Question 1

How was the observance of Purim finally confirmed (Esther 9:29-32)?

Accepted Answer

Queen Esther, together with Mordecai, wrote with all the authority she had to confirm the second letter about Purim (9:29). Mordecai sent letters of peaceful and truthful words to Jews throughout the king’s provinces, to confirm the dates of Purim, as he and the queen had set them, along with the seasons of fasting and lamenting that had been accepted for themselves and for later generations (9:30-31). The queen’s decree settled these rules for Purim, and they were written down in the record (9:32). The queen who had once feared approaching the king without being summoned (4:11) now used her royal authority on behalf of her people, completing what Mordecai’s first letter had begun (9:20-21).

Question 2

By what means was the observance of Purim finally established (Esther 9:29-32)?

Accepted Answer

Queen Esther joins Mordecai in writing with full royal authority to ratify the second letter on Purim (9:29). Mordecai’s peaceful and truthful letters go to the Jews of every province, confirming the days at their set time, together with the fasts and lamentations they had accepted (9:30-31), and Esther’s decree fixes these regulations in the written record (9:32). The queen who once dreaded an unsummoned approach to the king (4:11) now exercises her office for her people, completing what Mordecai’s first letter began (9:20-21).

Question 3

When the king told Esther what had happened in Susa and asked for any further request, what did she ask (Esther 9:12-13)?

Accepted Answer

At the end of the first day, the king received a count of the dead in the fortress of Susa, which included Haman’s ten sons (9:10-11). The king told Esther what had happened in Susa and, as he had done at her banquets, asked what further petition she had (9:12; compare 5:6 and 7:2). Esther asked that Susa’s Jews be allowed the next day as well to carry out the edict, and that Haman’s ten sons, already dead, be hung on the gallows (9:13). The king ordered it done, and the next day, the fourteenth, the capital’s Jews gathered again (9:14-15). The book later summarizes these events by saying that Haman and his sons were hanged (9:25).

Question 4

Invited once more by the king to name a further request, what did Esther ask for (Esther 9:12-13)?

Accepted Answer

When the day’s toll in the fortress of Susa, Haman’s ten sons among them, is reported (9:10-11), Xerxes relays it to Esther and, echoing the formula of her banquets, invites a further petition (9:12; compare 5:6 and 7:2). Esther asks that Susa’s Jews have the following day as well under the edict, and that the already-dead sons of Haman be hung on the gallows (9:13). The king grants it, and the Jews of Susa assemble again on the fourteenth (9:14-15). The book’s later summary records that Haman and his sons were hanged (9:25).

Question 5

Why did the provincial officials help the Jews on that day (Esther 9:3-4)?

Accepted Answer

Throughout the provinces the Jews gathered in their cities against those who wanted to harm them, and no one could hold out against them, because all the peoples had come to fear them (9:2). All the provincial officials, including the satraps, governors, and royal administrators, supported the Jews because they feared Mordecai. Mordecai held great influence at court, and his reputation spread through every province as his power steadily increased (9:3-4). The man Haman had hoped to hang now held power that the empire’s officials feared. Long before, God had promised to put fear of His people on those around them (Deuteronomy 11:25), and Scripture teaches that the LORD humbles and lifts up, raising the lowly to sit with princes (1 Samuel 2:7-8).

Question 6

What reason does the text give for the provincial officials’ support of the Jews (Esther 9:3-4)?

Accepted Answer

The Jews gather in their cities against those seeking their harm, and none can withstand them, since dread of them has fallen on every people (9:2). The satraps, governors, and royal administrators side with the Jews out of fear of Mordecai, whose authority at court and fame in the provinces keep increasing (9:3-4). Mordecai, once marked for the gallows, now commands the respect and fear of the empire’s officials. The dread recalls God’s covenant promise to put the fear of Israel on its opponents (Deuteronomy 11:25), and Mordecai’s ascent displays the LORD who humbles and exalts (1 Samuel 2:7-8).

Question 7

Why did Susa’s Jews rest and celebrate on the fifteenth of Adar, a day later than the provincial Jews (Esther 9:17-19)?

