Achashverosh's Shock and Fury/2

Achashverosh's Surprise

Exegetical Approaches

Unaware and Fickle

Achashverosh had been unaware of Esther's Jewish identity, and being both drunk and foolish, did not immediately make the connection to Haman's edict.

Sources:R. Gamliel in Bavli Megillah15bAbout the Bavli, R. Moshe ChalayoR. Moshe Chalio Esther 7:7

Haman's request – This position assumes that Haman was upfront when discussing his plan to annihilate the Jewish people and that Achashverosh knew from the beginning both which nation was referred to and what Haman planned to do them.

10,000 pieces of gold – This approach might suggest that Haman offered the money as a bribe to Achashverosh, assuming that the foolish king would be swayed more by riches than by logical explanations or principles.

"וְהָעָם לַעֲשׂוֹת בּוֹ כַּטּוֹב בְּעֵינֶיךָ" – Achashverosh, not particularly adept at governing on his own, was only too ready to hand over the necessary powers to Haman. He permitted Haman to do as he pleased, and was not overly concerned with the details.

"וְהַמֶּלֶךְ וְהָמָן יָשְׁבוּ לִשְׁתּוֹת" – The verse highlights that, as the edict went out,  Haman and the king drank to it, perhaps suggesting that even while discussing the issue, Achashverosh was not totally sober.  The repeated mention of drinking throughout the scroll adds to the portrait of a drunkard who hardly remains sober long enough to process the goings-on in his kingdom.

"לֹא הִגִּידָה אֶסְתֵּר אֶת עַמָּהּ וְאֶת מוֹלַדְתָּהּ" – Rashbam also points out that this fact is included in the megillah to explain how Haman could dare make his plan; had he known how it would affect the queen, he would have probably found an alternative. This approach might assert, as does Lekach TovEsther 2:10About R. Toviah b. Eliezer, that Mordechai insisted that Esther hide her identity knowing that such secrecy might later play a role in saving the nation. 

How did Esther hide her identity? There are a variety of approaches which attempt to explain how Esther managed to keep her Jewish identity a secret, especially in light of Mordechai's apparently known Judaism. For details, see

Honor to Mordechai – It is odd that days after signing an edict to exterminate the Jewish nation, Achashverosh showers honor on Mordechai without any show of discomfort about the hypocrisy of his actions.  This position would view this as further proof of the king's fickle nature and "out of sight out of mind" attitude.¹

Why doesn't Haman defend himself? R. Arama questions this approach by pointing to Haman's silence in face of the king's accusation.  Had the king really approved the plan and both he and Haman had been unaware of Esther's Jewish identity, why did Haman not say so in his defense?  This position would assert that Haman was all too aware of the king's arbitrariness and knew that the true facts would make no difference.

Esther's tactics – This approach might suggest that Esther purposefully chose a non-threatening setting to reveal her nationality in order to maximize the surprise.  Moreover, she ensured that Haman would be present during her revelation so that the king would take out his wrath immediately before once again changing his mind.

Significance to hanging? According to this approach, Achashverosh on his own might not have insisted on the hanging of Haman.  Charvona's words put the thought in his head and on the spur of the moment, he decided to act.

Portrait of Achashverosh – This position views the king negatively, being inept, foolish and fickle, but does not consider him wicked.

Misled by Haman

Achashverosh had been deceived by Haman, who had hidden the identity of the nation he was planning on destroying and/or misled him regarding what he intended to do to that nation.  Thus, it was with Esther's comment that Achashverosh first realized that Haman decreed to annihilate the Jews.

