The Jews also killed about 75,000 of their enemies in self-defense. The bodies of Haman's ten sons were also hanged, after they died in battle against the Jews. On the king's orders, Haman was hanged from the 50- cubit-high gallows that had originally been built by Haman himself, on the advice of his wife Zeresh, in order to hang Mordecai. This enraged the king, who was further angered when (after leaving the room briefly and returning) he discovered Haman had fallen on Esther's couch, intending to beg mercy from Esther, but which the king interpreted as a sexual advance. In the second banquet, she informed the king that Haman was plotting to kill her (and the other Jews). Esther invited Haman and the king to two banquets. The plot was foiled by Queen Esther, the king's recent wife, who was herself a Jew. Angered by this, and knowing of Mordecai's Jewish nationality, Haman convinced Ahasuerus to allow him to have all of the Jews in the Persian empire killed. After Haman was appointed the principal minister of the king Ahasuerus, all of the king's servants were required to bow down to Haman, but Mordecai refused to. Haman in the Hebrew Bible Esther denouncing Haman by Ernest NormandĪs described in the Book of Esther, Haman was the son of Hammedatha the Agagite. Hoschander suggests that Haman is a priestly title and not a proper name. Ahriman, a Zoroastrian spirit of destruction, has also been proposed as an etymon. The 19th-century Bible critic Jensen associated it with the Elamite god Humban, a view dismissed by later scholars. Several etymologies have been proposed for it: it has been associated with the Persian word Hamayun, meaning "illustrious" (naming dictionaries typically list it as meaning "magnificent") with the sacred drink Haoma or with the Persian name Vohuman, meaning "good thoughts". The name has been equated with the Persian name Omanes ( Old Persian: □□□□□, Imāniš) recorded by Greek historians. The King was outraged at Haman's treachery and ordered that he be executed instead.Įtymology and meaning of the name Esther revealed Haman's plan to Ahasuerus and pleaded with him to spare her people. Haman's plot was foiled by Queen Esther, who was also Jewish and had concealed her identity from the King. Seeking revenge, Haman convinced the king to issue a decree that all Jews in the Persian empire be killed. However, a Jewish man named Mordecai refused to bow down to him, which enraged Haman. In the narrative of the Book of Esther, Haman was a proud and ambitious man who demanded that everyone bow down to him as a sign of respect. Some commentators interpret this descent to be symbolic, due to his similar personality. As his epithet Agagite indicates, Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites. Haman ( Hebrew: הָמָן Hāmān also known as Haman the Agagite) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, commonly identified as Xerxes I (died 465 BCE) but traditionally equated with Artaxerxes I or Artaxerxes II. Haman Begging the Mercy of Esther, by Rembrandt For other uses, see Haman (disambiguation).
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