The Esther Series of the “Women of the Bible” Section presents another interpretation of the story of Esther.
Review of the previous post
The previous post, Number 4 of 6 in the Esther series, presents several items which do not make sense if the story is interpreted as a story of how the Jews were delivered from annihilation by Esther’s bravery.
Preview of the post
This post, Number 5 of 6 in the Esther Series, presents a discussion which attempts to make sense of the oddities by viewing the story as a story of an attempted coup d’tét and how Esther figured into the foiling of that attempted coup.
- Making sense of the oddities
All of these oddities only make sense if the story is read as a story of an attempted and foiled coup d’état.
Any king of Persia had to be the target of numerous plots to kill and replace him. Any king who reigned for any length of time[1] had to be adept at discovering the plots and thwarting them. Therefore, Ahasuerus had to be aware that such plots might exist and would be on his guard. This would require a secret service with eyes and ears everywhere. This requirement fit Mordecai who has his office in the palace gate, i.e., the offices associated with the palace. From his actions in the story it seems an easy conclusion that Mordecai was head of Ahasuerus’s secret service. As such[2], Mordecai would be aware of first the plot by the eunuchs to murder Ahasuerus[3] and then a plot to overthrow Ahasuerus, and it would seem that Haman would be a prime suspect due to his powerful position. Anyone with such a powerful position would bear watching in the Persian court. Haman would naturally be wary of the head of the King’s Secret Service. Mordecai’s actions confirmed his suspicions, especially to a guilty mind. Therefore, he set out to undermine Mordecai by denigrating Mordecai’s heritage and trying to plant a question of Mordecai’s loyalty to the King (see, Esther 3:8). Furthermore, as will be understood from ensuing actions (such as having over three hundred tons of silver at his disposal), Haman had powerful backers, and probably many such backers. Again, the head of the secret service would have agents everywhere and would be aware of the backers and would have a good idea who was being backed.
Also, Haman’s actions would further arouse suspicion, especially his actions in trying to “buy” so many of Ahasuerus’s subjects which would mean a great portion of the kingdom would be under Haman’s control. This is especially suspicious since the Jews likely were in powerful and influential positions in the Persian Empire which was noted for its tolerance toward foreigners. Taking over such a large and powerful portion of the population would surely be viewed as an attempt to gain power, perhaps enough power to be king. The purchase price was incredibly high, which clearly implies that Haman had backing from other powerful sources, perhaps even from other nations. Due to the appearance of powerful backers, and due to the fact that he probably did not know enough about the plot to understand its depth and breadth of backing among his subjects and although Ahasuerus would most assuredly want to stop this plot, Ahasuerus would not want to tip his hand just yet as he may have wanted to discover who else was involved besides Haman. Therefore, he appeared to play along with Haman by selling him the Jews in order to buy time to discover the extent of the plot and take steps to head it off. Mordecai also played along so as not to raise Haman’s suspicions further. Mordecai acted as though he was part of the Jewish community (see Esther 4:12) and not specially privileged as he would be as head of Palace Security. Instead, Mordecai further recruited Esther (Esther 4:13-17)[4] to thwart Haman’s plot[5]. In Esther 6:1-3, the king experiences sleeplessness on the eve of Esther’s feast where the only guests are the King, Mordecai and Haman. During this period of sleeplessness, the King “discovers” that it was Mordecai who uncovered the earlier plot by the eunuchs to kill him[6]. This, in and of itself, does not make sense because, as head of place security it was Mordecai’s job to uncover and thwart such plots – and the king would know this. The episode makes sense if it is a plot by the King, Esther and Mordecai to enrage Haman in a manner such that he would not suspect that Esther’s “feast,” having only three guests, was a set up to trap him. It worked because Haman during this episode suggests to the king that the king give a “worthy individual” his clothes, his horse as well as his diadem and Haman showed up at the feast (Esther 7:6). While the story seems to indicate that while Haman had himself in mind, the King “misunderstood” and used the suggestions to decorate Mordecai instead. Haman’s suggestions in this instance probably were part of larger pattern indicating Haman’s intent to take the crown.
Esther’s easy rise to queen above her competition seems odd, especially since she was a Jew. It is hard to believe that this fact that was not known by the king. However, Esther was Mordecai’s “adopted daughter” and hence was well known to Mordecai. Whether she actually was his adopted daughter or was a female secret service agent[7] is not relevant. The fact is once Esther was queen, Mordecai had a direct, and secure, line of communication to and from King Ahasuerus whereby Mordecai and the king could coordinate with each other in secure, unimpeachable, unquestionable and reliable manner using a trusted courier who certainly would not be subject to capture by Haman’s sympathizers. Intelligence could be efficiently and securely sent to the king, instructions could be efficiently and securely sent to Mordecai. This story line also can explain the odd treatment of Queen Vashti and the rapid disappearance of Esther at the end of the story. First Vashti had to be removed so she could be replaced with a message conduit between Ahasuerus and Mordecai (Esther), but not permanently removed, only removed until Haman’s plot was foiled (and if Haman succeeded in deposing Ahasuerus, then she would be safe). Once the plot was foiled, Esther’s message services were no longer needed, and her role changed accordingly to passing ordinances regarding the observance of Purim (Esther 9:31).
The Vashti episode that opened the story may have relevance here. Esther has replaced Vashti; Vashti was banished because she refused to obey and perhaps had too much knowledge of court politics. The elevation of Esther to the level of queen would imply to outsiders that Esther is the opposite of Vashti. That is, Esther would be under the thumb of the king and would be insulated from knowing what was going on in the court. Esther would be the anti-Vashti. This would provide Esther with a perfect cover: people (in particular the plotters) would assume that she is just another bimbo for the king and would totally overlook her. These plotters would assume that Esther was ignorant of the palace goings-on, and would not report what she found out at any rate because she would not speak unless directed to and then would speak only of what the king directed.
