Bible Strands
Esther 3:9
If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Haman addresses King Xerxes at the moment he proposes a royal decree to destroy a scattered people who refuse to obey royal laws.
The words — The Hebrew word יִכָּתֵ֖ב (yi.ka.Tev) literally means "let it be written," denoting the formal drafting of a decree, and אֲלָפִ֜ים ('a.la.Fim) means "thousands," quantifying the silver Haman pledges.
The thread — The figure of ten thousand talents appears in Genesis 23:16 as the price for a burial field and in Matthew 18:24 as the debt owed by a forgiven servant.
Why it lands — The text states that Haman offers ten thousand talents to fund the execution of a genocide, requiring the reader to observe how wealth is deployed to manipulate royal authority.
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
If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.
Cross-references
- Genesis 23:16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard of the merchants.
- Matthew 18:24 As he began the settlements, a debtor owing ten thousand talents was brought to him.