Esther 9:26

26 That is why this celebration is called Purim, because it is the ancient word for casting lots. So because of Mordecai’s letter and because of what they had experienced,

Esther 9:26 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 9:26

Wherefore they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur,
&c.] The lot; because of the lots cast by Haman; see ( Esther 3:7 ) ,

therefore for all the words of this letter;
in obedience to what Mordecai wrote in his letter to the Jews, and because of the things contained in it:

and of that which they had seen concerning this matter;
with their own eyes, in the several provinces where their enemies rose up to assault them, but were destroyed by them:

and what had come unto them:
by report; as the fall of Haman, and advancement of Mordecai, and the favours shown to Esther and her people; all this belongs to the following verse, containing the reasons of the Jews' appointment and engagement to observe the days of Purim.

Esther 9:26 In-Context

24 Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted to crush and destroy them on the date determined by casting lots (the lots were called ).

25 But when Esther came before the king, he issued a decree causing Haman’s evil plot to backfire, and Haman and his sons were impaled on a sharpened pole.

26 That is why this celebration is called Purim, because it is the ancient word for casting lots. So because of Mordecai’s letter and because of what they had experienced,

27 the Jews throughout the realm agreed to inaugurate this tradition and to pass it on to their descendants and to all who became Jews. They declared they would never fail to celebrate these two prescribed days at the appointed time each year.

28 These days would be remembered and kept from generation to generation and celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the empire. This Festival of Purim would never cease to be celebrated among the Jews, nor would the memory of what happened ever die out among their descendants.