am

not

you do not see the

King

attend upon him."

Thereupon she turned to her great men, and said

verbial saying: "If

Art

lion,

you

this pro-

see his lair;

though you do not see King Solomon, yet you see a handsome

man who

stands before him."

to the king,

and

down

sat

Then Benayahu conducted her

who, when he heard that she was coming, went

in

an apartment of

glass.

When

the queen saw

the king sitting there, she thought in her heart, and in fact

which also passed into Arabic (Freytag, i. pp. 2, 3). Also

Ahreshum {Ehreshum) in Georgian (Guldenstadt, Reise nach Georgien, ed.
Klaproth, p. 93). The extensive and interesting explanation of Haug in the
Gottinger gelehrten Anzeigen, 1854 (26, 27, Stiick vom, 11 Feb. p. 259), is not
decisive. DD"'"l35< is nothing else than the Greek h-mrov, "worm," "reptile."
According to these analogies, which show that the name for silk was
derived from the name that was given to " worm " and " moth," there
can now be no doubt that we must in the same way explain the word
metaxa, and that from a name which was widely known, namely from the
moth itself (with which probably the German word Made, " maggot,"
is related).
It is called in Old North German madkr, Swedish madk,
Danish madike, maddik. The Low German forms sound maddik, meddike,
metke.
It was rightly supposed that it is connected with the Sanscr. form
matka and the Persian miteh, moth (comp. Vullers, ii. 1250). This
(eprsoum),

derivation has also ethnographical value.

When

one meets in the East a

name for silk having an Old Germanic origin, he is reminded of

who were always merchants of silk, of whom Pliny {Hist. Nat.
xvii.

vi. chap,
434) says, that they were on this side of the
" Seras ab ipsis adspici notos etiam commercio
ipsos vero

No. 88,

Emodos
excedere

the Sers,

ed. Sillig,

i.

hominum magnitudinem,

truci, nullo

Lassen says

commercio lingu
(ii.

de,"

rutilis comis, caeruleis oculis, oris

which indicates a Germanic

type.

sono

What

this.
The remarkable traits
The Germanic nations now call silk
The Byzantian ages transmitted a name which was

359) cannot militate against

of nations often indicate names.

by

a Greek name.

essentially Germanic.

In English, silk is rightly supposed to have received the name from

which has come from the Chinese and Tartar peoples. In the
Old Testament the word ""t^D appears. This also has not been known
until now.
I hold it to be the same as ^grafse, also that 'EJ'D = ''E^tDD, like
the Persian miteh, Greek fAilocg, Old High German mizo, French mite,
motte, English moth, mite, and must be like the similar forms mentioned
above which had received the letter k (comp. Dieffenbaeh, Goth. Worterh. i.
In '^'^J2 is clearly seen the meaning of worm.
p. 6).
Sericus,

THE SECOND TARGUM.

he

was

dress to cross

the

that

said,

was

foot

full of

when

water,

He

hair.

Queen

man, but

to a

Saba then said

of

three riddles,^ which

if

to a

"

she

raised

her

the king noticed that her

"Thy beauty is the

hair of men
hair is

said to her,

beauty of women, and thy hair

becoming

and

water,

in

sitting

283

is

the

woman

My

it

is

lord king

The

a shame."

I will give thee

thou shalt solve, I will acknowledge

which Solomon here solves are not like those which the
Rosenol, pp. 159, 160
Weil,
Bihl. Legenden, p. 260), nor like those in the Midrash Mishle (comp.
Wiinsche, Hcithsehueisheit, p. 16). The Arabic riddles are poetic. That
of the tear is also mentioned in the fable of Tewedud (The Thousand and
One Nights of Hammer and Zinserling), which contains, apart from this,
plenty of Arabian riddles. Of the riddles which are stated here, the
author of a German translation of the Targiim in the year 1698 says that
he does not give them because they are different in various places, and also
because he does not understand them. The same has happened to many
^

The

riddles

Muhamedan tradition relates (comp. Hammer,

The author of the \'^T[^ nVD (FUrth 1768) explains the first
is a reed made of wood, in which is put dye for colouring the
eyes and this dye is very hard, like a stone and when one wants to take
out the stone, he must use an iron spoon to extract the colour, and when
the eye is smeared over, then water comes out. Of the second he says,
others.

thus

" It

this is pitch,

thin and

which

is

extracted from the earth like water, because

it is

In imperfect language he rightly gives

the old interpretations. But, on the other hand, he did not understand
the beginning of the following riddle, which is the most interesting one.
I must here remark that for the reading of pjjpis, which Eapaport (Erech
Millin, p. 229) considered for oraculum, and was also obscure to Buxtorf,
must be read jvpIS, viz. procella, and the passage should be translated
" In the storm moves and arises a great bitter cry." This reminds us of
the praise given to flax by Pliny in his Introduction to Bib. 19, where he
it

will stick to a house."

says

"

recipiat."

Andax

vita,

scelerum plena, aliquid

seri, at

ventos procellas

But, also in the other passage which Eapaport quotes under

In Shirhashirim Kabba 3a, the Kiss of God

The reading therefore must be |"'S<i31pDfc< for oscula,
instead of pxi'lplX- Again, for sonn, or 5<D^nn, should be read fc<Dn5<, viz.
For the passage speaks of the kiss and the betrothal of God to
sponsio.
man. The riddle itself is very suggestive. As a sail flaps violently in the
storm the linen made of flax it bows low its head like a rush (comp. Isa.
^p-lX, the reading is false.

must be spoken

Iviii.

5).

Linen

byssus (there
of

shame

of.

is

is

to the poor

shrouds

which

rope of

flax),

a cause of dignity to the rich and free

a play upon the word

who wear

rags,

are white as angels,

a joy to the birds,

who

and a mockery

it

to the living (the

pick up the seed of

tion to the fish on account of the nets.

Latin linouj linum. Hence

who wear

with -nn, white), a cause

an ornament for the dead in their
p-ilH, free,

flax,

and a vexa-

Flax is called in Greek and in

was that Yashua ben Levi (Bereshith Rabba,

284

APPENDIX

that thou art a wise

man

but

I.

then thou art a

if not,

man

like all the rest."

What

"

She asked,

berries of

is

wood and buckets

which draw up stones and pour out water

"

What

"

tube of paint."

is,"

which comes as dust from the

as

and

water,

sticks

to

"

He

"

What

is

oracle (or as a storm) goes at the head of

bitterly

with

shame

praise to the free, of

is

that which as an

and

cries loudly

all,

to the poor,

" It

answered,

head bowed down like a rush,

its

poured out

earth, eats dust, is

She further asked,

naphtha."

of iron

answered,

she asked again, " a thing

house

He

"

a cause of

is

honour

of

to the

dead, of disgrace to the living, of joy to the birds, and of

grief

the

to

claimed, " I

and seen

it

He

fish?"

answered, "It

would not have believed

with mine own eyes

She ex-

flax."

is

had I not come here

it

and behold the half has not

been told me, for thy wisdom and thy goodness surpass the
report I have heard.

Blessed are thy people, and blessed are

20) said " God had made for them garments of '{<:f3, linen '" for which
Wlinsche (Midrash Eabba, p. 95), curiously enough, read ^^'^^ " garments
of the skin of a hare." The riddle which we have here is more intelligible and instructive than that contained in the symposium which is
;

'

ascribed to Lactantius,

"Major eram longe quondam, dum vita manebat

Sed nunc examinis lacerata, ligata, revulsa
Dedita sum terrae, tumulo sed condita sum."
Simrock made a peculiar mistake in his German book of
No. 13 he gives us the riddle thus

riddles.

In

" In days gone

And when

My learning
This
paper.

is

evidently

But

for No. 13.

in the

On
"

by when young

was green,

robe for counts and princes I've been

old and not

then

is

great

much

and

Linen becomes at

flax.

list

am

profuse."
last rags,

and rags become

of the solutions of the riddles, the cherry

the other hand, riddle No. 22

is

as follows

is

given

it.

The

A damsel sits upon a tree,

Her gown

is

red as red can be,

Within her heart a stone I see,

Guess now, I pray, what this may

The solution

use,

a cherry

but in Simrock's list,

copyist must have confounded the two solutions.
is

be."

flax is

given for

285

THE SECOND TARGUM.

these

who

thy servants

about

are

thee

Thereupon he

"

brought her into the tribunal^ (or an apartment) of the royal

palace.

when

'Now,

the

Queen

of

Saba saw his greatness and

praised the Creator, and said

glory, she

Lord thy God, wdiom

" Blessed

has pleased to set thee upon the

it

throne of the kingdom to do justice and right."

gave the king plenty

she desired.

And

and

of gold

dignity,

with

places

the East, of

fame, came

extraordinary

and they presented him with much gold and

and with pearls and precious

And when
their guilt (or

many

to him, the

V.

the enemies of Israel

when

Israel

were

up the measure

filled

prophet

guilty), the

prophecies to them

Holy

silver,

stones.

uttered

West and of
who heard of his

various

their

She then

and he gave her what

silver,

the kings of the

the North and of the South,

tremblingly from

be the

and

of

Jeremiali

as they did not listen

Spirit persuaded hira,

and led him away

Thus

into the land of the tribe of Benjamin.

it is

written

W1D"1D can best be explained by reading S^UItO, trihnna = trihimsi\, of

which Reiske (Constant. Forphjr. ii. p. 83) says " Tribunal est omne
^

aedificium excelsiim, illustre,

In the same

way

non taiitnm

explains Raslii

/3^,mo6

in

quo causae aguntur."

WmD

p^l^TIH pD^S ""DIX \\^hl

i?D1
Twiyy?' That which Munk adduces (p. 24) does not explain it.
^ This narrative about Jeremiah is owing to a curious homily upon two
sentences in his prophecy.
Tradition assumed that he really did what is
:

told in the above quotation from Jer. xxxvii. 12, and it therefore understood by the " gate of Benjamin," not a city gate by which people went to

Benjamin, but a gate in the country of Benjamin itself. It connected

with this Jer. xx. 7, where the prophet exclaims " O Lord, Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded Thou hast forcibly taken hold upon me,
and hast prevailed," and understood by these words that Jeremiah was led
by the Spirit to go to Benjamin, but his heart failed him, and he went
instead to Jerusalem, and therefore it was conquered by the enemy.
For
this the prophet laments, " Thou hast persuaded me."
A similar tradition
is in Midrash Echa (i. 5, ed. Amst. 47a) concerning R. Zadok.
About
him said R. Johhanan to Vespasianus " If such a man were yet in Jerusalem, thou wouldest not be able to take the city with double thy force."
Another like saying is told of the siege of Bether, which, so long as R.
Eliezer ^VTl^H (not of Modin, as Wiinsclie says), lived in it, was preserved
on account of his piety (Midrash Echa, ii. 1, ed. Amst., p. 526).
:

286

APPENDIX

" Tlien

Jeremiah went forth out

But

land of Benjamin."

1.

Jerusalem to ^o into the

of

Jeremiah was in Jeru-

so long as

salem he prayed to the heavenly Father, and the city was not
delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they did not

destroy

But when he went

it.

into the land of Benjamin,

then came up Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and

destroyed the land of Israel, plundered the city of Jerusalem,

and burned the temple with

While yet the tyrant

fire.

Nebuchadnezzar was dwelling in Antiochian Eibla, he sent

the chief executioner, Nebuzaradan, who razed the walls of

And when

the city Jerusalem to the ground.

Jeremiah

arrived,

and saw that the

city

on every

that the Chaldeans surrounded

it

and wept much and

and said

bitterly,

persuaded me, and I was persuaded

was destroyed, and

side,

"

he cried aloud,

Thou,

Thou hast

hold upon me, and hast prevailed."

the prophet

Lord, hast

forcibly taken

And when

the wicked

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, heard that Jerusalem was

conquered, he assembled

came

the troops of the Chaldeans, and

all

He

avenge himself against the temple.

to

thoughtfully

shook his head, and pointed with his hands here and there,
as the fate of Sennacherib's

camp was known to him, against

w^ere sent, who slew eighteen

which angels from heaven

myriads and

five

thousand

riders,

camp only he remained.

Then a Bathkol (an echoing
claimed

"

so

voice)

that

of

Sennacherib's

was heard, which exarise, and return

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,

to Kibla in the land of

Hamath."

Ribla is the place where Nebuchadnezzar encamped, where Zedekiah's

It is supposed to be
eyes were taken out, and his sons killed before him.
the same as the present Eibleh, 10 to 12 hours distant from Homs, on the
Orontes (El Asy), in the northern part of Bekoa (comp. Robinson, Pales-

The Rabbis have identified it with Antioch, or Daphne

iii. 747).
near Antioch, where they think Nebuchadnezzar sojourned for a time.

tine^

The Midrash Echa

states twice that he tarried 5<"'D'it3JX h'^ ^JQIQ (ed.

51a at the close of the Introduction, and 58c), where, by the way,
Wiinsche has not correctly rendered it by Daphne Antiocliena. It is called
in Greek, as byJosephus {Jewish Wars, i. 13. 5, etc.), kuTio'^na. Axipvyi, and

Anist.,

''

THE SECOND TARGUM.

He

cast arrows/ consulted the

westward, and
ward, and

it

lie

threw an arrow

in the direction of Jerusalem

it fell

fell

oracle

287

the direction of Jerusalem

in

again he threw an arrow towards the guilty city

(i.e.

then east-

and then

Eome)

not seldom kvnl-^noi. Wi ^oi(pu-^ (see Kitter, xvii. 1163). The reason wliy
the Rabbis identify Ribla with Daphne is more of an ethical than a historical
character.
What Eibla was for Nebuchadnezzar, the same was Daphne
for the Syrian and the Eoman kings.
There in the Orient was their seat.
Thence issued all the misery that came upon the besieged.
'

1 In Ezek. xxi. 25 we have that grand passage which informs us that

Nebuchadnezzar was in doubt whether he should march against Rabbath

Ammon
"

or against Jerusalem.

He

stood at the parting of the way, at the head of two ways, to use
divination ; he shook the arrows " (D"'Vn h\hp)- Upon the meaning of the
word ^\h\> a good deal has been conjectured. It is of an onomatopoetic
kind, and is connected with BaAA?/;/, " to throw." Throwing was used in

the sense of casting a die (comp. balloter), like the Latin Alea, has arisen

from the Greek iu'K'ka, " to throw " (comp. my Spielhaus auf Monte Carlo^
The commentators have mostly been influenced by what Jerome
p. 23).
says on this passage, but they overlooked that he (ed. Migne, v. p. 206)
confounded helomantia, " arrow-divination," with mace-divination, which
was not, nor could be, the same. The examples of Arabic usage by Van
Dale (Be Orig. et Progr. Idolatriae^ etc. p. 456), and quoted from Herbelot,
do not appear to be applicable ( Voc. Acda.). It was, on the other hand,
overlooked that Haman cast the lot, and chose the thirteenth day, which
was called Tir, " an arrow," for issuing his destructive decree. See my
Commentary on Esther, p. 103. There would be more ground for Chwolsohn's reminder of Sabian usage (Sabier, ii. 200) if he had not laid stress

upon the extinguishing

light

when they speak

of the torch.

The ancient

JeAvish expositors are

of "the shooting of the arrow."

The

decision

depended upon the direction in which the arrow fell. Rashi has well
translated the words "shooting an arrow" by the French ri"'5< KIJO, which
should he read n'''1D i<"iDj " t'i'fer trait." It was a kind of casting the lot
when Jonathan shot an arrow to give a sign to David (1 Sam. xx. 21), and
Elisha prophesied by the shooting of arrows concerning the victory of
Joash over Syria (2 Kings xiii. 15). The Targum uses the homily of the
Midrash as in Echa Rabbathi (ed. Anist. p. 39a), but gives it more correctly than it is in Midrash Echa.
The latter appears to have taken the
word ^p5?p in the sense of calculari, " to reckon " the arrows. The Targum
is more explicit when it says, " He shot towards the west and the east, and
he then shot towards the city which is guilty,
it fell towards Jerusalem
that it should soon be rooted out from the world (by which it means Rome,
as is expressly said in Midrash Echa), and it rebounded towards Jerusalem."
The time for its destruction had come, and Nebuchadnezzar, as the tradition tells, was directed by his oracle to undertake the siege reluctantly,
for he remembered what had happened to Sennacherib.
The Midrash Echa
speaks also of a divination, upon which both Ezekiel and the Targum are
;

288

APPENDIX

may

it

I.

soon be rooted out from the world

and

this also fell

towards Jerusalem.

Then he

arose and

sent his generals against Jerusalem,

whose names were Nargal, Sharezer, Shamgar, Nebosar, Sechim,

Kabsaris, and Eabmag, i.e. Chief-eunuch, and Chief-magus. He
" Nebucliadnezzar lit candles and torches (d"'D3D'I HPi),
It says
silent.
and appointed them for Eome, and they were extinguished for Alexfinally, he appointed them for
andria, and they were again extinguished
Jerusalem, and they burned." Chwolsohn would have been right in connecting this with the Sabian custom, according to which an arrow was fastened
to a torch, and if it burned, it bore an omen of good fortune and if it was
extinguished, it bore an omen of misfortune {Sabier, ii. 26 and p. 201).
:

p.

D32, Syriac 5<Dj2, occurs also in compounds, as in Midrash Koheleth,

63a (ed. Amst.), DiD?Dp, viz. ^v'ho(Pa,yYi:, ^v\o(pa.viov, a wooden torch

comp. Spanheim, de Praest. Numism., ed. Amst., iv. p. 128).

word a passage in Hesychius is explained. He says
unrpov
Some, like Spohn, corrected
there, under " I;),j^o:'
^v'ho'Pxvio'j.
{^v'KoT^uxvo;,

Through

this rare

this

by

aKOL'Tzccvyi,

Midrash shows.
was applied to

They

which

altogether unnecessary, as the passage in the

^v^.o(pa,viou

torches."

is,

such words as
and Wlistemann,

know from mediaeval

Viy.v^rtT)e7'

"a piece of wood which

here used in contrast to DJDDIpJO.

like |yAo^!/>3?,

DiSpDp

are lanterns with net-laces.

'Kvy/joc
/^l^ocj

is

is

The Greeks

and Tzohv^L^a;

PalasL des Scaurus,

also used

with the word

(see Stephanus, suh voce

p. 133).

Indeed,

we

also

legends, that arrows were applied to purposes of

In the Gesta Bomanorum, n. 102, we read of a certain cleric

marry a man's wife during his absence in a distant place,
so he placed a wax figure and shot an arrow upon it, intending thereby to
This man was just then in Eome, where he
kill the man in the distance.
was warned by a wise man of the danger he was in. He showed it to him
He then dipped his head
in a magic mirror while he was in the bath.
under the water, and thus escaped the danger, while the arrow which the
Another wonderful story is told in
cleric shot rebounded upoi;i himself
Gesta Piomanornm, cap. 10 f There was once a beautiful secret chamber
which contained an image with precious stones, into which a cleric entered
clandestinely, with the intention of stealing. Then the image upon which
was sculptured an arrow and a bow, shot an arrow upon a luminous carIn the eleventh
buncle, and this caused thick darkness as in the night.
narrative of the English edition (ed. Grasse, ii. 339) it is told A knight
once shot a beautiful bird that sang gloriously, in consequence of which a
mountain was cleft in two, and then sank into the abyss. In the Image
du Monde it is told that the Apostle Paul had visited the grave of Virgil
He entered it, and saw a lamp hanging from the roof,
to find his books.
and an archer stood before Virgil ready to shoot. When he was about to
take the books, the archer shot an arrow upon the lamp, and then everything was turned into dust (comp. Virgili im Mittelalter iihersetzt von
witchcraft.

who wished

to

Ddtschke, p. 265).

THE SECOND TARGUM.

followed

his

and

generals

Thou the

exclaimed, " Art

and brought us against Thy

But when the gate

standing against

it,

city

Then came

all the army

them three hundred and

itself,

the

and thus

temple,

God who has stirred us

and against Thy temple ?

of the temple

shut

it

entered
great

289

up,

saw the unclean people

and would by no means open.

of the Chaldeans,

and brought with

sixty camels laden with iron axes

but the external gates of the temple destroyed them, and continued not to open themselves until Parnitus
a swine, and sprinkled

its

came and slew

blood upon the temple, and defiled

it.

After the temple was defiled, the gate opened, and then

hall of Zechariah, son of

saw

answered,

in the

and he

moving upon the ground.

So he

We

sat

Yohoiyada the high

his (Zechariah's) blood

Israel, "

asked the elders of

"

down
priest,

Nebuchadnezzar went in and

the wicked

Whose

blood

is

this

"

They

had a prophet amongst us who reproved us

but

we

him

in the temple."

did not hearken to his words, but rose

up and slew

1 This cannot be thought of Ptolemaeus Euergetes, for he was

kind
towards the Jews.
Josephus acknowledges this {Contra Ajpionem,^ ii. 5,

ed. Havercamp, ii. 472).

The one who offered swine in the temple was
Antiochus Epiphanes, as it is narrated in the book of the Maccabees and
by Josephus. The Greeks called him instead of Epiphanes, Epimanes,
viz. " the mad one."
The same is expressed by the above name D"lt3"'3"iS,
the effrenatus, " the wild and unrestrained." We should gain the same
sense if we should read D1p"'D:J1D, phreneticuSj " Until the mad and the
bokl one come."
2 The awful story about the blood of the prophet is in allusion to
2 Chron. xxiv. 22, where it is recorded that Zechariah, the slain prophet,
" The Lord look upon it (i.e. my blood), and
uttered these last words
" Blood
They connected this passage with Hos. iv. 2
require it."
toucheth blood." The underlying thought is, that blood boils up when
The blood of Zechariah continued to boil
the murderer comes near it.
Even then it was not pacified, however
until Nebuchadnezzar came.
many were slain, for the murderer was still there, and only at last out
:

is

my

Symboliks des Blutes, p. 22, etc.). The story

told in various ways in Echa Rabbathi, p. 39a, b.
Comp. Bab. Gittin,

of pity

it

became

still (see

[He appears to have been the same as in Matt,

The first component parts interchange as in Jehoiakim, who was

576; Sanhedrin 96b.

xxiii. 35.

called Eliakim.
son of Jehoiada.

Jerome says that the Gospel of the Nazarenes read the

Trans.]

290

APPENDIX

When

Nebuchadnezzar

wicked

the

he said to them

"

I.

Go and

me

bring

heard

These he slew over that blood, and yet

priests."

not enter the

earth,

saying, " Shall

After this

words,

these

young

four thousand

would

it

Nebuchadnezzar rebuked

until

by

it

thy whole people be destroyed for thy sake

was absorbed by the

it

Then the high

earth.

that the priests were killed, put on his upper

priest, seeing

garment and the ephod, took the keys

temple in his

of the

hands, and went upon the roof of the temple and called out
"

The house
more

are no

now given back

is

in

Thereupon he threw himself into the

"

it

and the keepers

to its Lord,

burning pile and was consumed.

When

the remaining priests

was burned, they took

saw that the high

priest

and harps, and

their other musical instruments,

all

wise threw themselves into the

When

and

like-

and were burned.

fire,

Nebuchadnezzar wanted now

Holies, the doors closed and

their violins

to

Holy

enter the

of

would not open until an echoing

voice from heaven exclaimed, and said, " Open, Libanon, thy
!

gates

it

defiled the

and he saw there the

itself,

and the wicked

of Holies

by entering into

After this a door opened

"

Nebuchadnezzar

worlds, of the Lord

Holy

glories

of hosts.

King

the

of

of all the

But when he saw that the

holy vessels which the priests and the kings of the house of

David used were sunk into the

earth, he

was very wroth, and

many

hastened away and slew a great number; and

others he

took captive, and led the people of Israel into exile, bound in
iron

naked, and carrying

chains,

sand

upon

necks.

their

The prophet Jeremiah went with them until he reached the

graves of the patriarchs.

Here he wept, and

merciful fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

cried

arise

"

our

from your

graves and behold your children, the people of Israel, are led
into captivity
to

him

" I

"

Then answered the Holy

that I have withdrawn

the graves

mothers,

of the

my

fathers

and prostrated

He

peace."

and went
himself,

and

Spirit

and said

prophet Jeremiah,

have long ago told thee,

to

then rose up from

the
cried,

graves of the
"

merciful

THE SECOND TARGUM.

mothers,

Eebekah,

Sarah,

291

and Leah

Eachel,

from

arise

your graves and see your sons and daughters, the people of
Israel,

whom you

have brought up in the truth, are going

barefoot into captivity

"

voice

was heard

The Holy

"

in

Eamah,"

He

mothers, and went to

the graves of the

prophets,

and prostrated himself, and

prophets,

Moses and Samuel

going barefoot into captivity."

said

" I

then arose from

the graves of the

cried

"

merciful

from your graves and

arise

whom you

see the people of Israel,

answered

Spirit then

etc.

have led in the truth, are

The Holy

have long ago told thee,

answered and

Spirit

prophet Jeremiah,

even Moses and Samuel should stand before me,'

" etc.

'

If

He

then rose up from the graves of the prophets, and went and

upon the graves)

prostrated himself in the house (or

mourners, and said

eat,

"

me

Bring

and the cup of comfort

people of Israel

who went

answered and said

"

Do

'

of the

the bread of the mourners to

to drink,' for

mourn

for the

The Holy

into captivity."

Spirit

not go into the house of mourning."

Thus Jeremiah mourned, wept, and groaned concerning the

people of Israel

who went

into

exile

naked, and

carrying

sand upon their necks, they and their kings and princes and
governors, until they reached a place which

is

called Beth-

Coro,^

where they changed their garments.

Then Jeremiah

said to

Nebuchadnezzar the wicked, and to

the

Chaldeans who came with him, "

praise them.

Do

all

army

of the

not go to your idols and

Eather know that you have only killed and taken

captive a people which

was already captured and

killed."

They

then went on until they reached a certain country, where Jere-

miah

bitterly

wept and sobbed.

Two

tears fell

which became there two fountains that exist

from his eyes,

to this day.

It would be difficult to identify this place.

But the legend
Jews has made the figurative prophecies of the prophets a reality.
11D n""! is " a furnace," of which the prophet says that the children of
The legend considers this as a
Israel must he refined in it (Isa. xlviii. 10).
place.
The exclamation of Jeremiah, " Oh that my head were waters, and
mine eyes a fountain of tears " was also made to refer to a place. Likewise the harps of which Ps. cxxxvii. speaks are historically placed together.
^

1113 n"'3-

of the

292

APPENDIX

When

at the

King Nebuchadnezzar

said

this,

stood

by the

By

to

When

sing before me."

rivers

For thus

Babylon.

of

the rivers of Babylon,"

The

etc.

Nebuchadnezzar the tyrant

the Levites

praised

Levites, moreover, said

Him

the will of our

But how can

sing the praise of our Lord before thee

written

is

When

"

How

shall

we

sing the

Nebuchadnezzar the wicked heard

them, for they have transgressed the

Then an

Israelite,

him

said to

"

by the name

When

be required

be required."

He

"

For thus

"

Lord's song,"

this,

he said

command

etc.

" Kill

of the king

of Pelatya, son of

Yohoiyada,

one delivers his flock to a shepherd,

and a bear comes and snatches away a sheep, of

?

we

in Jerusalem,

should not have been delivered into thy hands.

we now

written

is

it

Had we done

"

we

heavenly Father, and had

it

them

to

they hung up their harps on the willows which

heard

it

of

rivers

Let those singers who used to sing before your Lord in

Jerusalem come and

"

had arrived

the people of Israel

Babylon, the wicked

"

T.

answered,

Pelatya then said

thy mouth has spoken."

From

"
:

"

whom

will

the shepherd will

it

Let thy ears hear what

Then the king ordered

to bring

Zedekiah before him, and they removed the chains of iron

and of brass from him, and changed

his captive

garments

for

others.

VI.
"

In

the third year of his reign, he

and

the princes
all

the

governors of the

and

silk

ministers of Persia

pur'ple

districts.

garments, ate

made a

feast for all

and Media, and for

They were

clothed in

and drank, and

rejoiced

before him."

It is

not said here, he showed them his riches, but " he

showed them the riches

riches

is

of his glorious kingdom."

For a mortal eye has no

as

it is

By which

to be understood, that which came from the temple.

written, "

Mine

riches,

is

but

all

riches belong to

God

the silver and the gold, saith the

293

THE SECOND TARGUM.

Lord

During a hundred and eighty days he showed

of hosts."

them daily

six treasuries, as

written, " riches, honour,

is

it

dominion, glory, majesty, greatness " (Esther

But when the

expressions.

saw there the

so then six

saw there the

Israelites

vessels of

The king was

the temple, they did not remain any longer.

that the Jews did not want

4),

i.

told

to take refreshment, because they

and so he ordered that

vessels of the temple,

they should have another banquet for themselves.

When
make

those days were ended, the king said

a feast for

all

the inhabitants of

my

"

Now

city, for

I will

all

the

people that are found in Shushan, both small and great."

They were brought

spice trees stood,

the

to

some

and others were planted

for arbours,

garden where

royal

fruit

and

which were broken and arranged

of

were

for shades ; seats also

prepared, and the paths were strewn with costly stones and
pearls.

And

they drank out of golden cups and bowls

when one drank

of a cup,

but he was given a

descriptions, as

it

is

from one another."

of the temple,

he did not drink

new

The cups were

cup.

written

"

of the

And

same

and

again,

of various

the vessels were diverse

But when they brought out the

and the heathen began

to

vessels

pour wine into them,

the appearance of the vessels became different from what they

And

were.

for this reason it is

diverse from one another;"

That

dance."

is,

"And

said

"

The

royal wine

was

vessels being
(pr\)

the wine was older than the person

For example, the butlers asked a

it.

man how

in abun-

who drank

old he was,

and

he said forty years, and so they gave him wine forty years
old

and thus they did with every man.

written

"

And

royal wine

was

For

in abundance."

drinking was according to regulation, so that

one.

Why

generally, a
to five

could

it

not hurt

this reason it is

it

And

the

could hurt no

Because when at royal feasts

cup was given to a Persian containing from four

Hemins

(a certain

measure that was called Pithka^),

^
Neither Buxtorf nor Micliaelis nor Levi has properlyXpn"'S.
explained this word, the reading of which is unassailable.
It is the

Persian drinking vessel

^xtiuk-zi,

''''

'TnpifjKvi

ts

(piaM

vj

fiocTixx.^ ;"

comp.

294

APPENDIX

he had

to drink the

Owing

whole out in one breath.

become

the butlers used to

I.

to this

no Persian guest could

rich, for

be found able to drink the whole cup at once, and therefore

they used to beckon to the butlers to take

sum

certain

of

"

And

much

this time,

as he liked.

but that every one

Therefore

it

is

written

in the palace, in order to show

them

its riches.

know

her various question, for they wanted to

all

Therefore

the places.

On

eats, drinks,

the seventh day,

and sleeps

it is

when

written

Vashti also made

the drinking was according to law."

a feast for the women, and gave them red wine,^ and seated

where the king

for

But Ahhashverosh gave order that

money.

no such cups should be given

should drink as

away

it

them

They asked

everything,

e.g.

and she showed them

"

In the royal house."

the king and the hundred and

who were with him were merry

with wine, a dispute arose among them about indecent things.
The kings of the West said, Our women are the handsomest.

twenty-seven crowned princes

The

same of

others said the

took part in the

dispute,

their

women.

and in

his

Ahhashverosh

also

drunken freak said:

"There are no more beautiful in the world than the Babylonian;

but

if

you

Baby-

will not believe me, I shall send for the

lonian wife which I have in the palace, and you shall see
that she surpasses in beauty

King Ahhashverosh
said

"

Go and

all

your wives."

Immediately

sent seven eunuchs to the queen.

say to Queen Vashti

throne, strip thyself naked,^ put the crown

upon thy head,

take a golden cup in thy right hand and another in thy

and thus appear before

me

crowned kings, that they

of all

women."

eunuchs

"

left,

and the hundred and twenty-seven

may

She refused.
shame.

He

Arise from thy royal

Go and

see that thou art the fairest

Vashti answered to the seven

tell

your master, the

fool,

Casaubon on Athenaeus (pp. 484, 494). In passing, I may remark that

has no connection with >joy?, as Levi says. It is the Greek Kva&og,

bJIlD

Conip. Athenaeus, p. 480. T stands for 6, th.

