Esther 7 Study Notes: Haman Exposed and Hanged
At her second banquet Queen Esther pleads with King Xerxes for her own life and her people's, and names Haman as the enemy behind the plot. The furious king finds Haman begging at her couch, and Haman dies on the very gallows he built for Mordecai.
General
At the second banquet, what did Esther finally ask the king to grant her (Esther 7:3-4)?
Answer: That she and her people be spared, since they had been sold for slaughter
When the king repeated his question about what she wanted, again promising as much as half his kingdom, Esther finally spoke (7:2-3). She asked for her own life and for the lives of her people, because they had been sold to be wiped out (7:3-4). She added that if they had only been sold into slavery, she would have kept quiet rather than trouble the king with it. This was the moment Mordecai had pressed her toward: he had warned her that staying silent would not save her (4:14), and she had resolved to approach the king even if it cost her life (4:16). By pleading for her people, Esther also revealed the identity she had kept hidden since entering the palace, as Mordecai had told her to do (2:10).
- Esther 7:3-4 (BSB)“Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, grant me my life as my petition, and the lives of my people as my request. For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king.””Esther asks for her life and her people’s lives, explaining that they have been sold to be destroyed.
- Esther 4:14 (BSB)“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?””Mordecai had warned Esther that keeping silent would not save her and suggested she had come to her royal position for this very hour.
- Esther 4:16 (BSB)““Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!””Esther had resolved to go to the king against the law, accepting the risk of death.
- Esther 2:10 (BSB)“Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.”Until this banquet Esther had kept her people and family background hidden, as Mordecai had instructed.
Theological
When the king renewed his offer at the second banquet, what petition and request did Esther at last make (Esther 7:3-4)?
Answer: That she and her people be spared, since they had been sold for slaughter
Pressed once more with the king’s offer of as much as half his realm (7:2), Esther names her petition and request together: her own life and her people’s lives, for they have been sold to be wiped out (7:3-4). Mere enslavement, she says, would not have been worth troubling the king over. The scene answers Mordecai’s warning against silence (4:14) and fulfills her resolve to approach Xerxes at the risk of death (4:16). In identifying herself with the threatened people, she also discloses the lineage she had concealed at Mordecai’s instruction (2:10).
- Esther 7:3-4 (BSB)“Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, grant me my life as my petition, and the lives of my people as my request. For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king.””Esther asks for her life and her people’s lives, explaining that they have been sold to be destroyed.
- Esther 4:14 (BSB)“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?””Mordecai had warned Esther that keeping silent would not save her and suggested she had come to her royal position for this very hour.
- Esther 4:16 (BSB)““Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!””Esther had resolved to go to the king against the law, accepting the risk of death.
- Esther 2:10 (BSB)“Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.”Until this banquet Esther had kept her people and family background hidden, as Mordecai had instructed.
General
When King Xerxes demanded to know who had planned such a thing, how did Esther answer (Esther 7:5-6)?
Answer: She named Haman, calling him a foe and an enemy, a wicked man
The king asked who the man was and where he could be found, this man who would dare to plan such a thing (7:5). Esther named Haman on the spot, calling him an adversary, an enemy, and a wicked man, and Haman stood there terrified in front of the royal couple (7:6). Only the evening before, Haman had boasted that the queen had invited only him to dine with the king (5:12), and his wife and advisers had already warned him that he would fall before Mordecai (6:13). Scripture puts it plainly: pride leads to destruction (Proverbs 16:18).
- Esther 7:5-6 (BSB)“Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?” Esther replied, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked man—Haman!” And Haman stood in terror before the king and queen.”The king demands to know who devised the plot, and Esther names Haman to his face.
- Esther 5:12 (BSB)““What is more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she prepared, and I am invited back tomorrow along with the king.”Haman had boasted that the queen invited only him to dine with the king, unaware of what the banquet would bring.
- Esther 6:13 (BSB)“Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.””Haman’s wife and advisers had already told him that he would not prevail against Mordecai.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Haman’s sudden fall at the height of his pride fits this proverb.
Theological
How did Esther answer when Xerxes asked who had devised the plot and where he was (Esther 7:5-6)?
Answer: She named Haman, calling him a foe and an enemy, a wicked man
Xerxes demands the identity and whereabouts of the man behind the scheme (7:5), and Esther names Haman outright as adversary, enemy, and wicked man; Haman is seized with terror before the royal couple (7:6). The exposure overturns the pride he had paraded the day before, when he boasted of being the queen’s only invited guest (5:12), and it confirms the foreboding of his own household that he would fall before Mordecai (6:13). The episode illustrates the proverb that pride precedes destruction (Proverbs 16:18).
- Esther 7:5-6 (BSB)“Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?” Esther replied, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked man—Haman!” And Haman stood in terror before the king and queen.”The king demands to know who devised the plot, and Esther names Haman to his face.
- Esther 5:12 (BSB)““What is more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she prepared, and I am invited back tomorrow along with the king.”Haman had boasted that the queen invited only him to dine with the king, unaware of what the banquet would bring.