Sources:Second Targum of Megillat Esther8:13About Second Targum of Megillat Esther, R. Shelomo AstrucEsther 3:11Esther 7:6About R. Shelomo Astruc, Eshkol HaKoferEsther 3:8-10Esther 7:6About R. Avraham Saba, Akeidat YitzchakEsther 3:8-10About R. Yitzchak Arama, Commentary attributed to Ramah, Eliezer Ashkenazi, Vilna GaonEsther 3:8-9About R. Eliyahu Kramer, R. Y"S Reggiop. 21-24About R. Yitzchak Shemuel Reggio, MalbimEsther 3:8-15Esther 4:7Esther 7:4About R. Meir Leibush Weiser²

Haman's request - "יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם אֶחָד" – Most of these commentators³ point out that throughout Haman's speech, he never mentions which nation it is that he is referring to,⁴ calling them only "עַם אֶחָד".  Achashverosh, either due to trust in his closest adviser,⁵ or from ineptitude,⁶ did not ask questions and gave his stamp of authority without ever knowing that it was the Jewish people Haman sought to harm.

Haman's request - "יִכָּתֵב לְאַבְּדָם" – According to many of these commentators,⁷ when speaking to the king, Haman was purposefully misleading in choosing the language of "לְאַבְּדָם", a word which can sustain more than one meaning.⁸ Only in the official letters to the various states did Haman disambiguate, adding ‎"‏‎לְהַשְׁמִיד לַהֲרֹג וּלְאַבֵּד‎".⁹ The exegetes disagree, though, regarding what it was that Haman meant for Achashverosh to understand:

• Religious persecution – Malbim asserts that the word "לאבד" can refer not only to physical destruction, but to spiritual destruction as well.¹⁰ Haman convinced the king that the nation's observance of different religious customs was detrimental to the kingdom and that they should be forced to abandon their faith.¹¹
• Exile – Y"S Reggio points to the verse, "וּבָאוּ הָאֹבְדִים בְּאֶרֶץ אַשּׁוּר "‎¹² as evidence that the root can refer to exile and suggests that Haman told the king that it was best to banish the lawless nation¹³ from his empire.¹⁴
• Enslavement –  R.  Arama and R. Ashkenazi¹⁵ suggest that Haman tried to mislead Achashverosh into understanding that he wanted to enslave (and/or evict) the nation.¹⁶  Akeidat Yitzchak does not bring any textual proof to support such an understanding of the word "‎‏לְאַבְּדָם‎",¹⁷ instead positing that Haman was suggesting that through hard labor they would die of themselves.
• Despoiling - A commentary attributed to the Ramah suggests that the king understood "לְאַבְּדָם" to mean that the nation would be dispossessed and lose their property.¹⁸

10,000 pieces of gold – Haman's offer is understood differently by the commentators in line with their individual understandings of the connotations of "לְאַבְּדָם" above:

• Self-financed – According to Malbim, Haman was saying that, in their religious fervor, the officers would be so happy to fulfill the decree that they would finance it by themselves. 
• Tax replacement - Y"S Reggio might suggest instead that Haman was offering to pay the amount that would be lost in taxes if the nation was to be exiled.¹⁹
• Profits – According to those who suggest that Haman's words were understood as either selling the nation into slavery or dispossessing them, Haman might be telling the king that the profits from such a sale/plundering would go to the royal treasury.²⁰ 

"וְהָעָם לַעֲשׂוֹת בּוֹ כַּטּוֹב בְּעֵינֶיךָ"

• Approval -– According to most of these commentators in these words Achashverosh approved of Haman's plan, allowing him free reign to do as he wished (but unaware of what that wish was). 
• Guided and minimal sanction – In contrast to the other commentators, R. Astruc and R. Saba assume that Haman had been upfront with Achashverosh regarding his plans²¹ but that Achashverosh disagreed with them.  He, thus, told Haman to do only what was right and proper ("כַּטּוֹב") to subdue the nation, never intending that Haman destroy them. Haman's hatred, though, led him to ignore the true intent of the king's words and instead do as he pleased.  His misleading of the king was thus not in the presentation of the plan, but in its execution against the king's wishes.

