Bible Strands
Esther 3:7
In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that in the twelfth year of King Xerxes, during the first month of Nisan, Haman casts lots to fix a date for the planned annihilation of the Jews.
The words — The supplied Hebrew highlights חֹדֶשׁ (chodesh, "month") and הָרִאשׁוֹן (harishon, "first") to anchor the precise chronological sequence of the calendar event.
The thread — The lot-drawing motif appears in Esther 9:24 to recapitulate Haman’s original plot, while Proverbs 16:33 notes that the lot’s final decision originates from the LORD, and Ezra 6:15 uses the same month of Adar to mark temple completion.
Why it lands — The text records Haman’s selection of the month of Adar before any royal authorization, requiring the reader to note how human scheduling operates independently of divine oversight until the narrative reverses it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.
Cross-references
- Ezra 6:15 And this temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
- Esther 9:24 For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.
- Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
- Ezekiel 21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He shakes the arrows, he consults the idols, he examines the liver.
- Nehemiah 2:1 Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,
- Esther 1:3 In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there, along with the nobles and princes of the provinces.
- Esther 2:16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
- Esther 9:1 On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.
- Esther 9:5 The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did as they pleased to those who hated them.
- Esther 9:17 This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.