- Esther 6:13 (BSB)“Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.””Haman’s wife and advisers had already told him that he would not prevail against Mordecai.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Haman’s sudden fall at the height of his pride fits this proverb.
General
Why did Haman stay behind with Queen Esther when the king went out into the palace garden (Esther 7:7)?
Answer: To beg her to spare him, sensing the king intended his ruin
In his anger the king got up from the wine and went out into the palace garden. Haman remained in the room to plead with the queen to spare him, because he could see that the king had already decided on disaster for him (7:7). The man who had set out to destroy an entire people, not just Mordecai (3:6), was now begging for mercy from a member of that very people. Scripture warns that a king’s anger can bring death (Proverbs 16:14) and that the plans of the wicked come to nothing (Psalm 112:10).
- Esther 7:7 (BSB)“In his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him.”The king storms out to the garden while Haman stays to plead with Esther, knowing the king has turned against him.
- Esther 3:6 (BSB)“And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.”Haman had set out to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the very people whose queen he now begs for mercy.
- Proverbs 16:14 (BSB)“The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.”This proverb describes the deadly danger of a king’s anger, which Haman now faces.
- Psalm 112:10 (BSB)“The wicked man will see and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked will perish.”The psalmist says the desires of the wicked come to nothing, as Haman’s plans now do.
Theological
When the enraged king left for the palace garden, why did Haman remain with Queen Esther (Esther 7:7)?
Answer: To beg her to spare him, sensing the king intended his ruin
The king rises in fury and goes out to the garden, and Haman stays to plead with Esther to spare him, recognizing that the king has already resolved on his ruin (7:7). The reversal is sharp: the man who had scorned to strike Mordecai alone and set out to wipe out every Jew (3:6) now depends on the mercy of a Jewish queen. Proverbs describes a king’s wrath as a herald of death (Proverbs 16:14), and the psalmist says what the wicked crave comes to nothing (Psalm 112:10).
- Esther 7:7 (BSB)“In his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him.”The king storms out to the garden while Haman stays to plead with Esther, knowing the king has turned against him.
- Esther 3:6 (BSB)“And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.”Haman had set out to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the very people whose queen he now begs for mercy.
- Proverbs 16:14 (BSB)“The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.”This proverb describes the deadly danger of a king’s anger, which Haman now faces.
- Psalm 112:10 (BSB)“The wicked man will see and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked will perish.”The psalmist says the desires of the wicked come to nothing, as Haman’s plans now do.
General
True or False: Haman died on the very gallows he had set up for Mordecai, and afterward the king’s anger died down.
Answer: True
This is true. At the king’s command Haman was hanged on the gallows meant for Mordecai, and then the king’s fury subsided (7:10). Haman’s plan turned back on himself; the book later sums it up by saying the wicked scheme he devised against the Jews came back upon him (9:25). The book of Esther never names God, but Scripture teaches this pattern of justice again and again: whoever sets a trap for others ends up caught in it (Proverbs 26:27), the wicked man’s own violence comes down on him (Psalm 7:15-16), and the righteous are rescued from trouble while the wicked take their place (Proverbs 11:8).
- Esther 7:10 (BSB)“So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.”Haman is hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsides.
- Proverbs 26:27 (BSB)“He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.”The proverb describes the schemer caught by his own scheme, as Haman was.
- Psalm 7:15-16 (BSB)“He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making. His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.”The psalm says the wicked man’s trouble and violence recoil on himself.
- Proverbs 11:8 (BSB)“The righteous man is delivered from trouble; in his place the wicked man goes in.”The righteous man is delivered and the wicked goes in his place, as Mordecai lived and Haman died.
Theological
True or False: Haman was executed on the gallows intended for Mordecai, after which the king’s wrath subsided.
Answer: True
This is true. Haman is hanged on the very gallows meant for Mordecai, and only then does the king’s fury subside (7:10). The reversal is one the book itself marks, later summarizing that Haman’s scheme recoiled upon him (9:25). Although God is not named in Esther, the outcome matches what Scripture teaches about the LORD’s just rule: the schemer falls into his own pit (Proverbs 26:27), violence recoils on its author (Psalm 7:15-16), and the righteous is delivered while the wicked goes in his place (Proverbs 11:8).
- Esther 7:10 (BSB)“So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.”Haman is hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsides.
- Proverbs 26:27 (BSB)“He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.”The proverb describes the schemer caught by his own scheme, as Haman was.
- Psalm 7:15-16 (BSB)“He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making. His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.”The psalm says the wicked man’s trouble and violence recoil on himself.
- Proverbs 11:8 (BSB)“The righteous man is delivered from trouble; in his place the wicked man goes in.”The righteous man is delivered and the wicked goes in his place, as Mordecai lived and Haman died.
General
True or False: When the king came back from the garden and saw Haman on Esther’s couch, he accused Haman of attacking the queen in the palace.
