Bible Strands
Esther 8:12
The single day appointed throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King Xerxes issues a royal edict through provincial couriers, establishing a fixed calendar date for the Jews in every city to assemble and defend themselves against hostile forces.
The words — אֶחָד ('e.Chad) = one and י֣וֹם (Yom) = day combine to denote the singular, non-negotiable timeframe of the decree.
The thread — The appointed date recurs in Esther 9:1 as the moment of execution and echoes the destructive orders of Esther 3:13, while the theme of divided spoils resurfaces in Exodus 15:9.
Why it lands — The text demands precise chronological tracking and demonstrates the administrative finality of royal commands, requiring readers to recognize how a single date mobilizes coordinated action across an empire.
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
Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
Cross-references
- 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 3:13 And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.
- Exodus 15:9 The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
- Judges 1:6 As Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.