[Read KpDID instead of J^DDIN- Trans.]
2 [This reminds one of the story of Lady Godiva, whom Leofric, her
-husband, ordered to ride naked through the town of Coventry. Trans.]
cup.
^

295

THE SECOND TARGUM.

you

also are fools like him,

of Babylonian kings

of

Queen

Vasliti,

more ancient

much wine

Belshazzar drank as

made him

the wine never

I,

am

the daughter

My

times.

ancestor

as a thousand persons,

and yet

so silly as to utter such improper

Then they went and

words as thou hast to me."

And when

the reply of Queen Vashti.

told the king

he heard

it,

his anger

was kindled, and he again sent the seven eunuchs, saying

them

"

Go and

say to her, If thou dost not hearken to me,

and dost not appear before me and before these

kings, I shall

cause thee to be slain, and thy beauty will perish."

nobles

came

to her

them, but said

much

as

is

"

to

The

with the message, and she did not honour

Go and

folly as his

tell

the foolish

command

is

kins^,

whose counsel

unjust, I

am Queen

Vashti, the daughter of Evil-Merodach and granddaughter of

Nebuchadnezzar.

my

Ever since

body except thou

alone,

and

was born no man has seen

now appear

if

before thee

and before the hundred and twenty-seven crowned kings, the

end will

be,

they will slay thee and marry me."

Persian lady said to Queen Vashti

thee,

kill

and cause thy beauty

means dishonour the name

"

Even

to perish,

if

Now a

noble

the king should

thou must by no

of thy ancestors,

and thou must

not show thy body to any man, except to the king alone."

At

the same

time the nobles told the king that Vashti

command which he

refused to obey the

sent to her by the

eunuchs, and his wrath quite overpowered him.

Then the

king laid the matter before the sages and statesmen, for royal
affairs are

and

brought before those

who

are acquainted with laws

There were some in the cabinet council who

statutes.

were from near, and others who were from a distance.

Those

from near were Carshena-^ from Africa, Shethar from India,

The information about

the countries of the seven officials is merely

showing the world-wide empire of the Persian king,
Carshena was an African, according to the meaning of the name.
The Targum does not use a scientific method in its explanation, but
1

for the purpose of

names of these men

came from. Thus SJIDIS has some similarity
with DIIK, therefore he must be an Edomite. So also Carshana or

rather bases

it

upon a

fanciful hypothesis, that the

indicate the places they

296

APPENDIX

I.

Admatha from Edomaea, Tarshish from Egypt, Meres-Marsena

from Meres, a distant country, Mem u can from Jerusalem. To
those seven great Persians and Medes, who looked upon the
king's face

and were of the

first

rank, he communicated the

Then

royal order which he sent to Yashti by the eunuchs.

Memucan, who is Daniel. But why is he called Memucan ?

Because when the tribe of Judah were taken captive to Babylon,
Daniel also
Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah were among them,
was exiled, through whom great, wonderful, and mighty works
said

were done, and again through

Queen Vashti should be

was called Memucan, i.e.

heaven determined that

consequence of which he

" establisher."

king and governors

to the

whom

killed, in

And Memucan

spake

there was a royal statute at the

time which provided, that in the cabinet consultations the

younger ministers should give their advice

If it

first.

was

Carshena must be an African, because it sounds hke Carthage. Near this

stands IT)^, and he is said to have come from "plin.
This is done on the
ground of the explanation of the Targum of the words " sons of Cush,"
viz. ''K:i:n Nmi'l, "-Nn^DD,

Zinghi.

Numidians.
read

V^^n

'K1^:"'D.

The

last ^xjjt are

the Tingitani.

For ^S"lDD must be read 'J^IDJ, the

are the Hindoos = Ethiopians and for ''j<ni''D must be

tx3i^ are the Libyans.

"'pn^n

On

account of the vicinity of these in Africa,

the Targumist has assigned 'p"ijn to "iriE^, by which he thought of the real
"'N3''1D,

the Cyrenians.

In
In consequence of this he assigns D''^VD, Egypt, to K^''tJ>"inanother place (1 Kings xxii. 49 Jer. x. 9) the Targum has for Tarshish,
Africa and the LXX., too, renders it by Carthage. But this has already
been assigned to Carshena, and could not be made use of again for the
India.

other ministers,

who were

all

supposed to be sons of Cush, with the excep-

Memucan.

The explanation also of DID by j^JDID shows this. >It

is Maurusia, and the Greek name for Mauretania is to be understood by it.
The Targum also explains ncj?"l (Cen. x. 7) by this word. The name
tion of

Memucan is very artificially explained. Because the fate of Vashti was

decided through him, therefore he is compared with Daniel, and is called
Memucan,

" the one

who was appointed

p^n, part,

Mucan

= p"IDD.

This connecting of

is

to this work."

usually reproduced in the

Memucan with

Targum by

For the Hebrew

jpn,

hence

ppno

more remarkable
than that which the Targum ascribes to Daniel, which does not redound
to his honour.
The explanations in Midrash Esther are quite different.
Memucan is not there identified with Daniel. In the first Targum he is,
on the contrary, compared with Haman (comp. Megill. j). 126). Mordecai
is explained by S''3"IX1D, "pure balm," in allusion to Ex. xxx. 23 (comp.
Bab. Chulin 139&).

Daniel

is

297

THE SECOND TARGUM.

a proper one, they carried

it

into execution

And

older ministers gave their advice.

youngest of them

all,

Memucan had

that

if

not, the

Memucan was

as

he gave his advice

but

married a Persian wife

the

happened

It so

first.

who was

richer

than himself, and she refused to speak to him in any other

now

language but her own, and so he thought to himself,

is

" IS^ot

compel

opportunity to

the

the

wives

honour their

to

Therefore he said to the king and the

husbands.

has Queen Vashti

against the king alone

nations and governors that

also against all the

empire of Ahhashverosh.

among

be spread

all

failed,

but

are in

the

For the answer of the queen will

women who now honour

the

woman

husbands, and every

nobles

their

will say to her husband,

'

Art

who comQueen Vashti should come before him, and she

thou perhaps worthier than King Ahhashverosh,

manded

that

refused to

come

Even

?
'

this

day the noble women

and Media repeat the language

governors in such

But

occasion for wrath."

queen to the royal

of the

manner that

it

of Persia

contempt and

causes

at the very time

when Memucan

gave this decision, he was anxious about himself.

He

thought,

perhaps the king will not issue a decree, and Queen Vashti

may

hear of

severely,

my

advice concerning her, and she will judge

and cause

me

to be killed.

me

I will therefore see that

the king should not order her to appear before him,

by bind-

him by an oath which the Persians and Medes

break).
Hence he further said " If it please the

king, let

ing

this decree

book

of

fear (to

be issued, and this oath be written in the statute

Medes and Persians

the

that

it

invalidated, namely, that Vashti should no

should not

be

more come before

the king, and that her kingdom should be given to her companion,

who

is

proclaimed in
all

the

women,

better than she.

all

And

let

the empire, however great

great

and small,

will

this
it

decision be

may

be,

and

honour their husbands."

This advice pleased the king and his governors, and he acted
according to the words of
all

the provinces, to

Memucan.

The king sent

each according to

its

letters to

writing,

and

to

298

APPENDIX

every people in

own

its

I.

language, to the effect that every

husband should be honoured in

his house,

and that he should

speak his native tongue.

After these things,

was

pacified,

am

" I

when

VII.

the wrath of

King Ahhashverosh

he sent and called his nobles, and said to them

against Vashti, but against you

angry, not

why have you

spoken a word when drunk with wine, but

me

provoked

that I should kill Vashti, and blot out her

from the kingdom

Now

your names from the

I shall also kill you,

kingdom."

I have

name

and blot out

After the nobles

were

Vashti was remembered, and that which was decreed

killed,

concerning her, that she herself did not deserve punishment of

death, but that

was

it

so determined in heaven, in order that

the posterity of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, should perish.

Then
young

said the royal

young men and servants

virgins be sought for the king,

officers

and trustworthy men in

collect fair virgins

and

his

all

and bring them

let the

and that Hega, the royal eunuch, be appointed

and

to provide for them.

the king shall reign

And

in place

of Vashti."

pleased with these words, and he did

so.

w^as

commit
said

Concerning

man

descended the

of Shimei, son of

fair

harem,

to guard them

The king was

There lived a Jewish

man

But

Because he feared to

him David prophesied when he

" Shall there die on this

from that

to the

and his name was Mordecai.

he called a Jewish

sin.

Let

the virgin that shall please

man
why

in the capital Shushan,

"

dominion who should

Shushan

to

king appoint

day a

man

man

of Israel

"

And

Mordecai, son of Yair, son

Shmida, son of Baanah, son of Elah, son of

Micah, son of Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, son of Saul,

son of Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of

Aphia, son of Shehharim, son of Uziah, son of Sheshak, son

of Mica, son of Elyael, son of

Amihud, son

of

Shephatyah, son

of Pethuel, son of Pithon, son of Malich, son of Yerubaal, son

299

THE SECOND TARGUM.

of

Yeruhbam, son

of

Hhanayah, son

of Zabdi, son of Elpaal,

son of Shimri, son of Zecharyah, son of Merinioth, son of

Hhushim, son

Shehhorah, son of Gazah, son of Azah,

of

son of Gera, son of Bela, son of Benjamin, son of Jacob,

was

But why was Mordecai

also called Israel.

son of Shimei

Tor

When

reason.

this

David, king of Israel (on his

called the

Shimei despised

and said

flight),

wbo

to

him, "

away, thou wicked man, who deservest to be slain

Go

then

"

Abishai, son of Zeruyah, said to David, " I shall go and take

off his

But David saw prophetically that Mordecai

head."

And

would descend from him.

his son

foreseeing this, he

Solomon that he should only then

kill

commanded

Shimei in case

he would cease to beget a son who would be worthy

him

to the world to

come

from him would come

(he

to bring

should spare him), because

righteous

son,

by whose

instru-

mentality wonders would be done to Israel in four exiles

this is Mordecai,

i.e.

of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin.

deserve punishment of death, as

Moses

"

and

pure myrrh, son of Yair, son of Shimei, son

it

But Shimei did indeed

is

written in the law of

righteous judge shalt thou not vex, and a prince

of thy people shalt thou not curse."

Yet David had pity on

him and spared him, because he foresaw that two righteous

persons would one day descend from him, through whom
Israel

would be
and

Jerusalem,
Jeconiah,

people

second

king

who
time,

Yet again

Mordecai and Esther were from

delivered.

were
of

banished

Judab.

volunteered

into

exile

together

Mordecai returned

with

with those

go up and build the temple a

to

when Nebuchnadnezzar

again

banished

him.

in the country of the children of the exile he did

not cease from doing wonderful and mighty works.

brought up Hadassah.

This

is

Mordecai

Esther; and she was called

Hadassah, because as the myrtle spreads fragrance in the

world, so did she spread good works.

she was called in the

the righteous are likened to a myrtle.

Isaiah prophesied, saying

And

for this reason

Hebrew language Hadassah, because

"

In reference to her

Instead of the Naazuz (the thorn)

300

APPENDIX

I.

come up the Berosh (fir-tree), and instead

That is
(briar) shall come up an Hadassah."

of the Sarpard

shall

Sarpard

scaffold.

Haman

Mordecai the wicked

of the pious

a willow

is

grow up the myrtle,

i.e.

to say, instead

grow up a tamarinth,

of Naazuz, the thorn, shall

i.e.

instead

shall ascend the

instead of the willow shall

^
;

instead of Vashti, Esther shall ascend

the throne.

For the sake of

He

said

Mordecai went into

Esther,

this

" I will rather go into exile

remain in the land of

She was called Esther, because

Israel."

planet Venus, which

she was

like

Astara.

But her name Hadassah was on account

the

for the righteous are

Azariah, of

whom

it

said

"

is

called

Greek

in

of her piety,

Hananiah, Mishael, and

called so, like

is

exile.

and educate Esther than

And

he stood among the

myrtle trees that were in the captivity " (E. V. " bottom " or
*'

shady place") (Zech.

i.

Babylon, for thus

deep. Be dry "^ (Isa. xliv. 27).

place,"

And

8).

is

it

is

Zula, " bottom,"

She was also called Hadassah,

because as the myrtle does not dry up either in

summer

winter, so the righteous have a share in this world

X:"'3'Tl&5-

who

she remained the same in her youth and in

About the various forms,

see

yet overlooks that the Lat. Eubus

agree with

him

or in

and in the

This Esther was the daughter of Mordecai's

world to come.
father's brother

54,

"shady

written, " that saith to the

Low, Aram. Pflanzennamen,

is

connected with

in finding fault with Kohut in the

placed acantha for

snm,

for it is

no other word

it.

p.
I cannot

Aruch because he

(p. 145).

The explanation that nblV is Babylon, is a figurative rather than a

They took this idea from the context of the above passage,
which speaks of Cyrus as the deliverer. With the word nh^ they identi2

verbal one.

Trans.], where
i. 8 [see also D. Kimchi,
loco.
myrtle trees are spoken of, and hence the Targum applied it to Esther,
who came from Babylon. In reference to the meaning of the word nhv>
it is generally in modern times translated by " the bottom," " the deep,"
which meaning is to my mind an improbable one. It surely refers to the
wonderful conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, when he dried up the inundation which protected it, as Vitringa already has inferred this from Herodotus and Xenophon. ni?1^ cannot mean anything else but "water,"

fied ni5"iVD of Zech.

Moses ha Cohen (quoted by

and is connected with da,'h{xaax).
Ibn Ezra on Zechariah) considered the word n^lVD as equivalent to
" sea,"

CD

n3''"l2,

" a pool of water."

301

THE SECOND TARGUM.

She had

her old age, and never ceased from doing good.

neither father nor mother, was fair in appearance and graceful

when her

in figure, and

and mother

father

Mordecai

died,

adopted her as his daughter.

Now when

made known, and virgins

were gathered to Shushan through Hega the royal eunuch
and keeper of the women, and when Mordecai heard that
the royal decrees were

virgins were forcibly demanded, he took

and with-

Esther

drew her from the royal messengers, that they should not

He

carry her away.

should not see her.

hid her in a summer-house, that they

The daughters

of the heathen used to

dance and show their beauty through the windows when the
royal messengers passed by, therefore the messengers brought

many

And

virgins from the provinces.

when they saw

Esther, and

virgins, they said

one to another

"

ourselves to bring virgins from the

in our province a virgin

whom we

knew
among these
In vain have we exerted
provinces, when we have

who

surpasses in beauty all those

And when

have brought."

the messengers

that she was not

When

king.

every virgin
sengers,

who

shall

this order,

to

the king heard

was

it

he issued an order

it,

shall conceal herself from

be punished with death.

afraid,

the market, and

wise

her

that

the royal mes-

and he conducted his uncle's daughter

so

Esther was brought by Hega, the

keeper of the women, unto the king.

giving

for

the

Mordecai, hearing

And

him, and was by him rewarded with favours

in

made
known to

search was

Esther and she was not found, they made

presents

ornaments

of

the girl pleased

;

he was zealous

and

portions,

like-

seven virgins were appointed for her from the royal

house.

Yet she gave her portions away

virgins, because she did not

came from the house

want

people or her family were, for

not to

Instead of

He

heathen

wine which

distinguished her

as

who her
Mordecai had commanded her
Esther did not

Day by day Mordecai

tell.

the

to taste of the

of the king.

the best of all the women.

to

D^DDjn read

tell

passed by the seraglio, in

D^DJD"''!,

^.<?.

lixrxit;.

302

APPENDIX

how Esther

order to learn

and what wonderful thincs

fared,

when

the time had

virgins should appear before

King Ahhash-

were accomplished through

come that these

I.

her.

IsTow

verosh, for according to the custom the

women had

remain

to

twelve months, of which six months were spent in

unguents and

Then the

and other female preparations.

king,

and whatever she wished

king's house

was given

to take

came before the

girl

from the harem

to the

In the evening she went there,

her.

and in the morning she returned

accompanied

to the harem,

by Shaashgaz, the royal eunuch and keeper

Her name was

using

myrrh, and six months in using spices

oil of

inscribed in a book,

women.

of the

and she could not come

again to the king unless he wanted her, and called her by her

But when the time had arrived that Esther, the

name.

daughter of Abihhayil, Mordecai's uncle

brought her up like his own daughter

who

had

had in truth

to appear before

the king, she did not ask for anything but what
royal eunuch, wished her to have
in the eyes of all

who saw

King Ahhashverosh

month Tebeth,

the

her.

Hega, the

and Esther found favour

Esther was then led to the

into the royal palace, in the tenth month,

in the seventh year of his reign.

king loved Esther more than

all

the

wives, and

And

the

she

was

rewarded by him with more grace and favour than

virgins

and he caused her

The king made a great

lords

who

the

feast,

the feast of Esther, for

all his

and statesmen, and distributed many presents in the

provinces.

" I

all

to reign in tlie place of Vashti.

On

the occasion, he said to her

are thy people,

am

and what

is

ignorant both concerning

family, because

when

mother died and

left

me."

thy family

my

"

Pray

"

tell

She replied

people and concerning

was quite a

Now when

child,

my

me,

father

my
and

the king heard these

words, he universally remitted the taxes, and gave presents to

the provinces, because he thought and said to himself, I will

do good to

all

the nations and governments,

among whom

is

certainly the people of Esther.

When

the virgins were again gathered, and this second

THE SECOND TARGUM.

303

gathering was only because Esther was living in the palace

of the king,

and he loved her more than

the wives, and

all

had put the royal crown upon her head.

Yes, the second

gathering was, because the governors said to the king

"If

thou wilt that Esther should reveal to thee her nation and
family, cause her to be jealous

by gathering other women,

and then she

So the virgins were gathered

will reveal both."

a second time, and, just then, Mordecai sat at the royal gate.

Nevertheless, Esther did not tell concerning her people and

her origin, but was doing just what Mordecai

her

for

was modest in her youth,

as she

even when she became queen.

"

commandment

Esther did the

so

Therefore

commanded

she remained

Scripture says

of Mordecai, like as

when

she

was brought up with him."

In those days when Mordecai sat at the gates of the royal
house, Bigthan and

keepers of

Teresh, two of

wardrobe, were

the

violent hands upon and

to

kill

eunuchs and

the royal

wroth, and

wanted

devised a plan of putting a poisonous snake

kill

Holy

him.

Spirit,

This

was revealed

affair

and he told

to Esther,

it

lay

in the golden

cup from which Ahhashverosh drank, in order that

and

to

King Ahhashverosh, having

to

it

might bite

Mordecai by the

who communicated

to

The matter was investigated

and they were both hanged on a scaffold and

the king in Mordecai's name.

and found

true,

the event was recorded in the chronicle of the king.

VIII.

After these events. King Ahhashverosh promoted Haman,^

The expression in Syro-Chald. came from Persia. It

p"l"in, a snake.
nothing else than " Agramainyus," "Aharman," "Ahriman," the evil
spirit, who, especially as a serpent, was thought to bring death.
This is
well to be assumed, and not the contrary (Spiegel, Eranische Alterthums^

is

kunde,
2

all

the

ii.

122).

The genealogy

of

Haman

most interesting, because it enumerates

who have oppressed them in
impressions which date from before the
is

the enemies and oppressors of the Jews

Holy Land.

It discloses

destruction of Jerusalem.

It

is

not indeed very easy to restore the

304

APPENDIX

son of

Hamdatha

I.

the Agagite, son of Stench, son of Eobbery,

son of Pilate, son of Lysius, son of Florus, son of Fadus, son

of riaccus, son of Antipater, son of Herod, son of Kefuse, son
of Decay, son of Parmashta, son of Vajasatha, son of Agag,

son of the Ked, son of Amalek, son of the

him upon a throne higher

placed

And

ministers.

all

concubine of

He made him

Eliphaz, the eldest son of Esau.

tlian

and

nobles and

his

all

the servants of the king

great,

who

sat at the

bowed down and prostrated themHaman, because the king had commanded it

gate of the royal palace

selves before

but Mordecai did not kneel

Then the servants

royal palace said

above

Mordecai

we should make

us, that

"

What

and

said

standing
blacks),

to

command of
them " You

Where

and haughty

is

are

He

tell

there a

tion but a few days

a
!

him.

him

Haman, and

Why

dost thou

"

Mordecai answered

foolish,

and without under-

the kinsj

Hear me, and

salute

privilege hast thou

obeisance before

that thou shouldst not kneel before

transcfress the

him, nor

king who sat at the gate of the

of the
to

before

me, you hypocrites

man who

(or

coal

dares to be so proud

man born of a woman, and his

He who at his birth weeps and

duracries,

corrupted names, yet the whole underlying thought supports and confirms
Instead of Dltoi'DX must be read Dlt^^S, Pilatus the

the emendation.

who was

hated by the Jews when he assumed

Instead of D^DIH must Felix
1 Mace. chap, iii.), the remarkable
(D'^D^S) be placed (Joseph. Ant. xii. 7. 3
and cruel brother of Pallus. Instead of D1"lS is to l3e read D"11^2 Florus.
governor,

not the

less

the fatal position in the history of Christ.

;

Under Gessius Florus broke out the Jewish war

(Joseph. Ant. xx. 10.

Fadus the procurator of Judea under

Claudius (Joseph. Ant. xx. 1. 1, etc.). For Ipyi^n is to be read jpvi^a, Flaccus
the governor of Syria (Joseph. Ant. xviii. 6. 2). For D'^"^D''tD3^< is to be
read D11DS''33i<, Antipater, as this clearly appears from his being con11).

For

'lj;o is

to be read "i^VSj

Agag is called "'pOlD 12, the son of the red, viz.

The name Rufus was not merely the name of the enemy in the
Jewish war, but it is a translation of Edom, Esau himself. Rome was
nected with Herod.
Kufus.

Edom (com p. my Chazar. Konigsbrief,

13 means a young calf, and refers to Vitellius.
"^33 12 refers to Cestius Gallus, for njj means a cock (j^niD 1^2, cock
of the wood).
"With respect to the meaning of the names of Haman's
sons, see the commentary.
understood to be a successor to

Berlin 1876,

p. 53).

n^

305

THE SECOND TARGUM.

in

youth mourns and

his

full of trouble

And

and during

sighs,

and vexation, and

his days is

all

at last returns to his dust

him ? Never
I only bow before
God in heaven, who is a consuming
are fire, who holds the earth in His

shall I kneel before

the one great and living

fire

and whose angels

who spread out the heavens by His mighty power,

who by His will makes the sun to be darkness and the
darkness to be light, who by His wisdom surrounded the
arm,

ocean with

the sea with

sand, provided

odorous salt and

with banks, keeping the waves bound in the deep as with

chains that they should not overflow the land and not pass
their limit.

By His word He

spread

a cloud

as

it

in the

created the

air,

yea.

He

firmament and
spread

it

as

vapour upon the world, and a tent upon the surface

of the

He

above

earth,

and by His power

and below.

Him

Before

carries the things that are

the sun, the moon, and the Pleiades

run their course, and the

None

and planets are not

stars

moment

inactive.

Him

His messengers, who go right and

as

Him who

created

one must bow."

They

To

will.

Him
less,

of

them

rest,

but

them belongs

all

run before
to

left

praise,

replied to Mordecai

for a

do His

and before
"

Neverthe-

one of thy fathers bowed before one of the fathers of

Haman

"

"

Who

was

it,"

Haman

before the ancestor of

not thy father Jacob

the ancestor of

"

who bowed

Haman

posterity of Benjamin,^

exclaimed Mordecai, " who bowed

"

He

Tbey

rejoined

before his

"

Was

it

brother Esau,

in reply said, " I

am

of the

and when Jacob bowed before Esau,

1 It appears from the above that in the days of the Targum Jacob's
bowing before Esau, who was identified with Rome, was not looked upon
by the Jews with a favourable eye. But this happened when Benjamin
was not yet born, therefore Mordecai his descendant was justified in
refusing homage to Haman, Esau's descendant.
Nor was Benjamin

when the children of Jacob sold Joseph, therefore his descendant

Mordecai becomes the deliverer of Israel whom Haman had sold. The
silence of Esther concerning her origin was referred to as typified in
the silence of Rachel when Jacob searched for the teraphim of Laban,
and especially to Benjamin. The latter was on the ground, that the stone

present

for his

[Benjamin's] tribe in the breastplate of Aaron (Ex. xxviii. 20)

306

APPENDIX

I.

Benjamin was not yet born, and he never in

bowed

Hence an

before a man.

his life

all

was made

eternal covenant

with him while he was yet in his mother's womb, until the
time that Israel shall go up to their land and build the

temple in his

territory,

and that

in his border,

the nations shall

But

enemy

not

shall

and that the Shechinah

shall dwell

shall rejoice there,

all Israel

and that

bow and prostrate themselves in his

bow before the wicked Haman,

they thus spake to him, and he did not

They then reported him

hearken to them.

to

Haman,

to

whether the words of Mordecai will stand, in that he

see

When Haman saw

them that he was a Jew.

told

Mordecai refused to bow before him, he was

against him.

eyes

to

But

lay violent

him

hands on

alone,

and he wanted

Jews who were sojourning

In the

month Msan,

first

of Israel

Shamshai began

He

the

Then

in order to destroy the holy people.

began on the

fall

upon him instead

to cast the lot before

day

first

"

Fear

you turn with repentance

If

God, then the lot will

scribe

is

in the twelfth year of the reign of Ahhashverosh,

lot,

not, congregation

day.

in the

month, which

an echoing voice from heaven resounded, and said

The

wrath

full of

empire of Ahhashverosh.

he cast the

that

he was too despicable an object in his

rather to destroy all those

by

this

Day by day

to

land.

of thee."

Haman day

of the week, but did not

succeed, because on that day were the heavens and the earth
created.

on

it

The second day was likewise unpropitious, because

the firmament was created.

because on

it

the garden of

day was unfavourable

He

failed

Eden was

to him, because

sun, the moon, the seven stars,

on the third day,

created.

on

it

The fourth

were created the

and the twelve

planets.

The

was a jasper (Heb. nSK^''), which was interpreted as composed of two

words na K'N "he had a mouth," and yet he was silent (Midrasli
Esther 926; comp. K. Behhai on Yalkut Keuheni 104c). From this
etymology plainly comes that which Pliny observes (lib. 37, 118)
"Libet obiter sanitatem magicam hie qiioque coarguere, ipioniam hanc
:

utilem esse concionantibus prodiderunt."

THE SECOND TARGUM.

fifth

day

did not serve

liis

307

purpose, because on

it

were created

the leviathan and the cock of the wood, which have been ap-

pointed for a feast to the congregation of Israel on the great day.

The sixth day was unfavourable, because on it Adam and

Eve were created and likewise the seventh day, because it is
;

a covenant between the word of the Lord and the people of

He

Israel.

then

The legend

left

the days and began with the months.

and cock of the wood being created on

them on the great day
In
(X3"l NJDV), is very remarkable, and betrays Christian influence.
Gen. i. 21 we read that on the fifth day were created the ocean monsters
The Targum Yerushalmi adds, that the leviathan was also
(D^J^^n).
created on the fifth day for the purpose of serving a feast on the great
day. But no mention is made of the cock of the wood (j<"i3 t^^lJin).
The
passages which are generally adduced from the 0. T. for the great feast,
viz. Isa. xxvii. 1, Job xl. 26, etc., do not give in the slightest way
any information concerning a banquet of leviathan and the cock of the
^

the

of the leviathan

day, in order that Israel should feast on

fifth

wood. The passage here is to be understood as a contrast to Christian

symbolism. The leviathan is the opposite of ichthys [fish], which is the

emblem

of Christ,

and contains the

on Thursday, which
Christ constituted the Lord's

the fifth day

-TrifiTrrYi)

eat, this is

my

is

body."

The

His name. Joshua (yiK^),

Nun, which means fish. On

acrostic of

the conqueror of Canaan, was also the son of

the great fifth (^y?i>j

called

Supper,

when He

said,

"Take,

idea of the feast of the leviathan was started

That

as a counterpart to the supper of the ichthys.

this is really so, is

seen from the addition of the 5^13 ^JilD, which is only found in this place.
The cock of the wood, or "wild cock," stands for the cock in general.
It is well

known

that the Jews have on the eve of the

a cock for every male as an atonement,

when they

Day
say

of Atonement
" This is my

substitution, this is my vicarious sacrifice, this is my atonement, this

cock shall go to death, and I shall enter into life." That this act is
vicarious may be seen from the fact that the cock is called Geber, i.e.
" man," and has special reference to Christ, who is called Geber in Zech.
xiii. 7.
Certainly most Jews are not acquainted with the fact that these
Christian ideas are contained in that ceremony but learned Jews have
perceived the hidden meaning, and have consequently discouraged the use
;

of the

ceremony

altogether.

It is

remarkable that

it

was customary to

use a fish for the same purpose, in case a cock was wanting.
It had the
same symbolism. Julius Africanus says also " Christ is the fish who
:

Upon

Supper are found a

lamb on the dish. It is likewise the custom among the
Jews to have fish and cock in their Sabbath meals. The feast of the
leviathian represented the same as that of the cock.
The Targumist
unites the two, in order to indicate that the feast will consist of fish and
nourishes the world."

pictures of the Lord's

fish instead of a

meat.

Concerning the symbolism of the

pp. 118-121.

fish, see

my Eddischen

Studien

308

APPENDIX

I.

Nisan was not appropriate, because of the meritorious influence

of the feast of the Passover.

Nor

month

Sivan, because in

Nor

the manna.

fell

lyar, because during this

Law

given on

the

walls of Jerusalem broken, and

place

in

Israelites

the

Mount

desert

two

was the

in

it

were

cannot take

evils

Nor Ab/ because

same month.
the

in

it

Nor Tamuz, because

Sinai.

in

the

it

dying away, and the

ceased from

Shechinah of the Lord of the universe began again to speak

Nor

with Moses.

Mount

because in

it

because in

Elul,

Sinai to bring

down

the sins of Israel are

heshvan, because the flood ceased in

Noah and

all

his

Moses went up on

it

Nor Tishri,
Nor Marhforgiven.
the same month, when

the second tables.

Nor

were saved.

Kislev, because in

it

was

Nor Tebeth, because in it

the wicked Nebuchadnezzar went up against Jerusalem, and
this tribulation was sufficient.
Nor Shebat, because this
month is the new year for the trees, of which the first-fruits
are offered.
When he finally came to the twelfth month, the
month Adar, he said " Now they are caught by my hands like
the fish of the sea."
But he did not know that the children
laid the foundation of the temple.

of Joseph are likened to fish, as

multiply like the

And Haman

fish of

the sea,

it

written

spake to King Ahhashverosh

all

"

among men upon

certain people of the Jews, scattered

the nations in

is

"

They

shall

the earth."

There

is

and thrown about among

the provinces of the empire

they are proud

and haughty, they bathe in Tebeth in tepid water, and in

Tamuz they

sit

in

cold

baths.

They

practise

laws

and

customs which are different from those of every other nation

and country, and do not walk according

to

our laws, nor have

pleasure in our customs, nor do they serve the king.

When

they see us they spit on the ground, and consider us in the

light of

them
the

an unclean

to do

walls,

some

When we

go to them and order

jump down

break down the fences, and make their escape

through the gaps.

^

thing.

service to the king, then they

When we

This significance of the month

try to catch them, they turn

Ab

appears only in this place.

309

THE SECOND TAEGUM.

round and stand staring at
with their

gnash with their

us,

We

any of them taken

Is

kinds of excuses, such as to-day

In the

We

must read the Shema

hour they say,

eat

We

heaven

must pray
'

first

(Deut.

'

in the fourth they say,

'

for a walk.

in

'

We

4)

Here

is

in the second

the third,

some soup

of

In the

fifth

In

you

to refresh

rest,

must

In the sixth they come back.

the tyrannical king put on you.'

keep as a day of

We

'

must thank the God

the seventh they go to meet their wives,

*

buy

hour of the day they

vi.

having given us bread and water.'

for

they go out

to

an unlawful day, and they

call

market

say,

is

buy from us they

to

and the day on which we want

something from them they

'

the Sabbath, to-day

is

The day on which they want

for us.

the

for

idleness, with all

day in

service of the king, he passes the

call a lawful day,

to

do not marry their daughters, and

they do not marry ours.

close the

stamp

and so frighten us that we are not able

feet,

take hold of them.

