Esther 3:13

13 And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, upon the thirteenth of the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, and [to take] the spoil of them for a prey.

Esther 3:13 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 3:13

And the letters were sent by post into all the king's
provinces
Or by the runners ^F24; by which it seems as if these letters were carried by running footmen, men swift of foot; or rather they were running horses, on which men rode post with letters, and which the Persians called Angari; a scheme invented by Cyrus, for the quick dispatch of letters from place to place, by fixing horses and men to ride them at a proper distance, to receive letters one from another, and who rode night and day ^F25, as our mail men do now; and nothing could be swifter, or done with greater speed; neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor night, could stop their course, we are told ^F26: the purport of these letters was,

to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and
old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth
day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar;
see ( Esther 3:7 ) . The orders were to destroy, by any means whatsoever, all the Jews, of every age and sex, all in one day, in all the provinces which are here named, that they might be cut off with one blow: and to take the spoil of them for a prey; to be their own booty; which was proposed to engage them in this barbarous work, to encourage them in it to use the greater severity and dispatch.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (Myurh dyb) "in manu cursorum", Montanus; so the Tigurine version, Drusius, V. L. Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F25 Xenophon. Cyropaedia, l. 8. c. 43.
F26 Herodot. Urania, sive, l. 8. c. 98.

Esther 3:13 In-Context

11 And the king said to Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as seems good to thee.

12 Then were the king's scribes called, in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the [month], and there was written according to all that Haman commanded unto the king's satraps, and to the governors over every province, and to the princes of every people; to every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people according to their language: in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.

13 And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, upon the thirteenth of the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, and [to take] the spoil of them for a prey.

14 That the decree might be given in every province, a copy of the writing was published to all peoples, that they should be ready against that day.

15 The couriers went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the fortress. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was in consternation.