Commentaria in Esther
4. For he had told them that he was a Jew, and therefore was forbidden by the Jewish religion and law to adore any man, but God alone, whereas the Persians and other Gentiles adored even men, for example their kings, as gods. It is likely that Esdras, Nehemias, Esther, Zorobabel and the other Hebrews, who lived in their courts, nay held honoured offices, made the same answer to Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, namely that they were Jews, to whom it is not lawful to adore any other than God, and therefore that the kings themselves did not exact Persian adoration from them, as Jews, but only political and civil adoration, such as is wont to be paid to princes as men. Add that these kings exacted that Persian adoration only in public, when they showed themselves to the people as divinities to be venerated; in private they did not require it from their courtiers and chamberlains, with whom they dealt daily and familiarly, being content with common honour and reverence. For to employ the Persian adoration at every address and service would have been an intolerable burden and morally impossible.
6. And he rather chose to destroy all the nation of the Jews that were in the kingdom. “Rather” implies that Aman had already wished before to destroy Mardochai and the Jews, because Mardochai had accused two eunuchs, his friends, so that they were put on the cross, as I said in chapter ii, verse 21. Now, another injury being added, and his contempt, as he thought, he was confirmed in his resolution and the more wished to exterminate them. Hence it is clear, first, the pride and cruelty of Aman, who for the sake of one Mardochai wished to kill all the Jews, plainly innocent: Mardochai alone, O Aman, has offended thee; pursue him alone then, if thou wilt: why dost thou vomit forth wrath on all the Jews, who have not offended thee? Second, the great dignity of Mardochai, that on his account Aman decreed to destroy the whole nation of the Jews; because Mardochai was their choragus, and as it were their leader and prince, that they might be ruled by him, and what he did the rest would do, and follow his example.
7. The lot was cast into an urn, which in Hebrew is called Phur, before Aman, on what day and in what month the nation of the Jews should be destroyed.—For “lot” the Hebrew is goral. Hence Lyranus, Cajetan, Marinus and others think that phur is a Persian name, goral Hebrew; but that the Hebrews received the name phur from the Persians in this place, and therefore called this Persian lot by their name phur. Hence the Hebrew has: The phur was cast; it is goral, that is, lot. Hence also the word phur is nowhere found in the Bible, except in this book of Esther. For in the Psalms, Proverbs and the other books, for “lot” the Hebrew is always goral, not phur.
Some, however, think that phur is also a Hebrew word, from the root phur, that is, to fall, because the lot falls and slips into the urn.
Furthermore from phur, that is, lot, the feast day was called by the Hebrews Phurim, on which they gave thanks to God that he had delivered them from the evil lot of destruction cast by Aman. Aman used the lot here from the superstition of the Gentiles, who used the lot as a divination to search out hidden and dangerous things, as was done to Jonas, chapter i. For, as St. Augustine says on Psalm xxx: “A lot is a thing in human doubt, indicating the divine will.” Hence Cicero, book I On Divination, calls lots those things which are poured forth by prophecy. Virgil, book IV of the Aeneid:
The Lycian lots bid me seek Italy—that is, oracles. Ovid, book I of the Metamorphoses:
It was resolved to pray to the heavenly divinity, and to seek help through sacred lots.
But this superstition deceived Aman; for it put off the time of the slaughter of the Jews, and so gave Esther space to beg them off. For if, having at once received the king’s permission, he had carried out the deed, he would have killed all the Jews. His delay and casting of lots was therefore imprudent: for God made foolish his cruel counsel. The sense is, then, that Aman cast the lot, that from it as from divination and oracle he might learn what day would be suitable for the slaughter of the Jews, and lucky and fortunate for himself, lest he run any risk from the Jews defending their lives or those of their people.
9. If it please thee, decree that they may be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents (of silver, as the Hebrew, Chaldee and Septuagint have it) to the keepers of thy treasury,—that is, five million gold pieces, if Attic talents are understood here, as seems; if Hebrew, the sum will be double, namely ten million gold pieces. Immense is this price, but for Aman it was easy to collect it from the goods of the Jews, already destined by him to plunder and pillage. Aman offered this to Darius, because he knew that Darius, greedy for gold, had imposed great tributes on the Persians and the Jews subject to him, as I said in chapter ii, verse 18. Wherefore, lest the king should object that by the slaughter of the Jews he would lose the tributes which they were wont to pay, Aman promises him that he will make good this loss with so many millions; and if the king honourably refused this price, as in fact he did, Aman thought he would turn it to his own use, so as to make himself formidable to the whole kingdom, and to Darius himself, and, occasion offering, raise an army and attach it to himself. But God forestalled his unjust and proud counsels, and turned and twisted them upon his own head.
10. And the king took the ring that he used (to seal his decrees and royal letters), and gave it to Aman,—that he himself might draw up the decree for destroying the Jews in the form and manner that he wished, and seal it with the royal ring, as coming from the king, so that those reading it should on the appointed day slay all the Jews, thinking that the king so willed and commanded. Hence Alexander the Great, Darius being conquered, when he wrote to the Asiatics, sealed the letters with the ring which he had taken from Darius, signifying thereby that he was now king of Asia. The same, when dying, giving his ring to Perdiccas, thereby designated him king, according to Curtius, book VI and last, and Justin, book XVII.
Women.—Barbarous was this cruelty of Aman, by which he destined to death all the Jews without exception, even women and innocent children, lest any of them growing up to manhood should avenge this slaughter of his nation and seek Aman’s head. The Japanese and other Barbarians do the same.
15. The couriers made haste,—whom, according to Herodotus, book VIII, Cyrus had instituted as post-riders, who at fixed places and hours exchanged wearied horses and riders for fresh ones, and so carried the royal letters more swiftly than cranes fly, says Xenophon. Nay, they could compel the country people to give better horses. In Persian these couriers were called Angari. Hence angariare is the same as to compel, Matthew v, 41. Hence Scaliger suspects that Angels (the letter r changed to l, as often happens), that is, messengers, are so called from Angari.