Esther 9:26

Est 9:26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and [of that] which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,

Ver. 26. Wherefore they called these days Purim] Thereby to perpetuate the memory of that mercy, worthy to be engraven in pillars of marble. This was a notable name; for it served to remind the Jews of all that God had done for them at this bout. As there is edification in the choice of fit psalms, 1Co 14:26, so in the imposing of fit names upon persons, things, and times. As the Christian Sabbath is to good purpose called the Lord’s day; and those festivities of Easter and Whitsuntide were not so fitly called Pasch and Pentecost as the feast of the Lord’s resurrection and of the sending of the Holy Ghost. It should certainly be the constant care of us all to set up marks and monuments of God’s great mercies, so to preserve the memory of them, which else will be moth eaten. Such as were Abraham’s Jehovahjireh, Jacob’s stone at Bethel, Moses’ Jehovahnissi, Aaron’s rod and pot of manna, Heb 9:4, the twelve stones pitched up in Jordan, the names of Gilgal, Ramath-Lehi, Aben Ezer; those plates nailed on the altar, Num 16:39. Hereby God shall be glorified, the Church’s enemies convinced, our faith strengthened, our joy in the Lorcl heightened, our posterity helped, and Satan prevented, who seeketh to obliterate God’s works of wonder; or at least to alienate them, and translate them upon himself, as he endeavoured to do that famous execution of Divine justice upon Sennacherib’s army, by setting Herodotus awork to tell the world in print (Herod. 1. 2) that it was Sethon, king of Egypt, and priest of Vulcan, who obtained of his god that Sennacherib’s army, coming against Egypt, should be totally routed by reason of an innumerable company of rats, sent by Vulcan, which gnawed in pieces their bowstrings, quivers, bucklers, &c., and so made way for the Egyptians to vanquish them. Herodotus addeth that also in his time there was to be seen the statue of Sennacherib, holding a rat in his hand, in Vulcan’s temple, and uttering these words, Let him that beholdeth me learn to fear God. Eμε τις εσορεων ευσεβης εστω. Lo, the god of this world hath his trophies erected, and shall the God of heaven and earth go without? Oh, let us (who have lived in an age of miracles, and seen the out goings of God for our good more than ever did any nation) offer unto him the ransom of our lives, as they did, Exo 21:30; Exo 30:12, in token that they had and held all in mere courtesy from God. Let us leave some seal, some pawn of thankfulness for deliverance from so many deaths and dangers. Otherwise heathens will rise up and condemn us. They after a shipwreck would offer something; after a fit of sickness consecrate something to their gods; after a victory set up trophies of triumph, as the Philistines did to their Dagon, the Romans to their Jupiter Capitolinus.

Therefore for all the words of this letter] In obedience to Mordecai, their godly magistrate.

And of that which they had seen concerning this matter] And especially of God made visible all along in it, yea, palpable, so that they might feel him and find him, Act 17:27, though his name be not found in all this book.

And which had come unto them] so. By report and hearsay, but from such hands as that they were fully satisfied thereof, as Haman’s lot casting, Esther’s supplicating, the king’s reading the chronicles, &c.

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 9:26. They called these days Purim — Namely, these two festival days; after the name Pur — A Persian word signifying a lot. For all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen, and which had come unto them — Because of what was contained in the letter of Mordecai, and the respect which they justly bore to it; and because of what they themselves had seen, when these things happened, and God so wonderfully delivered them; and of what they heard reported concerning these matters, in the places where they could not see them, they unanimously consented to keep a yearly festival in commemoration of them, as it follows in the next verse.

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

9:26-28 This paragraph justifies Purim as an approved Jewish festival even though Moses did not authorize it along with other festival days.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

they called these days Purim after the name of Pur--"Pur," in the Persian language, signifies "lot"; and the feast of Purim, or lots, has a reference to the time having been pitched upon by Haman through the decision of the lot. In consequence of the signal national deliverance which divine providence gave them from the infamous machinations of Haman, Mordecai ordered the Jews to commemorate that event by an anniversary festival, which was to last for two days, in accordance with the two days' war of defense they had to maintain. There was a slight difference in the time of this festival; for the Jews in the provinces, having defended themselves against their enemies on the thirteenth, devoted the fourteenth to festivity; whereas their brethren in Shushan, having extended that work over two days, did not observe their thanksgiving feast till the fifteenth. But this was remedied by authority, which fixed the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar. It became a season of sunny memories to the universal body of the Jews; and, by the letters of Mordecai, dispersed through all parts of the Persian empire, it was established as an annual feast, the celebration of which is kept up still. On both days of the feast, the modern Jews read over the Megillah or Book of Esther in their synagogues. The copy read must not be printed, but written on vellum in the form of a roll; and the names of the ten sons of Haman are written on it a peculiar manner, being ranged, they say, like so many bodies on a gibbet. The reader must pronounce all these names in one breath. Whenever Haman's name is pronounced, they make a terrible noise in the synagogue. Some drum with their feet on the floor, and the boys have mallets with which they knock and make a noise. They prepare themselves for their carnival by a previous fast, which should continue three days, in imitation of Esther's; but they have mostly reduced it to one day [JENNINGS, Jewish Antiquities].

