Esther 8:9 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Esther 8:9
Then were the king’s scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.
a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
scribes
סָפַרçâphar
H5608
properly
called
וַיִּקָּרְא֣וּvai.yi.ka.re.'U
H7121
to call out to (i.e. properly · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
time
בָּֽעֵתba.'et-
H6256
time · preposition with the article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
third
הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֜יha.she.li.Shi
H7992
third · definite article + ordinal number, masculine singular absolute
month
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 1:22 For he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their lan…
Esther 1:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and…
2 Kings 18:26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for…
Esther 3:12-13 Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commande…
Daniel 4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
Daniel 6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;
1 Corinthians 14:9-11 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Esther 8:3-14
Haman, the chief enemy of the Jews, was hanged, Mordecai and Esther, their chief friends, were sufficiently protected; but many others there were in the king's dominions that hated the Jews and desired their ruin, and to their rage and malice all the rest of that people lay exposed; for the edict against them was still in force, and, in pursuance of it, their enemies would on the day appointed fall upon them, and they would be deemed as rebels against the king and his government if they should offer to resist and take up arms in their own defence. For the preventing of this,
I. The queen here makes intercession with much affection and importunity. She came, a second time, uncalled into the k…
AHASUERUS GRANTS TO THE JEWS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. (Est 8:7-14)
Write . . . in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring--Hence it is evident that the royal ring had a seal in it, which, being affixed to any document, authenticated it with the stamp of royal authority.
which . . . may no man reverse--This is added as the reason why he could not comply with the queen's request for a direct reversal or recall of Haman's letters; namely, that the laws of the Medes and Persians, once passed, were irrevocable.
Adam Clarke on Esther 8:9
The month Sivan - This answers to a part of our May and June.
John Gill on Esther 8:9
Then were the king's scribes called at that time,.... As they were to write the former letter, Esther 3:12,
in the third month, that is the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; which answers to part of May, and part of June. This was two months and ten days after the writing of the former letters; so long the Jews had been in distress by reason of them, and was a just rebuke upon them for not returning to their own land when they might, as well as for other sins:
and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews. Mordecai dictated to the scribes, and ordered what they should write; and which were sent to the Jews in the first place, partly to ease them…
The Church Fathers
The month of Sivan, which is the third after Nisan among the Jews, and is called Thessari among the Greeks, is named June among Latin peoples. On the twenty-third day of this month new letters were written according to Mordecai's dictation in order to invalidate the old letters of Haman. And the meaning of this event is quite clear, because the doctrine of the gospel was founded by the writers of the New Testament through our Lord Jesus Christ so that the faith of the Holy Trinity might be contained in it in its fullest form, and the supreme perfection might be shown to lie in two principles of charity that encompass the entire Decalogue. And the Scripture itself, through mounted couriers, that is the holy preachers, was provided to the whole world, which is signified by the one hundred twenty provinces that constituted the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
The month of Sivan, which comes third after Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, is the same one the Greeks call Thessaroi and the Romans Junius. On the twenty-third day of that month new letters were dictated by Mordecai in order to refute the earlier letters of Haman. The significance of this is obvious—the teaching of the Gospel was framed by the writers of the New Testament, under the direction of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that it would fully encompass the faith in the holy Trinity, and the absolute perfection of the entire Decalogue would be proven in the two commandments of charity. And by means of the couriers—i.e. the sacred preachers—the Scripture itself is directed toward the entire world, which is symbolized by the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces that made up the realm of Ahasuerus, since the number ten when multiplied by twelve makes one hundred and twenty; and if we were to add another seven to this, it would allow us to complete the entire sum. In the same way, the true custodianship of the Decalogue within the apostolic tradition was imparted to all parts of the world through the sacred teachers; whereas by the grace of the sevenfold Spirit it was spread through the hearts of the faithful. It is likewise of mystical significance that these letters which were sent in the name of the king and were sealed with his ring were, we are told, written according to the scripts and the languages of each and every nation, so that each nation might be able to read and to understand; that is, the teaching of the Gospels was ordained in such a way that its first teachers—who had been taught through the grace of the Holy Spirit—spoke first in the words of all the languages, and then the word of faith was seeded by their ministry through all parts of the world. Hence we read in the Acts of the Apostles that in the Cenacle of Zion, the Paraclete of the Spirit came over the one hundred and twenty believers in the form of a fire and enabled them to declare in the tongues of all the nations the marvels of God, so that those who gathered to listen to them would all be struck dumb by this miracle.
