Esther 3:2

2 All the king's servants at the King's Gate would kneel and bow down before Haman, because the king had so ordered. But Mordekhai would neither kneel nor bow down to him.

Esther 3:2 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 3:2

And the king's servants that were in the king's gate
Or court, all his courtiers; for it cannot be thought they were all porters, or such only that

bowed and reverenced Haman;
gave him divine honours, as to a deity; for such were given to the kings of Persia F11, and might be given to their favourites, and seems to be the case; for, though Haman might not erect a statue of himself, or have images painted on his clothes, as the Targum and Aben Ezra, for the Persians did not allow of statues and images F12; yet he might make himself a god, as Jarchi, and require divine worship, with leave of the king, which he had, yea, an order for it:

for the king had so commanded concerning him;
which shows that it was not mere civil honour and respect, for that in course would have been given him as the king's favourite and prime minister by all his servants, without an express order for it; this, therefore, must be something uncommon and extraordinary:

but Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence;
which is a further proof that it was not mere civil honour that was required and given; for that the Jews did not refuse to give, and that in the most humble and prostrate manner, and was admitted by them, ( 1 Samuel 24:8 ) ( 2 Samuel 14:4 ) ( 18:28 ) ( 1 Kings 1:16 ) , nor can it be thought that Mordecai would refuse to give it from pride and sullenness, and thereby risk the king's displeasure, the loss of his office, and the ruin of his nation; but it was such kind of reverence to a man, and worship of him, which was contrary to his conscience, and the law of his God.


FOOTNOTES:

F11 Vid. Salden. Otia Theolog. l. 3. Exercitat. 1. sec. 4, 5.
F12 Laert. Prooem. ad Vit. Philosoph. p. 5, 6.

Esther 3:2 In-Context

1 Some time later King Achashverosh began to single out Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi for advancement; eventually he gave him precedence over all his fellow officers.
2 All the king's servants at the King's Gate would kneel and bow down before Haman, because the king had so ordered. But Mordekhai would neither kneel nor bow down to him.
3 The king's servants at the King's Gate asked Mordekhai, "Why don't you obey the king's order?"
4 But after they had confronted him a number of times without his paying attention to them, they told Haman, in order to find out whether Mordekhai's explanation that he was a Jew would suffice to justify his behavior.
5 Haman was furious when he saw that Mordekhai was not kneeling and bowing down to him.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.