“Nothing,” it has been remarked, “could present a more striking contrast to their native country than the region into which the Hebrews were now transplanted. Instead of their irregular and picturesque mountain-city, crowning its unequal heights, and looking down into its deep and precipitous ravines, through one of which a scanty stream wound along, they entered the vast, square, and level city of Babylon, occupying both sides of the broad Euphrates; while all around spread immense plains, which were intersected by long straight canals, bordered by rows of willows. How unlike their national temple—a small but highly finished and richly adorned fabric, standing in the midst of its courts on the brow of a lofty precipice—the colossal temple of the Chaldæan Bel, rising from the plain, with its eight stupendous stories or towers, one above the other, to the perpendicular height of a furlong! The palace of the Babylonian king was more than twice the size of their whole city: it covered eight miles, with its hanging gardens built on arched terraces, each rising above the other, and rich in all the luxuriance of artificial cultivation. How different from the sunny cliffs of their own land, where the olive and the vine grew spontaneously, and the cool, shady, and secluded valleys, where they could always find shelter from the heat of the burning noon! No wonder, then, that in the pathetic words of their own hymn, By the waters of Babylon they sat down and wept, when they remembered thee, O Zion442” (Ps. cxxxvii. 1).
Thus far removed from their native land, amidst a strange people and strange rites, and exposed to all the influences of contact with their conquerors, we might, in the usual order of things, have expected that the Jews would have ceased to remain a nation at all. But with them it was not thus to be. The ten tribes, indeed, are never heard of more, but the remnant of Judah and Benjamin in Babylonia so far from blending its national life with that of its conquerors, remained a separate people, and preserved its national institutions. We shall very much misunderstand their condition, if we suppose that the Jews became bondsmen or serfs443. They were “colonists rather than captives;” they received grants of land, agricultural or pastoral, out of the conquered territories at the disposal of Nebuchadnezzar; and so valuable were their services considered that not a few rose to high eminence (Dan. ii. 48), and held confidential positions next to the person of the sovereign. While, moreover, they increased in numbers and wealth, they retained an internal jurisdiction over their own members; they kept up amongst themselves distinctions of rank; they preserved their genealogies (Neh. vii. 5, 6, 64); and although from the absence of any common centre of worship they could only observe the Mosaic Law in part444, still they retained the rite of circumcision, the distinction of meats, and other points (Comp. Dan. i. 8; Esth. iii. 8). Nor did the Providence, which had hitherto watched over them, fail them in the land of exile. The voice of Prophecy, so far from being hushed, now swelled into louder strains. While Jeremiah445 warned and exhorted them at the outset of this sad period in their history, Ezekiel did not fail for 30 years to carry on the same work in the land of exile itself, while another and one of the most illustrious of their number rose to the very highest position, and proved the “Moses of the Captivity,” and the fourth of the greater Prophets.
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim, B.C. 606, as we have already seen446, Nebuchadnezzar had ordered the Chief of the Eunuchs to remove to Babylon certain select youths of royal descent, who from their talents seemed likely to be of service in his court. Of these one was Daniel, apparently of the blood royal (Dan. i. 3), and gifted with no common talents (Dan. i. 4). With three other companions of the tribe of Judah, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, he was removed to the Babylonian court, and there trained for the king’s service in the learning and language of the Chaldæans (Dan. i. 4). Moreover, in accordance with a common custom, his name was changed, and he and his three companions were now known as Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. During the three years of their training they were not forgetful of the Law and Religion of their fathers, and with unusual firmness of character declined to partake of the daily allowance of meat and wine supplied them from the royal table, either probably because it was ceremonially unclean, or had been offered in sacrifice to the Assyrian gods. Preferring to live on the simplest fare, they yet proved as comely and well-favoured as though they had been fed on the rarest dainties, and when brought before Nebuchadnezzar were pronounced to excel in wisdom and knowledge the wisest men in his empire, and were rewarded with high positions about his court (Dan. i. 15).
