10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:

11 Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and P to take the spoil of them for a prey,

12 Upon one day, in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.

13 The copy of the writing, for a commandment to be given in every province, was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

14 So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.

On the 13th of the month Adar the Jews destroy their enemies, and the governors of the provinces assist them, 1--5. They slay five hundred in Shushan, and kill the ten sons of Haman, but take no spoil, 6-10. The king is informed of the slaughter in Shushan, 11. He desires to know what Esther requests farther; who begs that the Jews may be permitted to act on the following day as they had done on the preceding, and that Haman's sons may be hanged upon the gallows, which is granted; and they slay three hundred more in Shushan, and in the other provinces seventy-five thousand. 12-16. A recapitulation of what was done; and of the appointment of the feast of Purim to be observed, through all their generations, every year, 17--23. Esther writes to confirm this appointment, 29-32.

Now

a

B. C. 452.

Coss. Rom.

OW in the twelfth month, that is, A. M. 3552 day of the same, when the king's com- c. Menenioet mandment and his decree drew near to P. Capitolino. be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them :)

d

e

2 The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.

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.

4 For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.

W

16 The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.

17 And in every province, and in every city, I Chap. 3. 12-m Chap. 1. L.-n Ch. 1. 22. & 3. 12 —o 1 Kings 21. 8. Ch. 3. 12, 13. p See Ch. 9. 10, 15, 16-r Ch. 3. 13, &c. & 9. 1.-8 Ch. 3. 14, 15.-t Heb. revealed. u Or, violet. See Ch. 3 15. Prov. 29. 2-w Paa. 97. 11.-x 1 Sam. 25. 8. Ch. 9. 19, 22-y Ps. 18. 43.—z Gen. 35. 5. Exod. 15. 16. Dent. 2. 25. & 11. 25. Ch. 9. 2.

Verse 9. The month Sivan] This answers to a part of our May and June.

Verse 10. On mules, camels, and young dromedaries] What these beasts were is difficult to say. The word rekesh, which we translate mules, signifies a swift chariothorse.

The strange word on ahashteranim, is probably a Persian word, but perhaps incurably corrupted. The most likely derivation is that of Bochart, from the Persian Lakkash, huge, large, rough, and aster, a mule; large mules.

The words “beney haramacim, the sons of mares, which we translate dromedaries, is supposed to signify mules, produced between the he ass and the mare, to distinguish them from those produced between the stallion and the ass. But there is really so much confusion about these matters and so little consent among learned men as to the signification of these words, and even the true knowledge of them is of such little importance; that we may well rest contented with such names as our modern translations have given us. They were, no doubt, the swiftest and hardiest beasts that the city or country could produce. Verse 11. To destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish] The same words as in Haman's decree; therefore, the Jews had as much authority to slay their enemies, as their enemies had to slay them.

Little ones and women] This was the ordinary custom, to destroy the whole family of those convicted of great crimes; and, whether this was right or wrong, it was the custom of the people, and according to the laws. Besides, as this edict was to give the Jews the same power against their enemies as they had by the former decree against them, and the women and children were there included; consequently, they must be included here.

Verse 14. The decree was given at Shushan] The contrary effect which it was to produce considered, this decree was in every respect like the former. See chap. iii.

Verse 15. Blue and white] Probably, stripe interchanged with stripe; or blue faced and bordered with white fur. A great crown of gold] A large turban, ornamented with gold, jewels, &c.

Fine linen and purple] See on Gen. xli. 42. The buts, here mentioned, is most probably the same with the

6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.

7 And Parshandatha,and Dalphon, and Aspatha, 8 And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

a Ch. 8. 12-b Ch. 3. 13.-e 28ain. 22. 41-d Chap. 8. 11. & Ver. 16. -e Psa. 71. 13, 24.- Chap. 8. 17.-g Heb. those which did the business that belonged to the king-h 2 Sain. 3. 1. 1 Chron. 11. 9. Prov. 4. 18-i Heb. according to their will

byssus of the ancients; supposed to be the beautiful tuft or beard, growing out of the side of the pinna longa, a very large species of muscle, found on the coasts of the Mediterranean sea; of which there is a pair of gloves in the British museum. This byssus I have described elsewhere. Shushan-was glad] Haman was too proud to be popular; few lamented his fall.

