Esther 8:1

On that day did the King, Ahasuerus, give the house of Haman, the Jews' enemy, unto Esther the queen,.... That, and all the goods in it, and estate belonging to it; which being confiscated to the

On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews' enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her.

ESTHER CHAPTER 8 Mordecai is advanced over the house of Haman, ,2. Esther maketh a petition to the king to reverse Haman’ s letters, . Ahasuerus granteth to Esther and Mordecai, , to write to the Jews to defend themselves, . Mordecai’ s letters in the king’ s name to defend themselves and destroy their assailants, . Mordecai’ s honour, and the Jews’ joy, . The house of Haman, with all his goods and estate, which being justly forfeited to the king, he no less justly bestows it upon the queen, to compensate the danger to which Haman had exposed her. Mordecai came before the king, i.e. was by the queen’ s desire admitted into the king’ s presence, and favour, and family, and, as it seems, made one of the seven princes. What he was unto her, i.e. how nearly he was related to her; which till this time she had wisely concealed, this being the fit season to declare it.

Esther 8:1 On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews’ enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he [was] unto her.Ver. 1. On that day] This was a festival and a good day, as Esther 8:17, albo lapillo notandus, for the many signal mercies that thereon came in together, viz. Esther’ s petition granted, Haman hanged, Mordecai advanced, the proscribed Jews relieved, &c. As crosses seldom come single ( Catenata piorum crux), but trooping together commonly, and treading upon the heels of one another, like Job’ s messengers, James 1:2; so do blessings from God: there is oft a continued series, a concatenation; there comes a troop, as she said, when her son Gad came, Genesis 30:11. God is rich in mercy, Romans 10:12. Neither are we at any time constrained in him, but in our own heart. Did the king Ahasuerus give] For into the king’ s hands was all Haman’ s estate forfeited. The Turks have a proverb, He that is greatest in office is but a statue of glass. Few of their viziers die in their beds, but are cut off at a short warning, and all they have is confiscated. The house of Haman] i.e. His goods and chattels, all that glory of his riches, whereof he had so greatly boasted, Esther 5:11, and which he had been so many years heaping and hoarding. Nem0 confidat nimium secundis. The Jews’ enemy] It is ill being the Church’ s enemy: she hath a champion that will stick to her, Isaiah 37:23, so that her enemies shall all be found liars unto her, Deuteronomy 33:29. Let them read their destiny in that cup of trembling, burdensome stone, hearth of fire, mentioned Zechariah 12:2-3; Zechariah 12:6, and hear the Church’ s motto, Nemo me impune lacessit; no one provokes me with impunity, there cannot be a greater folly than to be her enemy, for she conquereth even when conquered; as Christ overcame as well by patience as by power, Victa tamen vinces, eversaque Troia resurges. Unto Esther the queen] So making good that of Solomon, Proverbs 13:22. The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. See Job 27:16-17. Thus was that of the Canaanites for the Israelites, of Nabal for David, of the former tyrants and persecutors, for Constantine the Great, to whom the good God (saith Austin, De C. D. 1. v. c. 25) gave so much worldly wealth, quantas optare nullus auderet, as no man could ever have wished. That Haman was exceeding rich, appeareth by that large offer of his, Esther 3:9; who can tell but that he might have as much as Pope John XXII, in whose coffers were found by his heirs two hundred and fifty tons of gold, as Petrarch reporteth. And Mordecai came before the king] As his continual attendant and special favourite, his cousin and counsellor; perhaps one of the seven mentioned Esther 1:14.

VIII.(1) Did . . . give the house of Haman.—Confiscation of goods necessarily followed on a sentence of death in the East. So, with ourselves, a convicted felon’s property is forfeited to the Crown.

CHAPTER VIII Ahasuerus invests Mordecai with the offices and dignities possessed by Haman, 1, 2. Esther begs that the decree of destruction gone out against the Jews may be reversed, 3-6. He informs her that the acts that had once passed the kings seal cannot be reversed; but he instructs her and Mordecai to write other letters in his name, and seal them with his seal, and send them to all the provinces in the empire, giving the Jews full liberty to defend themselves; which is accordingly done; and the letters are sent off with the utmost speed to all the provinces: in consequence, the Jews prepare for their own defence, 8-14. Mordecai appears publicly in the dress of his high office, 15. The Jews rejoice in every place; and many of the people become Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them, 16, 17. NOTES ON CHAP. VIII Verse 1. The king - give the house of Haman] As Haman was found guilty of treasonable practices against the peace and prosperity of the king and his empire, his life was forfeited and his goods confiscated. And as Mordecai had been the means of preserving the king's life, and was the principal object of Haman's malice, it was but just to confer his property upon him, as well as his dignity and office, as Mordecai was found deserving of the former, and fit to discharge the duties of the latter.

Give the house of Haman - Confiscation of goods accompanied public execution in Persia as in other Oriental countries.

’S , AND EDICT IN BEHALF OF THE JEWS, Esther 8:1-17. 1. On that day — The very day of Haman’s execution.