Esther 5

This is the fifth of the ten chapters of the book of Esther. In Esther 4, Esther asked the Jews to fast for three days and resolved to go in to the king. This chapter continues with the events of that third day.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 On the third day Esther puts on her royal apparel and stands in the inner court of the king's house. The king holds out the golden scepter, and Esther touches its top. When the king offers to give her whatever she asks, "even to the half of the kingdom," Esther asks him to come with Haman to a banquet she has prepared.
• Verses 6–8 At the banquet of wine, the king again asks what her petition is. Esther replies that she will tell him if the king and Haman come again to a banquet the next day.
• Verses 9–13 Haman goes out joyful, but when he sees that Mordecai, at the king's gate, does not even rise for him, he is filled with indignation. Returning home, he recounts his riches and glory to his friends and to his wife Zeresh. Yet he says that none of it satisfies him as long as he sees Mordecai.
• Verse 14 Zeresh and his friends advise him to have a gallows fifty cubits (about 22 meters, or roughly 75 feet) high built and to ask the king the next day to have Mordecai hanged on it. Haman has the gallows made as they suggest.

Key Verses

• Esther 5:2 "The king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand": the turning point at which Esther, having risked her life to approach the king, is received by him.
• Esther 5:3 "It shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom": an idiomatic expression showing the extent of the king's favor.
• Esther 5:13 "Yet all this availeth me nothing": Haman's pride and anger foreshadow his downfall.

Characters and Places

• Esther: the queen, of Jewish descent.
• The king: in this chapter he is referred to only as "the king," without a name. Elsewhere in the book he is identified as Ahasuerus of Persia.
• Haman: the official whom the king advanced above all the princes; he seeks to destroy the Jews.
• Mordecai: Esther's cousin and adoptive father, who sits at the king's gate and refuses to bow to Haman.
• Zeresh: Haman's wife, who advises him to hang Mordecai on a gallows.

Points for Reflection

• The text does not explain why Esther did not state her petition at once but instead held two banquets. Some interpreters see this as wisdom in choosing the right moment; others see it as a stratagem to put Haman off his guard.
• The Greek additions found in the Septuagint depict in greater detail Esther fainting in fear before the king. The Catholic Church accepts these additions as Scripture, but Protestants do not include them in the canon.
• The name of God does not appear in the Hebrew text of Esther. For this reason, many interpreters read the events of this chapter as the hidden working of providence.
• The phrase "to the half of the kingdom" appears in a similar form in Mark 6, in the oath Herod made to the daughter of Herodias (Mark 6:23).

In the Korean Church

This chapter follows directly from Esther's declaration in chapter 4, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). For this reason, it is often treated together with that passage in sermons on Esther's courage and resolve.