Esther 9:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Esther 9:3
And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.
a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine plural construct
provinces
הַמְּדִינ֜וֹתha.me.di.Not
H4082
properly · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
lieutenants
וְהָאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנִ֣יםve.ha.'a.chash.dar.pe.Nim
H323
a satrap or governorof amain province (of Persia) · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
deputies
וְהַפַּח֗וֹתve.ha.pa.Chot
H6346
a prefect (of a city or small district) · conjunction + definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
officers
וְעֹשֵׂ֤יve.'o.Sei
H6213
to do or make · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
king
לַמֶּ֔לֶךְla.Me.lekh
H4428
a king · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
helped
מְנַשְּׂאִ֖יםme.na.se.'Im
H5375
to lift · verb, piel active participle, masculine plural absolute
Jews
הַיְּהוּדִ֑יםhai.ye.hu.Dim
H3064
a Jehudite (i.e. Judaite or Jew) · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
fear
פַּֽחַדpa.chad-
H6343
a (sudden) alarm (properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
Mordecai
מָרְדֳּכַ֖יma.re.do.Khai
H4782
Mordecai · proper noun, a man's name
fell
נָפַ֥לna.Fal
H5307
to fall · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
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
Ezra 8:36 And they delivered the king’s commissions unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the p…
Esther 3:2-6 And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mo…
Esther 3:12 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…
Esther 8:5 And said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his…
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 i…
Daniel 3:2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsello…
Daniel 6:1-2 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Esther 9:1-19
We have here a decisive battle fought between the Jews and their enemies, in which the Jews were victorious. Neither side was surprised; for both had notice of it long enough before, so that it was a fair trial of skill between them. Nor could either side call the other rebels, for they were both supported by the royal authority.
I. The enemies of the Jews were the aggressors. They hoped, notwithstanding the latter edict, to have power over them, by virtue of the former (Est 9:1), and made assaults upon them accordingly; they formed themselves into bodies, and joined in confederacy against them, to seek their hurt, Est 9:2. The Chaldee paraphrase says that none appeared against the Jews but…
The Jews gathered themselves . . . no man could withstand them--The tables were now turned in their favor; and though their enemies made their long meditated attack, the Jews were not only at liberty to act on the defensive, but through the powerful influence enlisted on their side at court together with the blessing of God, they were everywhere victorious.
the fear of them fell upon all people--This impression arose not alone from the consciousness of the all-powerful vizier being their countryman, but from the hand of God appearing so visibly interposed to effect their strange and unexpected deliverance.
Adam Clarke on Esther 9:3
And all the rulers of the provinces - Mordecai being raised to the highest confidence of the king, and to have authority over the whole realm, these officers assisted the Jews, no doubt, with the troops under their command, to overthrow those who availed themselves of the former decree to molest the Jews. For it does not appear that the Jews slew any person who did not rise up to destroy them. See Est 9:5.
John Gill on Esther 9:3
And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, blessed the Jews,.... Countenanced them and encouraged them, and gave them all assistance in their power; extolled them, as the word signifies, lifted them up, and spoke well of them, or praised them, as the Targum:
because the fear of Mordecai was upon them; he being now chief minister, they might fear, if they took part with the enemies of the Jews against them, they might be turned out of their places.
The Church Fathers
"All the officials of the provinces, the satraps and the governors, and the royal officials were supporting the Jews." Certainly the praiseworthy action of the holy teachers and the strength of their virtue have contributed great honor and respect to the multitude of the faithful. Therefore, in the Acts of the Apostles, in which we read how the first preachers of the gospel labored to teach the word of God and cared for it, it is written, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles."
That is, the praiseworthy actions of our sacred teachers and the power of the virtues gave great honor and reverence to the mass of the faithful. Hence in the Acts of the Apostles, where we read that these first preachers of the Gospel were trying to teach and to care for the word of God, it is written: "For they were devoted to the teachings of the apostles, and to breaking bread together, and to their prayers. Every soul was full of awe, and many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles in Jerusalem, and there was great fear among them all" (Acts 2). And likewise: "Many signs and wonders were being performed among the people by the apostles; and they were all together in the portico of Solomon. But none of the others dared to join them, though the people were paying them homage" (Acts 5).
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
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.,…
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.”
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…
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).
Keil & Delitzsch on Esther 9:1-10
The Jews avenged of their enemies. - Est 9:1. In the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the same - the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities, etc. Several parenthetical clauses succeed this definition of time, so that the statement of what then took place does not follow till נקהלוּ, Est 9:2. These parenthetical clauses state not only the meaning of the day just named, but also give a general notice of the conflict between the Jews and their enemies. The first runs: "when the word of the king drew nigh and his decree to be done," i.e., when the execution of the royal decree approached. The second is: "on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have the mastery of them,…
