Charles Ellicott Commentary Esther 8:5

Charles Ellicott Commentary

Esther 8:5

1819–1905
Anglican
Charles Ellicott
Charles Ellicott

Charles Ellicott Commentary

Esther 8:5

1819–1905
Anglican
SCRIPTURE

"And she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king`s provinces:" — Esther 8:5 (ASV)

To reverse. —Rather, to bring back, to recall. Esther shows considerable skill in wording her request. She avoids speaking of the king’s letters, but calls them “the letters, the device of Haman, which he wrote.” It is the king, however, to whom the injury is done—“to destroy the Jews which are in all the king’s provinces.”