Esther 6:10

10 Then the king said to Haman, "Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits 1at the king's gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned."

Esther 6:10 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 6:10

Then the king said to Haman, make haste
And without delay go into the royal treasury, or wardrobe, as the Targum adds: "and take the apparel"; the royal robe, the purple one, or one of the precious purple robes; and then, as the same Targum, go to the king's stable, and take thence the king's "horse", that stands in the chief place in the stable, whose name is "Shiphregaz"; but how the Targumist came by the name of it, I know not; however it was not unusual for kings to give a name to their favourite horse, as Alexander the great did to his called Bucephalus and even for all kings of Persia, as Darius Hystaspis F2:

as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at
the king's gate;
the person he meant this honour for he describes by name, by nation, and by office, that there might be no mistake:

let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken;
the king objected not to anything that had been proposed, and insisted on it that every thing be done punctually by Haman as he had advised, and from which he could not with honour recede; though nothing could be more mortifying to him to do, to a man he came to court to get a grant to hang on a gallows he had prepared.


FOOTNOTES:

F2 Herodot. Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 88.

Esther 6:10 In-Context

8 let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set.
9 And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: 'Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.'"
10 Then the king said to Haman, "Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned."
11 So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor."
12 Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.

Cross References 1

  • 1. See Esther 2:19
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.