Answer: True
This is true. At the very moment the king came back inside, Haman had fallen onto the queen’s couch, and the king cried out that Haman would even attack the queen with the king himself in the palace (7:8). The moment the king had spoken, Haman’s face was covered, and within moments the order for his death followed (7:9-10). Haman’s own household had warned him that once his fall before Mordecai began, he would not stand (6:13). Scripture says that the Lord laughs at the wicked who plot against good people, because He knows their end is near (Psalm 37:12-13), and that those who hate the righteous will face condemnation (Psalm 34:21).
- Esther 7:8 (BSB)“Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.”The king returns to find Haman on Esther’s couch and treats it as an assault on the queen; Haman’s face is covered.
- Esther 6:13 (BSB)“Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.””Haman’s advisers had foretold that he would surely fall before Mordecai.
- Psalm 37:12-13 (BSB)“The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them, but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.”The psalm says the Lord sees the coming day of those who scheme against the righteous.
- Psalm 34:21 (BSB)“Evil will slay the wicked, and the haters of the righteous will be condemned.”The psalm says those who hate the righteous will be condemned, as Haman now is.
Theological
True or False: Returning from the garden to find Haman fallen on Esther’s couch, the king charged him with assaulting the queen inside the palace.
Answer: True
This is true. Haman’s plea becomes a further charge: the king comes back in to find him falling on Esther’s couch and denounces it as an assault on the queen in his own palace (7:8). Haman’s face is covered at once, and his execution is ordered within moments (7:9-10). The prediction of his own advisers, that his fall before Mordecai had begun and would be complete (6:13), comes true swiftly. Scripture teaches that the Lord sees the day of those who plot against the righteous (Psalm 37:12-13) and that those who hate the righteous face condemnation (Psalm 34:21).
- Esther 7:8 (BSB)“Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.”The king returns to find Haman on Esther’s couch and treats it as an assault on the queen; Haman’s face is covered.
- Esther 6:13 (BSB)“Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.””Haman’s advisers had foretold that he would surely fall before Mordecai.
- Psalm 37:12-13 (BSB)“The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them, but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.”The psalm says the Lord sees the coming day of those who scheme against the righteous.
- Psalm 34:21 (BSB)“Evil will slay the wicked, and the haters of the righteous will be condemned.”The psalm says those who hate the righteous will be condemned, as Haman now is.
General
What did Harbonah, a eunuch serving Xerxes, point out about the gallows at Haman’s house (Esther 7:9)?
Answer: Haman had put it up for Mordecai, whose report had saved the king
Harbonah, a eunuch serving Xerxes, told him that a tall gallows stood at Haman’s house, built for Mordecai, the man whose report had saved the king’s life (7:9). That report went back to the day Mordecai exposed the plot of Bigthan and Teresh to kill the king (2:21-22), a service written in the royal chronicles and read aloud to the king on his sleepless night (6:1-2). Haman had built the gallows on the advice of his wife and friends, planning to ask the king to hang Mordecai on it (5:14). Harbonah’s remark showed the king that Haman had plotted against the very man who had protected his life.
- Esther 7:9 (BSB)“Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman’s house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” “Hang him on it!” declared the king.”Harbonah tells the king about the gallows Haman built for Mordecai, and the king orders Haman hanged on it.
- Esther 2:21-22 (BSB)“In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, grew angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she informed the king on Mordecai’s behalf.”Mordecai had uncovered the plot of two eunuchs to kill the king and reported it through Esther.
- Esther 6:1-2 (BSB)“That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him. And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.”The record of Mordecai’s report was read to the king on the night he could not sleep.
- Esther 5:14 (BSB)“His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows fifty cubits high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.” The advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows constructed.”Haman had the gallows built on the advice of his wife and friends, intending it for Mordecai.
Theological
What information did the eunuch Harbonah give the king about the gallows standing at Haman’s house (Esther 7:9)?
Answer: Haman had put it up for Mordecai, whose report had saved the king
Harbonah informs the king that a towering gallows stands at Haman’s house, built for Mordecai, whose report had saved the king (7:9). The remark ties together threads from earlier chapters: Mordecai’s exposure of Bigthan and Teresh (2:21-22), the record of it read to the sleepless king (6:1-2), and the gallows Haman raised at the urging of Zeresh and his friends (5:14). Haman stands revealed as having plotted against the king’s own benefactor.
- Esther 7:9 (BSB)“Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman’s house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” “Hang him on it!” declared the king.”Harbonah tells the king about the gallows Haman built for Mordecai, and the king orders Haman hanged on it.
- Esther 2:21-22 (BSB)“In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, grew angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she informed the king on Mordecai’s behalf.”Mordecai had uncovered the plot of two eunuchs to kill the king and reported it through Esther.
- Esther 6:1-2 (BSB)“That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him. And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.”The record of Mordecai’s report was read to the king on the night he could not sleep.
- Esther 5:14 (BSB)“His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows fifty cubits high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.” The advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows constructed.”Haman had the gallows built on the advice of his wife and friends, intending it for Mordecai.