And the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and also the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! Now what is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled.”
The first count comes in from the citadel of Susa: five hundred dead there, and Haman's ten sons with them. The king reports the number to Esther, then asks his queen what more she wants and promises to give it.
Susa the citadel, not Susa the city
The king's number covers only part of the capital. That difference explains what Esther asks for next.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe king heard the report of how many of his subjects had been killed in Susa the fortress, and then asked the queen to make a request. She asked for one more day to continue the work in Susa, and for the ten sons of Haman to be hanged on gallows. But had they not already killed 500 in Susa? The 500 died in the palace — or, as that word should be translated, the citadel, the fortress. The extra day was for continuing the work of punishment in the city itself.
The open offer, and what Esther does with it
The king's question is not a formality. It is the same standing promise he had made at her banquets, and it is granted in full.
William Kelly"The king said to Esther the queen, 'The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Susa the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now, what is your petition? And it shall be granted you; or what is your request further? And it shall be done.' Then said Esther, 'If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do tomorrow also according to this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.'"
Hanging men already dead
The ten sons had been killed the day before. One writer reads the public hanging as a statement, not a way of putting them to death.
Leslie M. GrantOf course, this came after they had already been killed, so it was meant to impress on the people how great Haman's guilt was. The king gave his consent to this. Haman's sons were hanged, and the next day the Jews gathered and killed 300 enemies of the Jews. Those 300 must have shown themselves earlier to be the Jews' enemies. Again, the Jews took no plunder.
Ten names in one breath
The way the sons' names are read aloud makes a point of its own.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe request was granted and the ten sons of Haman were hanged... When Jews read the book of Esther in orthodox synagogues, they read the names of Haman's ten sons in one breath, as quickly as possible, showing that they were all killed at one and the same time.
Why a second day
Many readers find Esther's request for a second day hard to accept. One writer answers that the difficulty disappears once you see what day this points to.
William KellyOnce this is understood, the execution of the ten sons of Haman is no difficulty at all. The Lord will not only strike at the beginning; the blow will come a second time. There will be a thorough clearance of the adversary, and of all who give only pretended obedience. The Lord will deal with them in the day that is coming.
The same writer names the wrong starting point: reading Esther as a picture of the church.
William KellyYou can see at once what deep confusion that creates. Not so. It is the Gentile discarded, and the Jew called in; but righteousness will mark the reign of the kingdom in the time to come. Grace is what suits the church now. So it makes no sense at all to have Esther representing the church now. Carrying out righteous vengeance would be completely out of keeping with the calling of the Christian — with the church's place.
The capital pays more, and the victors gain nothing
The plot began in Susa, and Susa carries judgment longest. Yet no one profits from it.
H. L. RossierThe oppressor of the Jews is judged, and so is his family line (vv. 6-10)... Only, the people "laid no hand on the plunder" (vv. 10, 15, 16), in keeping with what had been laid down about Amalek or the enemies of Israel. It is only a matter of carrying out God's judgment, with no profit for those who carry it out. Ahasuerus accepts this vengeance as a necessity. The plot against the Jews was hatched in his capital, and his capital is given over to the judgment of God for one day longer than the other cities of the kingdom.
Summary
- Count. The five hundred fell inside the fortress, not across the whole capital. The king's own report points to work still unfinished in the city outside.
- Consent. The king invites one more request and grants it: another day in Susa, and Haman's sons on the gallows.
- Corpse. Haman's sons were already dead when they were hanged. The gallows was a public verdict on their father's guilt, not a way of killing them.
- Completeness. A second blow follows the first. The clearance is meant to be thorough — the adversary and all pretended loyalty together.
- Clean hands. Twice the record notes that no one touched the plunder. Those who carry out the judgment gain nothing from it. Commentators read this as the righteousness of a coming kingdom, not the grace that marks the church now.