Next: Esther Chapter 10

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 26. They called these days Purim] That is from [Persian] pari, the lot; because, as we have seen, Haman cast lots to find what month, and what day of the month, would be the most favourable for the accomplishment of his bloody designs against the Jews. See on Es 3:7.

And of that which they had seen] The first letter to which this second refers, must be that sent by Mordecai himself. See Es 9:20.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(26) Purim.—As we have already stated, the festival of Purim is still observed by the Jews, on the 14th and 15th of Adar, the day preceding being kept as a fast. At Purim, the whole Book of Esther is read through in the service in the synagogues, a custom that can be traced back at any rate to the Christian era (2Ma_15:36; Josephus, Ant. xi. 6. 13; Mishna, Bosh ha-Shanah, iii. 7).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. The Feast of Purim comes in early spring, a month before Passover. The previous day is kept as a fast in memory of the Shushan Jews’ fast (Est_4:16).

Purim, after the name of Pur] i.e. they gave the Persian word a Hebrew plural.

letter] The original (’iggereth) is a late Heb. word, probably of Assyrian origin, cognate to the Greek angareuein (ἀγγαρεύειν). See note on Est_3:13.

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.

And that these days should be remembered, and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city,.... And accordingly these days are commemorated by them now, and by all their families, and all in their families capable of it; and these words, "every province", and "every city", are used, as Aben Ezra observes, lest a man should think he was not bound to keep this feast where there were no Jews; for, let him be where he may, he is obliged to keep it:

and that these days of Purim should not fail among the Jews; or the observance of them be neglected and cease:

nor the memorial of them perish from their seed; neither the memorial of them, nor of the reason of keeping them; wherefore on those days they read the whole book of Esther, fairly written on a roll of parchment, and are careful that none omit the reading of it; rather, they say (w), the reading and learning the law should be omitted, and all commands and service, than the reading this volume, that so all might be acquainted with this wonderful deliverance, and keep it in mind.

(w) Lebush & Schulchan, ib. (par. 1.) c. 687. sect. 2.

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

i.e. Both for the respect which they justly bore to Mordecai’s letter, and because they themselves had seen and felt this wonderful work of God on their behalf.

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

26. Wherefore — Namely, because Haman had cast Pur, or the lot, to fix on a lucky day for the destruction of the Jews. Est_9:24.

They called these days Purim — They evidently chose this name in ironical reference to the fact that Haman’s lucky day (designated by lot) was so fortunate for his enemies, and so unlucky for himself.

The words of this letter — Mordecai’s letters mentioned in Est_9:20.

Which they had seen… and which had come unto them — That is, all that they had themselves experienced of this event by being eyewitnesses and participators. The sentiment is, Mordecai’s letters and their own personal knowledge of the matter prompted them to ordain the feast of Purim.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. They took the Persian word, that is, and gave it a Hebrew plural, either because the Persian method of casting involved the use of several lots, or because Haman cast "Pur" several times. (Est_3:7) For all the words of this letter. i.e. "on account of what was said in Mordecai"s letter to them" (ver. 20). And of that which they had seen, etc. "And on account of what they had themselves seen anti suffered." Mordecai"s arguments were backed up by their own personal experience, and the recollection of what "had come to them,"

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

Pur - This Persian word signifies a lot, because Haman had by lot determined this time to be the time of the Jews destruction.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name Pur. This first על־כּן refers to what precedes and states the reason, resulting from what has just been mentioned, why this festival received the name of Purim. With the second על־כּן begins a new sentence which reaches to Est 9:28, and explains how it happened that these feast-days became a general observance with all Jews; namely, that because of all the words of this letter (of Mordochai, Est 9:20), and of what they had seen concerning the matter (על־כּכה, concerning so and so), and what had come upon them (therefore for two reasons: (1) because of the written injunction of Mordochai; and (2) because they had themselves experienced this event), the Jews established, and took upon themselves, their descendants, and all who should join themselves unto them (proselytes), so that it should not fail (i.e., inviolably), to keep (to celebrate) these two days according to the writing concerning them and the time appointed thereby year by year.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur

To call something after something else is an idiom that means to give it the same name or a similar name. AT: "They called these days Purim, like the word Pur" (See: Idiom)

Purim

This is the name of the festival that commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman's plot to destroy and kill all the Jews in a single day. (See: How to Translate Names)

the name of Pur.

It can be stated clearly what "Pur" means. AT: "the word Pur, which means 'lot.'" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

These days were to be celebrated and observed

This can be stated in active form. AT: "The Jews were to celebrate and observe these days" (See: Active or Passive)

would never cease to faithfully observe

This can be stated positively. AT: "would always faithfully observe"

translationWords

descend

generation

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

therefore, because of all the words of this letter these days were established, and therefore it was written for future generations to know.

and what they saw those who did these deeds, that they did them.

and what happened to them What did Ahasuerus see that he used the sacred vessels, and what happened to them? That Satan came and danced among them and slew Vashti. And what did Haman see that he became envious of Mordecai, and what happened to him? They hanged him and his sons. And what did Mordecai see that he did not kneel or prostrate himself, and what did Esther see that she invited Haman?

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.