Esther 7:7-10·~1 min

The Hanging of Haman

The king rises in fury and goes out to the palace garden, while Haman remains to beg Esther for his life because he knows the king has determined disaster for him. When the king returns, he finds Haman falling on the couch where Esther reclines and interprets it as an assault.

I⁷n his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him. ⁸Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?”

Harbonah points out the high gallows standing at Haman's house, built for Mordecai who had spoken for the king's safety. So Haman is hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai, and the king's fury subsides.

⁹Then 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.” ¹⁰So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.

Section summaryOnce named, Haman's collapse is swift. The king rises in fury, Haman pleads with Esther for his life, the scene turns further against him when the king returns, and the gallows Haman built for Mordecai are raised as the fitting instrument of his own end.

Role in the chapterThis closing section carries the reversal to judgment. It takes the private plot Haman had prepared and folds it back onto him, bringing the king's anger to rest only after Haman is hanged.