Passover.

teeth,

who

say to them,

after the

heavy

One day

in the

toil

which

week they

in which they go to their synagogues,

read in their books, interpret their prophets, curse our king,

imprecate our rulers, and say

which the great God

"

'

This

is

the seventh day, in

rested.'

Their unclean wives go after seven days, in the middle

of the night,

and

the water.

defile

On

the eighth day they

circumcise their sons, without any pity upon them, in order,

as they

call

and another
feast, lasting

thing that
'

This

Egypt

thereby to differ from other nations.

say,

days they

is
;
'

is

a month, and they say one

leaven,

is

Thirty

complete

In the month of Nisan they keep a

defective.

eight days,
is

month

when they remove and burn

and cleanse

their utensils,

every-

and

say,

the day in which our fathers were redeemed from

and they

call this

day Passover, and go

to

their

synagogues, read their books, interpret their prophets, curse

the king, imprecate the governors, and say,
is

removed from that which

dom

of the tyrant

is

Like the leaven

unleavened, so

be removed from among

us,

may
and

the king-

so

may we

310

APPENDIX

be delivered from this foolish

I.

In the month Sivan

king.'

they keep a feast of two days, in which they go into their

synagogues, read the Shema, pray, read their law, interpret
their prophets, curse the king, imprecate the governors,
call

the day of convocation/

it

They then go up

and

to the

down pomegranates
Like as we
so may their sons be

roof of the house of their God, and throw

and

and then

apples,

them, and say,

collect

gather these pomegranates and apples,

amongst

out from

gathered

Sinai.'

in

Tishri,

us.'

Law was

the day in which the

also

'This

say,

given to our fathers on

certain time they call

which they go

They

'

to

new

their

is

Mount

year, viz. the first of

synagogues,

read

their

books, interpret their prophets, curse the king, imprecate the

governors,

blow the

remembrance

May

heaven.

trumpets, and

of our fathers

say,

month they

drink sumptuously
daughters.

this

day the

our remembrance conduce to our good, and

that of our enemies conduce to their

the same

'On

comes up before our Father in

evil.'

On

the ninth of

slaughter geese and animals, eat and

they, their wives, their sons,

The tenth

of this

month they

call

and their

a great fast

day, on which they, their wives, and their sons and daughters
fast;

and they harass even their children and sucklings,

without pity upon them, and they say,

sins atoned, yea, our sins are collected

of our enemies.'

They go

to

their

'

On

this

day are our

and added

to the sins

synagogues, read

their

books, interpret their prophets, curse the king, imprecate the

'May

governors, and say,

out from the world

1

On

;
'

this

foolish

kingdom be blotted

and they pray and supplicate that the

the t^mvyi XDI^ they go to their synagogues and throw apples.

of Weeks was called Azereth, " convocation," like the last day

The Feast

The former is a commemoration of the giving

devoted to rejoicing for the Law. In the West
the throwing of apples takes place on the latter feast, on miD nniOSJ^,
which is in the autumn. The Tania (p. 129a) speaks of DHJO, "fruit,"
which the min |nn caused to be thrown. Of this also speaks the Minhagini
(p. 47), and therefore the pTl, the priestly benediction, does not take place
at C]D1D, "the supplementary service."
The use of tl)Zr\ was chosen in
allusion to Pro v. xxv. 11.
of the Feast of Tabernacles.
of the Law, the latter

is

311

THE SECOND TAEGUM.

may

king

On

die,

and that his government may be destroyed.

the fifteenth day of the same

month they

erect booths

on the roofs of their houses, then they go into our orchards,

down our palm

cut

willows (or spice

leaves,

trees),

pluck down our citrons, break our

destroy our gardens and our fences with-

out any pity, and then they

and

say,

w^e/

Then they go

rejoice,

make

of the branches hosannas,^

'As the king does among the arrayed army,

so do

to their synagogues, read their books, pray,

go around wdth their hosannas,

jump and dance

like

goats,

and we do not know whether they curse or bless

They

call this

the Feast of Tabernacles, and

feast

perform the work of the

forbidden day/
'

king,

saying to

Thus they spend the

Sheehy, Pheehy,'

'

i.e.

To-day

'

do not

This

is

year, with the excuse of

a Sabbath, to-day

is

feast.'

was first used as a prayer in Ps. cxviii. 25.

when Jesus entered triumphantly
into Jerusalem.
Thirdly, the five twigs of willow tied with a palm leaf,
and smitten in the synagogue on the Feast of Tabernacles to symbolize the
Trans.]
defeat of the Satanic kingdom by the Messiah, are called hosanna.
^ The speech of Haman before the king, as given by the Targum, is
very remarkable.
It vividly describes the accusations which were
brought against the Jews in the time of the Targumist, and which are
still brought against them by their enemies.
Whatever they did is taken
^

[Hosanna means, Save now.

is

us,

us-

It

Secondly, as a Messianic acclamation

amiss.

They

are represented to live extravagantly, because, forsooth,

they bathe in the summer in cold, and in the winter in tepid water.
They are reproached for feeding upon roast geese before the fast day.
They are further reproached that they have no relish for the service of
the king, that they hate other nations, curse the kings, and that they
continually have holidays as an excuse for not doing loyal service to the
government. We must remark upon some of the items of this speech,
because they are not without historical interest. It is said twice that they
spent their time with TID MEJ' instead of doing some useful service. The
same expression is found in Bab. Megilla 136 (MtJ'n i<n^ ifh)2b SpD^T

Eashi explains the words as initial letters of n3K^ DVn riDS

if they always excused themselves with the saying, " To-day is
Though this explanation is given above,
iBabbath, to-day is Passover."
MDl).

DVn, as

yet I do not agree with

it.

Levy in

Chald. Lex.^ voce TID, says that Rashi's

now think

First, because
it an impossible one.
the feast of the Passover happens only once in the year, and they could
" To-day is
not excuse themselves the whole year round by saying

explanation

is

Passover."

Secondly, such an acrostic abbreviation

forced.

Rye,

but sounds badly to the

ear.

It is plainly

an

may

look well to the

alliterative formula,

expressing "doing nothing," or "doing useless things," as

we have

in

312

APPENDIX

" Fifty years

they call a jubilee

twelve months, a year

they

day of

call a

rest,

I.

seven years, a jubilee week

thirty days, a

and they keep

who harboured thoughts

of evil against us,

measured them with the

the ground

Sam.

(2

'

As

servants.
line,

it

city,

Yet of

*And he
down on

to lie

After him rose up one of the

;

name was Nebuchad-

his

and he went against them, destroyed

nezzar,

parts of

left.

written:

is

making them

viii. 2).

kings w4io were thy predecessors

plundered their

and wished

Two

us he killed and rooted out, and one part he

made

which

kingdom was

their

and to exterminate us from the world.

those he left he

the seventh day

among them whose name was

yet standing, there arose a king

to kill us

as a feast day, in

it

When

the Lord of the universe rested.

David,

month

and led them into

their temple,

and

captivity,

still

they are high-spirited and have not given up their haughtiness

now, but say

till

We

neither have

we obeyed

God

and that our rule may be destroyed

without our knowledge.

They send

governors.'

to every place, asking for prayers to

die,

renowned

are the children of

and we have never subjected ourselves nor bowed to

fathers,
liings,

When

letters

may

that the king

;

and

this

their forefathers

they do

came down

Egypt they were only seventy persons, but when they

to

went up (out

of

Egypt) they were sixty myriads.

And even

now, though they are likewise in captivity, and have nothing,

We

yet they say

But, in

there

fact,

'

world than they

them

of

German

is

and good

are.

This people

is

in all the towns

and candle

provisioners,

Larifari and SchnicJcschnack, and in English

I

people.'

not a more poor and faulty people in the

are dealers in wax^

helter-skelter.
7.i^pog,

are the children of pious

some

and some

shilly-shally

and

remark, in passing, that Larifari comes from the Greek

which Grimm and others have overlooked.

The Komans

said

moreover, interesting to note that such meaningless

Foxen, Jloccus,
alliterations, like Phehy, generally begin with F, thus
hutu batta.

It

is,

and therefore Sheehy, Pheehy, may mean useless words in

reference to Pe, month.
When the Targumist makes Haman complain that some
fc^lV "33Tare dealers in wax and candles, and that others are rich, but that they
obtain their riches in a wrong way, he shows that Haman's intention

flyaros, larifari,

313

THE SECOND TAEGUM.

them

of

men.

are great

overcharged price,
value

its

Everything they

they

sell,

they do not observe the laws and ordinances of the

them

them

him write an order

for their

them a

extermination, and I will give thee for every one of

hundred zuzin

and as the

when they went

total

thousand zuzin, so

money from my

number

of their ancestors

out from Egypt was six hundred thousand

men, and ten thousand kikar

of the

or in

to exist.

" If it please the king, let

stroke

an

and everything they buy, they do not pay

king, and the king has no advantage in tolerating

allov^ing

sell at

silver are equal to six

hundred

please the king I will deliver this

if it

It needs only a

treasury into thy treasury.

pen, and the silver in

weight shall be

full

delivered through the officers of the mint into the treasury of

the king."

Then the king

of kings answered

and said

"

They

have long ago paid a sela (half a shekel) per head, when they

went out
kikar,

of

Egypt, and the

sum amounted

to

one hundred

and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven

Thou hast

therefore no right

verosh a right to buy them."

from his hand and gave

it

to

sell

selas.

them, nor has Ahhash-

Then the king took off his ring

to Haman, son of Hamdatha the

was to make the Jews appear contemptible. He represents them on the

one hand as poor miserable people, who maintain themselves as dealers
in a small way, and on the other hand as usurers.
The trade in wax, ii,i^p
(cera), did not bring large profits.
The Jews were in the habit of using
many wax candles in their service in the synagogue as well as at home,
especially on the Day of Atonement and the singling out of this trade
seems to be a mocking allusion to it. This is seen in Sanhed. 95a " Thy
grandson buys wax, and art not thou sorry ? " In the Minhagim of the year
1692 (Dyhernfurt), p. 38, we read " On the eve of the Day of Atonement
;

necessary to light a candle, for the candle atones ("1D3D) for the soul
It is also an honour for the synagogues
(niDtJ^j), which is also a candle.
it is

to

have many candles."

A curious story is

candles were only lighted for

men and

told that in

not for women.

t^^t^'Ji,

Germany,

The man has 258

members in his body ; add to this his soul and spirit, nil and HDK^J,
the initials of which are ^j, candle, and numerically also 250. In other
countries, candles are lighted for the women also, though they have four
members more in their bodies than the men. As iCi'^p "^^Tj "buyers of
wax," and j'tviQ ptTlj " those who hang up candles," are connected together,
so in the usage of the Byzantine Church KYipoi and v'h^''^' stand together.

314

APPENDIX

I.

And

Agagite, the oppressor of the Jews.

Haman

"

The money

do with them as

it

is

the king said to

given to thee, and the people

seems best in thy

too, to

sight."

But thou, Ahhashverosh, hast neither acted

like a

buyer

seller, for a buyer gives money and a seller takes

money but thou hast given thy ring to Haman, and hast said
" Thy money is given thee and the people, to do
to him
with them as it seems best in thy sight."
In thee is the

nor like a
;

verse verified whicli says

snout (Prov.

xi.

woman

As

22).

kingdom does not

befit

"As

a ring of gold in a swine's

rings do not befit swine, so the

and thou

thee,

art like

a beautiful

of bad morals."

Then the

scribes of the king

Haman commanded

were called together on the

month Nisan, and everything which

thirteenth day of the

concernincr the

for all the dignitaries of the king,

Jews was written down,

and

men

for all the great

in every province, and for the rulers of every people.

In the

writing and

it

language of each country and

name

written in the

the royal
to

seal.

And

exterminate

women

all

in one

letters

were sent by swift messengers

day, namely, on the

destroy, to kill,

and to

thirteenth day of the

month Adar, and

to plunder their

also

The writing was explained, and

revealed and published to

all

(reader)

mayest know that

measure

for

its

was

object

the nations in every province,

that they should be prepared for that day.

punish with

was

sealed with

the Jews, from boys to old men, infants and

twelfth month, the

that thou

people

King Ahhashverosh and

the provinces of the king to

all

houses.

of

measure.

All this happened

God never

You have

to

fails

seen

that

because the brethren of Joseph sold him into a strange land,

therefore their descendants were likewise sold into a strange

land

but as Benjamin did not take part in this transaction

with his brethren, for that reason two of his descendants,

Mordecai and Esther, became redeemers of

Israel.

The

viz.

swift

messengers hastened on with the decree of the king, and

was

also published in the capital Shushan, while the king

it

and

315

THE SECOND TARGUM.

Haman
was

sat

down

and

to eat

And

Mordecai, the righteous, saw

everything that had been done,

word from

by

palace

his

viz.

Shushan

hewn

stones,

Jerusalem,

Ahhashverosh

should

they

stop

also

whom had

a roll

sat

the

of

gates

Shushan

name

letter written in the

contents were as follows

peoples, nations,

land, peace

certain

chamber

to us,

built.

The wicked

and

twenty -seven

and

and

wrote,

Jews and

sent

their laws.

and sealed with

of the king,

is

in all the

live

make known

prevail

our

against

investigation concerning him,

Haman, son

to

you, that a

not from our place nor from

Eeuel, son of Eliphaz

the

man

me

asked of

laws

me

and

give

of the great

of

us, that

made
name is

have

Amalek, son of

Esau, in

fact,

and wealthy people.

small and insignificant

petition,

This

and

concerning the Jews and their blameworthy

affairs.

He

Egypt they numbered

will

We

find) that his

first-born

descendant of prominent lords

informed

enemies.

and (we

King Agag, son

of

out

The

by swift messengers, and the

our province, and he came for the purpose of joining

we might

They

hand.

his

and languages who

who

of

building

of

From me. King Ahhashverosh,

"

be multiplied.

man came

w^ork

and a book in

his signet-ring, they despatched

all

righteous

twenty-seven provinces, every

grievous decrees concerning the

first

the

a hundred

fetched

a hundred and

one of
at

the

and were prophesying on the great wall

that

scribes from

Spirit

in the

to

who were

seventy-two towers were already

after

Holy

by the

that the king had sent

servants

his

Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachai,

to

city of

IX.

of

and the

to drink,

in a state of lamentation.

thee

six

said,

six

*When

they

came out from

hundred thousand men, and so I

hundred

thousand

minas

of

silver,

^ [Mina was a certain weight of silver, variously estimated as consisting

of from fifteen to one hundred shekels.
Comp. 2 Chron. ix. 16 ; 1 Kings

X.

17

Ezek.

xl. 12,

etc. Trans.]

316

APPENDIX

mina
should

man

every

for

sell

which sum he desired that

for

'

people

this

I.

him

to

be

to

Then

killed.

I
I,

Ahhashverosh, greatly rejoiced, and after mature deliberation,

I took the

money from him and

eat

sold the people to

am

and drink and

handle the bow,

let

with the sword,

let

He

merry.

him

and be merry,

Therefore, eat and drink

be slauf^htered.

to

as I

understands to

that

him use the bow and he that can fight

him seize the svvord, and go you out and
;

overpower them on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the

month, which

is

either their princes, their

rulers,

Ahhashverosh,

do

nations, languages, places, provinces,

spoil their goods.

hereby

therefore

not spare

men, nor even

their great

them and

their little children, but kill

King

Do

called in our language Adar.

and

decree

I,

for

for every tribe

all

and

family and town, that wherever a Jewish man-servant or a

Jewish maid-servant

is

found, their masters shall slay

at the gate of the city, because they have

order of the king which was issued

should be found upon the

And when
which was
rent

his

soil of

my

them

not obeyed the

by me, that no Jews

empire."

Mordecai, the righteous, heard of the decree

issued,

and of the

garments

in

the

which were

letters

front

sealed,

he

and behind, and put on

sackcloth and rolled himself in ashes, and lifted up his voice

and

cried, "

and

Haman

Woe

how

great

is

this decree

have decreed against us

which the king

Not a

half of us has

he condemned and a half spared, no not even a third or a

fourth part has he spared, but the

determined that we should

and rooted

out."

all as

Now, when the people

righteous Mordecai,

who was

the

have

of Israel

saw the

Eab ^ over
him in very

a greatly esteemed

them, they assembled together and came

large multitudes.

Haman

king and

a body be killed, destroyed,

to

Then Mordecai stood up in the midst

assembly and addressed them as follows

"

of

People of

[This title may also help us in deciding as to the age of the Targum.
shows that it was written outside of Palestine, for there the same title
was Mar. Trans.]
^

It

THE SECOND TAEGUM.

317:

beloved and dear to the Father in heaven

Israel,

not know, and have you not heard, that the king and

have determined to destroy us from

and

to exterminate us

pray for

nor

us,

can

rely,

us

and

We

Yea,

pilot.

we

ately the holy ark

was brought out

out,

with sackcloth, and ashes spread upon

read therein
things have

"

iv.

When

etc.,

and they covered

it,

and then they

all

these

thou should turn to the

God

a merciful

is

"

People of Israel

Beloved and precious to God

ImmediShushan,

Mordecai again rose in the midst of the

30, 31).

congregation and said

people

thee,

Lord thy God

for the

a ship

like

thou art in tribulation, and

come upon

Lord thy God

(Deut.

and

to the gates of

and the book of the Law was taken

it

was

are like orphans without a father,

suckling babes whose mother has died."

like

nor

flee,

message was sent concerning

are like sheep without a shepherd,

without a

and

we can

to every place it

safe, for

to every province a

earth,

we have
who should

Alas

nor a prophet

place into which

country where we would be

written,

off the face of the

from under heaven

whom we

no king on

Do you
Haman

an example to the people of Nineveh

Beloved and dear

Let us look for

When

the prophet

Jonah, the son of Amittai, was sent to announce to them that

when

the city of Nineveh would be destroyed, and

the tidings

reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid

aside the royal throne, put on sackcloth, rolled himself in

and issued a proclamation in Nineveh, saying

ashes,

decree of
neither

man

them not
evil
'

the

king

feed nor drink water.

commands thus:

flock,

do unto them, and

us also do as they did, and

because

we

Israel's guilt,

banished

are

let

Let them turn from their

from the violence that

He would

The
Let

anything;

taste

in

is

their

hands.'

the Lord turned by His word from the evil which

thought

nezzar,

nobles

nor beast, herd nor

ways, and

And

and his

institute

He

did

and

from Jerusalem

He

not.'

Let

proclaim

fasts,

it

and because

of

an echoing voice called upon wicked Nebuchad-

and said

'

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Chaldea

Arise

318

APPENDIX

I.

and go against Jerusalem, and destroy

temple with

fire

At

'

and

it,

burn

the

Nebuchadnezzar shook

time

that

head and wrung his hands, knowing well what was the

his

when an angel was

of Sennacherib's army,

fate

from heaven who

and

killed eighteen myriads

down

sent

thousand

five

While

of them, so that none remained alive but he himself."

Mordecai was thus speaking, he rent his garments, put on

sackcloth, sat

down

"

Woe

house of

to you,

that such a decree has been issued against you

went

into the city

went

to the

and cried loudly and

He

"

man

should come to the gate

came

to

a heathen and said to

When, now,
him " I pray
:

me and my wife and children be thy slaves,

we may be delivered from being killed," then

thee, let

that

then

Then he

bitterly.

of the house of the king clothed in sackcloth.

Israelite

Israel,

gate of the royal palace, because there was a

decree which ordered that no

an

and

in the dust, rolled himself in ashes,

burst into tears, and cried

heathen answered

"

Seest thou not what

is

only
the

written in the

King Ahhashverosh has published, that if a

Jew is found with any of our people, that man shall be
Whereupon the Jew went home in great
killed like him."
decree which

distress.

At

this

time was verified that which

the law of Moses concerning Israel

Ye

"

is

written in

shall sell yourselves

unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no

man

shall

buy you " (Deut.

Day by day

xxviii. 68).

every one

them went and read the published royal decree, and then he
knew how long he had yet to live in the world. Thus again
of

was

realized

life

shall

what

hang

is

written in the law of Moses

in doubt

before

thee

"

And

night and day, and shalt have none assurance of thy

the morning thou shalt say,

Would God

even thou shalt say, Would God

fear of thine heart

it

which thou shalt

thy

and thou shalt fear

it

were even

were morning
fear,

and

life
1

and

in
at

for the

for the sight of

thine eyes which thou shalt see" (Deut. xxviii. 06, 67).

In every place and province where the king's decree came,

there was great lamentation amongst the Jews, consisting of

THE SECOND TARGUM.

weeping, wailing, mourning, sackcloth, and, among

fasting,

many of them, lying in ashes.

And Esther's maidens and her
it

319

chamberlains came and told

her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved, and she sent

raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from

him, but he received

Then

not.

it

one of the king's chamberlains,

attend upon her, to charge

what

and why

this was,

it

whom

him

And

to

Jews

treasuries for the

which was before

sum

to destroy

And

them.
the

of

Esther, and to declare

unto her

it

and

the

that

king's

he gave him

decree

to

that had

money

to

was

that

show

Shushan, to destroy them, to

published in

all

of the

pay by weight

copy of the writing

an explicit

city,

Mordecai told him of

promised

know

So Hathach went forth to

happened unto him, and the exact

Haman had

he had appointed to

to go to Mordecai, to

was.

Mordecai, unto the broad place of the

the king's gate.

off

called Esther for Hathach,

unto

it

charge her that

make supplication unto

him for her people. And

she should go in unto the king, to

him, and to

make

came

Hathach

request before

and

Mordecai

to

"

All the

the king's provinces, do

woman,

shall

Esther

told

Then Esther spake unto

words

of

Mordecai.

and charged him

king's servants,

know

to

say

and the people of

that whosoever, whether

come unto the king

not called, there

the

Hathach,-^

into the inner court

man
who

or
is

one law for him, that he be put to death,

is

except such as to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre,

may

that he

live.

And

behold, I have been praying for thirty

days, that the king should not ask for

for as I

woman

was trained by

me and cause me to

sin

thee, thou didst say to me, that every

of the daughters of Israel

who of her own free will coamong the tribes of Israel."

habits with a heathen, has no part

And

because Hathach was a messenger between Esther and

Mordecai,
him.
^

is

Haman was

very wroth against him, and killed

The words of Esther were then reported by writing to

It is inferred that

no more mentioned.

Haman

caused Hathach
But in Megilla 15a he is

to he killed, because he
identified with Daniel.

320

APPENDIX

And Mordecai

Mordecai.
"

I.

said in reply to Esther as follows

Perhaps thou imaginest that thou at any rate art

sayest to thyself, I need not pray for Israel

Jew

a foot of one

because

but when only

struck, do not think that thou, of all

is

For thy ancestor Saul caused

Jews, shalt escape.

Israel,

and

safe,

this evil to

he had done what the prophet Samuel told

if

him, then the tyrant

Haman would

children of the house of

Amalek

not have sprung from the

and

if

he had killed King

Agag, this son of Hamdatha would never have risen against

and would never have sold us

us,

He

two

would not have delivered

thousand kikar of

King Ahhashverosh, and the Holy One, blessed

silver to

be

for ten

Amalek, the ancestor of Haman, have come against

carried

on war against Joshua, son of Nun,

though, through the prayer of Moses, the

was blotted out from the world.

memory

justice to the first

after

than another

is

Haman

then,

Is,

whom

He who

than those thirty-one kings

went and

came

whom

who came

who

likewise

Is he

against Israel,
Is he stronger

came against

Israel,

Joshua, instructed by a word from heaven,

them

killed

did

the tyrant stronger

the Lord removed from the world

but against

Amalek

and pray

his decree of greater duration

stronger than his ancestor Amalek,

but

of

Arise, therefore,

generation will also do justice to those

them.

Or

and

Israel

Eephidim,

at

to thy heavenly Father for the people of Israel.

who came

hands of

Israel into the

Nor, at the beginning (of our history) would

tyrants.

Is

he stronger than

Sisera,

who

against Israel with nine hundred iron chariots, and closed

the cisterns against them, in order that their wives should

not bathe,

that they should not multiply and increase

whom God

in the world, but

woman, and she

killed

stronger than Goliath,

of Israel,

hand

delivered into the

Is,

indeed, this wicked

who came and blasphemed

of a

Haman

the armies

but who was delivered into the hands of David, and

he killed him

came and

him

carried

into the hands of

Is

he stronger than the sons of Orphah, who

on war against

David and of

Israel,

but

who were

his servants,

delivered

and they killed

321

THE SECOND TARGUM.

Therefore withhold not thy

them.

from interceding

lips

for

mouth from

mercy from thy

prayer, nor thy

And pray that,

Israel, we may

Creator.

for the sake of the righteousness of our fathers'

be delivered from slaughter

wonders

and we

them

for

shall do with

fancy that thou, of

For

of the king.

He who

time.

is

He who

and

has at

all

times done

will also deliver our enemies into our hands,

them

if

as

we

Esther, do not

But,

please.

the Jews, shalt be saved in the house

all

thou neglectest thy opportunity at this

the Holy One, and the Eedeemer of the

at all times, will cause

Jews

redemption to spring up for them from

another place, but thou and thy father's house shall perish.

And who knows

whether thou hast not come to the kingdom

because the sins of thy father's house are called to account."

Then Esther answered Mordecai by

together all

letter

"

Go

gather

the Jews that are found in Shushan, and fast for

me, and neither eat nor drink three days and three nights

and I

also

my

and

maidens will

will I go in unto the king without being

I perish in this

my

will,
is

but

now

violated

summoned

and

if

world for your sake, I shall have a portion

Hitherto I went to the king against

in the world to come.

who

manner, and so

fast in like

I go willingly.

by a Gentile

is

And

a daughter of Israel

a lawful wife to her husband.

Let the bridegroom go out from his sleeping-room covered

with sackcloth, and

let the bride

likewise leave her nuptial

chamber with her head covered with

and sheep not

beasts

Let

ashes.

men and

taste anything for three days,

and

let

the babes be separated from the breasts of their mothers."

Immediately they inspected the assembly, and they found

in

twelve thousand young

it

priests.

These seized trumpets

with their right hand and the books of the law with their
left,

and then wept and cried towards heaven, and said

God

of

Behold,

Who
moon

Israel

Thy beloved people

will read therein

will be dark,

created but for

"

behold the law which Thou hast given us.

is

about to cease from the world.

and speak of Thy name

and

The sun and

not give their light, for they

Thy people

Israel."

They then

fell

upon

were
their

APPENDIX

.322

I.

faces,

and cried: "Answer

us,

Father, answer us

us,

King, answer us

And

they blew the trumpets, and

"

Answer

the people cried aloud after them, so that the hosts of heaven

wept, and the patriarchs were

moved

in their graves.

Mordecai went and did everything which Esther charged

And

was on the third day,

after Esther

had

three successive fasts, she arose from the earth where she

was

him

to do.

sitting,

it

bowed down

and

in dust

ashes, not

having changed

her raiment, and she put on royal apparel, which was embroidered with gold of Ophir, adorned herself with a fine silk

wrought with diamonds and pearls that were brought

dress

from

and put the golden crown upon her head, and

Africa,^

shoes of pure refined gold

prayed thus
Isaac,

Thou who

"

upon her

and of Jacob, and the God of

was not because

Thy

sake of

should not perish from the world.

whole world was created, and

who

holy

'

will say before

Save

my

God

Abraham,

of

father Benjamin,

it

of

was right before Thee that I came

foolish king, but for the

world,

After this she

feet.

art the great

me from

if

Thee

to this

people Israel, that they

For the sake

of Israel the

Israel should perish from the

thrice every day,

'

Holy, holy,

Thou

the hand of this foolish king, as

save Hananiab, Mishael, and Azariah from the

didst once

burning furnace, and Daniel from the den of

lions,

me

She broke forth

to find favour

and grace in

into tears, and further prayed

his eyes."

and earnestly supplicated

beseech Thee, hear this prayer, hearken to

when we

at this time,

land.

Ah

are

and cause

my

supplication

banished and removed from our

on account of our sins hast Thou delivered

that that which

is

then ye shall

yourselves unto your enemies for

sell

" I

written might be fulfilled in us

'

us,

And

bondmen

^ That pearls should have been brought from the land of ''p''lDX would
he surprising, were it not that in the ethnographical tables, Gen. x., the
Targuin Yerushalrni in some copies puts under sons of Cush the countries
lying between Cyrene and Numidia. The Indian pearls were considered
in ancient times as the most famous (Pliny, lib. ix. c. 45). Aelian says
{Thiergesch. x. 13) that the pearls of India and the Red Sea are the best.
^ [r"i3K is probably derived from Ophir
the Q is changed into a 3.
;

Trans.]

323

THE SECOND TARGUM.

and bondwomen, and no man

been issued

and

to kill us,

buy

shall

and we are

The children

to utter extermination.

you.'

law has

appointed to the sword

all

Abraham

of

are

clothed in sackcloth, and they have thrown ashes upon their

If our forefathers

heads.
guilty

we

If

are destroyed,

why

have sinued,

who

are the children

sucklings done

from

The inhabitants

have moved

of Jerusalem

Thou hast delivered their children

Thou makest us vanish away like the clouds

of heaven.

How

few are our days of joy

Haman

hast

Thou

delivered us

tered.

I will

trials

To the wicked

to be slaugh-

remember before Thee the deeds

of

Thy beloved.

will begin to say

to our

Thou hast

tried

him with

Thou hast proved him, and found him

assist

enemy

Of Abraham I
Oh,

If the

what have the

their graves because

to the slaughter.

all

Thee

will then praise

children have sinned and provoked Thine anger,

and support his beloved children,

faithful.

whom Thou hast

Demand an

brought to Thyself by the seal of the covenant.

account from
the son of

Haman

for our disgrace,

Hamdatha by

he wants

to

cut

Thy people

the hands of

like

off

a lamb,

and take vengeance on

Israel,

whom

and wdiom he oppresses

grievously in all their places.

"

Thou hast made an

binding

Haman
buy us

of

(sacrifice)

everlasting covenant with us.

Isaac do thou raise us

up

By the
Behold,

has offered the king ten thousand talents of silver to

!

Hear

freedom.

and bring us out from tribulation into

us,

Break down the mighty, yea, break down Haman,

that he should not rise from his

fall."

And

Esther

her voice and cried aloud, and lamented bitterly.

lifted

With

up

tears

she prayed fervently, so that her throat and lips became dry,

and her eyes became dim from weeping.

" It

her heart, and said

will not listen to

me.

to pray for

of

may

Esther thought in

be when I go to the king he

Nevertheless, I shall go to the king

mercy upon mine inheritance, and may an angel

mercy go before me, and grace and favour accompany me,

the righteousness

of

Abraham prevent me,

Isaac support me, the goodness

of

the

sacrifice

Jacob be given into

of

my

324

APPENDIX

mouth, and

Happy

man who

the

is

Him

shall

right

hand and His

You,

world.

all

For whatever a

answer our

by the

the

He

me

(for I rely

mercy on your

behalf.

The

Let us see

his prayer is heard.

(good) deeds of our fathers,

petition.

left

hand

of

and

Abraham

and his right hand held the

throat,

me His

created the whole

asks in the time of his distress from the

Holy One, blessed be He

we do

tongue.

that trusts in

extend to

pray for mercy for

Israel,

man

he

for

will

as I also pray for

upon your kindness),

that

He

with which

left,

you

God,

trusts in

not be confounded.

my

Joseph upon

of

gracefulness

the

I.

He

will

seized Isaac

knife.

He

will-

Thy word, and did not delay to carry

Heaven opened its windows to give place
out Thy message.
to the angels from on high who cried bitterly, and said thus
ingly did the will of

Woe

to the

who

world

me

answer

thee,
is

Thou

this

if
!

oppressed and

and plenteous

who

in
;

like a

answer

us,

mercy and

truth,

Thou

art

soul.

slow

and forgivest

Thou keepest the covenant

of grace

Thy commandments

for a

Yea, by our fathers wast Thou called

made was with

when he sat and

This covenant which Thou hast

Thou hast heard the

them.

seest the afflicted

and the gracious

love Thee and keep

thousand generations.
the merciful.

Thou

afflicted.

iniquity and transgression

to those

'

upon

For Thou answerest the prayer of him

art called the merciful

to anger,

wept

deed be done

I also call

woman

voice of Jonah,

in childbirth

hear also our voice and

and bring us out from tribulation into freedom.

