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.