Chapter 9

This chapter says that they did indeed attack the Jews. What a mess.  Non-Jews, in order to obey the law, had to attack the Jews, even knowing that the Jews were also granted leave to defend themselves with extreme prejudice.  One side ordered to attack.  The other side allowed to defend with no repercussions for their actions.  What a horrible day of violence and unrest and death and destruction.  And the center of all of it is the plunder!  Whoever wins gets to steal all the losers have.  Very base motivations on both sides it seems to me.  Yet this is God preserving the remnant.

In the capitol city, they kill all ten of Haman's surviving sons.  They wipe him out.  But in this case, they don't plunder.  Upon learning that 500 men have been killed in the capitol, the King goes to Esther and asks how many were killed elsewhere, and what else she wishes.  He tells her again that she can have what she asks for.  She wants one more day to kill people without reprisal in Susa.  And she wants Haman's sons hanged.  But it says they were already dead.  She wanted dead men hanged.  No plunder was taken on the second day, however. 

2023 - In fact, in vs 16, it says the Jews did a lot of killing, but that they took no plunder, either in Susa or in the provinces.  For me at least, this is a lot to swallow.  I do not believe the Bible has an error...but if it did, this would by my prime suspect.

In all the provinces, 75,000 enemies of the Jews were killed.  That seems a lot.  But then, what should the penalty be for attempted genocide, and for anyone who would still attempt it under these circumstances?  And surely there were Jews killed also as they defended themselves.  Just a barbaric couple of days in ancient Persia.

Mordecai declares the 14th and 15th of Adar holidays for the Jews, to be celebrated with feasting and gifts.