Bible Strands
Esther 7:9
Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman’s house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” “Hang him on it!” declared the king.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Harbonah, one of the king’s attending eunuchs, speaks to the king at the banquet hall immediately after Haman falls onto Esther’s couch and the king misinterprets the posture as an assault.
The words — וַ/יֹּ֣אמֶר (va/i.Yo.mer) translates as “and he said,” marking Harbonah’s sudden intervention, while גַּ֣ם (gam) means “also” or “even,” emphasizing the unexpected nature of the eunuch’s report.
The thread — The motif of self-destruction appears in Psalms 7:15 and Proverbs 11:5, where the wicked fall into pits they dug or are brought down by their own wickedness.
Why it lands — It demands recognition that human schemes to harm others often reverse to strike the schemer, requiring the reader to observe divine justice without romanticizing the mechanism.
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
And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.
Cross-references
- Psalms 7:15 He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
- Proverbs 11:5 The righteousness of the blameless directs their path, but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.
- Esther 1:10 On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he ordered the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—
- Esther 5:14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows fifty cubits high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.” The advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows constructed.
- Psalms 35:8 May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.
- Psalms 141:10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.
- Daniel 6:24 At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
- 1 Samuel 17:51 David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him, and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
- Esther 6:2 And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
- Esther 6:14 While they were still speaking with Haman, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed him to the banquet that Esther had prepared.