Charles Ellicott Commentary Esther 7

What is thy petition? —The king takes for granted that Esther’s invitations to her banquets do not constitute her real request, but merely prepare the way for it.

We are sold. —See above, Esther 3:9.

To be destroyed... —Literally, to destroy and to kill, and to cause to perish. These are the identical words used in the king’s proclamation for the destruction of the Jews.

In this, Esther at once confesses her nationality. Relying on the king’s still recent gratitude to one of her race, and aided by his present cordiality to her, she risks—as indeed she can no longer avoid doing—the fate of herself and her people on the momentary impulse of her fickle lord.

Happily for her, God has willed that these grounds of reliance, perhaps untrustworthy at any other time, will suffice. The “hearts of kings are in His rule and governance,” and now the heart of one is “disposed and turned, as it seems best to His godly wisdom.”

Although the enemy... —The meaning of this clause is not quite clear. The literal translation is, although (or because) the enemy is not equal to (that is, does not compensate for) the king’s loss.

This may mean (a) that Haman, though willing to pay a large sum into the royal treasury, cannot thereby make up for the loss the king must incur from a wholesale massacre being carried on in his realm; or (b) that “if we were merely to be sold into slavery, instead of being killed outright, I would have said nothing, because the enemy was not one worth the king’s while to trouble himself about.”

We prefer the former view. The word “enemy” is the one translated adversary, in Esther 7:6, and properly means one who oppresses, afflicts, or distresses.

The word which is, literally, equal to, comparable with, has already occurred in Esther 3:8 and Esther 5:13.

Was afraid... . —Shrank back in terror before ... See the use of the word in 1 Chronicles 21:30; Daniel 8:17.

Evil. —Hebrew, the evil, the doom.

The bed — that is, the couch on which she had been reclining at the banquet. This was the customary posture at meals, not only of the Persians, but also of the Greeks and Romans, and of the later Jews. The Last Supper was eaten in this way.

Haman had obviously thrown himself at the queen’s feet to ask for mercy. The king on his return was evidently full of wrath against Haman, and though he was for the time God’s instrument in averting Haman’s wicked design, his own base and worthless character is nevertheless conspicuous.

The attempted massacre had been authorized with the full knowledge and consent of the king, who still utterly ignores his own share of the responsibility. Great and noble ends are at times brought about by the instrumentality of unholy men, blind instruments in a purpose whose end they do not understand. What greater blessing, for example, did God grant to England than the Reformation, whose foremost agent was a bloody and unholy king?

Will he force... —Ahasuerus must have known perfectly well that Haman’s position was that of a suppliant; his words merely indicate his utter anger, as the attendants clearly perceive, for they immediately covered Haman’s face—he must not see the king’s face again. (See above, Esther 1:13.)