What is Purim in this passage and why is it celebrated?

Purim in this passage is a yearly festival that the Jews agreed to keep so they would not forget how God saved them from Haman’s plan to destroy them. The name “Purim” comes from “Pur,” the lot Haman cast to choose the day of their ruin. Instead of being wiped out, the Jews were given rest from their enemies and their sorrow was turned into joy. So they set apart the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar for feasting, happiness, sharing food, and helping the poor.

Why did Mordecai write letters to all the Jews in every province?

Mordecai wrote letters to all the Jews, near and far, so the whole people would remember the same story and keep the same days together. Their danger had been shared, so their joy and memory should be shared too. By writing, he fixed the dates of Purim and explained that these days marked their rest from enemies and the turning of mourning into a good day. The letters helped make this not just a local habit, but a lasting, united practice for all Jews in the kingdom.

How did God turn the Jews’ sorrow into joy in this passage?

Their sorrow came from Haman’s plan to destroy them, a plan he fixed by casting lots for the day. The Jews were grieving and afraid. God turned this around through Esther going before the king and speaking up. The king then ordered that Haman’s own evil plan fall back on his head, and he and his sons were hanged. Instead of being wiped out, the Jews were protected and gained rest from their enemies. This great change from mourning to joy is what Purim remembers each year.

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

Sending portions means sharing food or other good things with one another, and giving gifts to the poor means remembering those in need when you celebrate. In this passage, these acts are part of how the Jews were told to keep Purim. Their joy was not just private; it was to overflow in kindness, friendship, and care for the needy. The celebration of God’s rescue was tied to loving others, so no one would be left out of the feast or forgotten in their need.

What role does Esther play in confirming the Feast of Purim?

Esther is not only the queen who risked her life to speak to the king; here she also helps make sure the memory of God’s rescue will last. Together with Mordecai, she writes with authority to confirm the second letter about Purim. Her decree fixes the practice for the Jews and their children, including both the joyful feasting and the matters of fasting and crying out to God. Her name on the order shows that this is not just a passing custom, but a settled part of their life as a people.

Why does the passage mention fasting and crying along with feasting and joy?

The passage holds both sides together: the Jews had fasted and cried to God when they were in danger, and now they feast and rejoice after He brought them through. By tying fasting and crying to the days of Purim, the people remember not only the happy ending but also the deep need that came before it. Their joy is not careless; it grows out of answered prayer. This keeps the feast from becoming empty pleasure and reminds them to keep calling on God in future troubles.

Who was Haman in this passage, and what happened to him?

Haman is called the enemy of all the Jews. He planned to destroy them and used lots, called Pur, to pick the day for their ruin. His plan was written into law, so it seemed sure. But when Esther came before the king and spoke about the danger, the king ordered that Haman’s own wicked plan should fall back on him. Haman and his sons were hanged on the gallows he had prepared. Remembering his fall shows that evil plans cannot finally stand against God’s care for His people.

How can the establishment of Purim speak to believers today?

This passage shows how God can work quietly in history to protect His people, even when His name is not openly mentioned. It encourages believers to remember times when God has helped them and to tell those stories to the next generation. It also links joy with sharing and helping the poor, so celebration is joined with compassion. Finally, it reminds believers to hold together fasting and crying out to God in trouble with giving thanks and rejoicing when He brings relief.

Esth.9.20

Esther 9:20

King James Version (KJV)

¶ 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,

Chapter:

Context:

The Feast of Purim Instituted

Sub Context:

The Feast of Purim Instituted

¶ 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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