Three days I have already fasted before Thee, what can I do

more

Lord of the universe

fourth and the

fifth,

I have forgotten the fast of the

but I fasted three days according to the

Abraham went to bind his son upon the

altar before Thee.
Thou didst then make a covenant with him,
and didst promise him
Whenever thy children shall be in
tribulation, I will remember them favourably for the sake of
three days in which

the

sacrifice

of their

'

father

Isaac,

and will redeem them.'

Again, I fasted three days in reference to the three divisions,

the priests, Levites, and Israelites,

who

stood at the foot of

325

THE SECOND TARGUM.

Mount Sinai when they said All that the Lord hath
we will do and obey.' Therefore redeem them from this
'

And

sion!"

of hosts

Esther continued to pray, and said

Thou

"

that searchest the heart and reins,

Abraham, of

in this hour the righteousness of

answer to

my

and stood

at the gate

request

my

away from

Jacob, and do not turn

petition,

spoken,
oppres-

God, Lord

remember
and of

Isaac,

nor delay an

Esther then put on royal apparel

"

of the royal palace

of the inner court,

opposite to the royal palace, and the king sat upon his throne
opposite

the

And when

gate.

the king saw Queen Esther

standing in the court, she found favour and grace in his sight.

But the royal executioners^ who stood there were ready

kill

Esther

to

then the king stretched out the golden sceptre

which he held in

his

hand

to her,

and she approached and

touched the top of the sceptre.

Then the king

Esther

even

and what

said

to the half of the

kingdom."

words she trembled, and said

it

"What

her:

to

thy request

is

When

Queen

thou,

wilt

It shall

be given thee

Esther heard these

" I ask for nothing else, but if

please the king, let the king and

Haman come

this

day

unto the banquet that I have prepared for him."

And
to

the king said

do as Esther has

Haman, and make him hasten

So the king and Haman came to

" Call

said."

And

the banquet that Esther had prepared.

to Esther while drinking
it

wine

shall be granted thee

to the half of the

"

What

and what

kingdom

it

is
is

the king said

thy petition
thy request

shall be performed."

and
even

Then

1 The
ni^f'pDDX of the king would have killed Esther had not the
king intervened, because she came to the king without being summoned.
Levy in his Chald. Lex. reads speculator. But it must be spiculator, the
lance-bearers which the Greek Onomasticon calls lopvOvpot, of whom we

" Neque convivia inire ausus est,

read in Sueton. Claud, cap. xxxvi.
nisi ut spiculatores cum lanceis circumstarent " (comp. Sueton. Galba,
:

we find in manuscripts speculator and

hut in no place is speculator used for a
lance-bearer.
The ideas of spy (speculator) and of bodyguard (spiculator)
are quite different.
Even Salmasius on Spart Hadrian (cap. xi. ed. Haack,
i. 107) has not clearly distinguished the one from the other.
cap. xviii.).

It

is,

indeed, true that

spiculator are often interchanged,

326

APPENDIX

answered Esther and said

Thou,

My

"

I.

petition

king, art good without parallel,

my

king to grant

my

petition and to perform

Haman come

to the

if

was about

that

to

request, let the

For three

said."

Haman to the banquet.

Haman was angry against

because

Eirst,

Hathach, and

him, for his going on errands between her

kill

and Mordecai, and therefore she thought

" I will invite

the banquet in order to appease him."

to

please the

it

reasons Esther invited

knew

banquet that I shall prepare for

them, and I will to-morrow do as the king has

Esther

request

have found

if I

favour and grace and mercy before thee, and

king and

my

and

and

him

Secondly, she

may eradicate the

hatred from his heart, and again

I shall excite the jealousy of

Ahhashverosh against Haman,

thought

'
:

king will say

for the

my

all

'

What must

banquet

'

Thirdly, she thought

"

are directed towards me, that I

kill

Haman

'*
:

may

to the heavenly Father to ask for

went Haman

forth that

to his house,

his wife.

him

to

the banquet, in

be changed and directed

Then
but

in the king's gate, that he stood

Haman

filled

with wrath against

restrained himself and

went

and he sent and fetched his friends and Zeresh

And Haman

recounted unto them the glory of his

and the multitude of

wherein

the

to

of all Israel

day joyful and glad of heart

when Haman saw Mordecai

Nevertheless,

Haman

mercy from Him."

not up nor moved for him, he was

Mordecai.

but

The eyes

should request the king to

I will therefore invite

order that the heart of Israel

riches,

be the reason that of

governors Esther invited none

king

the

had

children,

his

and

all

the things

promoted him, and how

he had

advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.

Haman
to

come

said, "

Moreover, yea, Esther the queen allowed no

in with the king unto the banquet that she

pared but myself

and to-morrow

together with the king.

am

Yet

all

am invited by her
gives me no joy, and I

also I

this

not pleased so long as I see Mordecai the

Then

at the king's gate."

friends unto

him

"

man

had pre-

said Zeresh his wife

Thou canst not throw him

Jew

sitting

and

all

his

fire,

be-

into

327

THE SECOND TAEGUM.

cause his ancestor
canst

Abraham was

delivered out of

Thou

it.

him with the sword, because his ancestor

Thou canst not drown him in
it.
were
Moses and .the children of
because from water
Thou canst not throw him into a den of lions,
saved.
not

kill

Isaac was delivered from

water,
Israel

because Daniel was saved from

fifty cubits high,

Therefore,

it.

and in the morning speak

Mordecai may be hanged thereon.

make

to the

For thus

a gallows

king that

far not

them who was hanged on the gallows was delivered.

After

with the king to the banqueting-house with joy."

that, go

This

one of

advice

Haman, and he made

pleased

a gallows for

himself.

In that night

went up

to

X.

lamentation of the infants of Israel

orreat

heaven, and

it

resounded before the Lord of the

universe like the voice of kids and goats, so that the angels

from on high were moved and trembled, and said

another

"

to

one

time come that the world

Has, perchance, the

"

Then they assembled and went before

the Lord of the universe,
the Lord asked them " What is
this voice of kids that I hear ? "
Then the attribute of mercy
should be destroyed

answered

" It is

no voice of kids which Thou hearest, but the

voice of the infants of Israel, against

whom

the wicked

issued a decree that they should be killed."

Lord of the universe was

He commanded
destiny,
to

to

full of

Haman

Immediately, the

compassion and goodness, and

tear the seal

which sealed

and ordered the angel who

is

Israel's

evil

in charge of confusion

confound Ahhashverosh, and to deprive him

of his

sleep.

Very early in the morning Ahhashverosh rose with a sad

countenance, and gave order to Shimshe the scribe to bring
the Chronicle in which were recorded the events that took
place in Medo-Persia from the earliest times.

the scribe saw what was

affair of

told

When

Shimshe

concerning Mordecai in the

Bigthan and Theresh, he turned over the leaves and

did want to read

them

but

it

was the will of the Lord of

the.

328

APPENDIX

I.

world that the leaves should open and read of themselves

He

before the king the record written on them.

then saw

and considered what was written in the Chronicle, that

it

revealed concerning the deed of Mordecai in the matter of

Bigthan and Theresh, two

the king, keepers of his

officers of

head, that they wanted to stretch out their hands and kill

And

King Ahhashverosh.

the king said

"

What honour and

dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this

Then

"

said

young men of the king that ministered unto him

the
"

Nothing was done

in the court

"

And

for him."

Haman was come

the king said

Who

"

is

into the outward court of

the king's house to speak to the king to hang Mordecai on the

And the young men

Haman stands in the court."
And the king said " Let him come in." So Haman came in.
Then the king said to him " What shall be done to the
man whom the king desires to honour ? "
Now Haman
gallows that he had prepared for him.

him

of the king said to

" Behold,

thought in his heart,

who among

all

the king's servants are

whom would the king delight to

do honour more than to myself ?
Haman answered and said
" For the man whom the king wishes to honour,
to the king
so

worthy as I am, and

to

let royal apparel

be brought which the king

wear, and the horse that the king

is

is

accustomed to

accustomed to

ride,

and

let

the crown of the kingdom be placed on his head, and let the
apparel and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the
king's

most noble princes, that they may array the man withal

whom

the king delights to honour, and cause

horseback through the street of the

him

'

Thus

shall it be

delights to honour

'

thought in his heart

in

my

stead, as I see

Haman: "Make

to ride

on

and proclaim before

man whom

the

king

Then the king gazed upon Haman, and

"

city,

done to the

him

"

Haman

wants to

in his face."

kill

And

me and

to reign

the king said to

ready, and go into the royal treasury and

take from the wardrobe a purple covering, an apparel of fine

silk,

adorned with fringes and costly stones and pearls, having

bells of gold

on

its

four corners, and pomegranates on every

329

THE SECOND TARGUM.

Bring also from there the great golden Macedonian

side.

which was brought

to

me from

day that I was raised

to

the kingdom.

crown
first

the province on the

Further, bring

from there the sword and the coat of mail which were brought

me from

to

the

country of Cush, and the two royal veils

embroidered with
Africa

name

pearls

which were brought

me from

to

then fetch from the royal stables the horse whose

Hippus Kegius^

is

which

(royal horse)

marks of

distinction."

many Jews

are

to Mordecai, the

who
was

my

at

sits

shall I go

"

his

He

other.

mouth became

many Mordecais

in the world,

hast spoken to me."

told thee that I

" But," rejoined

There

said

"

Go

the king, and

heard these words he

was changed,

his sight

"

My

Lord King, there

and I do not know of which

of

"

"

and his knees beat one against the

"

these

distorted, his thoughts con-

then addressed the king

them thou
Have I not

The king

When Haman

gate."

all

by the name of Mor-

Jew who spoke good about

fused, his loins languid,

gate

in great trouble, his countenance

became dim,

are

answered and said

in Shushan, the capital,

which of them

decai, to

Haman

my

I rode on

coronation day, and go and invest Mordecai with

The king

in reply said

mean Mordecai who sits at my

Haman, " there are many royal gates,

and I do not know of which gate thou hast spoken to me."

N3m

^ t<"'i*Tp1D

my

to

must be read /xxKpvKopav^. See the Introduction

Targum. Though, indeed, Macedonia was famous

i^h'^h^

edition of this

for gokl, as Strabo expressly says (Hb. vii. fragm. 33, ed. Paris, p. 280),

Datum

whence came the saying Aecroif

from dare. Comp. 34 on the gold
mines in the neighbourhood of Philippi. Yet this is not the case of the
imperial time and the name " Macedonian " is not found for the above
especially the territory of

(Axtop),

clyxduv, in reference to the Lat. daturrij

word, "a golden crown."

should be read instead of tJ"iS"'K^. The lexicographers Levy

given up the interpretation of this word in despair. My
suggested reading stands for iV-ro; prtyog, horse of the king. The word
rex has passed into Greek (comp. Du Cange, Gloss. Ch\).
Of the horse
^

also

TJ"IDn

have

of the

King

p. 97), that it

the so-called

which were

of Byzantium, says Codin {de

wore pearls and diamonds

^c'^-tuf^.ccrx.

called

rovtlict.

Around

officiis,

Bonn,
and upon the back

cap. xvii., ed.

-^spi rpct,-)Cfihov^

the ankles were tied red silk ribbons,

APPENDIX

330:
"

Have

which
said

passed from the harem to the palace

is

man

I will rather give

is

my

enemy, and the enemy of

him ten thousand

and give him ten thousand

talents,

the gate

Haman

"

my

fathers

talents of silver, only let

The king

honour not he done to him."

this

mean

I not told thee," said the king, " that I

" This

I.

and he

replied

"

Go
thy

shall rule over

house, and this honour also shall not he withheld from him."

Haman

said

to

the king

" I

have ten sons,

let

them run

before the horse (another reading, thy throne), hut let not this

honour be done

The king

to him."

replied

"

Thou and thy

sons and thy wife shall be slaves to Mordecai, and this honour

from him."

shall not be withheld

is

only a

common man;
but

district,^

answered

let

" I

my

Haman

him over

place

continued

to rule

The king

over provinces and districts,

upon land and sea

and

all

this

honour shall not be withheld from him."

possessions

thy fame," said Haman,

" is

spread in

thy fame and his be spread in

honour be done to him."

He

a province or over a

not this honour be done to him."

make him

"

all

obey him, and

shall

My fame

"

and

may

the country,

all

the world, only let not this

The king answered

"

A man

who

spoke good of the king, and has saved him from being killed,

fame

his

shall be spread all over the world,

shall not be withheld

from him

"

Haman

and

honour

this

said again

"

Mes-

sengers with letters are already sent out to all the provinces
of the king to destroy the people of Mordecai,

honour

shall be

done

to

him

"

and yet

The king answered

"

this

The

messengers and the letters which I sent out I invalidate, and

this

honour

shall not be withheld

rebuked him, and said

Haman, make
Be quick
Do not fail to do all that I command
Now when the wicked Haman saw how his words

for the second time

haste

thee

"

Then the king

from him."
:

"

were received by the king, and that he did not pay any attention to his
^

speech, he

went

to

The word KpHDl, which appears

the royal treasuries bowed

to be used for

an

estate,

has not this

the reading j^priDH, hut KpinOI, viz. districtus, district. So

are all the passages in which j^pflD"! or fc^pnOT are found to be explained.
sense,

nor

is

THE SECOND TARGUM.

down and

head being covered

sad, his

his ears deafened, his eyes dim, his

oppressed,

331

mouth

distorted, his heart

bowels aching, his loins weakened, and his

his

And he

knees beating one against the other.

the apparel of the king which was brought to

day

mourner,

like that of a

and

of his reign,

all sorts of

was commanded, and hastened

took from there

him on the

first

royal things, according as he

to the royal stables

and fetched

the king's horse, which stood at the head of the stable, upon

which were suspended

He

stirrups of gold.

then took hold

of the horse's bridle, and carried the saddle and harness

his shoulder,

lows

" Arise,

Isaac,

upon

and went to Mordecai, and said to him as

fol-

righteous Mordecai, thou son of Abraham, of

Thy

and of Jacob.

sackcloth and ashes have

won the

victory over the ten thousand talents of silver which I pro-

mised

to deliver

my

from

treasury into the royal treasury, but

which were not accepted, because you are beloved by your

Father in heaven,

who

hears your prayers at all times

you come before Him, and

Now

arise

delivers

your sackcloth and ashes, and put on the

from

royal garment, and ride

upon the royal

The righteous

horse."

Mordecai answered and said to the wicked

Ham an

wormwood and drink

me

out and hang

said

tion

may

eat

and then lead

me

Haman

on the gallows."

answered and

"Arise, righteous Mordecai, descendant of a noble generaso long as

gallows

Now

bitter waters,

Haman,

"

wicked descendant of Amalek, wait one hour, that I

food of

when

you from your enemies.

which

you

exist, miracles

were done

have erected

I erected I

to

for you.

my

The

misfortune.

stand up, and put on the royal apparel and ride the

royal horse, and do not frustrate the words of the king."

Mordecai answered and said

days and three nights,

When Haman

to

Haman

"

He

how can he mount

the royal horse?"

heard these words he went to the royal

and brought from there

all

But

that fasted three

stores,

kinds of spices and ointment, and

anointed him and bathed him, put the royal apparel upon him,
dressed him

up

in the nicest fashion,

which Esther had sent

for him.

and brought him food

332

APPENDIX

But

mounted the royal horse there were sent

before he

him twenty-seven thousand

house,

who

him, and proclaimed

"

delighteth to honour

man whom

the

This

her

man whom the

done to the

king

the Israelites saw this they

" This is

and

left

the

King who created heaven and earth

hand, and cried

And when

of

is

When

"

delighteth to honour "

the son

hand and golden

and they went before Mordecai and praised

left,

his right

to

young men from the king's

choice

carried golden cups in the right

goblets in the

went on

I.

Esther observed Mordecai,

brother, dressed

father's

done to

in royal

apparel,

wearing the royal crown upon his head and riding upon the

God

royal horse, she thanked and praised the

this redemption,

and she said

the Scripture which says

dust,
set

and

princes,

mourning into joy

God, for

mine enemies

me

"

Then Mordecai returned

honour and dignity

He had at
(1) He was

Mordecai

he led the horse

Haman

that time to perform four

his barber,

and had

man whom

men

in

the

him
the

"

Then

^
;

to

shave

(3) his groom,

he proclaimed

(4) his herald, for

told Zeresh his wife

happened unto him.

wife to

but

and his

to his house covered with leprosy, sad,

done to the

is

I praise

my redemption, and that Thou hast not caused

him; (2) he then was his attendant at the bath

for

of the

He may

with royal apparel.

to rejoice over me."

head wrapped up.

offices for

is fulfilled

up the poor out

Thou hast turned

Thou hast taken away the sackcloth

to the gate of the palace with great

Haman went

of heaven for

In thee

and put him in possession of a throne of

from me, and hast clothed

Thee,

raiseth

"

Mordecai also praised, and said

honour.' "

my

He

'

Mordecai

needy from the dunghill, that

lifteth the

him with

to

"

This

king delighteth to honour."

and

said his

all

his friends

Hast thou never heard

country of Babylon,

what had

wise men and Zeresh

of the three

his

Jewish

Hananiah, Mishael, and

one who washes in a bath or baptizes another. John was a

His imitator was Banus, whom Josephus mentions as his teacher
while at the same time he gives a true copy of John {Life of Josephus^
chap. i.). "T'^'^ii, Galearius, probably caballarius, cavalarius, groom, and is
^

t5''iN3 is

fc5"'3Xn.

to be read

i'fj"i3

THE SECOND TAEGUM.

333

Azariah, who, because they did not obey the

command

of

Nebuchadnezzar, were thrown by him into a burning furnace

but they came out from the flames without being hurt, yea,
the flames consumed their oppressors, but they were delivered.

Now,

if this

Mordecai

are like theirs

and

courtiers

thou hast begun to

if

fall

before him, thou

fall

While they were yet speaking, the

any more."

rise

a descendant of these men, his deeds

over him, but shalt continue to

shalt not prevail

not

is

and

king's

Haman on to come to the banquet

And the king and Haman went
with Queen Esther.
And the king said to Esther
the second day of the banquet of wine " What is
came and hastened

which Esther had prepared.

dine

to

on

also

thy petition
request

and

shall be granted thee

it

even to the half of the kingdom

Then answered Esther and

mercy
life

at

to be slain,

and

" If I

is

have found favour and

king,

me

at

to perish.

But

if

my

and bondwomen, I had held

we had been sold

peace.

for

bondmen

Verily, the adversary

King

does not care for the king's vengeance (or jealousy)."

Ahhashverosh then spake

asked Queen Esther
that durst presume
said

"

one

the Jews,

"

the queen.
of wine,

to

Who

an interpreter, and the interpreter

is this

man, and whose son

in his heart to do so

"

And

adversary, even this wicked

is he,

Esther

Haman!

"

is he called Haman, because it means |n*d 5<n, i.e.

who wanted to lay violent hands " on the people of
who are called the children of the Lord of All, and

Then Haman was

to kill them.

trees

A bad man and an

And why
" this

thy

shall be performed."

and if it please the king, let my

my petition, and the life of my people
for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed,

in thy sight,

be granted to

my request:

said

it

and what

And

afraid before the king

and

the king arose in his wrath from the banquet

and went into the palace garden, where beautiful

were cut down to appease his wrath

be appeased.

Haman

stood

up

to

make

but

it

would not

request for his

life

to

Esther the queen, for he saw that there was evil determined
against

him by

the king.

When

the king returned from the

palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine and saw

APPENDIX

334

Haman was

that

he said

sitting,

upon the couch whereupon Esther was

fallen

him

to

"

my

queen before me in

I.

Dost thou
?

palace

also

want

to

force the

Scarcely had the words

"

gone out from the king's mouth when they covered Haman's
face.

Then

Hharbonah

said

Hharbonah, one of the king's eunuchs

elsewhere mentioned for

is

Haman

the counsel of

mentioned for good

befallen

Haman and

the king, and said

when he saw

Thee

Haman

also

take the kingdom from thee

but

if

wished to

house, and

Mordecai

who spake good

fifty

is

"

cubits

Hang him

the ways of a man,

Then
In

thereon."

He makes

Haman had

for the king.

high."

Scripture verified which says

"

kill,

and

to

thou wilt not believe me,

send some one to see the gallows which

for Mordecai,

is

that misfortune had

he went of his own accord to

his house,
"

this

hanging Mordecai, but here he

for
for

because he was in

evil,

erected

It stands in his

said

the

Mordecai

When God

is

king to

was the

pleased with

his enemies also his supporters."

who had saved the

Haman, the enemy and
the oppressor of the Jews, and hang him on the gallows which
he has now prepared for himself, punish him terribly, and do
The king then

said further to Mordecai,

king from being killed

with him as

it

"

Go and

take

seems good to thee."

from the king and fetched

and said to him

"

Haman

Presently, Mordecai

went

from the gate of the palace,

Come with me, Haman, thou wicked enemy

and oppressor of the Jews, and I

which thou hast erected

shall

for thyself."

answered righteous Mordecai

"

hang thee on the gallows

Then the wicked Haman

Before I

am

brought to the

gallows, I ask of thee, righteous Mordecai, do not hang

me on

same gallows on which common criminals are hanged.

the

For I have not held in esteem famous men, and governors of

countries were subject under me.

by

utterance of

was

me
kill

I have

my mouth, and countries

my lips. I, Haman, had the

a word of

called father of the king.

as I intended to do to thee.

nor destroy

me

in the

same

am

made kings tremble

be afraid by an

to

title of

viceroy,

and

afraid that thou wilt do to

my nobility, and do not

manner as my ancestor Agag
pity

THE SECOND TARGUM.

was destroyed

me

Mordecai

335

show me kindness

Eemember

not the hatred of

Agag and the

Take no vengeance of me

against me.

among you
envy of Amalek

enemy, and do not

my

ancestor Esau had

Great wonders have been accomplished for

[against Jacob].
thee, as once for

My

sea.

my

thee from

my

thy

face,

and

my

out

my name
But

head

off

if

my

soul,

grey head

thou art determined to

kill

me,

with the sword of the king, with which

!

to cry

my

so quickly as they blotted out

ancestor Amalek, and do not hang

my

I pray thee

wife Zeresh.

the nobles of the kingdom are beheaded "

began

open

I cannot

Mordecai, to have compassion upon

upon the gallows.

then cut

to see

and from

friends

to blot

my

that of

dim

before thee that I should take counsel concerning

lord, righteous

and not

thy forefathers when they passed through the

eyes are too

mouth

as an

have a rancorous feeling against me, as

all

in not slaying

as a murderer does, for there are no murderers

Then Haman

and to weep, but Mordecai gave no heed to him.

And when Haman saw

that his words were not heeded, he

lamented bitterly in the midst of the palace garden, and cried

"

Hearken unto me, ye

when

of old,

I,

trees

the son of Hamdatha, wanted to go to the

Exedra^ to Bar-Panthera
1

Assemble yourselves together and

is of opinion that we must read Alexandria

but this is impos(comp. my " Jiid. Gesch." Ersch u. Gruber, xxvii. p. 28, Nr. 40). Instead of

Levy

sible

and plants which I have planted

t5''"n3DD5< the

reading

is

" hall," "lecture-room."

evidently X^ilDDJ^, a well-known word for Exedra,

The passage in Shabhath (104a) about witchcraft

of Bar-Pandira has no reference either to Alexandria nor to

sense of the above address of

Haman

Haman.

to the trees is as follows

The

" I have

when 1 went for instruction to Bar-Pandira, consequently I

must be hanged on one of you, as he was." We have here a latent attack
upon Jesus, whom the Jews call son of Pandira. The Targum insinuates

planted you

Hamans were educated in the Exedra, or school of Pandira.

One can understand the national ill-humour in the midst of dire persecutions, but it is deplorable enough to remember that those who treated Him
whom they call son of Pandira, like Haman, have suffered worse than the
latter.
At the destruction of Jerusalem there were not sufficient trees on
which to crucify all of them. Those who bear the character of Haman do
not go to the Exedra of the son of Pandira, but rather keep far away from

that all the

it.

pn

is

in Gematria = j*n, Judenhetze.

have written a special

concerning son of Pandira and son of Stadah.

treatise

Suffice it here to say that

336

APPENDIX

take counsel,

if

any

you has

of

fifty

Ilaman's head shall be hanged."

short, and, besides,

from

me

is

I.

cubits in height,

The vine
The

cannot be hanged on me, because from

The

upon

am

me was

"

taken the

bill of

his keeper (God)

debt of the prophet Obadiah.

"

hid created

Thee

to

these

all

it

"

Thou

art right in

names originated in the early times of

i<"nN.

From what

follows, it

is

behoves

redeem Thy children as Thou hast once redeemed

God answered

to

kings acknowledge

alone art God, and none beside Thee, and

stands for s:n~lD "13, "the son of the virgin"

stands for Bar, miDD, " the son of the star."
^

me

Let, therefore,

him on." The palm tree said

All men know that the tyrant Haman

descendant of Agag and of Amalek, and

fathers."

He

first

in the temple.

another be taken to hang

Thou

"

me Adam and Eve were clothed."

He cannot be hanged on me, because

me was taken the oil for the lampstand

Besides, He to whom all the mysteries are not

that

it

too

and from

olive tree said

pay the

" I

fig tree^ said

from

to

he cannot be hanged upon me, because

taken wine for oblations."

fruit-offerinof,

said

their

what thou hast

Christianity.
{Trocpdiuog),

^^"miS n3
and mtDD ^2

undoubtedly appears that the

fig tree is

meant, and therefore the reading must be {<3"IN, viz, opvog^ opvioc, the later
Greek name for the wild fig tree. The remarks of Levy (Chald. Lex. p.
I embrace this opportunity to explain an
12) are not to the point.
important passage about the names of trees, the reading of which has thus

been understood. It is in Eosh Hashanah 23a, where we read

" There are four sorts of cedars." These are \ir\^2, jrDK^ yVj Dnnp, PN.
Dlinp is citrus (citron orange). When we there read that Rav says Dlinp

far not

is X"nK, and the school of Shila say it is KJ''i33D, we must read for the
former 5<"np, viz. Kelpx or Kilpec for the latter must be read j<3li?DD,
malon, or rather lemon. Malus lemon, ^iiXou T^i/icauiov. Further on, XJT'K^
is explained by fc^n^Jlin, which should be read xrT'iin, viz. ocpKsvhg, the
juniper tree. For J<J5<SJ> must be read i^Hi^Zi, fagus, beech tree for Xin*""!"!!^
must be read fc^riQISJ', viz. suher, the cork tree. For K^''dS"I3, which Low
{Aramaische PJlangennamen, p. 60) leaves unexplained, must be read Jj^ijot'llj
comp.
viz. keltis, the other name for lotus (Columella de re rust. ix. 76)
;

Langkawel, Botanik der Spdtern Griechen, p. 93.

In Shabb. 157a occur the words TlltJ'&^l PJ^- It appears to me that ^nitJ't?
The jiyopS, which Low quotes from Tanchum
is meant for the ash tree.
is

to be taken as fraxinus,

and therefore the reading

is

pjiDplQ.

The

Acer pseudo
|lDniDJ< in Tanch. is (T(psvlx,u,voi, the maple in Sinope.
platanus occurs in forms like airhov^vov^ cia(psu'hvvoc, and s<psi/loifiuos.

word

Langkawel,

p. 16.

THE SECOND TARGUM.

and in hesitating

said,

337
Haman, because

to be the gallows for

thou art considered as the companion of the congregation of

The

Zion."

citron tree or paradise apple said

me

be hanged on me, because from

my

fruit

nacles).

all

wherewith to praise Thee

"

The myrtle then opened

its

the people

and

am

also

The terebinth

tree."

He

cannot

come

to take

"

(on the Feast of Taber-

mouth, and said

cannot be hanged on me, because with

gladness,^

me

"

He

they say joy and

an associate of the paradise apple

cried

On me he

"

cannot be hanged,

because Deborah, the nurse of Eebekah, was buried under me."

The oak

called out

"

On me he

cannot be hanged, because

Absalom, the son of David, remained suspended upon me."

The pomegranate

tree said

"

On me

he cannot be hanged,

The cedar then

because the righteous are likened to me."

said

"

Hearken

Hang

to me.

Haman and

the wicked

his

ten sons upon the gallows which I have prepared for him."

So they hanged
for Mordecai,

is

the tree which he had prepared

and the wrath of the king was

Mordecai was
righteous

Haman upon
fulfilled

what

is

And

pacified.

Scripture, "

written in

in

The

delivered from oppression, and in his place comes

the wicked."

On

XL

that day did the king Ahhashverosh give the house of

Haman,

the Jews'

Mordecai came

was unto

her.

enemy, unto Esther the queen.

before the king

And

for Esther

the king took his ring, which he had

taken from Haman, and gave

it to

fell

down

And

And

she said: "If

I have found favour in his sight,

[Here

is

the Agagite,

he had devised against the Jews.

and stood before the king.

if

and besought

Haman

allusion to weddings, in

Then

So Esther arose,

the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre.

and

Esther set

Esther spake yet

at his feet,

him with tears to put away the mischief of

his devices that

And

Mordecai.

Mordecai over the house of Haman.

again before the king, and

and

And

had told what he

it

please the king,

and the thing seem

which myrtle was used.

Trans.]

APPENDIX L

^38-

and I be pleasing

right before the king,

in his eyes, let it

Haman

written to reverse the letters devised by

the son of

the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the

Hamdatha

which are in

all

the king's provinces

to see the evil that shall

come unto

how can

for

my

people

be

Jews

I endure

Then the

"

king Ahhashverosh said to Esther the queen, and to Mordecai

Jew " Thou hast from the outset committed a fault, for
when I asked thee from what nation thou art, in order to
make of them kings and princes, and from wliat family thou
art, in order to make some of them governors and generals,
thou saidst to me, I have not known father and mother, for
But now,
they died and left me when I was a little child.'
behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they
the

have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon
the Jews.

Write

of the king,

and

to the Jews, as

seal it

written and sealed

is

you think

with the king's ring

irrevocable."

Then were the

which

called at that time in the third month,

Sivan, on the twenty-third day thereof; and

according to

all

to the satraps,

that Mordecai

name

best, in the

for a writing thus

king's scribes
is

the

month

was written,

it

commanded, unto the Jews, and

and the governors and princes of the provinces

which are from India unto Cush, a hundred and twenty-seven

provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof,

and unto every people

after their language,

according to their writing and language.

the

name

of the king

king's ring;

and sent

and

Ahhashverosh, and sealed

letters

by

posts

on swift steeds and young dromedaries

Jews

to tlie

And he
it

wrote in

with the

on horseback, riding

Wherein the king

granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together

and

to stand for their

and to cause to perish,

all

life,

to destroy, to slay,

the power of the people and pro-

vince that would assault them, and to take their

and women, and households and servants

for a prey,

little

ones

upon one

day, in all the provinces of the king Ahhashverosh, namely,

upon the thirteenth day

month Adar.

of the twelfth month,

The contents

of the published

which

is

the

royal circular

339

THE SECOND TAEGUM.

were as follows

"

King Ahhasliverosh sends a

inhabitants of the isles and countries, to

districts,

May
to

nobles,

your peace be multiplied.

have written

upon the inhabitants of land and

my

of

this

many

am

yet I

sea,

document

nations,

and

not proud

power, but will rather walk in lowliness and meek-

my

ness of spirit all

and prosperity, and

may

the rulers

and generals who dwell in every country.

apprise you, that although I rule over

about

letter to all the

all

days in order to provide for your peace

to all

who

live in

my

be free intercourse between those

dominion, that there

who want

by

to trade

land or by sea between the various peoples and languages.

I

am

the same from one end of the land to the other.

further

made know^n

who

truthfulness of those

and are loyal

It is

to you, that in spite of the sincerity

and

love all the nations, revere all kings,

to all the governors, there are others

who stand

near to the king, and to whose hands the government was

who have by

entrusted,

and falsehoods led the

their intrigues

king astray, and have written

letters

which are not right

before heaven, and which are bad before men, and cruel before

And

the king.

the

king,

that

righteous

men

should be killed, and

innocent blood should be shed of people

done any
righteous.

evil

they asked from

this is the petition wliich

who have

nor were guilty of death, but were rather

Such are Esther, who

and Mordecai, who

is

is

famous

expert in every science

for all virtues,

and there

blemish to be found in them nor in their people.

to myself that I

did not

know

much

neither

is

no

I thought

was requested concerning another nation, and

that

it

concerned the Jews

who

are called the

children of the Lord of all that created heaven and earth, and

who

led

them and

Haman

doms than mine.

