אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה גִּדַּל הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ אֶת־הָמָן בֶּן־הַמְּדָתָא הָאֲגָגִי וַיְנַשְּׂאֵהוּ וַיָּשֶׂם אֶת־כִּסְאוֹ מֵעַל כָּל־הַשָּׂרִים אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ

After these matters, the appointment of Esther and the foiled plot of Bigtan and Teresh, King Ahashverosh promoted from among his ministers Haman son of Hamedata the Agagite, and he elevated him, raised his status, and he placed his seat above all the princes who were with him. Advancing one particular minister to the status of a close confidant of the king was not unheard of, as attested in other documents of the period.

וְכָל־עַבְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר־בְּשַׁעַר הַמֶּלֶךְ כֹּרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לְהָמָן כִּי־כֵן צִוָּה־ לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ וּמָרְדֳּכַי לֹא יִכְרַע וְלֹא יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה

All the king’s servants, his ministers and attendants, who were at the king’s gate, were bowing and prostrating themselves to Haman, for so had the king commanded concerning him; but Mordekhai would not bow and would not prostrate himself, for an undetermined reason.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ עַבְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר־בְּשַׁעַר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְמָרְדֳּכָי מַדּוּעַ אַתָּה עוֹבֵר אֵת מִצְוַת הַמֶּלֶךְ

The king’s servants, who were at the king’s gate, said to Mordekhai: Why are you violating the king’s commandment that all must bow before Haman?

וַיְהִי כְּאָמְרָם אֵלָיו יוֹם וָיוֹם וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֲלֵיהֶם וַיַּגִּידוּ לְהָמָן לִרְאוֹת הֲיַעַמְדוּ דִּבְרֵי מָרְדֳּכַי כִּי־הִגִּיד לָהֶם אֲשֶׁר־הוּא יְהוּדִי

It was, when they spoke to him day after day, and he did not listen to them, that they told this to Haman. Perhaps Haman had not noticed Mordekhai’s refusal up to that point, as a large crowd would pass before him, all bowing, but those present, seeking to stir up trouble, informed Haman of the situation in order to see whether Mordekhai’s words would prevail, whether he would remain firm in his decision not to bow to Haman, for he had told them that he was a Jew and perhaps for that reason he would not prostrate himself to Haman.

וַיַּרְא הָמָן כִּי־אֵין מָרְדֳּכַי כֹּרֵעַ וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לוֹ וַיִּמָּלֵא הָמָן חֵמָה

Haman saw that Mordekhai was not bowing and not prostrating himself to him, and Haman was filled with fury over what he considered a public insult.

וַיִּבֶז בְּעֵינָיו לִשְׁלֹחַ יָד בְּמָרְדֳּכַי לְבַדּוֹ כִּי־הִגִּידוּ לוֹ אֶת־עַם מָרְדֳּכָי וַיְבַקֵּשׁ הָמָן לְהַשְׁמִיד אֶת־כָּל־הַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר בְּכָל־מַלְכוּת אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ עַם מָרְדֳּכָי

Haman could have punished Mordekhai for his behavior, or tried to do away with him, but he disdained to do violence to Mordekhai alone; merely harming Mordekhai himself was not enough for him, for he had been told of Mordekhai’s people. This indicates that in those times there was no external sign that made it easy to differentiate between Jews and gentiles. Haman sought to destroy all the Jews in the entire kingdom of Ahashverosh, the people of Mordekhai. Despite Haman’s many duties as senior minister of a massive empire, he developed an obsession with the Jews, because they were Mordekhai’s nation, and he sought a way to eliminate them all.

בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן הוּא־חֹדֶשׁ נִיסָן בִּשְׁנַת שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה לַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ הִפִּיל פּוּר הוּא הַגּוֹרָל לִפְנֵי הָמָן מִיּוֹם לְיוֹם וּמֵחֹדֶשׁ לְחֹדֶשׁ שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂר הוּא־חֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר

Haman was determined to destroy all the Jews, and he plotted how to bring this idea to fruition. In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, during the twelfth year of King Ahashverosh, he had cast a pur, a Persian word, which is the lot [goral] in Hebrew. This was a means of divination through which one would determine the best course of action to take, and the ideal time to take it. The lot was cast before Haman. Haman wanted to find the right date, and to that end cast lots for each day and for each month, to the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. He came to the conclusion that the best time to bring about the downfall of the Jews was the month of Adar, presumably in the upcoming year.

וַיֹּאמֶר הָמָן לַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם־אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים בְּכֹל מְדִינוֹת מַלְכוּתֶךָ וְדָתֵיהֶם שֹׁנוֹת מִכָּל־עָם וְאֶת־דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים וְלַמֶּלֶךְ אֵין־שֹׁוֶה לְהַנִּיחָם

Since Haman had no independent authority, he needed to incite Ahashverosh to approve his initiative. Haman said to King Ahashverosh: There is one people that is scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; they are not concentrated in one country; and their laws, their practices, their ways of life, are different from every people’s. A significant proportion of the commandments of the Torah serve to keep Jews apart from gentiles and prevent them from engaging in idolatry. And while the Jews observe their own laws, they do not follow the king’s laws, and therefore it is not worthwhile for the king to tolerate them. They are a small nation of no importance, and an annoyance that disrupts the harmony of your kingdom.

