Chapter 8
The king gives Esther all of Haman's wealth and makes Mordecai prime minister. Esther begs the king to lift the extermination order, and he does. Haman is impaled on the stake. Then things get ugly. Another order is issued, this time to kill everyone that would assault them (v. 11) and their families. How quickly the victims become the agressors! A lot of people convert to Judaism to hide.
Chapter 9
The Jews gather together to exterminate their enemies, including Haman's ten sons. But that's not enough, so Esther asks for another day of slaughter. All told, 75 810 people die in those two days.
To celebrate, the Jews get together and have a party. They decide to make the anniversary of their conquest a national holiday and call it purim, after the lots that were cast to determine Haman's would-be slaughter.
Chapter 10
The king raises taxes. There's no Tea Party revolt. Mordecai is a hero. The end.
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"How quickly the victims become the agressors! A lot of people convert to Judaism to hide."
ReplyDeleteWow! Somehow I missed that part when I read Esther. Is this the history of religions or what? Valiantly fighting for one's own freedom, and then taking away the freedom of everyone else once you're in power!