While they were thus employed, a remarkable circumstance took place. Nebuchadnezzar dreamt a dream, which exceedingly troubled his spirit. Summoning the magi and astrologers, he demanded that it should be instantly interpreted. They promised the interpretation, if they might be told the dream. But though this had escaped the monarch’s memory, he reiterated his command; and when told that to obey it was impossible, issued an edict commanding the instant destruction of all the wise men throughout his realms. This despotic order was made known to Daniel by Arioch the “captain of the executioners,” who was charged to see it carried out. The Jewish exile instantly sought an audience with the monarch, and having succeeded in gaining time for a fuller consideration, summoned his three friends, who with fervent prayer to Him, “from whom no secrets are hid,” besought a revelation of the dream. Their prayers were heard, and at a second audience Daniel disclosed the Vision of the Night. The monarch had beheld a great Image, the form of which was terrible. The head was of fine gold, the breast and the arms of silver, the belly and sides of brass, the legs of iron, the feet partly iron and partly clay. The excellent brightness of this Image the monarch had watched, till he suddenly saw a stone cut out of a mountain without hands smite the feet of the Image till it broke in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors, while the stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Such was the Vision which Daniel then proceeded to interpret. “The king himself was this head of gold. To him the God of heaven had given a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. After him should arise another kingdom inferior to his; after that a third kingdom of brass, which should bear rule over all the earth; to which would succeed a fourth kingdom strong as iron, breaking in pieces and subduing all things. That kingdom, with its feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay, would be partly strong and partly brittle, and its subjects would mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they would not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay, and would make room for another kingdom, which God Himself would set up, to break in pieces and consume all the previous kingdoms, and itself stand for ever447” (Dan. ii. 36–45).
The great Babylonian monarch was profoundly affected by this proof of superhuman knowledge. He fell down on his face and worshipped Daniel; commanded that an oblation and sweet odours should be offered unto him; bestowed on him costly presents, and made him viceroy over the whole province of Babylon, and supreme over all the wise men of his empire. In the hour of his prosperity Daniel did not forget his three companions. By his intercession similar honours were bestowed upon them, while he himself retained the pre-eminence in the gate of the king (Dan. ii. 46–49).
Though on this memorable occasion the new viceroy had been pre-eminently faithful to the God of his fathers, and by his ascription of all his wisdom to a higher Power, had made the great monarch he served acknowledge that there was a God of gods and Lord of lords, the lesson does not seem to have made a very lasting impression on Nebuchadnezzar’s mind. In the vast empire he had won by his arms there were many different nations, with different gods, and different modes of worship. Over all he was supreme, and with the true feeling of an Oriental despot it seemed to him only right that they should all acknowledge his chief deity. This was the great Bel, or Bel-Merodach448, “the supreme chief of the gods,” “the king of the heavens and the earth,” the Jupiter of the Babylonian Pantheon. It was possibly an image of this god449, 60 cubits high and 6 broad, and overlaid with golden plates450, which he now proceeded to set up on the plain of Dura, with the command that at the sound of instruments of music, all his subjects, from the highest to the lowest, should fall down and worship it, on penalty of being flung into a burning fiery furnace (Dan. iii. 5, 6).
In accordance with this edict, all the officers of the court of Babylon, and the governors of the different provinces who had been summoned to assist at the ceremony, flocked to the plain of Dura, and with one consent, as soon as the music sounded, prostrated themselves before the great dumb image which their lord had set up. But Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in this hour of trial remained faithful to the religion of their fathers, neither falling down nor worshipping with the rest. This act of disobedience to their master was quickly perceived by many of the native Chaldæans, who were already filled with jealousy at the elevation of the exiles, and they were not slow in reporting it to Nebuchadnezzar. On hearing it, that monarch’s wrath knew no bounds. He summoned them before him; he reiterated the command he had already issued; he warned them that in spite of their high position they should certainly suffer the penalty of their disobedience. But his words were wasted. These three mighty ones in “the noble army of martyrs” replied that they were not careful to answer him in this matter; their God could, if such was His will, deliver them from the fiery furnace, and even if He did not, they would not serve the monarch’s god, or bow before the Image he had set up (Dan. iii. 16–18).
This outspoken refusal filled Nebuchadnezzar with still greater fury. The form of his visage was changed, he bade the furnace be heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated, and ordered the mightiest captains in his army to bind the three, and fling them into the fire. His words were obeyed, but at the cost of the lives of his captains, who fell victims to their zeal, being caught by the raging flames. Moreover, when he looked to see the three martyrs speedily reduced to ashes, behold they were observed loose, walking unscathed in the midst of the fire, accompanied by a Celestial Being, in whom the monarch discerned none other than a “Son of God!” Thereupon he drew near to the mouth of the furnace, and bade his intended victims come forth. And they came forth, and on their bodies, as all attested, the fire was seen to have had no power, neither was a hair of their head singed, neither had the smell of fire passed over them. Filled with admiration for their heroic faith, the monarch issued a decree that all men, far and wide, throughout his empire should revere the God of these Hebrews, and that every people, nation, or language that spake word against their God, should be cut in pieces, and their houses made a dunghill (Dan. iii. 29).