India,^ a

their fathers in greater

also,

and mightier king-

the son of

Hamdatha from

descendant of Amalek, who came to us and enjoyed

king says tliat Hanian is from j^"'"!;]?!. This

from the t52"i fc5''n:n by which the Targumist translates nn. This India, ''pljn, is identical with Ethiopia, and is therefore in
.^ome copies of the Jerusalem Targum put in the ethnographical table as
the son of Cush.
Cush is the son of Ham. It should be said of Haman
^

is

In this peculiar

letter the

to be distinguished

APPENDIX

340

I.

mucli kindness, praise, and dignity from

great,

and called him

right of the king.

and how

dignity

He

and who

know how

did not

whom we made

us,

father of the king,'

'

conduct himself in the kingdom, but

to

the king and to take

harboured thoughts in his heart to

kill

the kingdom from him.

we have caused

Hamdatha

Therefore

to be hanged,

brought upon his head

and

swift messengers

that he deserved

all

we have

own

head."

upon dromedaries hastened on with

commandment, and the decree was published

the king's

Shushan the

And

the son of

and the Creator of heaven and earth

brought his machinations upon his

The

sat at the

to appreciate his

in

capital.

Mordecai went forth from the presence of the king in

royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of

gold,

and with a robe of

fine linen

Shushan rejoiced and was

and purple

And

gladness, and joy, and honour.

and the

The Jews had

glad.

city of

light,

and

in every province,

and

in every city, whithersoever the king's

commandment and

his

decree came, the Jews had gladness and joy, a feast and a

And many

good day.
proselytes

from the peoples of the land became

for the fear of the

Jews was

Now, in the twelfth month, which

when

thirteenth day of the same,

and

his decree

were

to

is

the

fallen upon them.

month Adar, in the

commandment

the king's

be put in execution, in the day when

the enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them, in the

same day the opposite happened

enemies.
cities,

throughout

to lay

hand on such

all

all

the

Jews ruled over

the peoples.

their

in their

the provinces of the king Ahhashverosh,

as sought their hurt,

no man could withstand them

upon

The Jews gathered themselves together

And

all

and

to kill

for the fear of

them and
:

them was

fallen

the princes of the provinces,

and the magistrates, and the governors, and they that did the
that he came from the land of

He was called ND^DT

Ham, and was

K3&5, "father of the king."

a descendant of

It is well

Amalek.

known that father

was a title of honour, and the Arab women call their husbands " father."
So also the Turkish sultan called Ferdinand III. father after the war, when
he took Hungary from him (Hammer, Gesch. des osman. ReichSy iii. 140).

S4l

THE 6EC0ND TARGUM.

king's business, praised the

Jews

was falkn upon them.

For Mordecai was mighty in the

king's house,

vinces

and

for the

fame went forth throughout

his

man Mordecai waxed

the Jews smote

Jews slew and destroyed

Jews

And

five

Shushan the

in

hundred men.

Haman, son

to

do

was given

so,

to the king.

they slew

Hamdatha, the oppressor

of

And

Shushan the

slain in

And

the king

commanded

and the command was explained in Shushan.

was hanged within three

Haraan

Parshanandatha a cubit

cubits.

dis-

Parshanandatha was hanged within three

tant from him.

cubits.

capital, the

And

but on the spoil they laid not their hand.

on the same day the number of the

capital

And

greater and greater.

and did what they would

destruction,

unto them that hated them.

also the ten sons of

pro-

all

enemies with the stroke of the sword,

all their

and with slaughter and

of the

because the fear of Mordecai

Dalphon a cubit distant from him, and was hanged

Aspatha a cubit distant from him, and

within three cubits.

was hanged within three

Poratha a cubit distant

cubits.

from him, and was hanged within three cubits.

hanged within three

him, and was hanged within three cubits.

distant from him,

Adalya was

Aridatha a cubit distant from

cubits.

Parmashta a cubit

and was hanged within three

Arisa

cubits.

a cubit distant from him, and was hanged within three cubits,

Arida a cubit distant from him, and was hanged within three
cubits.

Vaisatha, the tenth, a cubit distant from him, and

hanged within three

three cubits, and

And

cubits.

so

all

the ten sons were

The gallows was sunk

hanged on the gallows.

Haman's

was

in the earth

son was three cubits distant from

last

the earth, and so they were hanged within forty-four cubits

for the length of the gallows

was

fifty cubits.

Now, when Mordecai came and saw Haman and

hanging on the gallows, he addressed him as follows
hast thought to do evil to the people of Israel, but

his sons
:

"

Thou

He who

knows the hidden and the revealed things has brought thy
design upon thine

and

to

own

head.

Thou hast

remove us from under the

wini^s

desired to kill us,

of

our Father in

842

APPENDIX

heaven

hanged

but

thee,

now have we

I.

dealt kindly with thee,

and thy sons nnder thy wings."

and have

And

the

Jews

that were in Shushan the capital again assembled themselves

on the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and killed in

Shushan three hundred men

And

their hand.

but on the spoil they laid not

the rest of the Jews that were in the king's

provinces gathered themselves together, and stood as masters

for their lives,

and had

from their enemies, and slew of

rest

them seventy and

them

that hated

spoil

they laid not their hand.

five

thousand

but on the

men whom
who
few days from now, we shall
These are the

they killed in Shushan, namely, those of their enemies

had
kill

said to

them

"

In a

you, and shall dash your children to the grou.nd."

This

month Adar, and on

the fourteenth day of the same, they rested and made it a
day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews who were
was done on the thirteenth day

of the

in the villages and in the small towns,

day

of

Adar a day of

and sent portions one

events,

and sent

feasting

to another.

letters

unto

made

the fourteenth

and gladness and a good day,

all

And

the

Mordecai wrote these

Jews that were

in all the

provinces of the king Ahhashverosh, both nigh and

enjoiu them

far,

to

that they should keep the fourteenth day of the

month Adar, and

the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, as the

days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the

month which was turned unto them from sorrow

to gladness,

and from mourning unto a good day, that they should make

them days

of feasting

and gladness, and of sending portions and

And

presents one to another, and gifts to the poor.

the Jews

undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had

written on their behalf.

Because

Haman

the son of

Ham-

datha, the descendant of Agag, the oppressor of all the Jews,

had devised against the Jews

(^.e.

cast the lot),

to confound

When

and

threw the

to destroy them,
ring, that

is,

dipped the dice

" the lot," in order

to exterminate them.

the royal scribes of

Haman saw him

hanging many days on the gallows, they asked

and his sons

:

"

Why

does

843

THE SECOND TAEGUM.

Esther transgress what

is

not let his body remain

all

answered them

"

written in the law,

night upon the tree

Thou

'

shalt

Esther

"

Because King Saul had killed the proselytes

hung upon the gallows from the

when rain came

of the Gibeonites, his sons

beginning of barley harvest until the day

down upon them, which

came up

Israelites

asked them

them

'

Why

'

do these hang

does the wicked

and

Haman and

Israel, deserve

When

'

The

answered

Israelites

his sons,

who wanted

hang on the gallows

to

How much

killed them.'

Ye

"

shall blot

from under heaven;" and as

and had devised an

more

to destroy

yea, for ever

Esther came to the king, she said what

the book

own

months; and when the

Because their father has laid his hand upon the pro-

selytes of the Gibeonites

all

lasted six

to appear before the temple, the nations

is

written in

out the remembrance of

Amalek

Haman was

Amalek,

of the seed of

upon

evil device against Israel, it fell

his

head, and he and his sons were hanged on the gallows.

Therefore, because this has happened to them, they called

these days Purim, on account of the lot and of the oppression

which

befell them, as it is written

(concerning

all

and explained in

this letter

that the fathers had seen, which led

them

to

appoint a day in commemoration of the miracles which the

Lord of heaven did

know
and

for them),

of the past events.

their children,

and that their children might

The Jews took upon themselves

and the proselytes that

to them, that they shall never cease to

in their season, year

by

year, according .to

of

Purim

shall

remembrance

not pass

shall

and in every

And

Scripture.

these are remembered and kept in every generation

family, in every province

added

shall be

keep these two days,

city;

by every

and these days

away from the Jews, and

not cease from their

children.

their

Then

Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihhail, and Mordecai the

Jew, wrote with

all authority, to

the ordinance of

Purim

confirm for the second time

and they ordained that

in a leap year

the scroll (of Esther) should not be read in the

the second Adar.

first,

but in

344

APPENDIX

He

I.

sent letters to all the Jews, to

tlie

hundred and twenty-

seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahhashverosh, which contained words of peace and truth, to

Purim

confirm these days of

in their appointed times, according as Mordecai the

Jew and

Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they

had ordained
of their

for themselves

and

fastings

and

for their seed in the matter

And

prayers.

the

commandment

of

was written

Esther confirmed the matters of these days, and

it

in the book of the Scroll (of the Chronicle).

And

the king

Ahhashverosh put a tribute upon the inhabitants of the land

but when he knew who the people and family

of

Esther were,

he declared them

all

the nations

and

free,

set

and over the whole kingdom, and

inhabitants of the land and

And
full

all

them over

upon the merchants

the acts of his power and

and the

him, are they not written in the books of the

Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia

Jew was
among

elder

viceroy of

For Mordecai

King Ahhashverosh, president and

the Jews, and

supreme over

all

Kis fame was from one end of the world to the

kings were afraid of him, and trembled

This

of the sea.

of his might,

account of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king

advanced

the

upon the

laid that tribute

is

that Mordecai

among the

stars,

and

who

peace to

All

when they saw him.

Noga that glitters

like the star

dawn of the morning. He was

who had pleasure in the greatness of

who sought

all his seed.

other.

like the

the Master of the Jews,

his brethren,

is

the nations.

the good of his people, and spoke

II.

MITHRA.
1.

There can be no more erroneous opinion with regard

book of Esther than that given by Zung in his

Vortrdge (pp. 14, 15), where he remarks
is especially

prophetic

monument

of obscurity

For although

spirit.

and

"

The book

to the

Gottesd.

Esther

of

of deficiency in the

was scarcely necessary

it

to

mention the Persian king and kingdom 187 times, and his name
twenty-six times, yet

name

of

God even

it

found no opportunity to mention the

This very

a single time."

omits to mention the

name

of God,

is

as the best testimony concerning the age

The name

of the little book.

of

that

fact,

rather to

and the

it

be taken
originality

God could not have been

mentioned without awakening a sense in the heart of Israel

that the king

is

reproach which

Haman made

far

heiicath

His glory and

to the

The

power.

Jews consisted

just in his

saying, " that they do not keep the king's laws," chap.

8.

iii.

This could not have referred to their not paying taxes, or to

their refusal to render

any other service

they were obliged to render, but

it

to the

State

which

referred to the religious

laws of the country, according to which the Persian king was

be regarded by the people as the

to

human

representative of

Mithra the sun-god, and they could not possibly so regard him.

That the king of Persia was so regarded, and that Mithra

was the image

of the

sun,-^

will be seen in the following

All qualities which occur in the Zendic writings, especially

^

The

treatise of

Windisclimann, Mithra ein Beitrag zur Mythengeschichte

which was considered of first-rate importance

des Orients, Leipzig 1875,

among

the treatises on the Orient,

great value.

Just with respect to

is

a distinguished book, and

or,
345

it,

is still

properly speaking, against

it,

of

are

346

APPENDIX
Mihryast, are such

the

in

Greek and Eoman

dischmann, 1;

him

pasturages, I created

mazda

Spiegel, Uran. AlthertJmmsk.

light, just as

"11{<,

He

signifies

who

Ahuramazda

i.

10, says, for

resembles

Ahura-

" wise lord," as

with

nj

the heavenly light, and

fire.

who no

him the

like

is

derived from

it is

Greek Zeus,

the

wide

possesses

and not

liglit,"

NairyoQagha connects

perfectly

"

79) reads:

as laudable as myself.' "

the " lord of

signifies

iii.

Mithra,

created

in the accounts of the

The Mihr (Mithra) yast (Win-

writers.

S'piegel, Avesta,

When

everywhere ascribed to

as are

The same can be observed

the sun.

spake

11.

less

father of

Apollo, and of noble sun heroes (Hermes, Bacchus, Heracles,

Perseus),

and of Yulcan,

and of

as sun

so also the progenitor of

Mithra

fire.

Of Mithra

the Mihryast, as well as in the

said in

it is

Quarret-nyasis (Spiegel,

1000

9)

iii.

eyes and 10,000 ears,"

and elsewhere, that

who

sees all

"

he has

and hears every-

thing, as Aelios is called the shining eye (Sophocles, Antig.

870,

etc.),

The horse

(09

nravr

in the sun-car is

" Omniscient."
ing," for

"Who

and as we read of him in Homer:

and hearest all"

Therefore

is

koI

e<f>opa<i

called

in

irdvr

the

Edda, Alswidr,
"

Mithra also called

he shines and sees over

all,

just as

seest

liraKovei^).

Odin

wide rang-

sees over all

with the eye of the sun.

Hence he
one,

is

called a sleepless, vigilant scout, a penetrating

and a thousand scout (Wind. Mihryast,

x. p. 6), like as

the

Space is wanting to enter upon an extensive

would become an Oriental mythology but I believe the
task is in a manner accomplished to refute the opinions and elucidations
of Windischmann, particularly in reference to the identity of Mithra
and the sun. This might also be done according to Spiegel's Eranische
the above remarks written.
exposition.

It

Alterthumskunde,
occasion.

me

70.

ii.

Further proofs are reserved

For more information, which owing

I cannot here adduce, I refer to

s.d.v.

for another

to the brief space granted

my following

writings

" Esmun eine

Untersuchung aus der Geschichte Phmiciens und Kenaans " ;

"Kaiser und Konigsthrone," in Geschichte, Symbol und Sage; 3. Drachen4. Der Phonix und seine Aera ; 5. Lowenkdmpfe von
kampfe, Berlin 1878
Nemea his Golgotha; 6. Weihnachten XJrsjprunge, BrciuchCy Aberglauben
7. Kittim Chittim, Berlin 1887, etc.
archaeologische
2.

sun

Homer

called in

is

(delov aKOTTOf;

rjBe

347

MITHRA.

"

Who

and men

espies the gods

Hymn

Kal dvBpcov,

in Ceres,

"

The

63).

ten thousand eyes are only the images of affluence and power,

Anahita has 1000

as Ardvigura

much

needs as

Bouru- Kasha produces

the

at

canals, the three-legged ass

1000

space with his feet as

sheep, or the tree

1000 branches

every year

(Spiegel, AUerth. p. 118).

Very remarkable

is

Mihryast which

the passage in the

speaks of the eight friends of Mithra, but which neither Wind,

nor

could

Spiegel

Esmun,

35):

p.

"

Damascius

explain.

To Sadukos are born

Dioscuri and Kabires,

TheKabires (onnn) are none

than

else

The number eight was that

above.

We

Esmun.

read ah^eady in

Xenophon

by Mithra (Ma ruu MlOpTjv, Cyrop.

p.

Plutarch

55).

Mithra

demanded

and Darius

testimony, looking reverently

(cre/9oyLtez;o9

MiOpou

sun invoked

re

(pm

at taking

" the friends"

we
is

an oath (comp.

this

etc.).

but Helios,

who

proverbial saying of the sun

is

Homer

Myth.

p.

the

292

In the Mihr-

the
fur-

it

is

said that

is

is
:

"

called

Adaoyamna

Nothing

call the

as the

is so finely spun,

Innocent people

exposed to the light of the sun."

can in their sufferings

no one can

nourishes the nature of the

')(dovo<i <\>vaLv ").

cannot be deceived, he

but what

to

of Mithra

who causes
who makes the

by
give

a more correct translation than that of Spiegel.

earth (" rpicpovTo^ 'HXiov

He

eunuchs

Preller,

read: "Mithra the espy,

In Aeschylus {Agamemnon, 633)

announce

Windischm.

Just so was in

(jLeya).

water to stream, the trees to grow, and

rows," which

53

5.

the

Nitzsch, Nachhomerische Theol. p. 118,

yast, 15,

spoken of

of the stars, including

viii.

of

call

that they used to swear

the great light

at

my

Esmunus."

called

is

Artaxerxes swore also

that

reports

which they

sons,

but the eighth

(comp.

says

The sun has

sun to witness.

seen the act of murder, and brought about

its

punishment.

Pindar speaks of the sun as the measure and the source of

all

wisdom.

Mithra

is

an enemy of long

sleep.

Owing

to this, the cock,

348

APPENDIX

who, as the watch and the symbol

and wakes men,

spirits

Avesta,

i.

drive

crying

running towards you

when

corporeal world

In

to thee."

and by

"This bird

evil

raises his voice

on every

Daeva Bushyancta daregliogava

he

it

awakes.

all folk-lore

lulls

again

Long

the cock

his crowing drives

Studien, pp. 53, 54,

away

In the Vendidad (Spiegel,

Get np, ye men, praise the best purity,

Daevas

the

of the sun, drives

his type.

is

237) we read

dawn
away

divine

II.

away

the

sleep

to

sleep

is

whole

not becoming

is

the symbol of the sun,

is

evil

spirits (comp.

my

Eclcl,

Mithra goes as a victorious warrior

etc.).

to battle against the evil spirits, with a carriage of four white

horses,

which

calls to

mind the

sun-carriage of Helios.

horses are always everywhere symbols of

always a warrior, and Apollo no

less

then Heracles and Perseus

were combatants against the dragons and

2.

The Persian king manifests himself

sun-god Mithra.
officers

The king had

Apuleius says

going on.

lions of the night.

image of the

as the

also " eyes

through whom he was made

that was

White

The sun was

light.

and

ears,"

namely,

cognizant of everything
:

"

He was

men

as

ears

knew what happened everywhere."

believed by

a god, as he through the report of those eyes and

No

event in his

country could be hid before him, as before the sun.

It

was a witty remark of Vespasian, who said of a comet

with long hair that appeared in his time, that

to the king of Persia, cui
is

capillus

represented with curly hair.

king from a distance, as

if

effusior,

They used

by reason

of

it

belonged

just as Helios

to

worship the

the glow which

Even modern etiquette in the Persian

court requires that no one come near before the order to do
so is repeatedly given.
A young courtier made his fortune,
because on the occasion when he was called to come near, he
" Misusum (I burn)
replied
I pray not to command me to
proceeded from him.

come

near."

like the
[as

The king appeared upon the golden throne

sun in the sky

depicted]

behind him stood umbrella

carriers,

upon Persepolitan and Assyrian monuments.

Of the education

of

Minuntshehr, Firdussi muses,

349

MITIIEA.

''A silk umbrella shaded his head."

which he needed, but

of the shade

But not

for the sake

for the sake of the world,

which without the shade would be consumed by the sun.

The servants held the sunshade over him

he were so disposed, burn up

that he as a sun might, if

All royal usage was transferred from Persia to

the world.

the modern Oriental lords

drawn by white
carriages

were

behind his

just as the carriage of Mithra

horses, so are the carriages of kings

more specially

is

as a perpetual sign

told

and Xerxes that

Cyrus

of

drawn by Nysaeic white

seven councillors, as the

So general became this image, that even a German

describes an audience

Charlemagne in

this

it

their

He

horses.

sun behind the

was

as

sat

stars.

monk

which the Greek Embassy had with

manner

"

They saw the emperor

splendid window, covered with

gold

and precious

at the

stones,

shining as the rising sun, and surrounded as by a heavenly

Strabo has

host."

owing

to

author,

continual sun

the

lizards are

a remarkable notice, to the effect that

found there.

who understood

figuratively.

Of

all

in

Shushan, no serpents nor

in

This

is

a misunderstanding of the

a literal sense what was meant

the cities of the sun and of Apollo, the

saying was, that no serpents could live in them, neither in

Delos, nor in Claros, nor in Crete.

This

is

also in Christian

legend said to have been the case in more famous spiritual

places,
3.

and especially in Jerusalem.^

Much more

significant appears the identity of the king,

Mithra, and the sun, upon important figures and in customs,

which are generally misunderstood.

the ruins of Persepolis, the king

is

In the great hall of

represented as carrying on

a combat with three animals, which stand erect and defend

themselves with their forelegs as with hands

each one horn and wings.

The king

seizes

all

three have

with one hand

the horn, and with the other he thrusts the sword into the

body.
1

They

are

[The Talmud

now photographed

asserts that serpents

in Jerusalem (Yoma, p. 2a).

Trans.]

in

the great work of

and scorpions never hurt any one

APPENDIX

350

II.

they were very clearly portrayed in former

Stolze, thougli

of Ker Porter and Chardin, and also nicely

The opinions about them are
Kossowitz.
by
reproduced
The whole tableau indicated that the king
curious enough.
fio-hts against an enemy endowed with animal qualities and

works, such as

symbolized by

inhuman

The wings

it.

With

nature.

everywhere signs of an

are

peaceable animals

they refer

to

holy divine nature, but with wild creatures they are signs of

So likewise the horns in them

demoniac and Daeva nature.

They

are not merely natural signs, but also symbolic.

the destructive will of force, for which

example in Dan.
king breaks
uncleanness
It is

it

The horn

vii.

the belly

the king pierces

is

seat

of carnal

the

and

lust

with the sword.

it

Mithra the sun-hero who

of the animals

signify

instructive

indicates evil thoughts

the

is

we have an

depicted in the king

is

represented the nature of the wolf, the lion,

and the dragon, which are representatives of the night, and of

So Odin in the northern

the enemies of the gods of light.

doctrine combats

the evil spirit in the wolf

also characterized as a

is

Fargard

of

appear three hostile

a leopard, and

monuments

enemy

special

In the dream

the Avesta.

men

dragon with wings.

appear

lions,

the

and he

bull,

lion,

Diodorus describes

lion.

In the vision of

creatures are the attributes of the national as well

Ahriman, as the king

lion

upon a

and leopards with wings.

bears,

The

as of the spiritual antithesis.

of

thirteenth

Astyages there

riding respectively

with a leopard, and Ninus with a

The wild

in the
of

Babylon which represent Semiramis fighting

in

Daniel, also,

and the wolf

the

is

lion especially is the type

depicted upon a seal fighting a

is

in various other groups represented as seizing

sacred

animal

of

Iranian

thought.

Hence

Apollo combats the dragon, and Heracles combats both the

lion

and the dragon.

Apollo

is

especially

surnamed

were figures of the sunbeams

Kdepyo<;,

KaTi]l3o\o<;, to^lo^;

*'

the archer

therefore he

"
;

the arrows

is called e/caro^;,

the arrows rattle in his quiver,

351

MITHRA.

he shoots and sends arrows

It is therefore

tion.

and

for deliverance

that the coins

observe

interestinsj to

for destruc-

Arsacide kings usually bear the image of the king

of the

bow

carrying a

Mithra was particularly much

in his hand.

spoken of at that time, and he appears in names

One

kings

of the

Arsac.

himself Mitraetus

The king intimates that he

246).

p.

calls

of kings.

Imp.

{Vaillant
is

the image of

the sun Mithra with the bow, and the more so as the use

bow was nmch

the

of

Parthians.

in

vogue among the Persians and

name Mithra

be assumed that the

to

It is

also

signifies this.

By the

Mithra into Mihr, one

transition of

Hebrew verb

not only of the

"ino

tlies,

but even more so of miD, meaning an archer.

also

compare the

Latin

mittere,

sending an arrow, as missile

itself

which

Therefore the Persians call

yet this

used

is

means arrow,

Though, indeed, we read in Plutarch (De

"

Mithra a

meaning of mediator

called so.

is

his

denote

dart.

Is. et Os.

fiea-LTrj^;,

to the

cap.

46)

mediator

To
name Mithra, would

be just as erroneous as to explain Christ by

He

One may
to

not to be understood verbally, but essentially.

is

ascribe the

light of

visible

reminded

is

hasten), as the arrow

(to

medium.

The sun

is

fie<ji77]<;,

because

a mediator, because he

is

the

Ahuramazda, who manifests himself through

What

is

called here Mesites is given in the

surnames of the Parthian and Syrian kings as Epiphanes,

as

one

the

Arsaces

calls

himself

"

ApaaKo^

fjurpdr^To^

iiTK^avri^" namely, he is the visible representative of

That was,

himself.
as

too, the

Epiphanes wanted to destroy the religion of

as the throne-culte

Western

Israel.

Just
to the

nations, so also the opinion that kings are visible

Mesites of Ahuramazda.
great significance in
iii.

iaTLv,"

who

was transplanted from the Persians

representatives of the sun, or aped the gods

(Gal.

Mithra

arrogance of that Antiochus,

20) says:

we

like

Mithra the

The name Mesites has had indeed a

Christian doctrine.
" o jiecrijr]^ evo^

When

the apostle

ovk eanv^ 6 Be 0ec9 eh

obtain from the use of the word a clear idea of

352

APPENDIX
Neither

Mithra.

he

is

He

is,

nate Logos.

that

He

he

for

kvo^,

Ahuramazda

visible operating agent of

what

II.

lives

and works

The apostle could

is

is

therefore say

(John xiv.

"

seen that his

Christ

for

nor

is

He

1/09,

and incar-

Tor there

men

God, one Mesites also between God and

hath seen the Father

the

as the visible

just as Jesus says to His disciples, "

idea of Mithra

only as sun

(1 Tim.

is

one

ii.

5)

that hath seen me,

Precisely from this

9).

name included

the essence of

the visible sun.

4.

peculiar but instructive report

Athenaeus

Ctesiae

(corap.

fragm.

p.

is

given by Ctesias in

79, ed. Paris), that

is

it

permitted to the king of Persia to get drunk on the day

when

offerings

are

made

to

Mithra

and from Duris

reported, that the king does this on the feast Mithra,

The month Mihr (Mithra) corresponded

understood.

month

the

to

Tishri in

beginning of the

the Jewish calendar, and was the

year.

civil

name

stance explained the

itself

corresponded to October, which

month

for vintage.

Vinterfylled, that

is

This report has not been

he also dances the Persian dance.

quite

it

when

is,

have through this circum{Lit.

319);

u. Gesch. p.

it

was everywhere the proper

It is indeed called

by the Anglo-Saxons

vintage month, and also

Vindumemanoth

Winmanoth, from the Latin vindemia. The feast of the

sixteenth day in the month Mihr is called mihr rHz, and
lasted to the twenty-first, which was high festival.
These
or

days correspond to the Feast of Tabernacles, which obviously

was

originally a nature feast,

law was elevated

at
of

any

and only through the Mosaic

to the position of a religious feast.

It is

rate interesting that Plutarch in his Table-talk speaks

the Feast of Tabernacles " as falling in the midst of the

time of vintage," and

is

of opinion that

it

was dedicated

to

Bacchus.

So then we see that the king's conduct on the Mithrafeast

was connected with the

thrives through the sun

feast

of vintage.

The vine

he produces the juice in the grape

Mithra, the sun, drinks the wine, his production,

this

the

MITHEA.

king as

his

representative

by which Mithra

victory

353

imitates

it

is

the

portion

celebrates the victory

Of such a

over the nightly darkness.

Persian tradition rightly reminds.

the sun

of

feast of victory the

It is

day the kings were anointed with

of

on this

said, that

and adorned with the

oil,

crown upon which was to be seen the image of the sun.

Then a dish containing fruit, white grapes, seven

myrtle, citrons, sugar, and other things was brought
king

all

berries,

to the

which the sun caused

signs of productiveness

to the

earth.

The

tradition, that

over Dahak

on that day Feridun was victorious

agrees with

they saw in

this;

emancipation and deliverance, which has

terpart in the words of the Psalmist

of

salvation,

and

its

an act of

it

Biblical coun-

" I will

take the cup

upon the name of the Lord"

call

(Ps,

cxvi. 13).

The dance

the king on the Mithra feast signifies the

of

dance of the sun himself.

Mithra

So King David dances

rejoices over his victory.

before the ark

and a Latin

west,

upon heaven and

their

On

hands

for joy.

hymn

earth,

calls

upon the

mountain and

east

and the

move

river, to

this rests the old popular notion, that

sun dances and leaps for joy.

on the

feasts of Christ the

Silesia

and other places they used

In

to place a tub of water in the

court, in order to see in it the skipping of the lamb-offering.

People were so sure that the leaping of the sun became signs of
the calendar, as to be quite certain that the introduction of the

Gregorian calendar was

faultless.

In the Christian Church

the Peast of Tabernacles was not preserved, and

occupied by Christmas.
thought.

When

its

place

is

This has occurred not without deep

paganism was

still

prevalent, there

was a

repeated attempt to dedicate Christmas day to the sun instead

of to Christ.

Indeed,

against the Persians,

it

was notably Julian, who

who

exerted himself to

fell

in the

war

make January

as a sun -feast, in order thereby to displace Christmas day,

which was then on January

6.

It is probable

that a trans-

354

APPENDIX

New

ference of

among

place

II.

Year from October

the

When

Persians.

January had

to

Golius

day

called the feast Mihragzan, the sixth

also taken

the Arabs

says

of the feast, " night

of the kindling of the fire," he appears to confound this with

January

Epiphany, which was in fact called Phota

viz.

6,

The drinking

(feast of lights).

illustrates a peculiar

ary

which was especially preserved in the Netherlands in

6,

and that person

king on the Mihragzan

popular custom in connection with Janu-

They proceed

quite a different manner.

king

of the

other

crowned and

chosen who finds a bean in the royal

who draws a royal figure from a bag

is

cake given to him, or

containing

to the election of a

The chosen king

figures.

his court established

then duly

which follows

after

is

feast-

ing on good and sweet things, as on the day of Mithra

when

the king raises his glass, all shout with

Thus the Occident gives a mirror

drinks."

and

The king

joy, "

of ancient Oriental

usage.

A
a

much-spoken-of myth of Mithra

rock,

e/c

Trerpa?

Commoedianus
John Lydus

'ye'yivrjcrOaL,

him

calls

him

calls

"

is,

that he

Justin

as

says.

was born of

The poet

Even

Invictus de petra natus."

It did not suggest itself to

irerpoyevij^i.

the expositors that the same

said of the

is

Greek gods of

light.

The

Apollo was born in Delos, an unsightly rocky island.

island in
DD, Cos,

which Aesculapius, son of Apollo, was worshipped,

means a

rock.

near Pephnos.

The Dioscuri were born upon a

I^arallel

to

cliff

might be considered the

this,

reported solemnities as held in his honour in a cave {o-irrfKaLov)

"

out of which he came forth.

*'

where Mithra

And

is

Everywhere," says Porphyrins,

known, God

propitiated

is

by a

cave."

he adds that such caves were consecrated to Zeus in Crete,

to the

Naxos.

moon and Lightpan

in Arcadia,

and

to

The writer overlooked that Hermes was

grotto of a hill

Mithra, of

whom

and
the

that

Perseus,

oracle

who

Dionysus in
in a

hidden

appears as a Greek

speaks as of "a winged lion,"

whose name reminds the ancients

world in a subterranean dungeon.

of Persia,

The

came

into the

births in rocks

and in

355

MITHRA.

caves represent both the battle and the victory of the god of

As

light.

must

the demigods

fight against the giants of the

The sun

rocks to secure their existence.

rises

out of obscurity.

Out of the crags of the rocks, where nothing thrives, rises the
order to

light, in

issues

make everything

the spark

fruitful, just as

from the stone.

This

theology had

its

came from the

the beginning.

rigid desert in order to educate his people in

On

the desert.

at

of

The whole
Moses

birthplace in isolated localities.

about God was hidden

doctrine

The whole

Old Testament.

spiritualized in the

is

God

a hidden rocky mountain (Sinai-rock)

was revealed.

What
The

could be more hidden than Bethlehem and Nazareth

Moses brought

He

make

will

was a man

of

The report
incarnation,

As

which came the Light.

stable is like a cave, out of

forth water out of the rock, so Jesus says that

disciples of stones

if

men

will not hear.

Peter

flint.

of Elisaeus the Armenian, that

and that he was a king

origin in the tendency to find

Mihr was a divine

of divine descent, has its

Mithra again in

The

Christ.

sun comes forth out of the obscure deep, just as the spiritual
light of the nations

comes out of the hidden corners

That which

nations.

is

told

of

Mithra has committed, certainly

the fertility of the
For, as

frigidity.

same

thing.

earth

we saw

of the

the cattle robbery which

signifies

the deliverance of

from the hands of darkness and

above, cattle and earth

mean

the

So Perseus delivers Andromeda, who represents

The sun has herds

the earth as sustaining men.

with which Hermes has his lively game.

of the nether world, from

whom

of cattle

Geryon

Heracles robs his

is

a lord

flock,

and

gives back to the earth, as agriculture, fertility.

