Esther 5: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

On the third day Esther puts on her royal clothes and stands in the inner court; the king holds out his golden scepter and offers her up to half the kingdom. She asks only that the king and Haman come to a banquet she has prepared, and there she asks them both back for a second banquet the next day, when she will give her answer. Haman leaves pleased, but seeing Mordecai refuse to rise for him at the king's gate, he goes home angry and boasts of his wealth and honors. On the advice of his wife Zeresh and his friends, he has a gallows fifty cubits high built so he can ask the king to hang Mordecai on it.

Claim by Claim

1. 5:1
   • It was the third day.
   • Esther put on royal apparel.
   • Esther stood in the inner court of the king's house.
   • The inner court where she stood was opposite the king's house.
   • The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal house.
   • The king's throne faced the entrance of the house.
2. 5:2
   • The king saw Queen Esther standing in the court.
   • Esther found favor in the king's eyes.
   • The king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand.
   • Esther drew near.
   • Esther touched the top of the scepter.
3. 5:3
   • The king said to Esther, What is it, Queen Esther?
   • The king asked Esther what her request was.
   • The king said that up to half the kingdom would be given to her.
4. 5:4
   • Esther said, If it seems good to the king.
   • Esther asked that the king and Haman come that day to a banquet.
   • Esther said she had prepared the banquet for him.
5. 5:5
   • The king said to hurry Haman.
   • The king said this was so that Esther's word might be done.
   • The king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6. 5:6
   • The king spoke to Esther at the banquet of wine.
   • The king asked Esther what her petition was.
   • The king said her petition would be given to her.
   • The king asked Esther what her request was.
   • The king said that up to half the kingdom it would be done.
7. 5:7
   • Esther answered and said.
   • Esther began to name her petition and her request.
   • Esther's sentence breaks off without stating what the petition and request were.
8. 5:8
   • Esther said, If I have found favor in the sight of the king.
   • Esther said, If it seems good to the king to grant her petition and to perform her request.
   • Esther asked that the king and Haman come to a banquet she would prepare for them.
   • Esther said that tomorrow she would do as the king had said.
9. 5:9
   • Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart.
   • Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate.
   • Mordecai did not stand up before Haman.
   • Mordecai did not tremble or stir before Haman.
   • Haman was filled with rage against Mordecai.
10. 5:10
    • Haman restrained himself.
    • Haman came to his house.
    • Haman sent and brought in his friends.
    • Haman sent and brought in Zeresh his wife.
11. 5:11
    • Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches.
    • Haman recounted to them the multitude of his sons.
    • Haman recounted everything in which the king had made him great.
    • Haman recounted how the king had raised him above the officials and the servants of the king.
12. 5:12
    • Haman said further that Queen Esther brought no one but him with the king to the banquet she had prepared.
    • Haman said that tomorrow he was also invited to her along with the king.
13. 5:13
    • Haman said all this was worth nothing to him.
    • Haman said this was so at every time he saw Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.
    • Haman called Mordecai a Jew.
14. 5:14
    • Zeresh his wife and all his friends spoke to Haman.
    • They said a wooden structure fifty cubits high should be made.
    • They said Haman should speak to the king in the morning.
    • They said Mordecai should be hanged on it.
    • They said Haman should then go with the king to the banquet joyful.
    • The proposal seemed good to Haman.
    • Haman had the wooden structure made.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

5:1

The third day counts from the beginning of the three-day fast Esther had asked for. Going into the inner court without being summoned was the dangerous act it is here made out to be: under Persian court rules an unsummoned visitor could be put to death unless the king chose to spare them. Esther's royal clothes are her formal court dress, worn to present herself as queen rather than as a private petitioner.

5:2

The scepter was an ornamental rod the king held as a symbol of authority. Holding it out was the recognized signal that the visitor was accepted and would not be executed; touching its tip was the answering gesture of respect and thanks.

5:3

"Even half of my kingdom" was a stock royal expression of extravagant generosity, a way of saying "name anything." It was not a literal offer to divide the empire, and no one hearing it would have understood it that way.

5:4

The King James calls it a "banquet." These were long, fancy feasts. A private invitation from the queen was a huge honor for Haman.

5:6

A Persian feast had two stages: the meal, and then the drinking that followed it. The King James "banquet of wine" names this second stage, which was the customary point in the evening for raising serious requests.

5:8

The Hebrew of Esther's last sentence says only "tomorrow I will do as the king has said": that is, she will finally answer the question he has now asked twice. The wording is deliberately vague, and the story does not explain why she delays.

5:9

The gate of a Persian palace was a large building complex, not just a doorway; it served as the administrative center where officials sat to conduct business. Mordecai sitting there indicates he held some post in the king's service. His refusal to stand refers back to the king's order that everyone bow to Haman, which Mordecai had refused to obey.

5:11

A large number of sons was a recognized mark of standing in Persia, not merely a private satisfaction; ancient writers record that the Persian king gave honors to men with many sons. Haman lists it alongside his wealth and rank as part of his public importance.

5:13

The King James "availeth me nothing" means "is worth nothing to me." The word availeth has largely dropped out of English except in phrases like "to no avail."

5:14

A cubit was about eighteen inches, the length of a forearm, so fifty cubits is roughly seventy-five feet, an absurd height, the point being public display rather than practicality. The Hebrew word translated "gallows" means a tree or a wooden pole, and the execution described was probably impalement on a stake or the hanging up of the body afterward, in either case set high where everyone could see it.