My Thoughts on J. Vernon McGee's Interesting Notes on Persian History with the Book of Esther

The Book of Esther is a very interesting read. The word "God" doesn't appear at all yet it shows the providence of God. It also is a book that reveals that there were still some Jews in Persia who were outside the will of God. Even the godly Mordecai might be considered a backslider since he was still in Persia at that time rather than in Jerusalem. Though, I think the land was hardly restored and maybe, just maybe, Mordecai was helping restore Jerusalem but it wasn't fully restored in his time. You can see a glimpse of Persian history in this book.

I was thinking about the whole incident of Xerxes who is seldom called Ahasuerus. McGee mentions in his commentary that Ahasuerus was not the name of a man but a title for a king. Egyptian kings were called Pharaoh. McGee has some secular historical references. The Bible also mentioned some non-inspired books to back up its validity like the Book of Jasher or the Sayings of Iddo. Just because a source is not fallible doesn't mean it's not reliable. Historians can be wrong about something but we do get the history to prove the Bible is correct. Such is the case of digging for stuff from the British Museum in 1907 actually prove that Ahasuerus in Esther is indeed Xerxes. Some say that Ahaseurus was probably another name for Xerxes just as Hadassah is another name for Esther. Later, Xerxes died at the hands of Artanabus, the commander of the royal bodyguard. It's possible that Artanabus was a close friend of both Bigthan and Teresh - the two conspirators whom Mordecai reported. Mordecai would later get rewarded for it but not immediately.

Another incident that caught my curiosity was in Esther 6. Haman was so arrogant to think he was the one whom Xerxes wanted to honor. Instead, Xerxes wanted to honor Mordecai. I think McGee's commentary is right in mentioning that Haman's true nature was revealed. How can anybody want to wear the king's attire and be led by the king's royal stead if it wasn't a rehearsal for his plotted takeover? I think that Haman's desire to wipe out the Jews so he could have enough money to have a rebellion for takeover. If you read through Persian history in the B.C. era then you will find that one dynasty collapsed after the other. It was no different from the end of one dynasty after the other in other kingdoms such as the Assyrians and Babylonians. The divided kingdom era also had Israel (the Northern Kingdom) have one dynasty after the other. I feel Xerxes is a foolish king to simply entrust that arrogant Haman with that much power. However, out of Xerxes' foolishness that we have Mordecai led in the plaza with a kingly treatment instead of Haman. I feel that a lot of treacheries were driven by advisers such as when Hazael supplanted the King of Syria (referred to as Ben-Hadad) at God's plan. I guess Haman knew of Hazael's success (which God allowed) but in his case - God didn't allow Haman to succeed like Hazael of Syria.

What would also be difficult to conclude is whether Haman was hanged or impaled. Haman had a gallow 75 feet high in which he planned to hang Mordecai. However, Haman was hanged instead of Mordecai. A curious case is that the Greek historian Herodotus mentioned that impalement was regularly used in the Persian Empire. So, it's highly possible he was hanged via impalement instead of what we see of being hanged on the noose. Though, Haman's face was covered which suggests he was probably hanged. Then again I don't see any reason that impalement can't happen either. Either way, Haman got what he deserved and God's justice was done to an unrepentant villain. I still think he got impaled due to how bloody Persian history can get. 

I believe Christians need to study ancient history and current events to prove the Bible right. It's all about having a reason to give in meekness and in fear. Although D. James Kennedy had long gone home to be with the LORD - his book "Why I Believe" should still continue to be a valid source to help defend the Bible's accuracy.