Least of

all,

in

our opinion, has the so-called

Mithra-

offering,

whose

stood.

Mithra as a youth, dressed in Oriental costume, pierces

relief is in the

with his sword the neck of a

upwards.

Blood streams.

Louvre in

bull,

Paris,

while he

There are the words

been under-

lifts
:

the head

Nama

sehesio.

APPENDIX

356

dog, a serpent,

II.

Two

a rock behind Mithra.

there,

the

tail of

raven

sits

upon

genii with erected torches stand

upon one the sun with the morning

moon with the evening

the

The

and a scorpion are present.

bull ends in the form of a bundle of corn.

upon the other

star,

There was always the mis-

stars.

take committed in assuming that Mithra does violence to the

which

bull,

trary

otherwise ascribed to Ahriman.

is

What

the case.

is

he does

is

Just the conTherefore he

a benefit.

It represents the consecration of his

worshipped.

Mithra

cannot thrive.

Its being apparently

sword, his ray, opens the earth.

is its
tail,

as a sign of the fruit

(which

may more

wounded,

bull has therefore a sheaf of corn on his

The

safety.

who with golden

the sun,

is

The

life.

which the

bull is the earth, his blood is the water, without

earth

is

The wolf

which Mithra produces.

properly be instead of the dog), the serpent,

and the scorpion are

hostile creatures

which

Mithra belongs to the sun

Apollo, as Coronis, the crow,

is

worship.

the earth

defile

The raven behind

and desire to destroy Mithra's work.

servant of

It is the

Where

his beloved.

there

is

a service of Apollo tliere are ravens, as hence two ravens,

"

Hugin and Munin," accompany Odin.

difficult

to

Nama

explain.

not because

it

sehesio

Hebrew

is

nntJ',

contains the idea of rest, but of celebration.

It is Mithra's feast,
life,

belongs to the

not

sehesio is

expresses celebration,

It well

equivalent to Sabazios.

Nama

the deeds of his power, the nature of his

when he

that he displays

kills the bull

from morning

till

evening.
5.

Much

has been written and copied about the mysteries

The

and the solemnities of the worship of Mithra.

point in

all

nised in the
in

the writing

names

which the

by Persian

is

iv.

masks

is

central

recog-

of animals
of

16) has from this side not yet been

remarkable in

as well as

especially the lion

This

The famous passage

appeared.

initiated

What

Mithra as a sun.

of the animals, or in the

Porphyrins (Be Abst

understood.

is

it is,

that

it is

Egyptian interpretations.

was sacred

to

the sun, because

influenced

In Egypt

when he

357

MITHEA.
entered

the

It

full Nile,

the Nile began

lion,

when

the
lion.

that

says,

therefore the image of the Sphinx, as Arnobius calls

is

" that

a fruit

of

lion "

producing

its

they bring the image of a

Horapollo

inundation.

fertilizing

Egyptians pray for a

of the

sign

zodiacal

it

The

(leonis frugiferi).

Egyptian hieroglyphic has no connection with the general

nature of the animals, so also not here with the rapacious

but only with the one thought, that

lion,

happy inundation
stamp

The

and Dionysus,

initiated

mysteries

went

who conquers

types

i.

As

cap. 13)

Mithra was his wreath.

of

There

the

sun,

and hirakes (hawks).

The passage

the

production

nature's

but they were not destitute

away

like

his usual wreath, for

upon him

rests

nimbus

to a certain

Porphyry

(as

16);^ the attendants were called ravens.

literally reads

into the sacred acts {Spyioju

says, the lions philo-

have already explained the ravens before.

call eagles

lions

lion.

Tertullian reports, the warrior of the

mysteries was obliged to throw

narrates, iv.

of

Of these TertuUian

sophize {Ad. Marcion,

extent the disc

the lion, wears

appears as a terrifying

too,

were

themselves

of a natural ethic.

the sign of the

is

meet the novice in masks of

to

through the sun.

it

wells spring from the jaws of

all

Indeed, Heracles also,

lions.

his

hence

"

Of the

While they

(/.iaroc;)

lions, the

The
eagle,

call those

women

We

fathers they

who

who

is

called

are initiated

hyenas, the servants

have the name of ravens. As concerning the fathers {kxi n rau 'Trotripuv
And who that takes
.), they are called eagles and hawks (UpocKtg).
upon himself the order of the lions {T^iovrtKoi 'TroipxXecu.^ocvav), invests himself everywhere with the appearance of the animals."
The supposition
that T^ictivcc; is to be read for voe,iua.i originated with Felicianus, who translated Porphyry into Latin, but did not, like Hercher, insert the conjectural
reading into the text. Hercher states that he has done it on the authority
of Kircher.
He thinks that the vxiviko. of Salmasius rests only upon
this passage, which may not be correct, for the old inscription has also
hienocoracica (comp. the Coram, of Hieronymus, ii. 869, ed. Migne
the edition of Porphyry, Trajedi ad Rhenum, ed. Jacob, de Ehoer,
.

p. 350).

With

marks of the animals, compare especially (p. 351)

" It is the custom,
i. 62, where he narrates
Egypt to put on masks of the head of lions, bulls, and

respect to the

with the passage of Diodors.

among

the lords of

dragons as symbols."

358

APPENDIX

aero^

II.

the rapacious bird in general,

(d^v), as of

Aristotle,

him a vulture

seeing man, they called

was the hierax,

When

"

hawk."

a far-

designate

Sacred above

(yvyjr).

Horapollo says

wants to draw the victory of the sun-god,

"

When
is

it

one

done by

Therefore the image of the Phoenix as

drawing the hawk."

a figure of the course of the sun

eagle, or

eagle, says

compels his young ones to gaze at the sun.

the Egyptians, says Horapollo, wished to

all

was thought

it

The

to resemble the sun in seeing at a distance.

represented by a crowned

is

hierax.-^

Why

the Egyptians regarded birds of prey so sacred was,

is

taught, because these birds have a great relish for

as

it

around which

carcases,

Among

the quadrupeds

gather ravens,
is

and hawks.

eagles,

the hyena, which has relation to

these.

It

is

interesting

information

appeared in masks of hyenas

(in the

Paris edition,

the

that

1856) read XeatW? instead

but he only followed a conjectural reading

rightly valvar;,

There

female

is

initiates

though, indeed, E. Hercher

in themselves

of valvar,

the codices have

no difference between

the masks of lions and lionesses, but the

myth which touches

iipon the hyenas gives sufficient support to the idea, that just

they were the proper images for the

Jerome writes

to Laeta (Ejjp. n. 107, ed. Migiie,

"Nonne specum Mithrae

Nymplius

initiated.

et

Of them
p.

ii.

omnia portentosa simulacra,

it is

869 (679)):
Corax

quibiis

Helios, Dromo,
For Niplius, Nymplius,
Gryphus, should be read Eniphus, namely, the Egyptian Cneph, which is
connected with Pj33, "wing" (D''DiD hv2), and signifies here the hawk of
which Porphyry speaks. Perses is Perseus. Dromo is explained by the
commentators of Jerome as hpofiog, crab. The crab lias indeed some
relation to the sun, but only a hostile one, for it helps the hydra against
Heracles.
Again, dromos is only a sea-crab, in reference to which there
(al.

Nyplius, Gryplms), Miles, Leo,

Pater initiantur."

are

The

certainly quite

text

is

not quite

Perses,

clear.

other legends (comp.

my

Drachenkampfe,

p.

50).

Apart from this, it is improbable that the name of an animal stood

between Perseus, Helios, and Pater. It must be read
Bronios, viz.
Dionysus, who would stand well, near Pater (Pater Liber). It is also
false that Dionysus has no relation to the mysteries of Mithra.
The sun,
Mithra, Dionysus, were one there. They all merged in the sun-worship.
:

359

MITHRA.
said that they are of a double

man and

gender, and can be

wife.

The hyena appears

in the legend a decided

enemy

of the

and the dog again was, as an animal of the nether world,

dog,

obnoxious to the sun and his heroes.

was

It

We

dumb.

shadows of the sun made dogs

said that even the

have indeed but one notice of Porphyry which

speaks of the hyena in the mysteries of Mithra; but Salmasius,

too,

{Histor. Zausiaca,

there

is

In the Latin translation

vaivLKa.

cites

saint said

didst thou get the skin,

not rob the sheep from some one

The

835)

What

if

thou didst

wrongly obtained

is

The hyena with dejected head prostrated

I do not accept."
itself before

i.

he once healed a young hyena,

mother brought him a sheep-skin.

its

Where

"

comp. Bochart, Hieroz.

told, that

and out of gratitude

The

20

cap.

an anecdote

Palladius

of

down

the feet of the saint, and laid

saint said again

"I

do not accept

it

the skin.

unless thou swearest

solemnly not to vex the poor by devouring their lambs."

The hyena bowed

of the saint.

its

head as a sign of consent

me

It appears to

is

a story of the

among

the adherents

that this

conversion of a hyena which originated

words

to the

of Mithra.

was thus

I
is

far

concerned to prove that

but the sun, and invoked independently from the sun.

else

They

both

are

be contested

et

that

Even
iv.

if

identity, but

their

the passage in Curtius

not their

speaks only of the sun and

sincere

when he

witness

to

this

worship the sun, which they

was

visible

identified with

fire.

fire.

fire, it is

{et

could

it

distinctiveness

Strabo

plainly

call Mithras."

that Mithra was also held as

Mithra was the

cannot

it

48. 12) were genuine,

it

because

although

some authors have not understood the

Mithrean invocans,

only prove

everywhere,

identified

significance of Mithra.

Solem

Windischmann

mistaken in his opinion that Mithra was ever anything

says

When

is
:

surely
"

They

some say

to be understood that

representative of Ahuramazda,

who

Mithra, as sun, was identified with

360

APPENDIX

II.

Titan (with Osiris, as Statins calls him torquentem cornua,

which may just

symbol of the

as well refer to the

And

earth).

fertile

Mithra

tians found that

signified as

sun as

the heretical early Chris-

much

mystical Abraxas, namely 365, as the

numerically as the

number

a solar year.

The Church Fathers have

upon the

that the heathen of the

fact

to the bull, the

of the days in

rightly laid stress

centuries, like

first

Julian, upheld the sun-worship in opposition to the doctrine

Justin Martyr affirmed that there was an imitation

of Christ.

Communion

of the

in the mysteries of Mithra.

of opinion that there

was

also in

them an

Tertullian

is

imitation of baptism,

the signing of the forehead and of the resurrection of Christ.

Dionysius the Areopagite speaks also of such an imitation

among

the Magi,

who

celebrated the

Mithra {rpLifKaalov), which was

memory

of a threefold

borrowed

only

obviously

But not only was the sun everywhere

from Christianity.

understood by Mithra, but also the opinion was universally

and therefore

held, that the king,

Eoman

the

also

Dio Cassius

assumed to himself the attributes of Mithra.

narrates that

Kiug

Kvvrjaayv

ere

worship him as Mithra

to

said

(irpoa-

w? Kal rov MlOpav).

Specially noteworthy

were designed

by Eoman

for

the fact that the inscriptions which

is

Mithra

emperors

Particularly since

Eome,

Tiridates, at his coronation in

Nero that he came

to

emperor,

Commodus

a term with which even a

calla

was addressed

bore

that

title,

Deo

entirely

soli

Mithrae, were

invido

appropriated

themselves.

to

they called themselves invictus

month was

invide im'perator

and Arcadius

Cara-

designated.

Constantine

and Honorius

were

still

called

invidissimi.

Joined to this by way of a brief reminder,

is

the strange

opinion which wandered from one book to the other, that the

Eomans kept
is

a Mithra-feast on the

25th of December, which

not merely a fable, but also a striking testimony of the

rapidity of bookmaking.
of the year

354

The remark

to the VIII. Cat.

of the

Eoman

Calendar

Jan., which read N. Z, was

361

MITHEA.
understood as Natalis Liocti,
that this

is

similar notice in existence.

imperatores,

viz.

Solis, regardless

the only designation of this day

and

refers

to

But N.

I.

Constantine,

no

who

celebrated on the
his

assuming the

Yet even at present one can find in compiled

books that Christmas

of December,

of the fact

as there is

only signifies invidi

25th December 351 the decisive day of

government.

is for this

because

it

reason observed on the 25th

was once the day

of the Mithra-

feast.^
^ [The autlior has, in the above essay, thrown much light on the
omission of the name Jehovah or Elohim from the book of Esther. Had
they inserted the sacred name, it would either at once have provoked the
just appeased king, or it would have been associated with Mithra, and
perhaps have been perverted into the same. We know that the heathen

have turned the ineffable name into Jove. Macrobius quotes an oracle
According to Jerome, the cultus of Mithras
loca 6 TTxurai/ vTrccro; Qto;.
lasted till 377 a.d.
It has left its traces even in Germany on the
monuments at Hedernheim, near Frankfort- on -the -Main. What a
wonderful providence it was which caused the Jews to exercise their usual
cleverness in omitting both the name of their God and of the god of the
country from this book
Had they done the latter, we should have had
many Jews named Mithridates, as we have many named Jehoshua.
Trans.]
:

III.

THE WINGED BULLS OF PERSEPOLIS.

The monuments which were discovered

in the last century

in Persia, and in recent years in Assyria, have received great

and well-deserved
incomplete.

monuments

the

all

knowledge of them

attention, but the

is

yet

Those of Persepolis and Nineveh, around which

the culture of

of every place

may

be grouped, have for

times another importance than

all

Almost

with the Greek monuments.

all of

them

dications of the intellectual life of great nations.

is

the case

disclose in-

No

writings

any way these indications before the

existed to give us in

monuments were discovered

them is found in all the rich

and- deciphered.
literature

which

No

reflects

trace

of

Hellenic

The scanty information which we possess about some

art.

feature of these nations,

is

not derived from their sentiments,

and shows only the smallest part

of their spiritual nature.

That the Iranic nations excel the Assyrian by means of

religious writings of the Avesta, is of great importance to us

but these writings, owing to the difficulty of the idiom, are

still

Therefore a thorough examination of these

of little use.

monuments

reveals to us, as

Sixteen hundred years ago,

it

were, antiquity alive again.

when Charon,

the ferryman in the

infernal regions (Lucian), paid a visit to the world, in order

to see for himself

had described
report to

my

it

whether
to

him about

dear ferryman,

where
walls

it

is

stood.

it

him, his
the
is

was

so magnificent as the

dead

guide, Mercurius, had then

monuments
destroyed,

of Nineveh.

"

to

Nineveh,

and one cannot even say

That large city with many towers and high

Babylon, whose locality will soon be sought as that

363

THE WINGED BULLS OF PEKSEPOLIS.

of

But fortunately Mercurius can now receive

Mneveh."

We

information from us.

it

now know more of Nineveh than

we should. Our old philologians

ever seemed probable that

were not in a position

monuments of
They

to regard the artistic

Greece in their relation to the history of the country.

had indeed the hoary sketcher

and statues date

pictures
is

Grecian

of

of the

Homer, whose

art,

most ancient time.

But

this

quite different with respect to the mentioned Asiatic nations.

The Oriental monuments not only supply us with the

and describers

literature of poets

done

of art

Everything

literature.

To express

language

is

art,

but they have also

They were themselves a kind

this in ancient times.

words.

of

may

be described in a few

one's thoughts properly

the highest

lost

So also

art.

it is

and in elegant

the greatest

diffi-

culty with the artist to give a complete expression to the

mind has

general idea which his

time to delineate beautifully

the teacher of

all

grasped, and at the same

colour and marble,

who has

With

Of

the artist in

carried out his thoughts in the

minutest stroke and shade, the general idea

his mind.

Homer was

the qualities.

the artists of Greece.

all

this Schiller says,

" that it is

is

uppermost in

the germ in the

plant which produces the w^ork of art and gives an inexpressible

charm

to the whole."

The

This cannot be otherwise.

descriptive arts do not in their

works create books, in which

The

one should so read that nothing etherial should remain.

silent

beauty

which does not need

letters

and

syllables,

and which speaks in summary forms, can be more

easily

brought nearer to completion than the speaking and syllabic

beauty.

Hence the language

in figures is

the

elementary

language of man, and therefore hieroglyphics are attempts of

thoughtful people to express their ideas in a beautiful and
tangible manner.

They have hence become the elements

sacred language, because

effacing the tender pain of the idea through a disguised

confused manner.

Next

to

of a

they appeal to the soul Avithout

them was no

literature

did or could communicate what they expressed.

and

which either
Therefore a

364

APPENDIX

symbol

is

IIT.

like a fleeting hieroglyph of

of the greatest master

the depth of this word and reproduce

Therefore

definition.

dam up

streams,

its

would be

it

if its

it

this deficiency of language,

of all uncultured nations, but

a want of ideas,

much

ancient

is

nations

sources of

we

art,

to

which

of the life

be

it

soul,

by sober

the characteristic

is

and of the views of the

In

explained.

considering

the

are unable to pursue here all the stand-

pagan aH

it

is

certain that the

and national

in all its religious

especially,

means.

its

which was the cradle of man and

of his thoughts, this cradle remained,

conditions.

if

reflection.

relations lies in the need felt of giving utterance hy

In the Orient

They
who,

which does by no means imply

points which suggest themselves, but

chief source of

and perfect
shallow and

life

musing

activity of the

were possible, could have dissolved

From

as to fathom

in a plain

make

to

and the language

much

symbol should be removed.

would destroy the copious

it

life,

not capable so

is

and in

This also accounts for the

elementary

its

Oriental languages

being in relation to ours what a figure of speech

is

in relation

Hence a metaphor was more used in the East by

making clear an idea symbolically, than as an object

to a word.

way

of

in which a word

is

incorporated for the sake of

In communicating his
fied

its

religious views the Oriental

beauty.

was

satis-

with a symbolic representation, and had no other intention

in

it.

of

Mneveh and

So, then,

we

also

mean when we speak

of the relics

Persepolis, that in their discovery

we have

not lost such descriptive writers as Pausanias and Philostratus,

for such writings as these produced, did not exist.

mode

of such

was

was no

literature to excite their production, the

essential to the

were the only

literature.

of

Some

life

things

The want

in the East.

There

monuments

have been found,

dating from later times, which might illustrate the past, but

they are only isolated ruins which remain from the flourishing
time of

upon

life

groups upon a tablet, representations in

disinterred walls of a palace,

relief

monumental stones which

form a path to themselves, and in which we recognise remains

THE WINGED BULLS OF PERSEPOLIS.

of another

365

alphabet of ancient thoughts than that of the

cuneiform which our experts have deciphered.

the case with
to

all,

and indeed the same

they

offer

and

rule

test

is

not

cannot

But the already accomplished

most of them be applied.

investigation of single

This

monuments

establishes the fact, that

us a greater insight into ancient views and fancies,

than even was possible to have by the writers of monumental

We

inscriptions themselves.

monument by way

On

consider one such single

shall

of attempt.

the plain of Merdosht, thirty-five English miles north-

east of Shiras, lie the grand ruins of Persepolis.

was so fortunate as

platform,

see

to

them was

hewn out

steps,

On

is

that

by

their

even

artificial

of the rock; on the south side 802, on

1425

the north 926, and on the west

form

quite struck

The ruins stand upon an

phantastic bulk.

He

The

feet long.

plat-

ascended from the plain by means of double marble

which

travellers

describe as the finest in the world.

the front of the gate, which

is

reached after climbing up

the steps, there are figures in bass-relief of animals of colossal

The columns

dimensions, which deserve special attention.

upon which they appear

immense blocks

are

and 30

feet in length, 5 feet in width,

of marble of

27^
The

feet in height.

animals cover them almost entirely, and only the heads, which
are

now broken

plastically, protrude.

Various opinions have

been expressed as to the kind of animals they

are.

But a

careful inspection of the cloven hoofs, the powerful jaws,

of the form
bulls.

gate.

This

of the
is

tails,

shows

a certainty that they are

to

confirmed by a similar bass-relief of the hinder

Here huge

bulls are clearly recognised.

bodies are those of bulls, the neck

ornaments in them.

On

of a cylinder, at both of
rising

and

is sfcriped,

The

legs

and

the ears have

the head appears a tiara in the form

whose

sides are clearly-marked horns,

from near the eyebrows upwards to the heads of the bulls

which, though injured,

still

their backs proceed gigantic

disclose

wings

human

faces,

and from

and they are adorned with

366

APPENDIX

The true meaning

curled beards.

11 r.

of these rare

and

artistically

splendid figures has become more apparent since the finding

winged bulls in Chorsabad and Nineveh.

of similar

made

attempts at an explanation hitherto

by the learned themselves

are acknowledged

unsatisfactory, because

as

The

proceeded from too narrow a standpoint.

For

it

they

has been

disproved that the Persians adored the bull, seeing that in

Egypt they

and destroyed the

That these winged bulls represent any

idols.
is

scoffed at the worship of Apis,

doubtful, as they are also found in

specific heroes

Assyria.

Again, to

assume, with Lassen, that they are of Babylonian- Assyrian

because the Assyrians are older than the Persians,

origin,

would explain very

was chosen

We

why

little

the palace of the Persian kings

monuments.

as the place for these

have already made some remarks above on the

rative language of the Orient.

figu-

speaks in images,

soul

Its

Life in the East has from very

symbols, and hieroglyphics.

ancient times another relation to the animal world than

it

has in the West, not only because of the want of culture

abundance and the variety of

there, but also because of the

Language, by means

animals which are within reach of man.

of animal

through

designation,

animal

therefore of

or

symbols

the expression of one's thoughts

in

Oriental origin,

contrast to the

simple or complex form,

and

to

is

Greek Mythos, which

and was then applied

to the

be considered as

first

is

issued from man,

animal symbol.

between the Hellenic and Oriental culture

The
is

difference

especially to

be seen in the different manner in which the Greeks and the

Orientals did speak.
ized.

of the

The Greek spoke, the Oriental symbol-

Hence the conceptions

Oriental

of the

became animals.

which in Greece found

its

Greek became men, those

The

fulness of

thought

expression in language, was repro-

duced by the Asiatic in nature, in especially exhausting the

animal and vegetable kingdoms.

Herodotus

had no gods which they thought

to be in the form of

Quite right.

But the

Persians,

who

says, the Persians

paid homage to

men.
the

THE WINGED BULLS OF PERSEPOLIS.

367

Iranic idea of God, expressed their views in reference to the

and

origin

conditions

the world, in

of

the same

manner

through the medium of symbolic animals as the Greeks did

The

through symbolic men.

word was

them

to

figure of

merely an

still

Egyptian wrote by means of

figures,

language and of the

image.

Just

as

the

notably figures of ani-

mals, so the Oriental generally thought that the bird, horse,

are terms capable of containing

wolf, lion, etc.,

expression

whole

to

of

series

pursuing this subject in

thought.

and giving

N"ow,

without

wide range, we return to the

its

which we are of opinion that they

bull-figures, concerning

do not represent animals as objects of idolatrous worship, but

hieroglyphs and symbols typifying and
thought.
hull

It

was symbolically intended

be on the portals

fail to

portraying ancient

not difficult to recognise which thought the

is

to express

when

The

of Persepolis.

bull

it

could not

was especially

the symbol of the Iranic-Zoroastrian Theology, which

still

manner
as

far

we have

preserved in a remarkable though covered and obscure

in the

we

The doctrine

Zendavesta.

gather

it

of Zoroaster, in so

from these books, represents a warfare,

not merely between virtue and vice, but a

between the

agricultural life

civilised

hunting

natural,

Ahuramazda,

life.

strife especially

and the wild, rough,

i.e.

Ormuzd, therefore

always appears under the figure of tame domestic animals,

and when we read

Creation of world
a^ireeable

follows

thimr

Where

to

the

in

Third Fargard of the Avesta

with bodies.

filled

this

earth

What

is

the third most

Ahuramazda answers as
and holy Zara-

agriculture mostly abounds,

What

thustra blesses the land with corn and fruitful trees.

is
is

the fourth thing most agreeable to this world

plenty of cattle

and beasts of burden,

therefore, that are sinful, injurious,

When

there

All things,

etc.

and imperfect in

life

are

expressed through animals, which are hindering and destructive

to

Therefore

agriculture.

the animals which are

those which

Ahriman

Ahuramazda

most disageeable

declares

to this

created, like the wolf

that

world are

and the serpent.

APPENDIX

368
Hence

was imposed upon the Persians

it

many

sexcents), ten thousand ants,

possession of

things, rich

and animals,

fields

weather, everything which

which carry away

The regular order

grain, and ten thousand gnats.

the

an atonement

as

thousand lizards (which evidently means

for a sin, to kill ten

a great

III.

health,

of

good

favourable to the villager and

is

townsman, was created by Ormuzd, and was represented in

such images

and the

man, and

opposite, the mortality of

every possible form, was considered as

adversity in life in

the creatures and weapons of Ahriman.

All existent things,

only Ahriman hinders their prosperous development.

Accord-

ing to these ideas the bull was the picture of happiness, and
peculiarly appropriate to designate the earth

In the

itself.

thousands of years before power was given to Ahriman, there

Ormuzd, Willca the

lived through
v/as

man, and from

purified

by the

first

Whom

From

forth.

his ribs proceeded

went

man

hastened to destroy the earth.

him, that

create

Ormuzd

Ormuzd

to

hast thou appointed for the globe

himself against evil

also the

the animals descended.

all

bull after being poisoned

said

hast said, I will

and

moon, proceeded again a pair

from which

and

the world

the seed of the original bull,

light of the

of bulls of both sexes,

The soul of the

From

died.

i.e.

the wicked appeared,

his tail fifty-five kinds of corn,

good trees sprang

when

he

bull, that

he poisoned the

original bull,

When

without sin and misery.

Ahri-

man of whom thou

he may learn to protect
Is it

replied

The

bull has

become

weak through Ahriman's weakness, but man is preserved for a

globe, and a time when Ahriman will not be able to exercise
his power.

Ormuzd

is

therefore called also in prayers the

protector of the soul of the bull, and the seed of the latter
called effulgent, holy,
to

show

and

exalted.

fully the analogous views of other ancient nations,

and we

shall only touch

upon what

pose.

One who was

well

collected

name

is

It is not the place here

many

is

necessary to our pur-

acquainted

passages, according to

with

which

Egypt

Isis,

has

by which

the Egyptians understood the earth, was designated

by

369

THE WINGED BULLS OF PERSEPOLIS.

Plutarch phiinly says that

the picture of a cow.

ox,

was among the Egyptians a symbol

It has also long ago

and the

of Isis

the

/Sou?,

earth.

been noticed that the Greek word

7?),

common name for kine,

Jacob Grimm has noticed the conmasculine and feminine.
nection between Old High German Rinta, " earth," and Rind,
earth, comprises the Sanscrit ga, the

" kine."

So likewise the Sanscrit hhumi,

The

of the Greek ^ov<{.

" earth,"

old doctrine as,

e.g., it

reminds one
manifested

is

in the Zendavesta, has expressed the bull, but understood the

earth.

was an ancient hieroglyphic

It

which the

picture,

language perhaps occasioned, and later on drew a view from

the picture.

It

was

at all times the

custom to borrow such

hieroglyphic pictures and symbols from analogy of language.

Well-known
antiquity,

which were

of arms," "

a bull, or a bull's head,

is

by a heart

in

Greek

Pamphylia,
Spain.

Euboea had

armes parlantes."

had the rose {pohov)

;

ySoi)?

Evj^oia
is

of arms, as of

similar

is

wolf,

(crtS?;),

as

also

which

Side,

Granada in

Berlin and Berne, which are represented

it

in

be compared the better known coats

It is

an established

by
fact

represents the sense of yrj in the Zend-

always called by corresponding words which have a

sound in Zend, Pehlevi, and in Persian.

later times

was the symbol

the bull was

petrified,

and the

received into the cult.

Only

literal

carried out

by the Parsees, namely, the use

the bull for purification.

through

applying to

it

It almost excites

the treatises

in

sense of

This appears in the

ceremonies which the Avesta prescribes, and which

reading

was

Rhodes

al'f, al<y6<;.

Myrina by a

a bear, and Bieberach by a beaver.

avesta,

emblem

for its

Selimos by parsley (aeXivoi/)

this is to

that the bull, as

of

the city of Cardia, in Thracia, was symbol-

by a pomegranate

With

cities

the island Aegina

in Greek

Melos by an apple

fivpivrj

many

of

later called in heraldry " speaking coats

represented by a goat, which

ized

emblems

instances are the

is

still

of the water of

merriment when

concerning this custom, and

the rule of decency.

Undoubtedly the ancient

idea was, that the water of the bull purifies, viz. in the sense

2a

370

APPENDIX

III.

The

that the bull and the earth are the same.

was meant.

the

earth

faith,

be established and explained in various ways.

badges of the Persian kingdom

With

a bull's head.

and

One

it

can

of the

the club-shaped part of

is still

Feridun killed the old Persian hero,

it

The

the wicked Zohak.

vrnter that

In this sense the bull

from
became the emblem of the Iranic-Zoroastric

springs

later legend

explained the origin of

the club as coming from the cow which he sucked as a child.

In the sacred

writincrs of the

Persians the tauriform club

mentioned with which Guershasp killed the demons.

the chivalrous adornment of

They bore

kings.

all

It

the ancient Persian lords and

It

was

Eustem when he accomplished

his

on their thrones and into war.

it

the formidable weapon of

is

was

herculean deeds, as Pirdussi sings,

" Brandishing the tauriform club with his right hand,

He
But

gave them no respite or ground to stand,

fiercely attacked the whole band."

In connection with this we mention

the Indian Ciwa

Therefore he

and the

bull

his

for the

present that

likewise joined with productive nature.

Pa^upati, the " lord of the

called

is

is

is

symbol

vaga, the bearer of the bull banner.

animals,"

name VrishadhTo this may be added

whence comes

his

the hitherto unexplained image of a bull's

head upon old

Images of Minerva have the shield-emblem of

Indian coins.

a bull's head, of which the explanation of our well-known

student of art Gerhard,

is it

upon the

against Heracles.
bull's

head

which the

is

certainly insufficient.

shield of the Geryones

An

Less obscure

who defend themselves

Etruscan bronze figure at Gori has a

whilst Pausanias tells of a statue of Apollo on

bull's head.

From

heads of oxen on coins of Phocis.

Coins

god stands upon a

foot of the

this is explained the

of Caligula have sometimes the impression of a whole bull,

and sometimes only the head of a

with a

and

fine bull's head,

circular inscription

iinconnected notices,

bull.

We

know

a coin

having upon the shield a female figure

:

Britannia,

we cannot

After these apparently

leave unmentioned that in

THE WINGED BULLS OF PERSEPOLIS.

Solomon, which seems to

the description of the throne of

have been

after the

371

model of a Persian one

a bull

is

at the

whole order of tame animals which stand under

liead of the

the protection of the king.

Be

also noted that

it

Mirkhond

narrates that the Byzantiau

emperor had caused the Sassanide king Shapur (Sapor) to be

sewn up

and there imprisoned.

in a skin of a bull

That

tlie

bull w^as really considered as symbol of the Iranic-Zoroastrian

system, and that other nations and tribes had certain animals

upon

as symbols

on

depicted

which

coins, as,

coins

in

the Greek-Indian kings were

e.g.,

the Indian Peritapotamia,^

signified

upon elephants,

Cabul hunchbacked

clearly evident

is

from the combination in the bull statues of human heads with

The

wings.

The union

upon one

of animals

be regarded as congruous symbols

figures are to

with hieroglyphics.

figure

of attributes in various kinds

union

indicates

of

various

The human head with horns in

thoughts in one symbol.

the front signifies that the enormous strength of the bull

symbolized in man.

also

which

inherent in

is

who

of the king

which

Man

has and comprehends that

bull.

So also was the symbol

the

represented the land and the Zoroastrian

Only heads

faith.

of

such figures appear on coins as that

ascribed to Pacorus the Arsacide.

is

is

coin of the

Bactric king Eukratides shows a king with ear and forehead

Eckhel reports of a fighting bull with a

of a bull.

face

upon a Parsee

figure,

and

also refers to

human

the existence of

such upon other coins of Cretan colonies, as upon those of

Agyrium,

Gela,

wings
the

is

likewise significant.

possibility

also

with the

celestial

of

For

cated.

and Tauromenium.
It

The

signifies

terrestrial.