Accepted Answer

In the provinces the Jews defended themselves on the thirteenth of Adar and rested on the fourteenth, celebrating it with feasts and gladness (9:17). In Susa, however, the Jews had gathered on both the thirteenth and fourteenth, so their day of rest came on the fifteenth instead (9:18). That is why the Jews living in country villages kept the fourteenth as their festive holiday, exchanging presents with one another (9:19). The rest they celebrated was relief from their foes (9:22), the kind of rest God had once given Israel in the land, when no enemy could withstand them (Joshua 21:44).

Question 8

What accounts for the Jews of Susa resting on the fifteenth of Adar rather than the fourteenth (Esther 9:17-19)?

Accepted Answer

The provincial Jews fought on Adar the thirteenth and rested the following day with feasting and gladness (9:17), but the Jews of Susa had gathered on both the thirteenth and fourteenth, so their rest came a day later (9:18). This explains why the village Jews observed the fourteenth as a festive holiday with exchanges of gifts (9:19). What they celebrated was relief from their foes (9:22), recalling the rest the LORD had given Israel on every side in Joshua’s day (Joshua 21:44).

Question 9

True or False: Mordecai wrote that the Purim days should include exchanging presents with one another and giving gifts to the poor.

Accepted Answer

This is true. Mordecai instructed that the days be kept with feasts and gladness, with presents exchanged among the Jews and gifts given to the poor (9:22). The village Jews had already begun exchanging presents on the fourteenth (9:19). The celebration of deliverance was marked not only by feasting but by generosity toward people in need. This matches the celebration in Nehemiah’s day, when the people were told to share food with those who had nothing prepared (Nehemiah 8:10), and the law’s command to open one’s hand wide to the poor (Deuteronomy 15:11).

Question 10

True or False: Mordecai’s letter prescribed that the days be kept with feasting, mutual gift-giving, and gifts for the poor.

Accepted Answer

This is true. Mordecai’s letter prescribes feasting and joy, gifts exchanged among the Jews, and gifts to the poor (9:22), formalizing a practice the village Jews had already begun (9:19). The celebration of deliverance thus includes generosity to the needy, in keeping with the festival instruction of Nehemiah’s day to send portions to those without provision (Nehemiah 8:10) and with the law’s command to be openhanded toward the poor (Deuteronomy 15:11).

Question 11

True or False: Although the king’s edict allowed it, the Jews seized nothing from their enemies as plunder.

Accepted Answer

This is true. On the appointed day the Jews struck down their enemies, in Susa and across the provinces, Haman’s ten sons among them, with the totals the chapter gives (9:5-6, 9:10, 9:16). Mordecai’s decree had also allowed them to take their enemies’ possessions (8:11), just as Haman’s decree had allowed others to plunder the Jews (3:13). Yet the chapter says three times that the Jews kept their hands off the plunder: in Susa on the first day (9:10), in Susa on the second day (9:15), and in the provinces (9:16). The repeated statement shows that they did not use the day to make themselves rich, much as Abram long before refused to take anything from Sodom’s ruler, so that no one could claim to have made him wealthy (Genesis 14:22-23).

Question 12

True or False: Despite the edict’s permission to plunder, the Jews refrained from seizing their enemies’ goods.

Accepted Answer

This is true. On the appointed day the Jews struck down their enemies in Susa and the provinces, Haman’s ten sons among them, with the totals the chapter records (9:5-6, 9:10, 9:16). Though the counter-decree permitted plunder (8:11), mirroring Haman’s edict (3:13), the chapter stresses three times that the Jews kept their hands off the spoil: in Susa on the thirteenth (9:10), in Susa on the fourteenth (9:15), and throughout the provinces (9:16). The repetition makes clear that the day of defense was not turned into an occasion for gain, much like Abram’s refusal of the spoils of Sodom lest anyone claim to have made him rich (Genesis 14:22-23).

Question 13

What happened on the day Haman’s decree had been set to be carried out (Esther 9:1)?

Accepted Answer

The thirteenth of Adar fell in the month Haman’s lot had chosen and was the very day his decree had appointed (3:7, 3:13). On that very day the Jews’ enemies expected to defeat them; instead the situation was turned upside down, and the Jews gained the upper hand over their haters (9:1). This reversal is the turning point of the whole book. The book of Esther never names God, but Scripture teaches that even the casting of a lot is decided by the LORD (Proverbs 16:33), and that what people intend for evil God can intend for good, to keep many people alive (Genesis 50:20).

