Esther 7:5

Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Esther 7:5. Then the king said, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? — What! contrive the murder of the queen and all her friends? Is there such a man, or such a monster, rather, in nature? The expressions are short and doubled, as proceeding from a discomposed and enraged mind. The Hebrew is, Whose heart has filled him, as in the margin; or, Who hath filled his heart, to do so? He wonders that any one should be so wicked as to conceive such a thing, or that any one should be so bold as to attempt to effect it; that is, to circumvent him, and procure a decree, whereby not only his revenue should be so much injured, and so many of his innocent subjects destroyed, but his queen also involved in the same destruction. We sometimes startle at that evil which we ourselves are chargeable with. Ahasuerus is amazed at that wickedness which he himself was guilty of: for he had consented to the bloody edict; so that Esther might have said, Thou art the man!

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:1-6 If the love of life causes earnest pleadings with those that can only kill the body, how fervent should our prayers be to Him, who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell! How should we pray for the salvation of our relatives, friends, and all around us! When we petition great men, we must be cautious not to give them offence; even just complaints must often be kept back. But when we approach the King of kings with reverence, we cannot ask or expect too much. Though nothing but wrath be our due, God is able and willing to do exceeding abundantly, even beyond all we can ask or think.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The king now learned, perhaps for the first time, that his favorite was a Jewess.

Although the enemy ... - i. e. "although the enemy (Haman) would not (even in that case) compensate (by his payment to the treasury) for the king's loss of so many subjects."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed—that is, by the cruel and perfidious scheme of that man, who offered an immense sum of money to purchase our extermination. Esther dwelt on his contemplated atrocity, in a variety of expressions, which both evinced the depth of her own emotions, and were intended to awaken similar feelings in the king's breast.

But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue—Though a great calamity to the Jews, the enslavement of that people might have enriched the national treasury; and, at all events, the policy, if found from experience to be bad, could be altered. But the destruction of such a body of people would be an irreparable evil, and all the talents Haman might pour into the treasury could not compensate for the loss of their services.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Who is he? and

where is he? The expressions are short and doubled, as proceeding from a discomposed and enraged mind.

To do so, i.e. to circumvent me, and by subtlety to procure an irrevocable decree, whereby not only my estate should be so much impaired, and so many of my innocent subjects be destroyed without mercy, but my queen also should be involved in the same danger and destruction.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Then the King Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen,.... The words in the original text lie thus, "and the King Ahasuerus said, and he said to Esther the queen"; which doubling of the word does not signify, as Jarchi suggests, that before he spoke to her by a messenger, or middle person, but, now he knew she was of a royal family, he spoke to her himself; but it is expressive of the ruffle of his mind, and the wrath and fury he was in, that he said it again and again, with a stern countenance and great vehemence of speech:

who is he? and where is he? who is the man? and where does he live?

that durst presume in his heart to do so; that has boldness, impudence, and courage enough to perpetrate so vile an action: or "that has filled his heart" (i); the devil no doubt filled his heart to do it, see Acts 5:3, but the king had either forgot the decree he had granted, and the countenance he had given him to execute it; or, if he remembered it, he was now enraged that he should be drawn in to such an action by him; and perhaps till now was ignorant of Esther's descent, and knew not that she would be involved in the decree.

(i) "qui replevit cor suum", Drusius; "implevit", De Dieu.

Geneva Study Bible

Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - Who is he? Ahasuerus asks the question to "make sure," as we say - not that he could really be in any doubt. That durst presume. Rather, "that hath presumed" (ὅστις ἐτόλμησε. - LXX.). Esther 7:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The king, whose indignation was excited by what he had just heard, asks with an agitation, shown by the repetition of the ויּאמר: "Who is he, and where is he, whose heart hath filled him (whom his heart hath filled) to do so?" Evil thoughts proceed from the heart, and fill the man, and impel him to evil deeds: Isaiah 44:20; Ecclesiastes 8:11; Matthew 15:19.