THOUGH from the incident just recorded Nebuchadnezzar had learnt to know the greatness of the God of Israel, a still sterner lesson was needed to teach him his own position in reference to the Most High. He was by far the greatest of the Babylonian monarchs. His name was known, his power was dreaded throughout the entire Eastern world. He was the conqueror of Syria, of Phœnicia, of Tyre, of Palestine. He was the adorner and beautifier of his native land. He built noble cities; he raised stately temples; he renovated, fortified, almost rebuilt Babylon; he constructed quays and breakwaters451, reservoirs, canals, and aqueducts on a scale of grandeur and magnificence surpassing everything of the kind recorded in history452. Perhaps no single man ever left behind him as his memorial, one-half the amount of building which was erected by this king. The palace he built for himself in Babylon with its triple walls, its hanging gardens, its plated pillars, was regarded in his day as one of the wonders of the world, while even at the present hour453 it is his name which is stamped upon well-nigh every brick found amidst the ruins of his capital. Amidst all this earthly grandeur he had grown and become strong; his greatness reached unto heaven, and his dominion to the end of the earth. Inflated with pride, he became a god unto himself, and knew not that he was but an instrument in the hand of Him, who ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will (Dan. iv. 17).
This was the lesson he had now to learn, and he learned it on this wise. One night he dreamed a dream which none of his wise men could interpret. Daniel, therefore, was once more summoned before him, and listened while the monarch revealed the Vision of the Night. I saw, he said, and behold a Tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great, reaching unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit much, and the beasts of the field had shadow under it, the fowls of heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh fed of it. And, behold! there came down from heaven a Watcher and a Holy One, who cried out, Hew down the Tree, and cut off his branches, but leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts, and let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given him, and let seven times pass over him. Such was the Vision. What was the interpretation? Daniel did not disguise it from the monarch. “The Tree was no other than himself. For him there was a great trial in store. A day was near, when he would be cast down from his place of power, would be driven from the society of men, would have his dwelling with the beasts of the field, until seven times had passed over him and he revived and knew for a truth that not he, but the Most High ruled in the kingdom of heaven, and gave dominion and power to whomsoever He would” (Dan. iv. 1–27).
Thus a warning was given him, but it was disregarded. Nebuchadnezzar did not, as Daniel bade, break off his sins by righteousness, and his iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor. Twelve months afterwards he was walking in that glorious palace which he had made for himself, and in a moment of overweening pride he cried, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? The words had hardly been spoken, when his doom came upon him. The thick pall of madness454 settled down upon him; the mind of a man departed from him, and that of a beast entered in. Casting off his robes, he refused the food and habitation of men; mingling with the cattle in the fields, he remained exposed to the weather day and night, till his hair was grown as eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws455 (Dan. iv. 33).
Meanwhile, as seems most probable, his queen Nitocris administered his kingdom, and at length, after an interval of four, or perhaps seven years, as he did not scruple to declare in a proclamation addressed to his people, he came to himself. His understanding came back to him; he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and blessed the Most High, and praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever. With his reason, the glory also of his kingdom returned. His counsellors and his lords sought him and brought him back to his palace, and excellent majesty was added unto him. Resuming his great works which had been suspended, he “added fresh wonders in his old age to the marvellous constructions of his manhood,” and after a reign of 43 years died, B.C. 561, at the advanced age of 83 or 84, and was succeeded by his son Evil-Merodach. Shortly after his accession the new king released Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from the prison where he had been confined for 38 years, set his throne above the throne of the other captive princes at Babylon, and gave him a daily allowance from the royal table (2 Kings xxv. 27–30). But in the course of one or two years he was assassinated, and one of the conspirators, Neriglissar or Nerigassolassar usurped the throne, B.C. 559, and held the government for 3 years and a half, bequeathing it to his son Laborosoarchod, B.C. 556. In the course of nine months, he was succeeded by Nabonadius456, or Labynetus, B.C. 555.
Meanwhile the neighbouring kingdom of Media had been the scene of a great revolution, in which Babylon eventually became involved. Mandane a daughter of Astyages, who mounted the Median throne B.C. 595, married Cambyses, a Persian of the royal family of the Achæmenidæ, and became the mother of Cyrus the Great457. Alienated by his tyranny and wearying of his rule a large body of the subjects of Astyages transferred their affections to this prince, who heading a revolt, defeated and captured the Median king near Pasargadæ, B.C. 559, and obtained the supremacy over the combined Medo-Persic empire. At first the conqueror did not march against Babylon, and Nabonadius formed an alliance with Crœsus king of Lydia, and employed himself diligently in strengthening his capital, storing up provisions, and erecting defensive works.
