Bible Strands
Esther 5:10
Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Haman, having just seen Mordecai refuse to honor him, stops his journey home to gather his wife Zeresh and his friends. The moment captures his deliberate shift from unchecked rage to calculated consultation.
The words — וַיִּתְאַפַּק (va-yit'appeq) translates literally as "he restrained himself." The text records Haman's conscious pause before acting on his anger.
The thread — This restrained anger aligns with the warning in Ecclesiastes 7:9 against quick provocation, while Haman's consultation with Zeresh prefigures the advisory exchange in Esther 6:13.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to notice how pride delays vengeance by seeking external validation, proving that Haman's rage is managed only long enough to be amplified.
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
Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.
Cross-references
- Esther 6:13 Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.”
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
- Genesis 43:30 Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.
- Genesis 45:1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me!” So none of them were with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.
- 2 Samuel 13:22 And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad, because he hated Amnon for violating his sister Tamar.