אִם־עַל הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב יִכָּתֵב לְאַבְּדָם וַעֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים כִּכַּר־כֶּסֶף אֶשְׁקוֹל עַל־יְדֵי עֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה לְהָבִיא אֶל־גִּנְזֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ

If it pleases the king to accept my proposal, let it be written as an official order to eliminate them, and I will weigh ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of the king’s craftsmen. I volunteer to give ten thousand silver talents of my own to those who can turn it into silver bullion, to bring to the king’s treasuries. The donation to the king’s treasuries would compensate Ahashverosh for any possible financial costs incurred by the course of action suggested by Haman, as the king might fear the loss of so many taxpayers.

וַיָּסַר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת־טַבַּעְתּוֹ מֵעַל יָדוֹ וַיִּתְּנָהּ לְהָמָן בֶּן־הַמְּדָתָא הָאֲגָגִי צֹרֵר הַיְּהוּדִים

Apathetic as he was to the fate of the Jews, Ahashverosh was apparently enthused by the generous gift of his chief minister. Therefore, the king removed his ring with the royal seal from his hand, and he gave it to Haman son of Hamedata the Agagite, the adversary of the Jews. This was not merely a verbal agreement; by giving him his seal, Ahashverosh granted Haman practical permission and authority to sign in the king’s name.

וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְהָמָן הַכֶּסֶף נָתוּן לָךְ וְהָעָם לַעֲשׂוֹת בּוֹ כַּטּוֹב בְּעֵינֶיךָ

The king said to Haman: The silver that you offered to donate is given to you; it shall remain in your possession, as the kingdom will bear the cost, and the people are also given to you, to do with them as it is pleasing in your eyes, in accordance with your wishes.

וַיִּקָּרְאוּ סֹפְרֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם בּוֹ וַיִּכָּתֵב כְּכָל־אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּה הָמָן אֶל אֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנֵי־הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֶל־הַפַּחוֹת אֲשֶׁר עַל־מְדִינָה וּמְדִינָה וְאֶל־שָׂרֵי עַם וָעָם מְדִינָה וּמְדִינָה כִּכְתָבָהּ וְעַם וָעָם כִּלְשׁוֹנוֹ בְּשֵׁם הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹשׁ נִכְתָּב וְנֶחְתָּם בְּטַבַּעַת הַמֶּלֶךְ

Haman acted with great haste. He cast the lots at the beginning of Nisan, and by the thirteenth of the month everything was ready for the next stage of his plan: The king’s scribes were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of it, and it was written in accordance with everything that Haman commanded to the king’s satraps, who presided over the larger regions, and to the governors who were over each and every province, the smaller areas, and to the princes of each and every people, to each and every province in its script, and to each and every people in its language. In the name of King Ahashverosh, it, the missive with the decree, was written, and it was sealed with the king’s ring.

וְנִשְׁלוֹחַ סְפָרִים בְּיַד הָרָצִים אֶל־כָּל־מְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ לְהַשְׁמִיד לַהֲרֹג וּלְאַבֵּד אֶת־כָּל־הַיְּהוּדִים מִנַּעַר וְעַד־זָקֵן טַף וְנָשִׁים בְּיוֹם אֶחָד בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂר הוּא־חֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר ושְׁלָלָם לָבוֹז

The scrolls were sent in the hand of the couriers to all the king’s provinces, in which it was written that the king permitted his subjects to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews, from lad to elder, children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their spoils, their property. The instructions were sent almost a year in advance, perhaps in order to establish the facts on the ground as soon as possible, and so that the missives would reach the farthest corners of the empire in time. Due to Haman’s trust in his divination, he was resolute in keeping the determined date, at which point the Jews would be deemed legitimate targets. There does not seem to have been any need to enforce this decree. It simply stated that on such and such a date the Jews would no longer enjoy the protection of the law. Haman assumed that that was sufficient, and that the members of the various nations of the empire would take the opportunity to annihilate the Jews.

פַּתְשֶׁגֶן הַכְּתָב לְהִנָּתֵן דָּת בְּכָל־מְדִינָה וּמְדִינָה גָּלוּי לְכָל־הָעַמִּים לִהְיוֹת עֲתִדִים לַיּוֹם הַזֶּה

A copy of the document went out to issue the decree in each and every province, publicizing it to all the peoples: To be ready for that day. Although it is unlikely that Jews were to be found in every remote corner of the Persian Empire, for bureaucratic reasons the announcement was sent to each province; a general decree of the king had to reach the entire kingdom.

הָרָצִים יָצְאוּ דְחוּפִים בִּדְבַר הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהַדָּת נִתְּנָה בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה וְהַמֶּלֶךְ וְהָמָן יָשְׁבוּ לִשְׁתּוֹת וְהָעִיר שׁוּשָׁן נָבוֹכָה

The couriers went out urgently by the word of the king, and the decree was issued in the Shushan citadel. The king and Haman sat to drink and toast the success of their plan. Ahashverosh and Haman were so delighted that the plan had been put into motion that they held a small feast; and meanwhile the city of Shushan, mainly its Jewish community, of which Mordekhai was a prominent member, was confounded by the sudden harsh decree.