Zeresh

Biblical Record

Zeresh appears only in the Book of Esther. She is the wife of Haman, who rose to high office as an official of Ahasuerus, king of Persia. Her name occurs three times in Scripture. Her origins, the meaning of her name, and other details of her life are not recorded.

• Esther 5:10–14: Haman is delighted to be invited to Queen Esther's banquet. However, he is enraged when he sees Mordecai at the king's gate, refusing to bow to him. Returning home, Haman calls for his wife Zeresh and his friends, boasts of his wealth and honor, and admits that he cannot be satisfied because of Mordecai. Zeresh and his friends advise him to have a gallows fifty cubits high built and to ask the king the next day to have Mordecai hanged on it. The advice pleases Haman, and he has the gallows built.
• Esther 6:13: By the king's command, Haman suffers the humiliation of having to honor Mordecai. When he recounts this to his wife and friends, his "wise men" and Zeresh tell him that if Mordecai is of Jewish descent, Haman will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.

Haman is afterward hanged on the very gallows he had set up (Esther 7:10). Haman's ten sons are also put to death (Esther 9:7–10). The text does not say whether Zeresh was the mother of these sons, nor what became of her.

Significance Within Scripture

Zeresh's two scenes serve as bookends framing Haman's downfall. At first she feeds her husband's anger and prompts him to erect the gallows intended for Mordecai's death; later she is among the first to perceive that he will be defeated. This reversal is commonly read as a device that reveals God's unseen providence at work in the Book of Esther, a book in which the name of God never appears. Zeresh is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Debate

• Interpreters differ on how to understand the words of Esther 6:13. Some see them as a confession that even Gentiles recognized that the Jewish people were being protected. Others regard them as merely a pragmatic judgment based on divination or omens. The "wise men" who spoke with her are sometimes understood as advisers such as astrologers or counselors.
• As a wife who incited evil, she is sometimes discussed alongside Jezebel. This comparison is drawn by interpreters, not by Scripture itself.
• Jewish tradition (including the Midrash) adds stories about Zeresh's family and character. These are not found in the biblical text. She is reportedly named alongside Haman as one to be cursed in a Jewish song sung at Purim.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Zeresh is usually mentioned briefly in sermons on the Book of Esther or on Haman, chiefly in passages explaining how pride and anger lead to self-destruction. She is also sometimes cited as an example of how the counsel of those closest to a person can work toward either good or evil. When the story of Esther is taught in Sunday school, she is treated as little more than a minor character in the scenes at Haman's house.