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Esther 8 Bible study: Light, gladness, joy, and honor

Esther asked the king "to reverse the letters devised by Haman" (8:5), and he answered that what is sealed with his ring "may not be reversed by any man" (8:8): in Hebrew, her own word. He told them to write again instead. And Mordecai went out in the blue, white, fine linen and purple of the hangings at the king's feast (1:6, 8:15).

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“For how can I endure to see the evil that would come to my people? How can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?”
Esther 8:6 · World English Bible

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“The king said that a writing sealed with his ring may not be reversed by any man.”

Is that in Esther 8, or not? Make your call.

What's really going on

Haman is gone; his letters are not

In the text

"On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews’ enemy, to Esther the queen. Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her" (8:1) (tap told). "The king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman" (8:2) (tap ring). Haman is dead (7:10), and his house and his ring have been given away. But the letters written by "all that Haman commanded" (3:12) are still out. So "Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet and begged him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his plan that he had planned against the Jews" (8:3) (tap begged, tears, put away). In Hebrew, had taken in 8:2 and put away in 8:3 are one verb: the ring was taken from Haman, and Esther asks that his mischief be put away too.

Honest questions

Questions people ask about Esther 8

That was a taste

The rest of Esther 8 is waiting in Favor

  • My people, my relatives
  • A writing no one can reverse
  • What the letters granted
  • From sackcloth to royal clothing
  • What she couldn't endure to see
  • 7 questions as you read
  • 14 more Hebrew words
  • A short check at the end
  • Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it

טַבַּעַתtabba'atsay tab-BA-at

Brown-Driver-Briggs: "signet, signet-ring, ring". Strong's: "properly, a seal (as sunk into the wax), i.e. signet (for sealing); hence (generally) a ring of any kind". "The king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai" (8:2). The king names it twice in one breath, "seal it with the king’s ring" and "sealed with the king’s ring" (8:8), and Mordecai's letters are sent out after he "sealed it with the king’s ring" (8:10). It comes six times in Esther: twice in chapter 3, when "The king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman" (3:10) and Haman's letters were "sealed with the king’s ring" (3:12), and four times here. The WEB's seal and sealed in 8:8 and 8:10 are the verb chatam, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "seal, affix seal, seal up".

For your group

Esther 8 Bible study questions

  1. 1Esther had just been given the house of Haman (8:1), and still went back to the king with tears for her people (8:3-6). When things have gone well for you, what keeps you speaking up for those still in trouble?
  2. 2The king couldn't take back what had been written and sealed, so a second letter was written (8:8). When something you've said or done can't be taken back, what can you still do?
  3. 3Where there had been mourning, fasting and weeping (4:3), the Jews had "gladness, joy, a feast and a holiday" (8:17). When has a heavy time in your life turned, and who shared the gladness with you?

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Questions

What is Favor?

Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home