Verse 17. Many-became Jews, for fear] These were a species of converts not likely to bring much honour to true religion but the sacred historian states the simple fact. They did profess Judaism for fear of the Jews, whether they continued steady in that faith or not.

It is only the Gospel which will not admit of coercion for the propagation and establishment of its doctrines. It is a spiritual system, and can be propagated only by spiritual influence. As it proclaims holiness of heart and life, which nothing but the Spirit of God can produce; so it is the Spirit of God alone, that can persuade the understanding, and change the heart. If the kingdom of Christ were of this world, then would his servants fight. But it is not from hence. NOTES ON CHAPTER IX.

Verse 1. Now in the twelfth month] What a number of providences, and none of them apparently of an extraordinary nature, concurred to preserve a people so signally, and, to all human appearance, inevitably doomed to destruction! None are ever too low for God to lift up: too high for God to cast down. Must not these heathens have observed, that the uncontrollable hand of an Almighty Being had worked in behalf of the Jews! And must not this have had a powerful tendency to discredit the idolatry of the country?

Verse 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 ver. 5.

Verse 6. And in Shushan] It is strange that in this city, where the king's mind must have been so well known, there should be found five hundred persons to rise up in hostility against those whom they knew the king befriended!

9 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,

10 The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they ; 1 but on the spoil laid they not their hand.

ni

11 On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.

12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now, "what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request farther? and it shall be done.

13 Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to-morrow also according unto this day's decree, and Plet Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.

14 And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.

b

21 To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,

22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of gending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. 23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them; 24 Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to 'consume them, and to destroy them;

25 But when ↳ Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

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16 But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces "gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey. 17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 18 But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of a sending portions one to another.

2

20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,

k Ch. 5. 11. Job 18. 19. & 27. 13, 14, 15. Psa. 21. 10.-J See Ch. 8. 11.-m Heb. eame.-n Ch. 5. 6. & 7. 2-0 Ch. 8. 11-p Heb. let nen hang. -r 2 Sam. 21. 6, 9. Ver. 2 & Ch. 8. 11-t Ver. 10-a Ver. 2 & Ch. 8. 11. See Ch. 8. 11.-w Heb. in it-x Ver. 11, 15.-y Deut. 16. 11, 14.-z Ch. 8. 17.-a Ver. 22. Neh. 8. 10, 12. b See 2 Mac. 15. 36.

Verse 10. The ten sons of Haman] Their names are given above. And it is remarked here, and in ver. 16. where the account is given of the number slain in the provinces, that the Jews laid no hand on the spoil. They stood for their lives, and gave full proof that they sought their own personal safety, and not the property of their enemies; though the decree in their favour gave them authority to take the property of all those who were their adversaries, chap. viii. 11.

Verse 13. Let Haman's sons be hanged] They had been slain the preceding day; and now she requests that they may be exposed on posts or gibbets, as a terror to those who sought the destruction of the Jews.

Verse 15. And slew three hundred men] Esther had probably been informed by Mordecai, that there were still many enemies of the Jews who sought their destruction, who had escaped the preceding day; and, therefore, begs that this second day be added to the former permission. This being accordingly granted, they found three hundred more, in all eight hundred. And thus Susa was purged of all their enemies.

Ver. 18. The Jews-assembled-on the thirteenth-and on the fourteenth] These two days they were employed in slaying their enemies: and they rested on the fifteenth. Verse 19. The Jews of the villages] They joined that to the preceding day, and made it a day of festivity, and of sending portions to each other; that is, the rich sent portions of the sacrifices slain on this occasion to the poor, that they also might be enabled to make the day a day of festivity; that as the sorrow was general, so also might the joy be. It is worthy of remark, that the ancient Itala or Antehieronymian version of this book omits the whole of these nineteen verses.