By

attribute

reason

the

the connection of
their

medium

harmony between heaven and earth

this

of

is

the
indi-

superhuman beings have wings,

Bundehesh expressly says

is

the case with daevas.

as

On

the other hand, they are expressive of the possession of the

power over the kingdom of the

^

[This

name

still

air.

appears in the

name

As the

bull's

of Punjab.

head with

Trans.]

$72

APPENDIX

III.

the tiara was the symbol of royal power over the Iranian
empire, inasmuch as the bull comprised the possessions, the
crop,

and the

claimed

king

the

the wings on the same indicated that

eartli, so

Firdussi expresses

dominion

have

to

when he

over

the

This

air.

King Kaikawus, who

represents

Tuled over the whole world, as being persuaded by a daeva to

conquer also the heaven,^

"

Lord (spake the daeva),

tliy will

caused the earth to shake

As a shej)herd does his flock, so leadest thou mankind

To only one thin<^ thou may est lay claim,
Then shall all the universe be filled with thy fame.

in thy wake.

Hast thou observed the course of the sun,

And knowest thou how his rise and set do run ?

Thy rule upon eartli thou dost well accomplish,
What is wanting is that thou dost also heaven vanquish.
The heart

And he

of the king

is

thus enticed to undertake the deed.

somehow he will
To reach the air with wingless feet
Then inquires of his sages how far
From here to the moon, and thence to some
meditates whether

Then he ordered
and thus

to

to catch eagles

and

be carried to heaven.

succeed

star."

to tie

them

to a throne,

This perhaps gave rise to

Lucian's representation of the philosopher Menippus catching

an eagle and a vulture, and severing the right wing from the
one and the

left

from the other, and then fastening them with a

string strapped to his shoulders,

of the gods in heaven.

and thus

flying to the assembly

Lucian further narrates, that Jupiter

did not receive Menippus in a very friendly manner, for fear

that in a short time all

and so when he was

him be
It is

carried

mankind might

to depart

by Mercury

later times did

[A

source.

to

him

let

to the earth.

remarkable that the use of wings in Grecian art came

on Aristophanes,

way fly

he clipped his wings and

only in vogue in the Persian war.

Tamid,

in this

whom

But when the

scholiast

Gerhard quotes, mentions that only in

Nike and Eros appear with wings, he means

similar though

somewhat

different story is told in the

Talmud

about Alexander the Great, and had perliaps this for

Trans.]

p. 32a,

its

373

THE WINGED BULLS OF PERSEPOLIS.

For Nike

just simply that wings represent heavenly might.

the goddess of victory, and Eros the god of love, have special
rule over man.

We

will not further enter fully into the

and Eoman works of

art,

domain

Greek

of

and upon thoughts in connection with

them, which apply wings in manifold w^ays, but one thing

An

which has remained obscure we must add.

Etruscan

vase picture represents the giant Geryon and winged bulls

carrying on war against Heracles, as
to

them

the same was attributed

though

is

only

Wings appear

Egyptian two-handled vessel called ampJiora.

upon other

this

a reported observation upon an

elsewhere by

corroborated

if

the daeva and demon,

to

as

figures of animals, in so far,

which we here do not

consider, as they in the views of the nations represented the

symbol of heavenly or demoniac power.

But the

bull,

with or without wings, appears as the symbol

of Iranic Zoroastrianism, as

books.

it

represented in

is

So likewise the opponents of this

faith

and

its

sacred

state, are

designated by animal symbols that are hostile to the bull.

Here, too, the opposition of the religious and political state

The

compressed into one element and picture.

traveller

is

Ker

Porter found depicted upon the bas-relief on the west end of

the platform, a king in the act of fighting with animals, a

closer description of

that they represent

and heads

which we here omit, and only remark

tlie lion,

of the eagle.

Of course the wings do

respect,

but the

expressed in

political

King Astyages,

it

he

upon a

To

them.

of

of

the wolf, and the ass, with wings

The king appears

also

enemy
this

signify

no

is

may

as the conqueror.

service,

civility,

or

emblematically

less

be compared the dream

which Moses of Chorene speaks.

saw a woman who had three

ran to the

east,

and the third upon

wings of an

eagle,

rushed towards him.

One

sons.

lion hastened to the west, the second

In

riding

upon a leopard

a dragon, with

tlie

Attention needs only

be called to the wonderful prophecy of Daniel.

lion with

the wings of an eagle, a bear, and a panther, together with a

374

APPENDIX

III.

The prophet himself

strange wild animal, rise from the sea.

interprets

them

as symbols of great empires

the second dream this

more

is still

Ayil (ram) with two horns, as

it

In

and kings.

clearly represented,

the

appeared to him one higher

than the other, and he saw him push westward, northward,

But

and southward, so that no beast could stand before him.

a he-goat with two horns

came against him from the

vanquished him, and brake his two horns.

is

said

winged
against

"

he touched not the ground," as

war

It is the

victory.

west,

and

Of

his conquest it

if

he had a swift-

of Alexander (Deul Karnain)

Media and Syria which Daniel

have seen the winged bulls and

predicts.

lions, or

who

who

All

have read a

description of the same, have been reminded of the prophetic

mysterious vision of Ezekiel in

He

ful spiritual application.

entire greatness

its

and wonder-

speaks of figures of animals with

wings which had the face of a man, the face of a

of an ox, and the face of an eagle,

lion,

the face

upon which the glory

of

God

passed.

first

chapter of the prophecy which proceeded by the river

It is

remarkable about

Chebar, the word cherubim

hand, in chap,

in

x.,

is

this,

that while in the

not even named, on the other

which the prophetic vision in Jerusalem

gets an insight into the mystery, the animals are called Cheru-

bim.

Although

it

was the same animal which he saw by the

river Chebar, in the place of

lion,

man, and eagle are

an ox appears a cherub, while the

which expressed

power and the

religious view,

upon ancient legends

elucidation the

as

monuments

contents are the more

The

also so called.

this symbolizing,

far

of

at the

significance of

same time the worldly

had an extensive influence

West.

as the

Nineveh

Through

will gain in light

its
its

important the higher one ascends into

the obscure walks of antiquity.

And

there could not have

been merely the simple combination of art and

artists,

which

created figures and porticoes in Nineveh and in Persepolis.

The combination and the contrast that there exist between a
lion

and a

bull, as

they are represented in a Persepolitan

engaged in battle with one another,

testify,

figure,

what may be more

375

THE WINGED BULLS OF PERSEPOLIS.

upon elsewhere,

fully dwelt

to the contrast of principles at

which the one which

stake, of

and Satanic

as the evil

Art gave

one.

language of these symbols, and without

sentation

always considered

hostile is

is

would have remained

expression to the

symbolic repre-

it

On

inexplicable.

hand, the artistic monuments upon

the other

which the symbols of

remarkable animals are portrayed, elucidate a series of his-

which

torical information

till

then had remained obscure

which we only mention a few.

monuments

It has

of art, that they reacted

upon marble were transported

tions

This also Oriental art has done.

down

in the

legendary

Eustem the
his nails

of the

figures

lore

without

of

upon

life,

into fancy

of

of

Grecian

as representa-

and knowledge.

The symbol w^hich

it

has laid

above description, passed into

being

was

great hero

figures

been affirmed

understood

and

explained.

so strong, that he engraved with

eagles

and the

upon

like

rocks.

The

wonderful animals which natives and strangers long centuries

after

and

have seen in their gigantic and violent forms upon walls

rocks, were taken

senger carried farther.

up by fancy and by

this

winged mes-

After they were found in isolated places,

they came forth, loosed the bonds which had kept them tied
to the marble,

living

and passed into actual

and wonderful

kind which ancient

this

creatures.

Much

pictures of former

of the truth of this

and legends contain has arisen in

tales

The stranger who

manner.

life as

travelled in the country

looked upon the figures as types of existing animals, and could

speak of them at home without properly saying what was

What effect

false.

ancient art in the Orient as well as in the

Occident produced through the influence of

human

fancy upon

the culture of the nations, has not yet been sufficiently proved,

nor applied by authors in criticism.

Eusebius clearly enough

in

obscurity

sorts

"

and chaos, there were

men

wings and two

heads, one of a

Old Berosus says

Once when

all

also

this in

things were yet

animals of other

with two wings, others with a double pair of

faces, others

man and

again

one of a

who had one body and two

woman other men had a
;

376

APPENDIX

upon

sort of roebuck's legs

horses,

III.

had legs of

their heads, others

and again others were half horse and half man.

had human

heads,

and dogs had four bodies with

there were horses with dogs' heads,

Bulls

tails of fish

men and

heads of horses, and their lower parts were formed like a

and

many more

still

dragons,

serpents,

fish

which united in themselves

creatures

the appearance of animals of

animals with

many

There were also

sorts.

fish,

and other wonderful kinds of animals,

whose images were severally preserved in the temple of Bel"

Berosus evidently assumed, that the images of the various

symbols

hoary

become by and bye

way

were

animals

of

and lived in

such

had

as

when one

the more so

false,

existed

actually

So misunderstood

antiquity.

takes a false

Only a few years

to establish their truth.

famous Indologian Lassen declared Ctesias

things

the

ago,

to be a liar, because

he says he had seen the Martichoras with the king

of Persia,

whom the Indian

that he may be freed

I believe

from this reproach.

"

of

king gave

to

an Indian animal

a present.

as

it

"

largest lion, red of colour like vermilion,

like dog's.

Among the

people of India

which translated means

of an animal, but

on

is,"

says he,

'

and with thick hair

it is

called Martichoras,

The head

man.'

not like that

is

has a human-like face.

it

like those of a lion,

Here

enormous strength, larger than the

its tail

it

are

Its legs

has a sting like that of a

scorpion."

Who

does not see in this a description of some old image of

a lion with a

human head such

ments of Persia and Assyria

as is still found on the

?

The

interesting from the addition of the

unanimously explained as Martijakara,

have thus an image
clear

of

an

evil

from the scorpion-like

demon

tail.

notice becomes

name.

monumore

Martichoras

" killer of

is

We

man."

for the Iranians, as is also

The form

of a lion, as already

remarked above, indicated in the animal kingdom

hostility.

Grotefend has long since found upon an ancient seal Ahriman

depicted in a lion.
created the scorpion.

According to the Bundehesh, Ahriman

Its title in the

Avesta

is

"

He

is

the

THE WINGED BULLS OF TEKSEPOLIS.

fulness of death, the destroyer of
iiess

generally."

he asked what

Ctesias

it

man, the

377

briiiger of

had seen such an image

meant, he was told that

it

unhappi-

and when

was Martichoras

and he went home with the impression and the name of an

animal which he had never known.
teresting to notice that

'Now

animals.

In this

definitely learn to

which Heeren wished

in the form

giant

we

we can

accurately from the figures.

was missed

when

they

shall

be

regarded

reporters of the truth of art.

we
1

shall do well if

The above

requires.
(quotations.

It

Martichoras

we make

true descriptions

as

guides

They made
life

Much

also not possible to

of that which

is

of

new charm

{Pcrigeten)

and

of the picture, life

a picture.^

essay could not be carried out so far as

was

more

authors whose credi-

them, will receive a

in

very in-

So here also the world since

1814 has turned round. The ancient

has beeii much doubted, because
life

is

to explain the Persepolitan

explain

bility

actual

it

know Ahriman

add the

it

deservedly

scientific references

above indicated

is

more

and

fully explained

than I could do in the continuation of the Hierozoxkous {Lowenkdm'pfe).

IV.

ZOROASTER.
NAME AND

HIS
The name Eran

TIME.

(Iran) does not occur in the

Classic authors also are unacquainted with

to the entire Persian empire.

it

book of Esther.

as a title applied

It could not possibly

so used at the times of Graeco-Persian wars.

have been

Doubtless

it

would otherwise have been mentioned in the records of the

Old Testament and by Herodotus, as there seems to be no

whose

names even

personal

scarcity of

composition

occurs

it

in the

as aTi

book of Esther, in

= ariya. Now,

Strabo makes record of a province called Ariana, so also

should surely have heard of the

it

had been

of a like sound.

name

for the

as

just

we

whole empire

if

It is therefore not extraordinary

that Spiegel should have found no trace that already in the

ancient times such a

It is quite

true

King Darius

that,

calls

like term to his

name was used

for the

according to the cuneiform versions,

himself an Aryan

whole empire.

but he does not give a

It is not

but for political reasons, that only the

or Persia and

Media

whole empire.

('^Dl

D"id)

simply by chance,

title

King

of Persia

occurs in the proper

official

inscriptions.
But taken on its own merits,
name Aryan seems to me to give the best proof that in
researches for the home of the Aryan tribe the account of

documents and
the

the

O. T. has been unreasonably neglected.

sound in the name Ararat

1.

The Scriptures

Ararat.
ally

{\Tr\^) is

describe the nations as coming

That Ararat means high land

when one

The cognate

beyond doubt.

is

down from

indisputable, especi-

takes into account the various names, such as

379

ZOROASTER.

Aram and Armena, which that district has

and present.
And to interpret Aryans
which

certainly possible,

in later

borne in the past

as

highlanders

is

times appears by an abstract

form as high, or the honourable one.

Whatever

common culture and religion Aryans and

common proceeded thence. Aryan conquerors

of

Indians had in

Mahmud

descended to India, just as

of

Gazna and Islam have

done.

Herodotus has the remarkable memorial that the Medians

were called Aryans in former times, and connects the myth of

Medea and

And

Colchis with the change of name.

preserved by

him

of others about a

Diodorus
Medus,
Medea,

this is not

also gives us the sayings

alone.

who was

a son of

said to

have become king of Media.

That, however, there really are

Aryan

Medea

traces in the legend of

He

Pausanias.

is

quite clear from the

us that in

Corinth, where

report

of

Medea

lived with Jason, she hid each of her children in the

tells

temple of Juno, being under the impression that they would

become immortal

that Jason had discovered her engaged in

We

the act, and that their separation followed thereupon.

should not be able to understand what constituted Medea's

offence in Jason's eyes if

story

of

Ganga,

who,

we

reborn

make them immortal

her, she has to separate

It is

Genesis,

also

as

('id)

remember the Indian

human being, weds

and when Santanu surprises

from him.

noticeable that in

Media

She puts her children into the

Santanu, the son of Pratipa.

river to

did not

ethnographic

the

that in the immediate neighbourhood of

say, of the Ionic- Greek nation.

Up

meaning

of central position

|V

(Javan), that

to the time of

has the palpable precedence of Persia.

to the

name

Its

which

it

yana^ the middle, a meaning which

praised

and

holy, situated

between the

it

With-

= medius, maidh-

may have been

but national and religious as well.

is to

Cyrus

also points

possesses.

out doubt Media (nD) signifies Zend, maidhya

local,

of

table

alone appears as the son of Japhet, and

not alone

land specially

Jam una and

the

380

APPENDIX

Ganges,

Madyadeqa by the

called

is

IV.

Indians,

"

i.e.

land of the

middle."

A name of like meaning is applied to China (Tschung Kue).

The Greek Messene stands for Middleland (legend tells of a
woman

name, as

of this

of

Medea).

was said

It

of Delphi,

that Apollo there inhabited the earth's navel, which, however,

somewhat

Varro

mentators called
("iud),

ideas

So the Jewish com-

prosaically denies.

the

Holy Land the navel

which seem

the

of

earth

have been held concerning the

to

Kaaba in Mecca by the adherents of Islam.

The ancient central place occupied by the Medes is proved
by this circumstance, that even during the most flourishing
period of the Persian empire and during the Persian wars the
"

word

Median

"

was used by the Greeks, and interchangeably

same sense

for Persian, in the

" Aric."

This application

when Aeschylus

again, "

or as

when

use " Media7i

"

as has already inflicted

occurs in

it

irrupere

Otimu Medi pharetra

usage, even

novum

decori,"

" Persian ").

Eoman

mare,"

which was

poets

etc.

cf.

also poetic

and Aelian and others

historians like Arrian

for

uses " Iranic " or

not limited to poetic usage, as

is

67:" Cum Medi

CatuU.

now

one

Such an host

damage on the Medes,"

great
(cf.

says, "

as

So also

it

is

only poetic

metaphor when TertuUian exclaims, ''Alexander vicerat medi-

cam gentem

et victus est

medica

But the word has a deeper

not

makes

only

Medes

" (viii.
5),

spirit

in

veste."

signification

Themistocles

speak

when Herodotus
a

"king of the

but also places a Greek and a Median party

He

antithesis.

tells

us,

Phocians would not become " Median

the Thessalians, the

hostile to

of

for instance,
"

that

being Median.

latter

the

because they were

Had

these been of the Greek party, he surmises that the Phocians

would have become "Median'*

says

later

on

their entirety.

specially

who

and Medes.

of

(viii.

30).

In like manner he

the Boetians that they are " Median " in

This
records

is

the more peculiar as

it is

Herodotus

the distinction between the Persians

381

ZOROASTER.

2.

The

Median supremacy was,

the

of

fall

known, brought about by Cyrus.

it

as

well

is

was obviously no mere

Just as in later times the Sassanides

political revolution.

introduced not only a

new

Median dominion.

The

new religious
when they became masters of the

dynasty, but also a

era, so did also the Persians

we

But

and science-system, which

folk-lore

came

call (Zarathustra) after Zoroaster, first

power over

to

the whole empire with Cyrus.

Through him a

and religious revolution

political

of extra-

ordinary importance in Asiatic and general history was introduced, and which was
Hystaspes.

legends should suffice to

We

read

even a few historical fragments and

make

Herodotus

in

(i.

this probable.

20)

Astyages in the following fashion

that
"

Magi address

the

King,

it

very impor-

is

tant to us that your mastership should continue.

we

by Darius

only fully accomplished

I think that

For

in the

Medes and lightly

But as long as you are king we
esteemed by the Persians.
participate in the government, and win honour from you."
other case

And when,

shall

as

become slaves

of the

Herodotus further records,

the death of

after

Cambyses, pseudo-Smerdes the Magus usurped the throne,

was considered

as

it

an attempt on the part of the Medes to

regain the mastery,

e.g.

Gobryas says

(iii.

73)

"

For now

ive

Persians are being ruled by a Mede, a Magus!'

For

this reason the discovery of the fraud caused a universal

bitterness

among

the Persians.

The Magi that could be reached were put

like

a Persian

Purim,

the

death of

the

to death

and

Magi was long

celebrated as a national liberation festival.

According

Medes

to

Herodotus,

the

Magi formed

they represented a sort of priest caste.

tribe

of

In the Old

Testament, on one occasion Kab-Mag, a Magus, appears in the

train of the

Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.

authors call also the Zoroastrian priests by the

it

is

When

only a general term in accordance with old habits.

itself it

was not

name

for

them.

later

name Magi,

In

Eather with the mastery

382

APPENDIX

of Cyrus there

IV.

was introduced a Persian hatred against the

Magi, as they were identified with the Medes.

Could one

rely on the interpretation of the Bisutun cuneiform inscription,

this

would be strikingly confirmed.

Darius recounts in

his

it

conquest of pseudo-Smerdes (Bartiya).

"

The mastery, which had been snatched from our

have brought back again

ibrmerly been

restored

professed should not be honoured

temple of the protector of the

the gods what

Gumata

happily as

race, I

have the service and

and have given back

state,

to

Magus had robbed them of

of Ahuramazda I have won back

the

and so through the grace

had

it

what Gumata the Magus had

I ordered that

it

that which was lost."

This

much

is

this inscription a victory of

certain, that in

Ahuramazda over

his

enemies

celebrated for the reason that

is

Darius had dethroned the Magus.

The

historic legend of the rise of Cyrus, as it is recounted

by Herodotus and in

later Persian poetry, doubtless

supports

the view that the victory of the old Persian empire was also

shared by the Zoroastrian system.

Firdussi recounts from the traditions

was Kai Khosru (Khosrav) who

known

to

built the temple in

" (the holy

for the "

Adar Gushasp

latter is

always preferred before

The

fire).

his.

him

that

it

Bahmandiz

w^orship of the

The Bundehesli says

Adar Gushasp was a

of

Kai

Khosru, and that when he destroyed the idol-temple, the

fire

that (cap. 17) the

took

its

seat

on the mane

service to the fire

the throne.

There

is

fire

He

the

first

is

horse.

shah of

his

right of succession to

whom

Kai Khosru.

this is told.

whom

It is not only the

Kai Khosru

is

he serves, just like Cyrus.

placed amongst shepherds, and

is

His royal demeanour soon shows

his royalty.

Only through

no doubt that Herodotus's accounts of Cyrus are

that reminds one of this.

of the ruler

his

Kai Khosru gains the

is

reflected in the legends of

name

of

friend

the grandson

As

a child he

brought up unrecognised.
itself.

dream declares

Kai Khosru alone has the Quareno, the divine

383

ZOROASTER.

nimbus, which proves him to be a destined king.

father

Kai Kans has no nimbus, and indeed

the background as one

is

who has

^ip

(Karan), which

retires

deeply into

Quareno

injured his grandson.

derived from Khar, " to shine."

Hebrew

His grand-

It is

connected with the

when

used (Ex. xxxiv. 29)

is

Moses's face shone so divinely that every one feared to draw

near to him.
his

from this that Apollo derives

It is manifestly

name Karneios, Karnose,

that from this the

the shining god.

house of Cyrus or

t^ns

is

It is

certain

derived,

who

manifested himself as the rightful and appointed sovereign.

Of course many
mistaken.
to

details

diverge in the brilliant mixture of

poem, but the groundwork of similarity cannot be

Firdussi's

The

woman

referred to the honours which, as

Cyrus in causing the Persians to

its fruits

really portrayed,

Spako, or bitch,

we

till

may

be

shall see later on, are

By

paid to the dog in Zoroastrianism.

and enjoy

Cyrus

fact that Herodotus's account declares

have been reared by the

the action of youthful

a thorny field one day

the next, the essence of Zoroastrianism

is

which represents the cleansing of the earth

from thorns and vermin as

religion, in order to

have a joyful

life later on.

As

regards Cambyses, one

his killing of apes

must not overlook the

the ideas of the bull and the

trianism,

recall

which appear in Zoroas-

fire

and concerning which the necessary remarks are given

in the preceding Appendix.

One must

which, according to Herodotus

to

fact that

and burning of the Hephaestos image

(iii.

on his deathbed

the Persians

also notice the

65),

words

Cambyses addressed

" ^N'ow

therefore, whilst

invoking the royal gods (Oeovs tov? ^aaiXiKw^i einKakeoDv),

I

lay

on

it

your

consciences

that

you do

the supremacy to pass again to the Medes.

this,

may

you have
this

(in

the

earth

fruitful

consists

not, then I invoke

3.

allow

fruit for you, and may

and herds, and may you be free

bring

vines

not

If ye observe

forth

the blessing of Zoroastrianism).

on you the contrary of

In a special sense Darius

is

And

if

all this."

called the son of Hystaspes.

APPENDIX

384
Darius

the real architect of

is

under him

IV.

great Persian empire, and

tlie

also Zoroastrianism attained its

permanent success.

The name Hystaspes (ViqtaQpa, Gustasp)

We

the origin of Zoroastrian teaching.

he could have been the father of Darius

that through the circumstance that he

connected with

is

do not think that

but this

certain,

is

called the

is

son of

Hystaspes, his adherence to Zoroastrianism receives accentuation,

and through

that,

attainment of royal dignity became easy.

In VigtaQpa appears the connection with

legend of

the

cording to

asp, horse.

Ac-

Herodotus, Darius becomes king

through the neighing of his horse.

In one of the legends

of his life Zoroaster demonstrates

a horse of Gustasp the truth

shrinking into
horse

its

body disappear

its

natural existence

himself and his

teaching.

of his

son

doctrine.

Isfendiar

in

four feet

Its

Zoroaster restores to the

on account of

The consequence

upon

the

this,

Gustasp enlists

service

of the

new

of this is that the separate feet

emerge again.
I consider in these legends the horse to be the

Persia

Many

itself.

records of the ancients

a very special horse-raising country.

the horse

is

symbol of

show that Persia is

In the legends

a prominent associate of the

of heroes

Iranian conquest.

Kai Khosru could not become king unless he obtained the horse
Behzad which had served

The
it

his

father

Siawusch (Syawaksch).

horse, however, quickly allowed the son to catch

saw the rein and saddle that had belonged

But

this is not the case

it

when

to the father.

with Vigta^pa alone

also his father

Lohrasp and the chief antagonist of Zoroastrianism are named

after horses in the

legend " Arzasp of

Turan," just as the

good and the bad genii Tistrya and Apaosha contend with
each other in the shape of a white and a black horse.
Persia itself as DID signifies nothing but horse-land, and
identical with

sian

it

tJ'iQ

(horse, horseman), just as in

means horse and

is

modern Per-

Persian.

In like manner in the various terms of the Hebrew records

tri3

(Cyrus, shine) and Din (sunshine) converge.

But con-

385

ZOROASTER.
tainecl

therein

were known to

The

a deeper symbolical thought.

is

especially the white one,

was the type

of the sun.

horse,

Sun-steeds

Oriental nationalities.

all

In the march of Xerxes and his army, Herodotus describes

(vii.

40 and 55)

drawn by eight

the holy chariot of Zeus

white horses, which was followed by the royal chariot.

Herodotus here ascribes to Zeus

is

told

What

of Mithra

in the

Persian sacred scriptures, before whose chariot four gleaming

steeds are harnessed

Anahita,

a like chariot

who resembles Mithra

It is therefore

is

ascribed to Ardvigura

in conception.

no wonder that the sun

Xenophon

of swift steeds.

also

is

said to be possessed

expressly calls the chariot

that preceded the king's that of the sun.

It

was a most

ingenious combination of the ancients which joined together

the

name

of Perseus with Persia.

Perseus

Oriental.

is

The

lesjend of this hero is

nothing but ens, the knight.

He comes

from heaven a sun-hero on the steed which overcomes the

dragon.

So the Persian heroes overcome the Azhis dahaka, the

which

evil serpent, of

even as Andromeda

it is

said that

it

slays

men and

horses,

called the rescued " bearer of men."

is

The famous hero Keregaspa, who conquers the

terrible

Cruvara, signifies perhaps nothing else than the horse, as

we

shall see farther on.

Also when Herodotus has the statement that the Persians

had formerly been

called

Kephenes by the Greeks, we must

not regard this as simply a playful idea.

of the legends about the

We

conquering smith

are reminded

Kawi and

the

Kawi Kawata (Kai Kobad), Kaviuca (Kai

Kaus), and Kawi Hugrava (Kai Khosru).
The father of

royal family of

Zoroaster

is

called

Purushagpa

translation, " possessing

many

horses," does not

TTvp,

indeed the name

if

Prexaspes).

The

seem to be the

would rather suggest here "purus," pure, and

correct one.
fire,

(comp.

is

ancient.

But when the

Persians have the names of their horses as symbols of the

victory of the sun,

it is

only natural that in the time of their

power they should emphasize these names.

2 B

386
Of

APPENDIX

who

Qraoslia,

we

Mithra,

"

Spiegel),

in reality

are therefore

whom

IV.

perhaps nothing else than

is

11th Yagna

the

in

told

(after

the four horses guide (carry), without speck

(pure), hrightly shining, beautiful, holy, wise, swift, obeying

What

the heavenly behest."

nin), he seizes

He

is

what

he sees in Eastern India (hendu,

Western

in the

(c'n),

he strikes (conquers).

who from

the type (ensample) of the king of Persia,

out

of his chariot judges (governs) the Oriental world.

Hitherto I have frequently, and I think justly, used the

treasures

Semitic languages for the

of the

names.

Persian
relations

It

legitimate ;per

is

men and

of

se,

explanation

of

because the real

were much freer and wider

nations

than the modern science of language seems to be inclined

to

But there

assume.
It

sense.

is

already in the table

reason

is

remarkable

Media (no) appears

while

that

of nations

in

narrower

for it in

name

the

Genesis,

of

Persia (dis) appears only late in the time of the captivity,

when

got

Israel

into

relations

however,

Instead of

it,

the sons of

Shem

we

with

the

of

Elam.

Elasar, Tidal king of

It is the

opinion of

stands here for D"ia, Persia.

In

Isa. xxi.

Goyim, as

all

occurs in

Arioch

that

king of

this

Elam

Scripture itself gives us a proof.

2 and Jer. xxv. 25,

Isa. xxii. 6 it

It

Sliinar,

-iD3;b~n3,

tradition

Elam

conjunction with Media as usually

In

the head of

appears, on the side of Ashur, Arpachshad,

Lud and Aram, the name of Elam (Dh^]}).

Gen. xiv., in company of Amraphel king of
king

empire.

great

At

find another.

is

stands in the same

the case with Persia.

stands in conjunction with Kir, reminding

us either of the Kuran, a tributary from Khusistan to the

lower

Schatul

Arab,

tributary from the

or

perhaps

of

Kur,

Kyros,

Bhaktegan lake in Ears.

another

The prophet

depicts the Elamites as Persians with quivers, chariots,

horses.

of Elam, on the river

The
of

and

Finally, Daniel sees his vision in Susa, in the land

''fjis

(Eulaeus or Choaspes).

Scriptures, in counting

Elam amongst

Shem, and Media amongst those

the descendants

of Japhet,

wish to indi-

387

ZOROASTER.

and people.

in language

cate thereby a difference

Every

Elamitic signification can be explained by Semitic language.

In Elam we find high land or plateau, as the name seems to

be derived from
as

mount, and brings us to Asia, just

nbv, to

Elyon means high or exalted

(as it is

explained of Ariya).

Shushan (p)^) gets its name from the lily, combined with
white.
In Eulaeus we find another form of a Semitic

tj'tj^,

name, Uval,

was

Juval, the river; while Choaspes

''i'i5<=''i5n5<,

the Arian name, mountain-horse, since the horse was com-

pared

springing from

to rivers

Highly interesting
has compared with

is
it

Kudur - nanhundi

so

Elamitic king.

It

is

had robbed an image

to Babylon,

again
at

West
name
are

thinks

also

related

Schrader

inscriptions;

Kudur - Mabuk an

Kudur-nanhundi that he

of

Nana, which returned

of the goddess

and that he

Thirty years

itself.

names

the

hands on

laid

calls

the temple

Euler

himself

Kudur

Kudurlaomer.

ago

called

of the ancient

compounded with those

reads Nabucodrossor
in

he

names from other

the

of

Schrader, however, has not interpreted the

country.

fact that

kings'

Kudur -Mabuk

Akkad.

hills.

the explanation of nny^-na.

of

occurs in

the

attention

to

the

kings of Mesopotamia
gods.

This

is

ivnauj = "iV"n3l23.

seen in

Benfey

in the inscriptions, Nabokudurriussur

Schrader's version,

Nabu Khadrachara.

It

is

composed

out of Nabo, Zar or azar and Kudur, Kudan, or Adon, Lord

In Laomer we recognise El Amir, " God,

Adir, mighty one.

Prince."

In Kudur-nanhundi, who robbed Nana, I see a

composition with the

as

name

of the goddess Anahita, the

same

Nana, called in the Avesta, Ardvigura Anahita, the goddess

of fertility.

For

of D"iQ as the

most

In

Persia,

this reason I consider the Semitic derivation

likely.

Elam was

the Semitic element

preponderance of the Median- Arian

became the prevailing

one.

tribe,

However,

it

through the

the Arian language

was only by means

of the old reminiscences of Persian life as far as the spirit

of

the

matter

required

it,

especially

in

worship,

which

388

APPENDIX

seems
lary

to

was

IV.

have proceeded from Elam, that the Semitic vocabuused.

II.

When

came

Aristagoras

Kleomenes

to

Sparta

to

the condition of the great empire

"

things than all others taken together

many-coloured garments,

silver, brass,

The empire was indeed well

Provinces

All the gifts

Persia.

