Esther 6:11

Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11) Then took Haman . . .—It would be a grim and curious study to analyse Hainan’s feelings at this juncture. Various thoughts were mingled there. Self-reproach, perhaps, that he had so thoughtlessly been the cause of the present display, bitter hatred of his rival now multiplied a thousandfold, and the evident knowledge that the game was played out, and that he was ruined. The more subtle the brain, the more truly must he have known this.

Benson Commentary

Esther 6:11-12. Then Haman took the apparel — The king’s words undoubtedly produced great commotion in his breast, but he durst not dispute, nor so much as seem to dislike the king’s order; but, though with the greatest regret and reluctance imaginable, brings the apparel, &c, to Mordecai, who, we may suppose, did no more cringe to Haman now than he did before, valuing his counterfeit respects no more than he had valued his concealed malice. And arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback, &c. — It is hard to say which of the two put a greater force upon himself: proud Haman, in giving this honour to Mordecai, or humble Mordecai, in accepting it. Upon one account, no doubt, it was agreeable to Mordecai, as it was an indication of the king’s favour, and gave ground to hope that Esther would prevail for the reversing of the edict against the Jews. Mordecai came again to the king’s gate — To his former place, showing that, as he was not overwhelmed with Haman’s threats, so he was not puffed up with this honour. Besides, he came thither to attend the issue of the business he had most at heart, respecting the Jews; and to be at hand, if need were, to assist or encourage the queen, which he was now more capable of doing than heretofore he had been. Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered — In token of his shame and grief for his unexpected disappointment, and for the great honour done to his abhorred adversary, by his own hands, and with his own public disgrace.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

6:4-11 See how men's pride deceives them. The deceitfulness of our own hearts appears in nothing more than in the conceit we have of ourselves and our own performances: against which we should constantly watch and pray. Haman thought the king loved and valued no one but himself, but he was deceived. We should suspect that the esteem which others profess for us, is not so great as it seems to be, that we may not think too well of ourselves, nor trust too much in others. How Haman is struck, when the king bids him do honour to Mordecai the Jew, the very man whom he hated above all men, whose ruin he was now designing!

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The honors here proposed by Haman were such as Persian monarchs rarely allowed to subjects. Each act would have been a capital offence if done without permission. Still, we find Persian monarchs allowing their subjects in these or similar acts under certain circumstances.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11. Then Haman took, &c.—This sudden reverse, however painful to Haman as an individual, is particularly characteristic of the Persian manners.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

He proclaimed this either himself, or by the officer.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Then took Haman the apparel, and the horse,.... The one out of the wardrobe, the other out of the stable, and the crown also no doubt, though no mention is made of it, since the king made no objection to it, yea, commanded that nothing fail of what had been spoken; but this was included in the pomp and state of the led horse: and brought him on horseback through the street of the city; the most grand and public part of it, thus arrayed, and in this state: and proclaimed before him, thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour; See Gill on Esther 6:9.

Geneva Study Bible

Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

11. Then took Haman etc.] Haman, as the most prominent man in the king’s court, was compelled, through the irony of fate, to carry out to the letter in his enemy’s case the proposals which he had made on his own behalf.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - Then took Haman the apparel. It was impossible for Haman to excuse himself; there was no ground on which he could decline the office thrust upon him. Reluctantly, without a word, he performed the king's bidding. HAMAN RETURNS HOME. DESPONDENCY OF HIMSELF AND HIS FRIENDS (Esther 6:12-14). There was as yet no real reason for Haman to feel depressed, or to regard himself as having lost favour with the king. He had been made an instrument in another man's honour, and had suffered a disappointment; but otherwise he was situated as on the day preceding, when he "went forth" from the palace "joyful and with a glad heart" (Esther 5:9). But he seems to have had a presentiment of impending calamity. All had as yet gone so well with him that the first vexation seemed like a turn in the tide, ominous of coming evil. And the fear of his own heart found an echo in the hearts of his wife and friends. Among the last were some who had the reputation of being "wise men" - perhaps Magians, acquainted with arts from which it was supposed they could divine the future. These persons ventured on a prediction. "If Mordecai, before whom thou hast begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely (or utterly) fall before him." With this evil presage ringing in his ears, Haman quitted his house, and accompanied the palace eunuchs who had been sent to conduct him to Esther's second banquet. Esther 6:11

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

This honour, then, the haughty Haman was now compelled to pay to the hated Jew. The king commanded him: "Make haste, take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said," i.e., in the manner proposed by thee, "and do even so to Mordochai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate; let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken," i.e., carry out your proposal exactly. How the king knew that Mordochai was a Jew, and that he sat in the king's gate, is not indeed expressly stated, but may easily be supplied from the conversation of the king with his servants concerning Mordochai's discovery of the conspiracy, Esther 6:1-3. On this occasion the servants of the king would certainly give him particulars concerning Mordochai, who by daily frequenting the king's gate, Esther 2:19; Esther 5:9, would certainly have attracted the attention of all the king's suite. Nor can doubt be case upon the historical truth of the fact related in this verse by the question: whether the king had forgotten that all Jews were doomed to destruction, and that he had delivered them up to Haman for that purpose (J. D. Mich.). Such forgetfulness in the case of such a monarch as Xerxes cannot surprise us.