Dictionary and topics
Captivities Of The Jews — The present article is confined to the forcible deportation of the Jew; from their native land, and their forcible detention, under the Assyrian or Babylonian kings. Captives of Israel.—The kingdom…
Deputy — In 1 Kings 22:47, means a prefect; one set over others. The same Hebrew word is rendered “officer;” i.e., chief of the commissariat appointed by Solomon (1 Kings 4:5, etc.). In Esther 8:9; 9:3 (R.V.,…
India — Occurs only in Esther 1:1 and 8:9, where the extent of the dominion of the Persian king is described. The country so designated here is not the peninsula of Hindustan, but the country surrounding the…
Lieutenant — (only in A.V. Esther 3:12; 8:9; 9:3; Ezra 8:36), a governor or viceroy of a Persian province having both military and civil power. Correctly rendered in the Revised Version “satrap.”
Month — Among the Egyptians the month of thirty days each was in use long before the time of the Exodus, and formed the basis of their calculations. From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law the…
Prince — The title generally applied to the chief men of the state. The “princes of the provinces” (1 Kings 20:14) were the governors or lord-lieutenants of the provinces. So also the “princes” mentioned in…
Sivan — A Persian word (Assyr, sivanu, “bricks”), used after the Captivity as the name of the third month of the Jewish year, extending from the new moon in June to the new moon in July (Esther 8:9).
Tatnai — Gift, a Persian governor (Heb. pehah, i.e., “satrap;” modern “pasha”) “on this side the river”, i.e., of the whole tract on the west of the Euphrates. This Hebrew title pehah is given to governors of…
Babylon · .At the time of Ahasuerus — .At the time of Ahasuerus
India · Probably the eastern limit of the kingdom of Ahasuerus — Probably the eastern limit of the kingdom of Ahasuerus
בַּחֹ֨דֶשׁ
ba.Cho.desh
H2320
the new moon · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
month
חֹ֣דֶשׁCho.desh
H2320
the new moon · noun, common masculine singular construct
Sivan
סִיוָ֗ןsi.Van
H5510
Sivan · proper noun, a title
three
בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁ֣הbish.lo.Shah
H7969
three · preposition + cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
seven (as the sacred full one) · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
provinces
מְדִינָ֔הme.di.Nah
H4082
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
province
מְדִינָ֤הme.di.Nah
H4082
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
writing
כִּכְתָבָ֔הּkikh.ta.Vah
H3791
something written · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
people
וְעַ֥םve.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
language
כִּלְשֹׁנ֑וֹkil.sho.No
H3956
the tongue (of man or animals) · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Jews
הַיְּהוּדִ֔יםhai.ye.hu.Dim
H3064
a Jehudite (i.e. Judaite or Jew) · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
writing
כִּכְתָבָ֖םkikh.ta.Vam
H3791
something written · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
language
וְכִלְשׁוֹנָֽםve.khil.sho.Nam
H3956
the tongue (of man or animals) · conjunction + preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
These letters were prepared in the same manner as those of Haman (Est 3:12-15), on the 23rd day of the third month, the month Sivan, and sent into all the provinces. "And it was written according to all that Mordochai commanded." They were sent to the Jews and to the satraps, etc., of the whole wide realm from India to Ethiopia (see Est 1:1), while those of Haman had been issued only to the satraps, etc. The rest coincides with Est 3:12. ויּכתּב, and he (Mordochai) wrote. To show the speed with which the letters were despatched, (messengers) "on horseback, on coursers, government coursers, the sons of the stud," is added to הרצים בּיד. רכשׁ is a collective, meaning swift horses, coursers; co…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Month · 3. Sivan: (June) — 3. Sivan: (June)
Months · Names of the twelve: Third, Sivan — Names of the twelve: Third, Sivan
Ring · Given as a token — Given as a token
Scribe (S) · The king’ s secretary (official recordist) — The king’ s secretary (official recordist)
Secretary (Recordist) · 4:3; — 4:3;
Sivan · Third month (June) — Third month (June)
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).