Did Achashverosh know Esther was Jewish? Most of these commentators likely assume that Achashverosh was unaware of Esther's identity.  R. Arama, though, proposes that Achashverosh knew all along that Esther was Jewish;²² he simply did not know that the edict referred to Jews.   As support for this hypothesis he notes that when pleading for her life, Esther never explicitly mentions her nationality as would be expected if it was unknown.  In addition, Achashverosh's surprise is aimed not at who she is but at who could have devised such a decree.  Finally, Haman does not defend himself by saying that he was simply unaware of the queen's nationality.²³

Honor to Mordechai – According to this approach Achashverosh's honoring of Mordechai is not attestation of a fickle king who decides to exterminate the Jews one day and revere them the next, but part of a consistently positive attitude towards the Jewish nation.  In fact, according to most of these sources, this very attitude is what led Haman to hide the identity of the nation he wanted to harm.

"וְהַמֶּלֶךְ וְהָמָן יָשְׁבוּ לִשְׁתּוֹת" – This position might view drinking as a way of sealing a pact or signing an agreement, much like covenants in Tanakh are made over a meal.²⁴ It need not signify a drunken fool.

Different letters – Malbim points out that Haman sent out two sets of letters, both sealed missives which contained the the identity of the nation to be killed and which were not to be opened until the thirteenth of Adar, and open letters which simply told the provinces to prepare themselves for war on Adar 13.  Haman thus attempted to ensure that word of his true plans did not get back to Achashverosh until it was too late.

Mordechai's report – Y. Grossman suggests that Mordechai told Esther both about the money that Haman meant to give the treasury "לְאַבְּדָם" and the letters that were sent "לְהַשְׁמִידָם"‎²⁵ because he wanted to share not just the impending tragedy, but more importantly, the fact that  Haman had misled the king,²⁶ telling him one thing but writing another.²⁷

Esther's tactics - "וְאִלּוּ לַעֲבָדִים וְלִשְׁפָחוֹת נִמְכַּרְנוּ הֶחֱרַשְׁתִּי" – With these words Esther tried to make a rift between Achashverosh and Haman, suggesting that one was in the right and the other wrong.²⁸ She thus "innocently" suggests that if the only wrong done was to sell her nation into slavery (what Achashverosh assumed he agreed to), that would not be worth troubling the king over, but when the stakes are life and death she could no longer remain quiet.

Why doesn't Haman defend himself? According to this approach, Haman has no defense since he actively misled the king.  The most he attempts is to seek mercy form the queen who has exposed him.

Significance to hanging? Haman was perhaps killed by hanging specifically since this was the general punishment for treason against the king, and he was viewed as a rebel for having veered from Achashverosh's desired edict.²⁹

Biblical Parallels – Y. Grossman points to several linguistic parallels³⁰ between this incident and the story of Achav and Navot's vineyard, pointing out that in both cases someone acts with the king's seal to send a message that will decree death on another.  The allusion suggests that just as in the story of Achav the king was unaware of his proxy's actions, so too Achashverosh was not privy to Haman's real plan.

Playing Innocent

Achashverosh immediately understood that Esther was referring to Haman's plan which he himself had approved, but he feigned innocence so as to cast the blame solely on Haman.

Haman's request – Haman shared with Achashverosh both the identity of the nation he wanted to destroy and his desire for their destruction.  Thus, Achashverosh was fully aware of the decree that was sent out in his name.

Did Achashverosh know Esther was Jewish?

• Unaware – This position might maintain that Achashverosh did not know that Esther was Jewish and thereby included in the decree of annihilation.  When he became aware of his blunder, rather than take responsibility, he decided to blame Haman.
• Aware – Alternatively, Achashverosh knew his wife's nationality³¹ and had always planned to exempt her from the edict.  He did not not learn anything new from her words, but rather took them as an opportunity to punish Haman for other offenses.

Why was Acahshevrosh mad at Haman?

