What is Purim in this passage and why is it given that name?

Purim is the name given to the days when the Jews celebrated their rescue from Haman’s plan to destroy them. The word comes from “Pur,” which means “lot.” Haman had cast lots to pick a day to wipe out the Jews, thinking chance was on his side. Instead, God turned it around, and the very thing that was meant for their end became the reason for this feast. Naming it Purim kept the memory of that reversal alive for every generation.

Why did the Jews celebrate on different days in villages and in Shushan?

The Jews in Shushan had to defend themselves on both the thirteenth and fourteenth days of the month, so they rested and feasted on the fifteenth. Jews living in villages and unwalled towns finished their defense on the thirteenth and rested on the fourteenth. Because of this, the celebration naturally fell on different days depending on where people lived. Mordecai’s letters then fixed both the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar as the yearly time of Purim for all Jews.

What did Mordecai and Esther command the people to do on Purim?

Mordecai and Esther instructed the Jews to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar every year as days of joy. They were to feast, be glad, send portions of food to one another, and give gifts to the poor. They also tied these days to fasting and crying out to God that had gone before. The feast was not only about eating and happiness, but also about remembering their danger, God’s help, and caring for each other, especially those in need.

How does this passage describe God’s deliverance of the Jews?

The passage looks back on how Haman, called the enemy of all the Jews, plotted to destroy them by casting lots for a day of their ruin. When Esther went before the king, the plan was overturned. The king ordered that Haman’s own evil device fall back on his head, and he and his sons were hanged. The month that was meant for their sorrow became a time of joy and rest from their enemies. The yearly feast of Purim keeps that rescue in view.

Why did the Jews agree to keep Purim every year for all generations?

The Jews “ordained and took upon them” this feast because they had seen what happened with their own eyes. They knew how near they were to being wiped out, and how suddenly things turned in their favor. By binding themselves, their children, and anyone who joined them to keep these days, they were choosing not to forget. Each year’s feast would retell the story, strengthen their shared identity as God’s people, and remind future generations of mercy shown in the past.

What is the meaning of sending portions and giving gifts to the poor on Purim?

Sending portions means sharing food or other gifts with one another during the feast. Giving gifts to the poor makes sure that even those who have little can share in the joy. These acts show that the celebration is not only private happiness but shared blessing. The feast remembers God’s kindness, so the people respond with kindness. The day is meant to build friendship among the Jews and provide real help for those who might otherwise be left out.

What role do Esther and Mordecai play in confirming Purim?

Mordecai first wrote to all the Jews to set up these days of Purim. Later, Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, joined with Mordecai and wrote with full authority to confirm a second letter of Purim. The letters went out to all 127 provinces with words of peace and truth. Their joint action made it clear that this was not a passing idea but a fixed custom. Their leadership helped the people accept and keep the feast with one mind across the whole empire.

What does this passage teach about remembering God’s work in history?

This passage shows that God’s rescue was not meant to be forgotten after the danger passed. The Jews set up a regular, concrete way to remember: set days, shared meals, gifts to the poor, and a story retold each year. It shows that God’s past help shapes a people’s future faith. By remembering openly and together, families, cities, and whole provinces can stay aware that their safety and joy did not come by chance, but by God turning sorrow into gladness.

How can the pattern of sorrow turned to joy in this passage speak to believers today?

The Jews in this story went from facing destruction to resting from their enemies and feasting. While the details are tied to their time and place, the pattern of God turning mourning into a “good day” can still encourage believers. It reminds us that dark seasons do not have the final word with God. He is able to overturn evil plans and bring relief. Remembering past help, whether in Scripture or in our own lives, can grow trust when we face fear or uncertainty.

Esth.9.18

Esther 9:18

KJV

But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

The Feast of Purim Instituted

But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

¶ And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,

To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,

As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;

Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;

But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,

The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;

And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.

Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.

And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,

To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.

And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.

Cross References

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