Question 14

What took place on the thirteenth of Adar, the day appointed by Haman’s edict (Esther 9:1)?

Accepted Answer

The day fixed by Haman’s decree, in the month his lot had chosen (3:7, 3:13), becomes the day of reversal: the Jews’ enemies had hoped to master them, but the outcome was turned around and the Jews prevailed over their haters (9:1). The reversal is the hinge of the book. Though God is not named in Esther, Scripture’s teaching on providence frames the event: every decision of the lot belongs to the LORD (Proverbs 16:33), and human evil intent is overruled by God’s good purpose to preserve life (Genesis 50:20).

Question 15

According to Mordecai’s letters, what were the two yearly days in the middle of Adar meant to remember (Esther 9:20-22)?

Accepted Answer

Mordecai put these events in writing and sent word to the Jews in every province of King Xerxes, near and far, establishing two days in the middle of Adar as yearly days of celebration (9:20-21). They were to mark the days when the Jews found relief from their foes and the month when their grief gave way to gladness and their mourning became a holiday (9:22). Scripture often speaks of God turning mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11) and giving His people comfort in place of sorrow (Jeremiah 31:13), and Jesus told His disciples that their grief would be turned into joy (John 16:20).

Question 16

What did Mordecai’s letters establish the two annual days in mid-Adar to commemorate (Esther 9:20-22)?

Accepted Answer

Mordecai records the events and writes to Jews throughout Xerxes’ provinces to establish two mid-Adar days as an annual observance (9:20-21), marking their relief from their foes and the month when grief became gladness and mourning a festival (9:22). The pattern is one Scripture repeatedly ascribes to God, who turns mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11) and replaces sorrow with comfort (Jeremiah 31:13), and which Jesus promised His disciples when He said their grief would turn to joy (John 16:20).

Question 17

What did the Jews commit themselves to regarding the days of Purim (Esther 9:27-28)?

Accepted Answer

Because of Mordecai’s letter and everything they had witnessed and gone through, the Jews committed themselves, their children after them, and anyone who would join them to keep both days at the set time every year (9:26-27). The days were to be remembered and kept by every generation and family, across all the provinces and towns, so that their descendants would never forget them (9:28). Israel had long been taught to pass on the memory of deliverance to later generations (Exodus 12:14; Psalm 78:4). The inclusion of those who would join them recalls the many from other peoples who had become Jews (8:17).

Question 18

What obligation did the Jews take upon themselves concerning Purim (Esther 9:27-28)?

Accepted Answer

In light of Mordecai’s letter and their own experience, the Jews bind themselves, their descendants, and those who would join them to keep these two days annually at their set time (9:26-27), remembering them in each generation and family, in each province and town, so the memory never fades (9:28). The commitment follows Israel’s pattern of memorial feasts handed down through the generations (Exodus 12:14) and of declaring God’s deeds to their children (Psalm 78:4). The provision for those who join them echoes the many who had become Jews (8:17).

Question 19

Why were these days called Purim (Esther 9:24-26)?

Accepted Answer

Haman the Agagite, the foe of every Jew, had schemed to wipe them out and had cast Pur, which means the lot, to decide when to do it (9:24; 3:7). But when the matter was brought to the king, he ordered by letter that Haman’s wicked plan should fall back on Haman himself, and that Haman, together with his sons, should hang on the gallows (9:25). So the days were called Purim, after the word Pur (9:26). The name itself recalls the reversal: the lot Haman cast to choose a day of destruction gave its name to a feast of deliverance. Scripture teaches that whenever lots are thrown, every decision comes from the LORD (Proverbs 16:33), and that the wicked are trapped by the snare they themselves have set (Psalm 9:15-16).

Question 20

What explanation does the text give for the name Purim (Esther 9:24-26)?

Accepted Answer

Haman the Agagite cast Pur, the lot, to fix the date for destroying the Jews (9:24; 3:7), but the king decreed that his scheme should recoil on himself, and that Haman and his sons be hanged (9:25). Hence the name Purim, from Pur (9:26). The name enshrines the reversal: the instrument of Haman’s plan becomes the name of the feast of deliverance. Scripture teaches that the lot’s every outcome lies with the LORD (Proverbs 16:33) and that the wicked are snared in their own net (Psalm 9:15-16).

Esther 9 Study Notes: The Jews Delivered and Purim Begun

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