Esther 9:22

Est 9:22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

Ver. 22. As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies] And therefore they in thankfulness would consecrate the same as a holy rest unto the Lord, calling the fourteenth day, Festurn sortium minus, the lesser festivity of lots; and the fifteenth day, Festum sortium maius, the greater festivity of lots, as Drusins telleth us.

And the month] They thought the better ever after of the month Adar, that magnificent month, wherein was that golden day of their deliverance. O dieculam illam, &c., dexter sane prae laetitia mihi salit oculus, said he. Oh that joyful day! Oh that the calendar of my life might be filled with such festivals!

Which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy] As God remembered poor Joseph, and turned his fetters into a chain of gold, his rags into robes, his stocks into a chariot, his prison into a palace, his brown bread and water into fine bread and wine; and as he had turned again the captivity of his people as the streams in the south, Psa 146:4; so here he had made a great alteration, bringing them from the jaws of death to the joys of a glorious deliverance; turning their sadness into gladness, their sighing into singing, their musing into music, their tears into triumph, luctum in laetitiam, saccum in sericum, ieiunium in epulum, manuum retortionem in applausum, &c. And this is no new thing in the Church.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Est 9:22. As the days wherein the Jews rested — They did not keep the days on which they fought, but those on which they rested. On the fourteenth day the country Jews rested, and on the fifteenth those in Shushan, and these days they kept. The sabbath was appointed, not on the day when God finished his work, but on the day he rested from it. The month which was turned unto them — from mourning into a good day — A day of cheerfulness, praise, and thanksgiving. And of sending portions one to another — In token of mutual respect, and their being knit by this, and other public common dangers and deliverances, so much the closer to each other in love. And gifts to the poor — Which they were wont to give also on other days of thanksgiving, of which see Neh 8:10. It is not to our kinsmen and rich neighbours only that we ought to send tokens of our love and friendship at such times, but also and especially to the poor and the maimed, Luk 14:12-13. Thus they that have received mercy, must, in token of their gratitude, show mercy; and there never wants occasion, for the poor we have always with us. Thanksgiving and almsgiving should go together, that, when we are rejoicing and blessing God, the hearts of the poor may rejoice with us, and their loins may bless us.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He setteth before our eyes the use of this feast, which was for the remembrance of God’s deliverance, the maintenance of mutual friendship and relief of the poor.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

22. as the days … a good day] This has the character of a parenthesis, the preceding clause being taken up again in the words ‘that they should make them’ etc.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them,.... Had formed a design to exterminate them from the whole Persian empire in one day:

and had cast Pur, (that is, the lot,) to consume them, and to destroy them; had cast lots to find out what would be the most lucky day in the year for him to do it on, and the most unlucky and unfortunate to the Jews; and, according to the lot, the thirteenth of Adar was pitched upon; this and the following verse give the reasons for observing the above two days as festivals.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which they used to give upon days of thanksgiving; of which see Neh 8:10.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy. This was the key-note of Purina, the dominant idea, to which all else was secondary and sub-ordinate sorrow turned into joy, "mourning into dancing," utter destruction into a signal triumph. Ps 30 might well have been written at this time.

Sending portions and gifts.

This usage is quite a carrying out of the principle of the Divine law, which prescribed remembrance of the widow and fatherless upon those who were prosperous in Israel. We find an interesting parallel to the present passage in Nehemiah: when the law had been read and expounded in the hearing of the people, they "went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth." These presents were sent by the people to one another in friendship and courtesy; to the poor in charity. It is a usage which, though it may be carried too far and abused, has yet its advantages.

I IT TENDS TO CEMENT THE BONDS OF SOCIETY BY DISPOSING TO KINDLY THOUGHTS AND REGARDS. A neighbourly gift is, in some cases, better than a mere message of inquiry, or congratulation, or condolence.

II IT AFFORDS A PURE PLEASURE TO THE GIVER. To share the gifts of Providence with the less fortunate opens the heart and enlarges its sympathies. It is a check to natural selfishness.

III IT IS BENEFICIAL TO THE RECEIVER. A friend"s gift is a token of that friend"s remembrance and love. And many a poor household is, at Christmas-tide, made bright by the presents thought appropriate to the season. Children especially are pleased with such gifts, and their pleasure is worth our consideration.

IV GIFTS RESEMBLE, IN OUR POOR WAY, THE BENEFACTIONS OF PROVIDENCE, AND THE BENEFICENT MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR. "He openeth his hand, and supplieth the wants of every living tiling." Christ gave bread to the hungry, and turned water into wine for the enjoyment of the guests at a wedding-feast.

V THE PRACTICE IS A RECOGNITION OF OUR COMMON DEPENDENCE UPON HEAVEN: AND OUR MUTUAL BROTHERHOOD. HOW much better to carry out such usages upon the suggestion of Christian motive, and in connection with Christian fellowship, than for worldly display, or policy, or from ordinary good-nature!

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.