• According to the first variation above, Achashverosh fumes at his adviser for not having done his homework and not realizing that Esther was included in the edict.
• Alternatively, Achashverosh was angry at due to earlier incidents.  When Haman had previously suggested that the king's "desired one" be robed in the king's garments and ride on the royal horse, Achashverosh became suspicious that Haman aspired to rule in his stead, interpreting his words as evidence of his hopes to be king.³² Esther's accusations opened a perfect opportunity to condemn the no longer trustworthy adviser.

Esther's tactics – This approach might suggest, like R. Eliezer HaModai in Bavli Megillah15bAbout the Bavli, that Esther tried to make the king jealous of Haman.³³  Thus, rather than make an intimate party for two, she invited Haman as a third wheel.  Haman's falling on her bed to plea for his life played perfectly into her plan.  This reinforced Achashverosh's previous worries, leading to the conclusion that Haman was actively rebelling, wanting both the crown and accompanying queen.

Why doesn't Haman defend himself? The first variation of this approach would suggest that Haman recognized that he was to be the scapegoat for the blunder and that Achashverosh was not interested in the fact that he too had agreed to the plan.  According to the second variation, Haman had no defense since the king viewed him as vying for the throne and queen.

Honoring Mordecahi – It is possible that Achashevrosh was unaware that Mordechai was Jewish.  The Chronicles did not mention the fact and Achshverosh had no reason to ask.  Thus, there was no hypocrisy in his actions and Achashverosh had no reason to question the logic of the original decree.

Why hanging? In Achashverosh's eyes, Haman was considered a rebel who wanted his throne; hanging was thus the appropriate punishment.

¹ Alternatively, he did not know that Mordechai was Jewish either.

² This approach is discussed at length by B. Shpigel, "מהפכו של אחשורוש במשתה השני עם אסתר", Megadim 43 (2005):87-118.  There, he brings an exhaustive list of commentators who develop various aspects of this position and its variations.

³ R. Shelomo Astruc is the exception.  He maintains that Haman was clear in his intent and only deceived the king later.  When the king disagreed with the suggestion to destroy the nation, Haman did not heed his words but nevertheless sent out an edict in his name commanding their annihilation.

⁴ According to most of these commentators Haman knew that the king admired the Jews for their wisdom and would never agree to harm them.   The Gr"a adds that Haman was thinking specifically about the king's feelings towards Mordechai.  After his role in saving the king's life it would not be easy to convince Achashverosh to kill off his nation.

⁵ See R. Astruc, R. Arama, Reggio and Malbim who defend Achashverosh, painting him not as a foolish king but as one who understandably relied on trusted advisers to act in his kingdom's best interests.  R. Astruc points out that in a large kingdom there is no way for one individual to pay attention to all that is going on; one of necessity needs to delegate authority.

⁶ See R. Avraham Saba who suggests that Achashverosh was not as wicked as Haman, but nonetheless a fool.  As R. Saba maintains that Haman only misled Achashevrosh regarding the nation to be destroyed but assumes that he was upfront about the actual destruction, Achashverosh emerges even worse. How can a king simply give his approval to annihilate a nation without even knowing who is referred to and without further questioning?
It should be noted that R. Saba ultimately comes to Achashverosh's defense and suggests that he never actually permitted the nation's destruction.  He told Haman only to do "as was good" by which he meant to have mercy.

⁷ The Second Targum, R. Astruc, R. Saba and the Gr"A do not mention deception in this area.

⁸ All the variations of this position must assume that Tanakh is preserving the ambiguity of the original Persian in which Haman would have spoken to Achashverosh. Since Haman picked a word which could have been interpreted in more than one way, when Esther wrote the scroll and recounted the story, she tried to find a matching word in Hebrew which would have a similar double meaning.

⁹ Since Achashverosh had given Haman his signet ring and told him to do as he pleased, Haman could easily have added these words without the king's knowledge.

¹⁰ Given Haman's introduction regarding the unique ways of the nation and the fact that  "דָתֵיהֶם שֹׁנוֹת מִכׇּל עָם", it is not surprising that Achasheverosh might have heard a desire to eradicate the nation's religious beliefs and not their physical being.