Verse 20. Mordecai wrote these things] It has been 1030

cerning this matter, and which had come unto them, 27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time, every year;

28 And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them ℗ perish from their seed.

29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purin. 30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,

31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.

e Ps. 30. 11-d Ver. 19. Neh. 8. 11.- Chap. 3. 6, 7-í Heb crush ng klets when she came.-h Ver. 13, 14. Chap 7. 5, &c. & 8. 3, &c. -i (hp 7 10" Psa 7. 16-k That is, lot. Ver. 20-m Chap. 8. 17. Isai. 55, 3, 6. Zh. 2. 11. n Heb. prazo Heb. paee-p Heb. be ended.-r Ch. 2 15.—a llet sil strength. t See Ch. 8. 10. & Ver. 20.-u Ch. 1. 1.-v Heb. for their souls. -w Ch. 4. 36

supposed that thus far that part of the Book of Esther, which was written by Mordecai, extends: what follows, to the end, was probably added either by Ezra, or the men of the great synagogue; though what is said here may refer only to the letters sent by Mordecai to the Jews of the provinces. From this to the end of the chapter is nothing else than a recapitulation of the chief heads of the preceding history, and an account of the appointment of an anal feast, called the feast of Purim, in commemoration of their providential deliverance from the malice of Haman.

Verse 23. The Jews undertook to do as they had begun] They had already kept the fifteenth day, and some of them in the country the fourteenth also, as a day of rejoicing: Mordecai wrote to them to bind themselves and their successors, and all their proselytes, to celebrate this as an annual feast throughout all their generations; and this they undertook to do. And it has been observed among them, in all places of their dispersion, from that day to the present time, without any interruption.

Verse 26. They called these days Purim] That is, from S pari, the lot: because, as we have seen, Haman cast lots to find what month, and what day of the month, would be most favourable for the accomplishment of his bloody designs against the Jews. See on ch. iii. 7.; and for the manner in which this feast is now kept, see at the end of the book.

And of that which they had seen] The first letter to which this second refers, must be that sent by Mordecai himself. See ver. 20.

Verse 29. Esther-wrote with all authority] Esther and Mordecai had the king's license so to do; and their own authority was great and extensive.

Verse 31. As they had decreed for themselves and for their seed] There is no mention of their receiving the approbation of any high priest, nor of any authority beyond

that of Mordecai and Esther: the king could not join in such a business, as he had nothing to do with the Jewish religion, that not being the religion of the country.

Verse 32. The decree of Esther confirmed these matters] It was received by the Jews universally with all respect, and they bound themselves to abide by it.

The Vulgate gives a strange turn to this verse: Et omnia quæ libri hujus, qui vocatur Esther, historia continentur ; "And all things which are contained in the history of this book, which is called Esther."

The Targum says, And by the word of Esther all these things relative to Purim were confirmed; and the roll was transcribed in this book. The Syriac is the same as the Hebrew, and the Septuagint in this place not much different.

NOTES ON CHAPTER X. Verse 1. Laid a tribute upon the land] On the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of which we have already heard.

The isles of the sea.] Probably the isles of the Egean sea, which were conquered by Darius Hystaspes. Calmet supposes that this Hystaspes is the Ahasuerus of Esther. Verse 2. The book of the Chronicles-of Media and Persia] The Persians have ever been remarkable for keeping exact chronicles of all public events. Their Tareekhs, which are compositions of this kind, are still very numerous, and indeed very important.

Verse 3. Was next unto King Ahasuerus] He was his prime minister; and, under him, was the governor of the whole empire.

The Targum is extravagant in its encomiums upon Mordecai: "All the kings of the earth feared and trembled before him he was as resplendent as the evening star among the stars; and was as bright as Aurora beaming forth in the morning; and he was chief of the Jews." Seeking the wealth of his people] Studying to promote the Jewish interest to the utmost of his power.

Speaking peace to all his seed.] Endeavouring to settle their prosperity on such a basis, that it might be for ever permanent. Here the Hebrew text ends: but in the ancient Vulgate, and in the Greek, ten verses are added to this chapter, and six whole chapters besides; so that the number of chapters in Esther amounts to sixteen. A translation of these may be found in the Apocrypha, bound up with the Sacred Text, in most of our larger English Bibles. On any part of this work it is not my province to add any comment. THIS is the last of the historical books of the Old Testament; for, from this time to the birth of Christ they had no inspired writers; and the interval of their history must be sought among the Apocryphal writers, and other historians who have written on Jewish affairs. The most complete supplement to this history will be found in that most excellent work of Dean Prideaux, entitled The Old and New Testament connected in the History of the Jetes and neighbouring nations, from the declension of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah to the time of CHRIST, 4 vols. 8vo. 1725. The editions prior to this date are not so complete. I shall place a summary of the Jewish history, from the time of Esther to the Incarnation, at the end of the book. We have already seen what the feast of PURIM means, and why it was instituted: nothing remains but that we show the manner in which it is celebrated among the Jews in the present time, which is probably very little, if any thing, different from the manner in which it was cele

brated from the time of its institution.

