Esther 7:8

Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
king	וְהַמֶּ֡לֶךְ ve.ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
returned	שָׁב֩ shav	H7725	to turn back (hence · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
palace	הַבִּיתָ֜ן ha.bi.Tan	H1055	a palace (i.e. large house) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
garden	מִגִּנַּ֨ת mi.gi.Nat	H1594	a garden · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
place	בֵּ֣ית beit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
banquet	מִשְׁתֵּ֣ה mish.Teh	H4960	drink · noun, common masculine singular construct
wine	הַיַּ֗יִן hai.Ya.yin	H3196	wine (as fermented) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Haman	וְהָמָן֙ ve.ha.Man	H2001	Haman · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
fallen	נֹפֵ֔ל no.Fel	H5307	to fall · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
bed	הַמִּטָּה֙ ha.mi.Tah	H4296	a bed (as extended) forsleeping or eating · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Esther	אֶסְתֵּ֣ר 'es.Ter	H635	Ester · proper noun, a woman's name
said	וַיֹּ֣אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
king	הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
force	לִכְבּ֧וֹשׁ likh.Bo.osh	H3533	to tread down · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
queen	הַמַּלְכָּ֛ה ha.mal.Kah	H4436	a queen · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
house	בַּבָּ֑יִת ba.Ba.yit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
word	הַדָּבָ֗ר ha.da.Var	H1697	a word · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
out	יָצָא֙ ya.Tza'	H3318	to go (causatively · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
king’s	הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
mouth	מִפִּ֣י mi.Pi	H6310	the mouth (as the means of blowing) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
covered	חָפֽוּ cha.Fu	H2645	to cover · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
Haman’s	הָמָ֖ן ha.Man	H2001	Haman · proper noun, a man's name
face	וּפְנֵ֥י u.fe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Esther 1:6 Where were white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds we…
Esther 6:12 And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.
Job 9:24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?
Isaiah 22:17 Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
Isaiah 49:23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth,…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 7:7–end

Here, I. The king retires in anger. He rose from table in a great passion, and went into the palace garden to cool himself and to consider what was to be done, Est 7:7. He sent not for his seven wise counsellors who knew the times, being ashamed to consult them about the undoing of that which he had rashly done without their knowledge or advice; but he went to walk in the garden awhile, to compare in his thoughts what Esther had now informed him of with what had formerly passed between him and Haman. And we may suppose him, 1. Vexed at himself, that he should be such a fool as to doom a guiltless nation to destruction, and his own queen among the rest, upon the base suggestions of a self-see…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 7:8

Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was--We do not know the precise form of the couches on which the Persians reclined at table. But it is probable that they were not very different from those used by the Greeks and Romans. Haman, perhaps, at first stood up to beg pardon of Esther; but driven in his extremity to resort to an attitude of the most earnest supplication, he fell prostrate on the couch where the queen was recumbent. The king returning that instant was fired at what seemed an outrage on female modesty. they covered Haman's face--The import of this striking action is, that a criminal is unworthy any longer to look on the face of the king, and hence, when malefactors are…

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Adam Clarke on Esther 7:8

Will he force the queen - On the king's return he found him at the queen's knees; and, professing to think that he intended to do violence to her honor, used the above expressions; though he must have known that, in such circumstances, the thought of perpetrating an act of this kind could not possibly exist. They covered Haman's face - This was a sign of his being devoted to death: for the attendants saw that the king was determined on his destruction. When a criminal was condemned by a Roman judge, he was delivered into the hands of the serjeant with these words: I, lictor; caput obnubito, arbori infelici suspendito. "Go, serjeant; cover his head, and hang him on the accursed tree."

The Church Fathers

Haman's appeal to Queen Esther was considered by King Ahasuerus to be an act of deceit. Indeed, when the day of judgment is about to come, the petition of the wicked is no longer a prayer but a source of irritation. This is what is written in the psalm: "When he is tried, let him be found guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin." Therefore the request is made for the oppression of those who previously oppressed the humble because the time of retribution has come. Then, after they are condemned, they are covered with the shame of their sins, as is written, "The confusion of their face will cover them," when they are dragged to the darkness of hell to be rewarded with retribution suitable to their works.
— Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 10

That is, Haman's attempt to beseech Queen Esther was regarded by King Ahasuerus as a ruse, because when the day of judgment arrives the petitions of the wicked are seen not as prayer but as provocation. Hence it is written in the Psalm: "When he is judged let him leave condemned, and let his prayer become sin" (Psalms 109). For it is then that the oppression with which they were crushing the humble is thrown back in their faces, because the time of recompense is at hand; for then those who have been condemned for their sins are covered in shame, as it is written: "The confusion of their faces will cover them," when they are dragged off to the depths of Hell to be given a reward that suits their actions.
— Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Banquet — A feast provided for the entertainment of a company of guests (Esther 5; 7; 1 Pet. 4:3); such as was provided for our Lord by his friends in Bethany (Matt. 26:6; Mark 14:3; comp. John 12:2). These…
Esther — The queen of Ahasuerus, and heroine of the book that bears her name. She was a Jewess named Hadas’sah (the myrtle), but when she entered the royal harem she received the name by which she henceforth…
Readings, Select · ESTHER’ S TRIUMPH — ESTHER’ S TRIUMPH

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Esther 7:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 7:7–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 7:8

Adam Clarke on Esther 7:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Esther 7:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 7:7–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 7:8

Adam Clarke on Esther 7:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Esther 7:8

Keil & Delitzsch on Esther 7:7–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Esther 7:8

Rashi on Esther 7:8