¹¹ This approach might encounter difficulty from the fact that Persian kings were known to be religiously tolerant.  It is not clear that Achashverosh would so easily be convinced to convert a nation to other religious beliefs.  In addition, the overwhelming majority of appearances of the root "אבד" clearly refer to physical destruction.  Both Yirmeyahu 18:18 and Yechezkel 7:26, though, do use the root in connection to loss of Torah knowledge.

¹² See Yeshayahu 27:13.

¹³ Haman emphasizes throughout that the nation does not abide by the laws of the kingdom: "וְדָתֵיהֶם שֹׁנוֹת מִכׇּל עָם וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים".

¹⁴ As further support for this possibility he points to Haman's earlier words, "וְלַמֶּלֶךְ אֵין שֹׁוֶה לְהַנִּיחָם" and suggests that they are in effect parallel to the later phrase "יִכָּתֵב לְאַבְּדָם". It does not pay to leave the nation be in the empire, but rather the king should write an edict to evict them.

¹⁵ R. Ashkenazi differs from the others who take this overall position on one important point.  He maintains that Achashverosh understood the two possible meanings of the word and recognized that Haman was intentionally hesitant to reveal his true desire. He suggests that, nonetheless, Achashverosh granted him permission to do as he pleased (לַעֲשׂוֹת בּוֹ כַּטּוֹב בְּעֵינֶיךָ), and to act upon either meaning of the word. He did not personally sign the edict, though, since he preferred to be left in the dark.

¹⁶ For an extensive list of others who suggest that Haman meant the king to understand "לְאַבְּדָם" as sold into slavery, see B. Shpigel, "מהפכו של אחשורוש במשתה השני עם אסתר", Megadim 43 (2005):102, n. 49. See also modern scholars who take this approach such as M. Lehmann, "A Reconstruction of the Purim Story", Tradition 12:3 (1971):90-98 and Y. Grossman, "גזירת המן וכרם נבות", Megadim 30 (1999):49-67. The latter develops and attempts to support the approach from a literary comparison to the story of Navot.

¹⁷ There are no clear examples in Tanakh where the root "אבד" refers to enslavement, but Y. Grossman (see above note) attempts to find support from the rebuke in Devarim 28 which speaks of "אבדון" in the context of exile and ultimately enslavement. The immediate context there, though, is also one of destruction: "לְהַאֲבִיד אֶתְכֶם וּלְהַשְׁמִיד אֶתְכֶם" (Devarim 28:63).
Another variation of this general approach is raised by Ohev Yisrael, brought in R. Kasher's Torah Sheleimah, Megillat Esther(Jeruslaem 1994): 196, note 14, who suggests that Achashevrosh had signed a missive written in Hebrew which read "לעבדם" (to enslave them) and Haman changed it to "לאבדם" (to destroy them). One can alternatively propose that Haman purposefully picked a homonym so that the king could hear "לעבדם" rather than "לאבדם". The advantage of this variation is that it allows Haman to innocently claim that he had meant the latter all along and it does not have to posit a questionable secondary meaning to the word "לאבדם".

¹⁸ See also M. Lehmann (above note) who similarly suggests that the term might mean to  dispossess, even though afterwards he suggests that as a whole the king thought Haman referred to enslavement.

¹⁹ See both R. Astuc and  R. Ashkenazi who suggest this though they understand the ambiguity in the word "לְאַבְּדָם" differently.  They point out that Haman was astute enough to note the possible reservations of the king and hoped to preempt them.

²⁰ According to this position, Haman's earlier words "לַמֶּלֶךְ אֵין שֹׁוֶה לְהַנִּיחָם" would mean that it is not worth it to leave the nation be when there is an opportunity to make money off them.

²¹ According to R. Saba he hid the identity of the nation, but did not mean any ambiguity in his choice of words, "יִכָּתֵב לְאַבְּדָם" and Achashverosh understood that he meant to destroy them.  R. Astruc instead asserts that Haman told Achashverosh that the nation was rebellious (""וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים") leading Achashverosh to conclude on his own that they needed to be subdued and enslaved, but not because Haman wanted him to believe that.