But Cyrus gained a complete victory over the Lydian king B.C. 546, and at the end of about six years appeared before Babylon. After a single engagement he drove the Babylonians within their defences (Jer. li. 30), and commenced a regular siege. At this time Nabonadius does not appear to have been present in his capital, having fled to Borsippa after the late engagement. But he left behind him a son whom he had a few years before admitted to a share in the government458. This was Bil-shar-uzar, the Belshazzar of the Scripture narrative. This prince made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, his wives and concubines, and high estates of the realm, in the midst of which, heated with wine, he commanded that all the gold and silver vessels, which his grandfather459 Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the plunder of Jerusalem, should be brought forth, and from them the assembled guests drank in honour of their various gods. But in the midst of their festivities the Fingers of a Man’s Hand were seen to write mysterious words on the plaister of the palace wall. Instantly all the brightness of Belshazzar’s countenance vanished, his thoughts troubled him, his knees smote one against another. With loud voice he bade the astrologers and soothsayers be brought before him, and promised honour, place, and power to any that would interpret the mystic words. But this none of the wise men of his realm could do. Amidst the alarm and confusion, the Queen-mother now entered, and advised that they should consult Daniel, who seems at this time to have been living in close retirement. Accordingly he was brought in, and after declining all the monarch’s promised rewards, sternly rebuked him, for that though he knew all that his grandfather’s pride had brought down upon him, he had yet lifted up himself against the Lord of Heaven, and in impious triumph profaned the sacred vessels once dedicated to that God who now had sent him this message, Mene, God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it; Tekel, thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting; Peres, thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians (Dan. v. 25–28). That very night the Prophet’s words were fulfilled. Having diverted the course of the Euphrates, Cyrus assaulted the city from the dry bed of the river, captured it, and slew Belshazzar, B.C. 538, thus fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah (xxi. 9; xlv. 1) and Jeremiah (li. 31–39).
Hastening on to other conquests, Cyrus entrusted the captured city to a viceroy460, known in Scripture as Darius the Mede461. He signalized his accession to power by setting over the kingdom of Babylon Proper, either as a body of councillors or provincial governors, 120 princes, subject to the authority of three presidents, of whom Daniel, now far advanced in life, was chief (Dan. vi. 2). Old and grey-headed, he still remained faithful to the God of his fathers. And now moved with jealousy at his elevation, the other nobles resolved to compass his ruin. Unable to accuse him of any failure in the administration of the kingdom, they persuaded Darius to pass an irrevocable decree, like the law of the Medes and Persians, ordaining that for a space of 30 days no one should offer up any petition to any god or man save to the monarch himself, on penalty of being flung into a den of lions. This decree Daniel regarded not; steadfast in the religion of his fathers, he opened the windows of his chamber towards Jerusalem, and three times a-day, as had been his wont, offered up his prayers to his God. The nobles now had the opportunity they had coveted, and they reported his conduct to the king. Sorely against his will, and after fruitless efforts to deliver him from their malice, Darius bade the sentence be executed. The aged prophet was flung into the den, the mouth thereof was closed, and sealed with the royal signet, and the signet of the lords and princes. Fasting and sleepless the monarch passed the night, neither were instruments of music brought before him. Rising early in the morning he sought out the lions’ den, and to his great joy found that Jehovah had protected His faithful servant, had sent His angel, and shut the lions’ mouths. Thereupon he ordered him to be brought forth, and then issued instructions for the immediate execution of his accusers, who, according to the cruel but usual Oriental custom, were with their wives and children flung into the den and torn in pieces. Not content with this, he proclaimed that throughout his vast empire adoration should be paid to the God of Daniel, the living God, steadfast for ever, who worketh signs and wonders in heaven, and hath delivered His servant from the power of the lions (Dan. vi. 27).
AT the time when Cyrus thus became the ruler of an empire greater even than Assyria itself, seventy462 years had elapsed since the capture of Jerusalem in the reign of Jehoiakim (Dan. ix. 1, 2). The prosperity he had already enjoyed under so many sovereigns Daniel still retained under the new monarch, and it was probably through his influence that in the first year of his reign, or B.C. 536, Cyrus issued a decree giving permission to the Jews to return to their native land and rebuild their Temple. To aid them in so doing he restored to them the sacred vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem, and instructed the pashas throughout the various provinces to afford them every facility for their return (Ezra i. 1–6).