The day before the feast the Jews observe as a fast, because on this day the fathers fasted when they were threatened with utier destruction by Haman, and when they were gathering together to stand for their lives. The two following days are merely bacchanalian, or days of high feasting, drinking, and mirth; for, on these days, they hold it lawful to drink till they are unable to discern between the curses on Haman, and the blessings on Mordecai. The chassan reads the whole Book of Esther, not out of a printed copy, but from a roll, generally containing this book alone. All, men, women, and children, who are able to attend, are required to come to this feast, and to join in the reading, for the better preservation of the memory of this important fact. When the roll is

As

unfolded, the chassan says, "Blessed be God, the King of the World, who hath sanctified us by his precepts, and commanded us to read the Megillah! Blessed be God, who in those days worked miracles for our fathers!" often as the name of Haman occurs, all the auditory cry out let his name be blotted out! May the memory of the wicked rot! The children at the same time hissing, and striking loudly on the forms with little wooden hammers, made for the purpose.

When the reader comes to the viith, viiith, and ixth verses of the ixth chapter, where the names of Haman's ten sons occur, he pronounces them with great rapidity, and in one breath, to intimate that they were all hanged, and expired in the same moment. In most MSS. and printed editions of the Book of Esther the ten names, contained in the verses already mentioned, are written under each other in ten lines, no other word being connected with them. The reason of this is, to exhibit the manner in which they were hanged, viz. on a pole fifty cubits, that is seventyfive feet high: each of the brothers being immediately suspended, the one under the other, in one perpendicular line. When the chassan has finished the reading, all cry aloud, Cursed be Haman! Blessed be Mordecai! Cursed be Zeresh! Blessed be Esther! Cursed be all idolaters! Blessed be all the Israelites! And blessed likewise be Harbonah, at whose instance Haman was hanged!

On this feast they send portions to each other, and particularly to the poor, that they may be able to partake of the general happiness.

To excite and increase mirth, the men put on the women's apparel, and the women the men's; for, though this is positively forbidden by the law, yet they consider it innocent on this occasion, as it is done only to increase the festivity.

In former times they made a man of straw, which they called Haman, put it on a cross, and burnt both. To this the Targum refers. It was discovered at last that this was intended, indirectly, to cast contempt on the Christian religion, Haman, the man of straw on the cross, representing our blessed Lord crucified. This part of the ceremony the emperors Justinian and Theodosius ordered them to discontinue, on pain of losing all their secular privileges: and from that time this part of the ceremony has been discontinued.

In some places they bring a large stone to the door of the synagogue, on which the name of Haman is written; and when in the course of the reading that name occurs, they beat on this fictitious Haman, with stones, till they break it all to pieces.

It is said, that the disorders committed in the synagogues on the feast of Purim are so great, that the joiners are sure to have considerable labour at the conclusion, to repair the damages done among the seats, &c. in the synagogue. It seems, on the whole, that the feast is by no means a religious one; and that there is not one act performed in it that has any tendency to enlighten the understanding or improve the heart. Indeed, the Jews, bad as they might have been before the feast of Purim, are much less children of Abraham at the conclusion than they were before.

For farther information on this subject, should the reader think he has not got enough, I beg him to refer to Buxtorf, Leusden, Stehlin, and Calmet's Dictionary, article Pur. Masoretic Notes on the Book of Esther. Number of verses, 167. Middle verse, chap. v. ver. 7.

Sections 5.

The following excellent remarks on the history of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity I borrow from Dr. John Taylor's scheme of Scripture Divinity; and make no doubt I shall have the thanks of every reader whose thanks are worth having.

"After the Babylonish captivity, the Jews no more lapsed into idolatry; but remained steady in the acknowledgment and worship of the one living and true God. Even then they fell into new ways of perverting religion, and the wise and holy intentions of the divine law:-1st, By laying all the stress on the external and less momentous parts of it, while they neglected the weighty and substantial, true holiness of heart and life. Mankind are too easily drawn into this error: while they retain a sense of reli