Bible Strands
Esther 9:15
On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records the Jews in Susa gathering on the fourteenth of Adar to execute three hundred men, following the king’s edict that authorized their defense. This moment occurs after the initial day of conflict and the hanging of Haman’s ten sons.
The words — וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ (va-yiḳḵāhălû) means "and they assembled," marking the second coordinated gathering of the Jews in Susa after the first day of fighting. The text explicitly notes they did not lay a hand on the plunder, emphasizing restraint during a state-sanctioned retaliation.
The thread — The refusal to take plunder recurs in Esther 9:10 and 9:16, where Jews in Susa and the royal provinces similarly kill enemies without seizing property. This contrasts with Esther 8:11, which explicitly grants permission to take plunder but does not mandate it.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that authorized defense does not require greed, as the Jews kill specified enemies while deliberately leaving spoils untouched. It presents restraint as a deliberate choice rather than a default outcome of violence.
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
For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.
Cross-references
- Esther 8:11 By these letters the king permitted the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions.
- Esther 9:10 They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
- Esther 9:2 In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.
- Esther 9:13 Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”
- Esther 9:16 The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
- Psalms 118:7 The LORD is on my side; He is my helper. Therefore I will look in triumph on those who hate me.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil.
- Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”