The majority, however, of the Jews who had for years been comfortably settled in the land of exile, and had there risen to affluence and high positions, preferred to retain their settlements463, and only 42,360 attended by 7,337 servants were found willing to return to their native land. Over this body Zerubbabel, the head of the house of Judah, and grandson of King Jehoiachin, was invested with the supreme authority. He had held some office in the Babylonian court, and had received the Chaldæan name of Sheshbazzar. Appointed by Cyrus to the governorship of Jerusalem, and accompanied by the high-priest Jeshua, and possibly the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, with copious presents of silver and gold (Ezr. i. 7–11), he set out at the head of the returning colonists and before long reached Jerusalem464.
Seven months after their return, the Altar of Burnt-sacrifice was re-erected on its ancient site, and the priests and Levites offered burnt-offerings and sacrifices. This done, preparations were made by the Prince of the Captivity for his great work, the rebuilding of the Temple. A grant of money for this purpose having been already received from Cyrus, cedar trees were brought from Lebanon to Joppa; masons and carpenters were hired; and in the 2nd month of the 2nd year of their return, the foundations of the second Temple were laid, with all the pomp and ceremonial that circumstances admitted. The priests in their apparel with trumpets, the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals (Ezr. iii. 10, 11), sang the same Psalms, to the sound of which the first Temple had been dedicated, and the people responded with a great shout, which, however, was well-nigh drowned by the sobs and lamentations of many, especially the older men, who had beheld the glories of the former Temple.
But the good work was not to proceed unopposed. Informed of their design, the Samaritans requested to be allowed some share in its promotion. This Zerubbabel and Jeshua unwisely rejected, and the Samaritans thereupon exhausted every artifice to prevent the completion of the work. After putting them to various other annoyances, they hired counsellors to misrepresent them at the court of Persia, and eventually succeeded in preventing any further progress during the reign of Cyrus, and of his successors Cambyses and Smerdis, B.C. 525–521 (Ezr. iv. 11–24).
But in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, B.C. 520, the stirring words of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (Hag. i. 1–8; Zech. i. 1–6) roused once more the spirits of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and a fresh and determined effort was made to complete the work. The Persian satraps of the province, Tatnai and Shetharboznai, came to Jerusalem, and after an inspection of the work applied to the Persian court for instructions whether it was to be permitted to go on (Ezr. v. 6–17). Darius caused the archives at Ecbatana to be searched, and at length the original decree of Cyrus being discovered, he reissued it, and at the same time commanded the Persian satraps instead of offering any molestation to the Jewish colony, to promote the work to the utmost of their power (Ezr. vi. 5–13). Thus aided, the Jews pressed forward with such vigour that, in the 8th year of the reign of Darius, the Temple was completed and ready for dedication, B.C. 516. This ceremony was performed with every solemnity, numerous sacrifices were offered, the priests were redistributed into courses, and the Passover was celebrated with great rejoicings (Ezr. vi. 15–22).
During the remainder of the long reign of Darius, the Jews enjoyed a continuance of peace and tranquillity. But in the year B.C. 485, Ahasuerus465, the Xerxes of profane history, ascended the Persian throne. When he had reigned three years, this capricious despot made a feast for all his nobles at Susa, and on the seventh day of the revels ordered Vashti his queen to grace the banquet with her presence. With a due concern for her own dignity the queen declined, which so enraged her lord that he issued a decree deposing her from her royal station, and ordering a general levy of beautiful virgins, that he might select from them a new queen (Esth. ii. 1–4). At this time there was living at Susa a Jew named Mordecai, of the tribe of Benjamin (Esth. ii. 5). Having no child of his own, he had adopted his cousin Hadassah or Esther, a beautiful orphan. Together with the other virgins she was brought into the royal harem, and found such favour with the monarch that in the seventh year of his reign, without enquiring into her kindred or people, he ordered her to be crowned in place of the deposed queen (Esth. iii. 16).
