Text:<\/strong> Esther 9-10<\/p>\n The result was that the Jews killed all who attacked them. In Susa alone, five hundred men were killed, including Haman\u2019s ten sons. Because Haman\u2019s sons are named, it is likely that they were deeply involved in the attempt to destroy the Jews. But, even though the law allowed it, none of the Jews took any plunder from the people they killed.<\/p>\n After Ahasuerus received an accounting of how many were killed in Susa, he asked Esther if there was anything else that she desired. She asked that the Jews be allowed one more day to defend themselves in Susa and that the bodies of Haman\u2019s sons be hanged. Perhaps there were rumors that some would continue to attack the Jews, even though Haman\u2019s law was only for one day. Her wish was granted and on the following day, an additional three hundred men were killed. But, like the day before, the Jews did not plunder the households of those they killed. The emphasis on the lack of plundering shows that the Jews were not involved in this for the money.<\/p>\n Across the empire, a total of 75,000 people were killed and none of the Jews plundered the households of the people they killed in self-defense. The fact that so many died shows that there was widespread hatred for the Jews among the population of the Persian Empire. The next day was celebrated across the empire, but because those in Susa spent an extra day defending themselves, they celebrated on the fifteenth day of Adar. It became a tradition on the fourteenth day of Adar to celebrate, hold feasts, and to send gifts of special foods especially to the poor. Mordecai made both the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar into official annual holidays for the Jews and for those who supported the Jews. The days do not celebrate the Jews\u2019 military prowess, but is a time to praise God for their salvation. This is why the days celebrate are the days when it was over and not the days of the actual conflict.<\/p>\nBecause Haman had cast pur (a lot used much like dice) to determine when to destroy the Jews, the annual holiday was called Purim (the Hebrew way of pluralizing the word pur, even though it is not a Hebrew word itself). Instead of destroying the Jews, his evil came back against himself and his sons. Mordecai became the second in command in the empire and was remembered as a man who sought the good of his people and spoke for the welfare of the Persian nation.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA Study of Esther\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Victory of the Jews Text: Esther 9-10 Understanding What You Read How did the Jews survive the planned destruction of their people? Who aided the Jews and why? What happened to the enemies of the Jews? What did the Jews not take that they were entitled to? When Ahasuerus asked Esther what else she…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":20799,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22257","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22198,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-esther\/reversal-of-fortune\/","url_meta":{"origin":22257,"position":0},"title":"Reversal of Fortune","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Reversal of Fortune Text: Esther 8 Understanding What You Read How did Mordecai come to replace Haman? What did Esther request of the king? Take note of the language. How did Esther address the king when making her plea? What was allowed to be done about the law to kill\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22506,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-esther\/","url_meta":{"origin":22257,"position":1},"title":"Survey of the Bible – Esther","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - Esther Text: Esther 4 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Esther\u2019s story takes place between the first return from captivity, led by Zerubbabel, and the second return lead by Ezra. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It would fall between the 6 and 7 chapters of Ezra. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The author is unknown. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Not the same style as\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21333,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-esther\/hamans-plot\/","url_meta":{"origin":22257,"position":2},"title":"Haman\u2019s Plot","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Haman\u2019s Plot Text: Esther 3 Understanding What You Read What order of the king did Mordecai refuse to obey? What reason did Mordecai give? How was Mordecai\u2019s refusal similar to Vashti\u2019s refusal? Why did Haman decide to destroy all the Jews? What did Haman do all year during Ahasuerus\u2019 twelfth\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21561,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-esther\/convincing-esther-to-intervene\/","url_meta":{"origin":22257,"position":3},"title":"Convincing Esther to Intervene","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Convincing Esther to Intervene Text: Esther 4 Understanding What You Read Why didn\u2019t Mordecai go directly to Esther or the king about Haman\u2019s decree? Do a word study and see if you find out why sackcloth and ashes were used at times of great agony (Genesis 18:27; II Samuel 13:19;\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22262,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-esther\/what-we-learn-from-esther\/","url_meta":{"origin":22257,"position":4},"title":"What We Learn from Esther","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"What We Learn from Esther God cares for His people. He answers their prayers (I John 5:14-15). We also learn that God keeps His word, though He may wait for a suitable time to accomplish His promises. God stated that the Amalekites would be destroyed for their attack on Israel\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66162,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/feast-of-dedication\/","url_meta":{"origin":22257,"position":5},"title":"Feast of Dedication","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Feast of Dedication Reading Assignment: John 10:22-39 \u00a0 Did you understand what you read? What time of year is it? Where is Jesus? What was asked of Jesus? How had Jesus already told them? Give some examples. Why wouldn't the Jews listen? What did Jesus say to cause the Jews\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22257\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Understanding What You Read<\/h2>\n
\n
\nThe Jews assembled together where they could support each other. Those who attempted to attack them, they attacked and triumphed because fear had gripped their enemies. The Jews did not initiate the conflict, but they did put it to an end when they were attacked. The Jews also had the support of the government officials because the officials were afraid of Mordecai, who was becoming increasingly powerful in Ahasuerus\u2019 kingdom.\n
\nQueen Esther also wrote a letter supporting the annual feast and this too was distributed to all the Jews in the Persian Empire. This feast was to be added to fasts and days of mourning they had already had in their traditions (Zechariah 7:2-7). A record of all of these events and the decrees were entered into the book recording the reigns of the kings of Media and Persia.\n