They have more good

beginning with gold,

and

cattle,

slaves."

the

Mesopotamia and

in

also

were well cultivated.

the earth

of

him

to

cultivated, not only in

but

Minor,

Asia

of

Kiug

persuade

to

war against the Persians, he described

Through good communication the nations were joined to

Roads led, as Herodotus describes (v. 25),
each other.
through

and

inhabited

Even

countries.

safe

way

the

through the desert to Egypt was made easy by the quantity

the

of water led into

desert (Herod,

The remark

6).

iii.

of

Xenophon, that the Persians, wherever they are or come

to,

have gardens

fertile,

and make the land beautiful and

laid out,

characterizes

Persian

life

in

manners and

The

so-called Paradises (D"ns, fenced gardens)

the

desire

after

visiting the

trees, the

When

warlike game.

younger Cyrus, found him

was astonished

at

the

costly

show more than

The chase

luxury and pleasure.

animals was not only a

culture,

in

the

at it himself,

all,

Lysander,

beauty of the

and beauty.

and even worked

he burst out in the foUowiog words

"

Eightly

I call thee happy, because thou joinest virtue to riches

understanding that Cyrus

a kind of moral obligation.

followed a

still

wild

of

garden, he

his

careful tilling of the ground, fertility,

Hearing that the prince had ordered

morals.^

not

higher motive

When Xenophon

depicts Dascy-

lium, the capital of a mere satrap, Pherenbazes, as wonderfully

cultivated,

endowed with gardens and

for Israel

fit

for

by representing the Persians pleading on

that they were busy in making bridges,
Abvodah Zarali, p. 26. Trans.]

[The Talmud

testifies to this

the day of judgment before

etc.,

lakes,

God

389

ZOROASTER.

and

chase

with

fishing,

landscape, what

rich

its

must the

royal gardens of Susa have been, which the book of Esther

praises

Everywhere were

splendour of Persian royalty.

when Kai-Khosroe gave a

Firdussi says that

was

tree

to

of

rubies

gold,

opaque in

erected,

the

inclining

Firdussi sketches

them

Art imitated nature in poetry and

poetical traditions.

"

and gardens found in the

trees

throne,

formed

feast,

branches, the

its

the stem of silver, the

the

in his
reality.

summit
branches

and

of carniol

flowers, fruits

sapphire smiled out of the dark-green leaves of emeralds."

The splendour
later on,

was only a remembrance

Al Moktader had a

Caliph

and

sat birds of silver

Chumaruye

Egypt

in

tree

these

and pleasure only

of

tilling

fields,

profit even,

tilling of the

did

and

But the Persian

think

not

not of pleasure

and

not only

the real motive.

the religion of a national

is

To plant

splendour

of

gardens only, but the

of meadows,

culture

of Zoroaster

land.

branches

considers the gardens

but the profit to religion was

The teaching
plough the

its

as the first botanical garden,

things,

the

in

which sang automatically, and

Hammer

the type of those in the Arahian Nights.

kings, in doing

of the caliphs

of the old Persian glory.

silver

gold,

were able to move about.

of

and thrones

of the palaces

trees,

make

use of forests, to

land, to regulate rivers, were the fundamentals

of their religion.

What was
contrary to
those

it,

life

of good.

dog.

of their

what

rational, well-con-

they symbolized

all,

deities,

as

"

the idea

The Persians explain

a ^perpetual

Ahuramazda was

usefulness."

Cevista, " the

most

The Anushagpentas have the cognomen "always

useful."
;

to all."

good;

water, the plough, the ox, the

fire,

P>efore

of the attributes of

useful

For a

Only the useful was good.

Mipana, one

One

culture was

this

Animals helping therein were good

they wanted

and the

horse,

bad.

to

hindered, demoniac.

that

ducted

serviceable

"

Arstat, " helping

on the world

Spiegel thinks "Qaoka"

is

" fire, "

nothing but

affording use
utility.

The

390

APPENDIX

IV.

egoism peculiar to the farmer, according to which weather,

the

time,

and

field

usefulness,

has been developed

and

animals

good

are

according

their

to

the chief doctrine of Zoroastrianism, out of which

is

its

dualism, ethical and historical, social

historical.

similar

view

of

and Hera, night

waterless

among

indeed,

were enemies

their children

Ahuramazda

As the hero

appears,

all

Originally there was a contrast in Zeus

heathen nations.

sented

nature

Heracles was victorious over serpents.

he

of civilisation,

deserts,

Zeus repre-

conquers

swamps, and

poisonous

rapacious

night,

In the

illness.

Greek view of the world, these contrasts are united harmoniously.

Hera and Zeus marry.

of the

Olympic

i'avour

"

round

Hephaestus becomes a member

table."

Prometheus

with an iron ring on his hand.

taken into

is

The contrast

is

also

harmonised in Indian mythology, for even the serpents are

made

alive again through the Amrita.

Neither does the northern legend maintain the

Loki

is

one of the Asi,

world -views

the

of

demigods.

i.e.

had

historical events

contrasts,

around them.

I^owhere else do

we

But here the contrast

and nature. Creator and creature

hurt of the agriculturist.

profit or

them and

same corresponds

Tlie

spirit

within nature

the

find this sharp contrast

only with the view of Holy Scripture.

between

free

irreconcilable

to take place in

but in the dualism of the Persians.

is

In order to

Aryans of these

other

full contrast.

but there,

This doctrine was brought to a height through the Persians,

whose

first

dynast was Cyrus, and was in opposition to the

Hamitic Baal

from the Euphrates to the Medi-

service, ruling

terranean, from Babylon to Egypt, with which, however,

must have had, notwithstanding the antagonism, many

who

in

common.

to

have lived in the time of Gustasp (Hystaspes).

however,

is

This doctrine

is

able to give the

ascribed to Zoroaster,

meaning

his generation with certainty.

dicates this doctrine in all

of his

is

said

IS'obody,

name, his home, or

The legend

its points.

it

features

of Zoroaster in-

His mother has dreams

391

ZOKO ASTER.
in

which

lions, tigers, wolves,

of her child

and dragons attempt

to rob her

they can, however, do nothing to her, for

animals are driven away by his doctrine.

The

wild

all

child

is

the

only one, born, not only without tears, but coming laughing into
This legend

the world.

is

told already

by Pliny and

Solinus.

Tears and pains belong to that hostile nature which he attempts

Other miracles related of his youth have

to conquer.

He

character of his teaching.

and horses minister

wolves have to

him

as

man

sleeps quietly in the fire

especially not to kill

cows

milk

their

Vohu-mano commands

good care of useful animals, and

young lambs.
and

the

he has to contend with countless

to tell the people to take

to plant (extend) fire

him

the former give

which dare not hurt him.

serpents,

him

flee

to

all

fire-altars.

Another genius

tells

Cpenta-armaiti

tells

him
him

not to defile the earth with blood, nor to heap impure matter

upon

it,

but to cultivate

it

of water, plants, and trees

diligently at

is

any

recommended

The

price.

care

to him.

In one legend we have a peculiar notice.

His mother

is

told

she will be pregnant with her child five months and twentythree days,
will

i.e.

on the twenty-third day of the

The

become mother of a great man.

which

to

first

reckon the time of his development can only be

December, when the sun appears smallest

spring

month she
month from

fifth

month

the 23rd the

the

fifth

is

(Ardibihist), corresponding to our April.

Mohammedans

celebrate the feast of Khisr,

the horses are taken to the pastures

Khisr corresponds with

St.

the

On
when

spring-day has conquered.

George, the

and gardeners, who conquers the dragon

George of farmers
winter.

On

his day,

the 25th of April, the Emperor of China celebrates the initia-

own hand

tion of spring, guiding with his

plough.

transferred to Zoroaster.

His name

out of the spirit of his doctrine.

to

the agricultural

In the legend also the victory over winter

me, have been made to do

this,

harmonious connection with the

Windischmann

is

thereby

also can alone be explained

Many

attempts,

it

appears

without having regard to

spirit of his doctrine.

and, following him, Spiegel reject the deriva-

392

APPENDIX

IV.

more

tion generally given, without putting something

satis-

Windischmann, following Burnouf, demon-

factory in its place.

name Zarathustra the last part, ustra,

may mean camel. As there are names composed with agpa,
horse, or ukhsan, ox, so also may Zarathustra be a compound of
that in the

strates

Fr. Mliller translates therefore

usthra, camel.

courageous camels," which

thinks the most likely.

Spiegel

But horse and bullock frequently occur

Zoroaster, while

me

still less

or " gold-star,"

it

right, that

is

reading of Deinon

the

he would not have called him

Most

to stars."

of stars.

but

capable of

of

Zoroaster's

acnpo(f)VT7}(;,

is

aa-TpofiX7}(na,

am

Sirius plays
It is well

is,

born

and indeed that of Sirius the Dog-star,

called simply aster, as,

from

than Zoroastros

that they recognised in thustra

and Wahl thought, Tistrya or

was frequently

it

is

daTpo6vTr)<;, " a sacrificer

for Zarathustra, rather

The reason

of the star,

as Anquetil

agree

Windischmann wonders why the Greeks have not

or Zoroastres.

name

anything

likely his true reading

pronounced Zarathystres

saw in

Deinon (fourth century

One cannot
nature of the name

Had Deinon known

emendation.

heat.

of

suggests dcrrpoOvTrj^;, " sacrificing to

does not regard the

to this, as

Bochart

the

quotes from a Persian;

while Bochart reads aaTpodeaTr}^.

"

cultus,

Hyde

The opinion

who

B.C.) inclines to star,

;

which Bar

sense, as "rich in gold,"

which Windischmann thinks not problematical,

adduced by Lassen.

stars

it

The

repugnant to Zoroaster's views.

is

an ideal

Bahlul gives; or "gold pure," which

as

One

on the contrary,

but,

it;

that the camel, as the animal of the desert and

of the hostile Arabs,

name has

in the teaching of

camel never occurs in his writings.

ought to find some traces of

appears to

" possessing

Sirius,

e.g.,

Sirius

Teshtri.

sunstroke

under whose light

is

is

called

the greatest

the more inclined to this interpretation, because

an important part in the doctrines of Zoroaster.

known which

signification

it

had in Egypt.

the forerunner of the Nile-flood and the

of its approach.

They saw

in the

of the year's fertility brought about

manner
by the

People

guardian

of its rising a sign

flood.

Prom thence

393

ZOROASTEE.

Thence Jablonski explains

began the world's birthday.

Sothi, " beginning."

name,

name from

Kveiv, to bear,

Thence

and therefore was called Kvwv, Canis

But we cannot doubt that the

Major.

Dog from

name

star got the

of

Kvetv and kvcov not only

being heaven's guardian.

depend upon each

its

also Plutarch derives the

Sanscrit also gua and gvajate,

other, but in

to swell, are related to gvan, gvni, dog, as Plutarch himself,

speaking of Horomazes (Ahuramazda), the god of the Persians,

says, "

he placed a

star, Seirios, as

The name

seer."

Seirios

guardian, <^v\aKa, and over-

itself

is

very instructive.

"the

specially brilliant; in 3rd Yagna,

brilliant

splendour

is

the Semitic int

moon =

Syr.

fc^ino,

ii.

of Isis

The Greek

25.

taken from the Dog-star.

is

derived from

word

similar to the Arabic

whence the connection

Isis,

Jablonski, Pantheon,
is

The name

praised repeatedly.
("ino,

shining;" in

In the Khordavesta

I7th Ya^na, "the splendid, majestic."

its

am

It is

and

for

Comp.

Sirius).

"hot, burning,"

creipio^;,

the more astonished that

Spiegel could doubt whether Sirius and Tir are different in

Persian names and texts.

nnr

and

(Sir

"into

Tir),

Sirios

and Tir stand

splendid and pure.

bazus and Tiridates are taken from Sirius

appears as Counter-Sirius

may

to each other as

The names

That Tir

Tir.

be explained in the same

While

which the Dog-star heat sometimes occasions.

blessing

"lord of the

as

Por

translate the

water,"

its

heat

like

is

month

Tir with Tistrya.

This identity appears

it is

Tir

"the

a fearfully flexible arrow, very supple, gliding along

is

festival of

month

of Tir,

Tiraghan

which

Tir

falls

" Tistar,"

into

is

therefore

of Tir

" abriza-

reckoned from April, the month

the Dog-star season.

compound

most likely placed in

festival is otherwise called

ghan," sprinkling of water

of

is

said therein, according to Spiegel,

an arrow."

The
the

brings

it

this reason are the old Bactrian texts right to

arrow," and of Tistrya

who

as

burning and

plainly in the Tistar-yast of the Khordavesta.

"

way

damage

that Mithra occurs as an opponent, on account of the

hurtful.

of Tiri-

and

aster

see

(stara),

Tistrya,

in

and

it

means

394

APPENDIX

IV.

nothing else than Sirius-star, as (in Greek) Astrokyon = Dogstar.

The importance

He

eminent.

praised like

is

teaching of Zoroaster

of Tistar for the

Ahuramazda

task

the

Sothi

by water,

fertility

he draws out the clouds

him

for

further

to

(cf.

Spiegel, Avesta,

As

his image.

over stars

things his

all

animals and plants yearn

Zoroaster

so to say,

is,

men, so

therefore natural that Zoroaster's

benefactor and teacher

is

taken from him.

I see in

is

derived from

seed, or

hiyrsi

seed,

sperma, Zerubbabel, therefore son,

power from Babel.

The same word appears Iranic in

Bundehesh

jnt,

power

as zor, zormed., powerful, zors,

Bundehesh, 170. 71

modern Persian

in

means both power and arm.

manhood,

as

firstling of

my

The son and

Jacob says. Gen.

xlix.

"iir,

cf Justi on

power, just as vnt

offspring is a sign of

"

Thou marrow and

Zarathustra-Zoroaster might therefore

power."

express the meaning that he should be a " Son

of,

he

name as
tlie name

of Zoroaster a formation similar to that of Zerubbabel.

is

is

the Egyptian

like

he, Zoroaster, is overseer over

is

it

22).

iii.

For him

himself.

Above

the highest genii prepare the way.

is

of,

power

or

the star;" just as the celebrated pseudo-Messiah of the

Jews

called himself Barcochba (Son of a Star), referring to

the words of Balaam,

Num.

17:

xxiv.

"

There shall come

a Star out of Jacob," and like the star seen by the

Magi

standing over the hut of Jesus.

In the foregoing I have changed the reading by Deinon

into aGTpo^vTT]^.
star

It

would mean the same,

offspring of [a]

but the meaning found in the Recognitions of Clement

has hitherto not been regarded profoundly enough.

the

name

of Zoroaster is

signify " living bodily

expounded by vivum

and incarnate

the true sense of the name.

it is

said in the Clementines

because a
Zoroaster

As

living
is,

as

it

river

This
(1.

is

ix. c.

of the star

star,"

made
51),

If there

does

sidus, it

which
plainer

"He

is

is,

indeed,

still

when

called thus,

had come upon him."

were, the incarnation of the Tistar-spirit.

in Tistar is understood the fertilizing of the earth

and

395

ZOROASTER.

watcher over the earth-blessmg in heaven, so Zoroaster

who by

understood as he

to be

earth and watches over

It

its safety.

almost certainty that thence

is

doctrine

his

may

is

the

fertilizes

be asserted with

derived the honour shown to

the dog in the cultus of the Persians.

We cannot agree with the researches made by Windischmann

on the other names which appear to have been in use about

Porphyry confounds him with the Chaldeans when

Zoroaster.

he says

"

In Babylon he met with the Chaldeans and came

to Zabratos "

by Aristoxenus
Pythagoras,

The

(read Zaratos).

teaching

the

as

Whenever

This dualism was

name

the

known

of Nazaratos occurs,

been

else

When

prophet Ezekiel.

to be the

means nothing

follower

zealous

of

therefore no reason

why

says,

Zoroaster, he

There

Zaratus, Zarades, or Zaras should not

Windischmann might,

Apuleius an offensive talker, but he

names Zaratus and Zarades

They

indeed, think

who

not the only one

is

considers Pythagoras a disciple of Zoroaster.

higher degree.

Clement

than that he had been his disciple.

be considered identical.

of the

taught

not to be read, for otherwise he could not have

is

Pythagoras has

is

who

can only be referred to the opinion held con-

as his peculiarity.

been held

Zaratas,

of

cerning the teaching of Zoroaster.

Zaratos

dualistic doctrine quoted

The formation

are interesting even in a

indicate that the sources from

which

they are drawn knew the name of Zarathustra, and as they

recognised in

itstra

or astra the sense of star, they obtained

by omitting ustra the abbreviation in Zarath.

It

seems to have escaped Windischmann that the narration

given by Plato of a

man

killed in battle, picked

battlefield, revived

after

of the

name

of Er, son of

up uninjured ten days

two days on the funeral pyre,

what he had seen in the other world,

Moses

Aram

of

Chorene as an Armenian

(from

Armenios,

later

whom Armenia

derives

is,

telling

indeed, given

tradition.
its

on the

name), was loved by

Semiramis on account of his beauty, but he rejected her

In the subsequent war Ara

fell

by

Ara, son of

in battle,

offer.

though the queen

396

APPEXDIX

had given orders

Moses

spare him.

to

though he disapproves of

it,

IV.

Chorene

of

and sorcery had brought Ara again

When

to life.

Alexandrinus, telling the story of Er (Ara), adds,

Zoroaster,"

it

which

of Zoroaster

There

army

is

knew

proves that the learned Father

Clement
" this

is

the legend

is left to us.

one account, that Turberatus, a warrior of the

of Aryasphad, killed Zoroaster with the sword.

relates that

relates,

by incantations

that the queen

Ahuramazda, in compensation

him immortal, had given

Zoroaster, a

moment

Another

having made

for not

before his death,

the gift of omniscience, so that he (Zoroaster) had seen the

joys of Paradise and

The accounts

of

hell,

Ahuramazda.

are told in Avesta and Bundehesh,

that Zoroaster had lived in Airiyana Vaeja,

the sources, Airyana

the country of

He

Ara

and gained an

home, indicate Aramean influences in

of his

When we

his teaching.

torments of

the

wisdom

insight into the

(cf.

in Armenia,

which

in the country of

i.e.

we have

Justi, p. 265),

a reference to

a land of springs.

is also

born near the river Daraja, flowing out of this Airyana.

is

This seems to be the Tigris, called justly the Master of the

Bara

rivers.

The name

It

may

that he

is

in

modern Persian

by the

as Tigris is explained

is

Tir,

ancients, just as Tir

the arrow,

is Sirius.

be added to the above notices on Er, son of Armenius,

Such a statement cannot be

called a Pamphylian.

without reason

but

it

seems that he became a

because he was TrdfKpiXo,

dilectissimits,

much

ird/n^vXo^^

beloved, as he

appears in the legend.

Pliny has a remarkable notice, that Zoroaster came from

Prokonnesos, which

Prox

signifies

enemy

of the

is

stag

serpent;

Eleusinian Mysteria.

had a stag in

the same as Elaphonnesos, isle of stags.

(hinnuhcs),
its

which

skin

is

a sun-animal, the

was the garment

of

the

Mithridates, calling himself Dionysus,

his coat of

arms on his

old symbolical image for light.

coins.

The horn was an

Alexander was called the

two-horned, because he wore the Persian Quareno, the divine

nimbus

of royalty.

Zoroaster

descends,

according to the

397

ZOROASTER.
out

legend,

Zoroaster

of

Babylonian

the

of

country

may have
still

appeared as a reformation of the

under Darius,

traces

The remembrance thereof

older.

The doctrine

light.

The enmity against the Magi,

Magismus.

which there are

of this

certainly

is

of

much

shadowed in the accounts

is

which we have of the contest of Semiramis with Zoroaster.

Ctesias tells of a

war of Ninus and Semiramis with Oxyartes,

whom

a king of the Bactrians, in

When

Zoroaster.

appears no identity with

later writers tell the

same of Zoroaster, we

can only explain that Babylonian enmity of the teaching of

Zoroaster was identified with this Bactrian as

Moses

as far as Bactria (Balkh).

is

had been contests between Assyria and

notice, that there

Bactria, not only with

the sword, but also witli different religions.

later legend, Zoroaster is killed

Balkh

(Bactra).

by Aryasp

The whole story

of the

According to a

at the conquest of

Bactrian origin of

Zoroaster arose out of this interpretation of Ctesias.

religious

phenomena were by

war

which she

Zoroaster, in

Arnobius says in his remarkable

beaten.

had proceeded

of Chorene tells of a

Median magus

of Semiramis with the

it

historical learning

Later

transferred

to these early days.

But

into

Zoroaster's

what times ought we

teaching,

to

and therefore

place the actual rise of

also

his

life

Windischmann attempts

already stated above that

have

to

make

Apuleius alone responsible for the statement that Pythagoras

had been a

get this notion

the same

But how should Apuleius

cannot be denied that Porphyry means

disciple of Zoroaster.
?

It

Clement Alexandrinus communicates the same in

his learned collections.

Other circumstances agree to make

it

likely that at the beginning of the sixth century before Christ

the

new movement had

placed with
empire.

arisen.

Kawe U^rawa

(Khosru),

Under Khosru the

paramount.

It is

Kyros

whom

who founds

services of

have

the Persian

Adar Gushasp become

That the restorer of the Zoroaster-cultus

is

called

a Darius, the son of Hystaspes, shows at least that the doctrine

which arose in the time

of

an Hystaspes cannot have been

398

APPENDIX

very

far

From

off.

IV.

we can

this

how

explain

not

only

Apuleius, but also later writers like Abulfarage and Eutychius

make him

The question

under Cambyses.

live

their sources do not refer to

is,

Cambyses the father

whether

of Cyrus,

as Cambyses, in the cuneiform inscriptions Kabuyija, is surely

Kave-U9a

the same as

= Kai

Agathias relates that

Kaus.

he lived under an Hystaspes, but does not know whether he

was the father

of Darius.

I should like to add another consideration, resting on the

spirit of

affording an

doctrine,

Zoroaster's

that Zoroaster lived in the

important proof

beginning of the sixth century.

It is not necessary to speak

here

high importance

of the

astronomy and astrology amongst both

of

Horoscopy and

Persians.

surely into high antiquity.

Upon him

flowed

Tistrya or Sirius.

the

the

His

in

belief

the

w^as

He was
must come

also

and

Chaldeans

man's nativity reach

Zoroaster

Star-soul.
life

Star- son.

animated

the

in contact with

Just as the star of the Magi appeared at

Dog-star.

Christ's birth, so likewise is for Zoroaster's appearance obtained

the division of a star period.

is,

The cycle

with the Phoenix period from which

things

predicted

are
of

festival

Isis

of

confounds

Sirius)

ran

through the whole cycle of the seasons.

to Censorinus, has determined that in

Dog-star

periods

When,

fell
e.g.,

period

began, which

into divisions in

indeed

that

1460

Ideler,

the

closed

says,

in

it

But similar

it differs.

Geminus

either.

(identical with

of a Dog-star period

He

according to Tacitus, well known.

year

139.

which the same was

the

years

according

1322

B.c.

But these
celebrated.

Tacitus relates that there had been Phoenix appear-

ances under Sesostris, Amasis, Ptolemaeus, and Tiberius, the

times which

lie

between are not

only portions of the same.

elapsed as
i.e.

280

much time

years, in

as

full

Phoenix periods, but

Between Amasis and Ptolemaeus

between Ptolemaeus and Tiberius,

round numbers the twenty-ninth portion of a

period of 7000, according to Chaerephon, or the hundred and

twenty-fifth portion of one taken at 35,000 years.

Half of a

399

ZOROASTER.

Dog-Star period

is

730, which, beginning at 1322, would bring

Eegarding this as the beginning

us to about the year 590.

would agree with

of Zoroaster, this

contemporaneous existence of Pythagoras.

bringing out the

The other

the given data, easily

all

notices about the life of Zoroaster teach us that these

hypotheses delivered to us by antiquity are not without reason,

and are more valuable than has hitherto been supposed.

These are three

the

5000

places in a highly valuable note, Zoroaster

Troy;

the destruction of

Eudoxus and

6000

the

years before

according to which

second,

same 6000 before the

Aristotle have fixed the

death of Plato

Hermodor

according to which

first,

the third, where Xanthus states Zoroaster's

years before the campaign of Xerxes.

be judged rightly, only

if

life

These dates can

one calculates them as cycles, having

The

formed a foundation for the teaching of Zoroaster.

events which with the Greeks were used as aids of calculation,

People saw in the Trojan

are in themselves very interesting.

and the Persian war

political

kind of revenge

the

visions,

as a

and the opinions about

Greek prophet, appear

In

Oriental.

effect,

1461

487
B.C.

348

139

and sixths of 243^

139

to A.D.

By

the

is

exact

just

of

The

B.C.

(730^

make him,

Zoroaster the

487

years), thirds of

For from

evident.

is

years,

epoch in

period, consisting

That they fixed the

years.
B.C.

as

pre-

Plato's

of Plato forms an

the death

years, is divided in halves

years,

regarded

his divine origin,

death of Plato correctly at 348

period.

both were

Greek West.

as counterpart

the Dog-star period, closing

of

combinations, the latter as a

former

the East with the

of

conflicts

for

i.e.

mention of the

a third of a Sirius

death of

Plato

it

appears that the above dates have reference to the Dog-star

When Hermodor

chronology.

before the fall of Troy, one

was

believed

in

ancient

us to have happened

1192

B.C.

417

places Zoroaster

times,

before

as

Clement

the

first

Four Dog-star periods amount

their beginning as the

5000

years

must remember that the same

commencement

to

Alex,

tells

Olympiad,

5844.

of Hermodor's

i.e.

Take

5000

400

APPENDIX

years,

and deduct 844 from

IV.

1192, you obtain

year of Plato's death, from which

is

also reckoned

139

till A.D.

The death

by the

348, the

evident that this date

is

it

From

Sirius cycle.

beginning

its

four periods and a-half have elapsed.

of Plato has a

nearer relation to the year

still

Half of

indicated above as the eventual time of Zoroaster.

the Sirius period beginning

348

to the death of Plato,

the

of

Plato

reckoned

entitled

an

as

When

epoch

by the hypothesis

Thence

591^.

falls in

elapse 243:|- years, just one-

B.C.,

period.

Sirius

sixth

1322

B.C.

in

one sees the death of

chronology,

this

one

is

being two-thirds of the Sirius

(it

When

period) to find therein Zoroaster, " the son of Sirius."

6000 years before the death

of Plato, they make use of a round number instead of 5844,
where, indeed, the accuracy of Hermodor is not shown. Such

Eudoxus and

Aristotle speak of

round numbers in chronological data are not uncommon, as

when

the divisions of the Phoenix period are given at

years, while they really

Very remarkable

6000

before

is

Xerxes'

amount

to

the statement by Xanthus,

campaign, anno

B.C.

richer knowledge of the current Persian

has shown

it

500

560.

who

gives

480, showing a

chronology.

probable that the Persian before

Ideler

Mohamed had

120 years.
month ran through

a cycle consisting of twelve intercalary periods of

In a cycle

of

1440

the whole year.

also

years the intercalary

This cycle stood to the Sirius cycle, having

1440-1461, or every
120 years counted 12 If in the Sirius
Xanthus has surely made use of this chronology.

365

days, but without intercalation

intercalary period of
cycle.

6000
made

50x120, and

480

is

the boundary whence four intercalary periods run

to

is

the star of the Magi.

you

like,

is

it

This

remarkable that

star,

place

must be considered not only

also as characterizing a

new

era,

and

it

exegetically

it

without interest that the reign of Cyrus

Phoenix cycle before

it.

where

as a heavenly star, but

could also not have

been without a reason that the Magi had seen

of the

B.C.

is

560

it.

It is not

years, a period

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Professor Cramer's Lexicon by Messrs T. &
qrvrv fhP TinWication of the Large English Edition of
(ISSo)
edition (1883), and a fourth in the present year
? Clark inSe yfar 187^ aLird"^
matter. Articles upon important words
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and
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Lexicon has grown edition by edition it is growing, and
rVifflL
Like mf=t ^Crmau woSof the kind, the
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Y giow
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vears to
^ c^^^^^^
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probably it!^"f^"
Supplement involving the somewhat difficult
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323
The present Supplement, extending over

'

aWy

-d

aS

"'"""ToVacilitate reference, a

new and

Supplevery copious Index of the entire work Lexicon and

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an?ca'^e"f;e1ueni%e^^^^^^^^^^ tX the Index. Here at
treated
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""^ll^'^'^'^^^^'^ additions is the consideration of the Hebrew

?:;Sg In
word

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is

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oriinal workT while of this we imagine it
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esteemed in Germany. It gives with
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out.'-G^warcitan.
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thit it deals with. . . . Dr.
of the Greek
student
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to
work
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It is hardlv possible to exaggerate
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i

'

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and

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New

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Many
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HISTORY OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES

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History
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Maps and Flans Professor Arnold Guyot.
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Volume IV.

Volume III.

HEBREWS TO REVELATION.

ROMANS TO PHILEMON.
A

II.

JOHN'S GOSPEL, and

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
ST.

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congratulate Dr. Schaff on the completion of this useful work, which we are now
able to commend, in its complete form, to English readers of the Scriptures. ... It will
be seen that we have a high opinion of this commentary, of the present volume, and also
of the whole work.
In this last respect it is perhaps of more uniform excellence than
any of its rivals, and in beauty of appearance it excels them all.' Church Bells.
'
External beauty and intrinsic worth combine in the work here completed. Good
paper, good type, good illustrations, good binding, please the eye, as accuracy and
thoroughness in matter of treatment satisfy the judgment. Everywhere the workmanship is careful, solid, harmonious.' Methodist Recorder.
'
There are few better commentaries having a similar scope and object ; indeed, within
the same limits, we do not know of one so good upon the whole of the New Testament.'
'

Literary

World.

We predict that this

work will take its place among the most popular of the century.
publishers have spared no pains to secure volumes that shall be worthy of the
theme, and of the scholarship of the age.' Freeman.
'

The

Just published, in crown Svo, jirice

2s. 6d.,

THE IGNATIAN EPISTLES

ENTIRELY SPURIOUS.
A Reply

to the

Right Rev. Dr. Lightfoot, Bishop of Durham.

By W.

D.

KILLEN,

D.D.,

principal of the PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL FACULTY, IRELAND.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

In demy Svo, price

9s.

THE OLD CATHOLIC CHURCH,

and

T.

T. Clark's Publications,

Just published, in crown 8vo, price

6d.,

3-9.

SECOND EDITION, REVISED

THE THEOLO.GY
AND

THEOLOGIANS OF SCOTLAND,
CHIEFLY OF THE

Being one of the 'Cunningham Lectures.'

By

JAMES WALKEE,

CONTENTS. Chap.

Caknwath.

D.D.,

Survey of the Field.

II. Predestination and ProviIII. The Atonement.
IV. The Doctrine of the Visible Church.
dence.
V. The Headship of Christ and Erastianism. VI. Present MisrepresentaI.

Do

VII.

of Scottish Religion.
Succession ?

tion

Presbyterians hold

Apostolical

* These
pages glow with fervent and eloquent rejoinder to the cheap scorn and
scurrilous satire poured out upon evangelical theology as it has been developed north
of the Tweed.'- British Quarterly Review.
'
do not wonder that in their delivery Dr. Walker's lectures excited great interest
we should have wondered far more if they had not done so.' Mr. Spurgeon in Sword
and Trowel.
'
As an able and eloquent vindication of Scottish theology, the work is one of very
great interest an interest by no means necessarily confined to theologians. The history
of Scotland, and the character of her people, cannot be understood without an intelligent
and S3^Tnpatlietic study of her theology, and in this Dr. Walker's little book will be

We

found to render imique assistance.'

Scotsman.

Just published, in demy

B>vo,

price lOs.

6rf.,

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER:

REVISED TEXT,
WITH

I^ntrotmction

antr

Commentarg.

By EOBEPtT JOHNSTONE,

LL.B., D.D.,

PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT LITERATURE AND EXEGESIS IN THE

UNITED PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE, EDINBURGH.
Just published, in demy 8vo, price

7s. 6d.,

STUDIES ON THE BOOK OF PSALMS.

THE STRUCTURAL CONNECTION OF THE BOOK OF
PSALMS, BOTH IN SINGLE PSALMS AND IN
THE PSALTER AS AN ORGANIC WHOLE.
By

JOHN FOEBES,

D.D., LL.D.,

EMERITUS-PROFESSOR OF ORIENTAL LANGUAGES, ABERDEEN.

A glorious book.
know not when we had such a treat as we have enjoyed in
reading this fine exposition. ... It is the production of a scholarly man, and cannot fail
to be an enrichment to the intelligent reader.' Methodist New Connexion Magazine.
'

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