By virtue of his relationship Mordecai, too, shared in the prosperity of his niece, and became one of those who sat in the king’s gate (Esth. ii. 41). In this capacity he discovered a plot of the eunuchs to assassinate the king, which he duly divulged, and they were executed, while a record of his services was entered in the royal chronicles. But Mordecai had a rival for the royal favour in the person of Haman, an Agagite, i.e. probably a descendant of the ancient Amalekite kings. Rapidly outstripping all his other competitors, the new favourite was advanced to the highest position in the kingdom, and was treated with the utmost reverence by everyone, save Mordecai only. Stung to the quick at this slight, and having discovered the secret of his rival’s lineage, Haman resolved to strike a blow against the nation to which Mordecai belonged. Accordingly he represented to his royal master that the Jews, scattered and dispersed throughout the provinces of his empire, were a dangerous and turbulent race, of alien habits and religion, who ought to be put to death; and from the confiscation of their property he promised to place in the royal coffers upwards of 10,000 talents of silver. The prospect of so large an increase to his dilapidated fortunes was eagerly favoured by the reckless despot, and assenting to the cruel scheme, he placed his signet-ring in the hands of Haman, who quickly saw that a decree was issued for the wholesale destruction of the Jewish exiles throughout the Persian dominions, without regard to sex or age (Esth. iii. 8–15).
News of what was designed before long reached the ears of Mordecai. Knowing that he himself was the main cause of this bloodthirsty decree, he was filled with the utmost alarm, and sat down arrayed in sackcloth and ashes at the king’s gate. His strange conduct being reported to Esther, she sent to her relative to ascertain the cause, and then for the first time learnt the contents of Haman’s edict. In this awful crisis she resolved to put her life in her hand, and to intercede with the king in behalf of her people. Meanwhile, at her suggestion, all the Jews at Susa maintained for three days a solemn fast, and then, arrayed in her royal apparel, and radiant in her beauty, she presented herself before the king. The captivated monarch stretched forth the golden sceptre, and invited her to prefer her petition. Let the king and Haman, she begged, come to a banquet of wine. They came, but declining to make known her petition for the present, she invited the two to a similar feast on the following day (Esth. v. 8).
Overjoyed at these special marks of honour, Haman eagerly recounted them to his wife and family, but declared that they availed him nothing so long as his rival was permitted to retain his place at the king’s gate. They, therefore, advised that a gallows 50 cubits high should be erected, and that he should request the king’s permission to hang Mordecai thereon. But that night, the monarch, unable to sleep, ordered certain of the chronicles to be read before him, and now for the first time learnt the service the Jewish exile had rendered by revealing the plot against his own life. In answer to his enquiries, he had just ascertained that no mark of the royal approval had been bestowed upon his benefactor, when Haman entered the court in the early morning to request that execution might be carried out upon his hated rival. The king enquired what ought to be done to the man he delighted to honour. Imagining that none but himself could be intended, the favourite suggested that he should be clad in royal apparel, crowned with the king’s diadem, and mounted on the royal mule, be conducted through the streets of Susa by one of the king’s most noble friends. The monarch approved, and bade him straightway confer all these marks of honour on no other than Mordecai. Not daring to disobey, he arrayed his rival in the gorgeous robes of the king, and conducted him through the streets of the city. Then with a heavy heart he returned home, and recounted to his family the strange events of the day. A presentiment of coming doom came over his relatives, but a hasty summons to the royal banquet cut short their deliberations. For the second time the monarch desired to learn the queen’s petition, and Esther now revealed the danger of her nation, and denounced the wicked conspirator. Filled with wrath Ahasuerus ordered his instant execution, and at the suggestion of one of the eunuchs he was hanged on the very gallows he had constructed for his rival (Esth. vii. 7–10).
But the execution of Haman was but a step in Mordecai’s designs for the delivery of his nation. The edict for the massacre was still in force, and couriers had already gone forth with it to the various provinces of the empire. Its revocation was forbidden by Persian law, but a second edict empowered the Jews to assume the defensive against their adversaries, of whom, banding themselves together, they slew 800 at Susa (Esth. ix. 6, 15), and 75,000 in the various provinces, while Haman’s ten sons shared their father’s fate (Esth. ix. 12, 16). In memory of this signal deliverance the Jews to this day celebrate the Feast of Purim or Lots, in ironical commemoration of their great enemy, who had resorted to this mode of augury for ascertaining an auspicious day for executing his bloody design against their nation. Preceded by a strict fast on the 13th of Adar466, the festival is celebrated on the 14th and 15th with great rejoicings. According to modern usage the book of Esther is read in the Synagogue, and when the reader comes to the name of Haman, the entire assembly shout, Let his name be blotted out, let the name of the ungodly perish; and the conclusion of the service is followed by feasting and merriment.