Table of Contents
The Rise of a Vengeful Villain
Esther chapter 3 marks a dark and sudden turn in the narrative. The quiet, providential movements of the previous chapter are shattered by the rise of a new and malevolent figure: Haman the Agagite. This chapter introduces the book’s central conflict. It details Haman’s promotion, Mordecai’s courageous refusal to bow to him, Haman’s subsequent rage, and the horrifying, genocidal plot he conceives against the entire Jewish people. The king’s casual and thoughtless complicity in this plan sets the stage for a crisis that threatens the very existence of the Jews. The conflict between Haman and Mordecai is not merely a personal dispute; it represents an ancient, spiritual animosity. This chapter reveals the terrifying speed with which pride and hatred can escalate into a national catastrophe.
Haman’s Promotion and Mordecai’s Defiance
(Esther 3:1-6) The chapter begins with King Ahasuerus promoting a man named Haman to the position of grand vizier, the second-most powerful position in the empire. The text specifically identifies him as “Haman the Agagite,” a detail of immense significance. Agag was the king of the Amalekites, an ancient and bitter enemy of Israel. This lineage immediately casts Haman as an archetypal foe of God’s people. The king commanded all his servants at the king’s gate to bow down and pay homage to Haman.
One man refused: Mordecai. While all the other royal officials complied, Mordecai would not bow. The other officials questioned him daily, but he would not listen to them. When they reported his defiance to Haman, they mentioned that Mordecai was a Jew. Mordecai’s refusal was likely based on religious conviction. For a Jew, bowing in such a manner to a man, especially an Amalekite, could be seen as a form of idolatry, a violation of the first commandment to worship God alone. When Haman saw for himself that Mordecai would not bow, he was “filled with fury.” But his pride was so great that he scorned the idea of punishing only one man. When he learned of Mordecai’s ethnicity, his personal anger metastasized into a genocidal rage. He resolved to destroy not just Mordecai, but “all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.”
Haman’s Genocidal Plot
(Esther 3:7-11) Haman’s plot was methodical and rooted in superstition. In the first month of the twelfth year of the king’s reign, he had the “pur” (the lot) cast before him to determine the most auspicious day and month to carry out his plan. The lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar. This twelve-month delay, determined by pagan superstition, is a crucial element of the story. It provides the time necessary for God’s providential plan of deliverance to unfold.
Having chosen his date, Haman approached the king. He did not mention Mordecai or his personal grudge. Instead, he presented his case with cunning and slander. He told the king there was “a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom.” He described them as a subversive threat, stating that “their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws.” He concluded that it was not in the king’s interest to tolerate them. Haman then made a staggering offer: he would pay 10,000 talents of silver into the royal treasuries if the king would issue a decree to destroy them. This immense sum was meant to cover any potential loss of tax revenue and to show the king how serious he was.
The king’s response is shocking in its carelessness. Without asking which people Haman was referring to, he simply took his signet ring—the symbol of his absolute authority—and gave it to Haman. He casually handed over the fate of an entire ethnic group. “The silver is given to you,” the king said, “the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” The king’s moral indifference and casual delegation of power to a hateful subordinate are as terrifying as Haman’s active malice.
The King’s Decree
(Esther 3:12-15) With the king’s authority in hand, Haman wasted no time. On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned. A decree was written, dictated by Haman, and sent to every province of the empire. The letters were sent by mounted couriers to the king’s satraps, governors, and princes of all peoples, written in their own scripts and languages. The decree was sealed with the king’s signet ring, making it official and irrevocable.
The command was horrifyingly specific: on a single day, the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, all Jews—”young and old, women and children”—were to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated. Furthermore, their property was to be plundered. The decree was a state-sanctioned license for a nationwide pogrom. The chapter ends with a chilling contrast. The couriers rushed out, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then, “the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.” The rulers celebrated their wicked plan, while the ordinary citizens of the capital, both Jew and Gentile, were bewildered and disturbed by the brutal and inexplicable decree.
Verse by Verse
(Esther 3:1-4) Haman the Agagite is promoted. The king commands everyone to bow to him. Mordecai, a Jew, refuses.
(Esther 3:5-6) Haman is filled with rage at Mordecai’s defiance. Learning Mordecai is a Jew, Haman’s personal vendetta expands into a plan to annihilate the entire Jewish people.
(Esther 3:7) Haman uses pagan superstition, casting the “pur” (the lot), to choose the date for his planned genocide. The lot falls on the 13th day of the 12th month, providing a crucial delay.
(Esther 3:8-9) Haman makes his case to the king, slandering the Jews as a subversive and disloyal people. He offers a massive bribe to secure the king’s permission.
(Esther 3:10-11) The king carelessly agrees. He gives his signet ring to Haman, granting him full authority to deal with the unnamed people as he sees fit.
(Esther 3:12-14) The royal scribes are summoned, and the genocidal edict is written and dispatched to all 127 provinces. The decree commands the annihilation of all Jews on the 13th of Adar.
(Esther 3:15) The decree is issued. The king and Haman sit down for a drink, celebrating their evil plan, while the city of Susa is left in a state of confusion and distress.
Cross References
1 Samuel 15:8-9: King Saul was commanded by God to completely destroy the Amalekites, including their king, Agag. Saul disobeyed, sparing Agag. Mordecai, a descendant of Saul’s tribe of Benjamin, now faces Haman, a descendant of Agag. Their conflict is the continuation of an ancient spiritual battle.
Exodus 17:16: After Israel’s first battle with the Amalekites, the LORD declared, “The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Haman’s plot is the ultimate expression of this generational animosity.
Daniel 3:8-12: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, three Jewish men in the Babylonian court, refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. Their refusal, like Mordecai’s, was an act of faithfulness to God that put their lives at risk.
Proverbs 29:2: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” The final verse of Esther 3 perfectly illustrates this. While the wicked ruler (Haman) and the complicit king drink, the city of Susa groans in confusion and fear.
Revelation 12:17: This verse speaks of the dragon (Satan) being enraged and going off “to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God.” Haman’s irrational and all-consuming hatred for the people of God is a picture of this same satanic rage against those who belong to God.