²²  It is possible that that Esther never tried to conceal her nationality but only her relationship to Mordechai or perhaps her lineage and connections to the royal lineץ This explanation, though, is difficult because the verse explicitly mentions concealing her nationality, "לֹא הִגִּידָה אֶסְתֵּר אֶת עַמָּהּ".
Alternatively, one might suggest that the concern regarding her identity was only prior to being chosen as queen but afterwards Esther was free to reveal her background. If so, one must understand that the verse at the end of chapter 2 which repeats the fact of concealment relates specifically to the period in which there was the second gathering of virgin women, when Esther was again in a position in which she might lose the queenship. See Concealing Esther's Religious Identity for discussion of the issue and various reasons why esther might have hidden her identity.

²³ According to R. Arama, when originally devising his plan of extermination, Haman, too, knew Esther's Jewish identity but had assumed that she would be spared and thus this need not arouse the king's ire.  He believed that in becoming queen Esther had lost her Jewish status, and if not, that in the year until the plan's execution he would be able to convince the king not to be bothered over her.

²⁴ See ANE:Treaties for examples of treaties in Tanakh and the Ancient Near East which were accompanied by a meal.  It should be noted, though, that none of these emphasize drinking.

²⁵ One would have expected that he tell Esther only that Haman sent an edict permitting the nation's destruction, but not bother to relay the earlier discussion surrounding the money, especially in light of the fact that Achashverosh' refused Haman's offer.

²⁶ He suggests that when the narrator states, "וּמׇרְדֳּכַי יָדַע אֶת כׇּל אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשָׂה" at the opening of chapter four, this is to allude to the fact that Mordechai discovered Haman's deception.

²⁷ Mordechai was already hinting to the way in which Esther could undo the decree, by revealing Haman's deception to the king.

²⁸ See Yosef Lekach and  Malbim who explain similarly and Y. Grossman who elaborates on this point. 

²⁹ See Ezra 6:11 which explicitly points to hanging as punishment for changing a royal decree. The hanging of Bigtan and Teresh is further evidence that such was the punishment of choice for rebellion against the king.

³⁰ Compare Esther 3:12-13 with Melakhim I 21:8:

• "בְּשֵׁם הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹשׁ נִכְתָּב" and "וַתִּכְתֹּב סְפָרִים בְּשֵׁם אַחְאָב"
• "וְנֶחְתָּם בְּטַבַּעַת הַמֶּלֶךְ" and "וַתַּחְתֹּם בְּחֹתָמוֹ"
• "וְנִשְׁלוֹחַ סְפָרִים בְּיַד הָרָצִים אֶל כׇּל מְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ" and "וַתִּשְׁלַח  סְפָרִים אֶל הַזְּקֵנִים"

³¹ See above note that it is possible that Esther only hid her identity before her position as queen was secure.  Thus at some point after the second batch of competitors were rejected in her favor, she might have no longer kept the secret.  Alternatively, Esther might never have actively revealed her identity but the king was able to guess based on her connection to Mordechai or other factors.

³² See First Targum of Megillat Esther7:6About First Targum of Megillat Esther who suggests that Esther even alluded to this fact when she referred to Haman as "אִישׁ צַר וְאוֹיֵב הָמָן הָרָע הַזֶּה ".  See also the Second Targum of Megillat Esther6:18:13About Second Targum of Megillat Esther and Esther Rabbah10:1About Esther Rabbah which suggest that this suspicion is what kept Achashverosh up the night before.

³³ See also R. Yehoshua b. Korcha there, as understood by Rashi.  Later sources such as Midrash Panim AcherotNusach B:5About Midrash Panim Acherot elaborate on the specific tactics Esther used to arouse the king's jealousy. See also Lekach Tov who suggests that the king's troubled sleep was caused by this jealousy.