The Vashti episode is also relevant to the ensuing action in chapter 5. In the Vashti episode, Vashti refused to come when ordered to do so; whereas, in chapter 5, Esther appears before the king unbidden. It appears that the law of the court is that is she goes to the king unbidden, she will perish (5:16). However, she does so and merely stands “in the inner court of the kin’s palace” (5:1). As soon as the king saw her, instead of becoming enraged that she was breaking the law by appearing before him unbidden, he immediately invites her in (5:2) and even asks her to make a request (5:3). This action seems to imply that the king was expecting some information from Esther and he wanted to hear what she had to say. Esther was a spy for both Mordecai and the king so she received special privileges that others were denied.
Esther’s cryptic message in Esther 7:4 to Ahasuerus regarding her people being bondsmen and bondswomen not being worth Ahasuerus’s attention but the massacre and destruction of her people was worth his attention may have been code for an uprising which will destroy Ahasuerus – most assuredly a matter for his attention. The code was clearly a process in which the king asked Esther: “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half the kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” And the coded-reply would be “If Your Majesty will do me the favor, and if it pleases Your Majesty, let my life be granted me as my wish, and my people as my request. For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, massacred, and exterminated. Had we only been sold as bondmen and bondwomen, I would have kept silent; for the adversary is not worthy of the king’s trouble.” (7;3-4). The code was necessary as Haman and his followers surely had their own eyes and ears and she did not want to tip them off that Ahasuerus knew of their plot. Esther would want to delay giving this coded signal until she was certain that Haman would not be able to take counter action. Thus, she does not give the coded signal at the king’s first request in 5:3 and then delays again at the first banquet in 5:6-8. She waits until Haman is in a compromising situation in chapter 7 and cannot act quickly enough to counter the measures that have been set in motion to defeat and destroy Haman’s attempted coup.
The part that seems to tie the strings together as a spy plot: the private banquet and the action at that banquet. Ahasuerus must find a way to charge Haman with treason. He cannot charge Haman with treason for gaining control of a large portion of the populace since he sold that populace to Haman, and the plot to kill the Jews was part of this “sale,” so it would be difficult to make a charge of treason stick based of this alone. However, Ahasuerus can charge Haman with treason for trying to replace him. This was done by setting Haman up to appear to ravish Esther. Esther was complicit in this as she probably enticed Haman to her couch to plead for his life after she had exposed his plot to the king. Ravishing the queen is tantamount to replacing the king. Absalom sought to replace David by ravishing David’s concubines, Reuben took Jacob’s concubine and was punished for it. Thus, catching Haman in an attempt to ravish Queen Esther would be clear and convincing evidence of Haman’s attempt to overthrow Ahasuerus and would constitute clear and convincing evidence of treason. Haman had been set up. And it worked.
The next argument for a spy/coup d’état story lies in the odd message to the Jews after Haman is arrested and replaced by Mordecai. The message was sent out on royal horses, the Jews were permitted to defend themselves, and people converted to Judaism. Then, in acts of “self-defense” seventy-five thousand people were killed. Such a great number of casualties associated with an order such as this from Haman can only be explained and only makes sense if all that killing is associated with some other action. In this case, this large casualty count clearly implies that it was the king putting down a rebellion with the “Jews” being a code for the King’s soldiers and army and those loyal to the king. Haman and his accomplices had tried a coup d’état and had enlisted soldiers and citizens to their cause….and had failed because Mordecai uncovered the plot and had coordinated its defeat with the king using Esther as the conduit for messages and plans as she could talk to the king in private without interference and without raising suspicions among the plotters. Esther was a direct contact for Mordecai whom he trusted; therefore, he had to remove Vashti as she did not have his trust. There was no need for plunder because it was the king and the property of the rebels would be forfeited to him anyway.
The final piece to the puzzle is that Ahasuerus imposed tribute (Esther 10:1) which clearly shows he was in power and thus had survived the plot to overthrow him. Mordecai and the king were accomplices and used Esther to transfer messages back and forth to thwart Haman’s plot to overthrow Ahasuerus. The plot was initially uncovered when Mordecai exposed the two eunuchs early in the story.
Preview of the next post
The next post, Number 6 of 6, presents a conclusion which ties the story of Esther together.
[1] Ahasuerus had reigned for three years as the story opens, Esther 1:3.
[2] As head of such a powerful organization, Mordecai would be above the level of a common courtier and would not be expected to bow down to Haman. This could also be a way of Mordecai testing Haman’s intentions (as head of the secret service, Mordecai would naturally be distrustful of all those close to the King). It would be well known that a person in Mordecai’s position would not bow to anyone but the king. Mordecai may also have suspected that Haman was involved, or was the type that would be involved, in the just-broken plot to kill the king. By Haman’s enmity due to Mordecai’s refusal to bow to him, Mordecai was alerted to Haman’s ultimate intentions.
[3] This plot by the eunuchs would be the perfect vehicle for Mordecai to test his communication system (him to Esther to Ahasuerus to Esther and back to Mordecai, see 2:22) for its viability and secrecy. This view seems to be confirmed by the communication path stated in 4:5: “Thereupon Esther summoned Hathach, one of the eunuchs whom the king had appointed to server her, and sent him to Mordecai to learn the why and wherefore of it all.” The eunuchs moved freely and without questions in and around the court so they were a perfect vehicle for this situation. Furthermore, the just-quoted passage says that Esther wanted to know everything that was happening, and she would use this information as necessary to carry out Mordecai’s plan. It passed the test so it could be used to thwart more serious plots, such as the one being hatched by Haman. In fact, the passage in 2:20 states that” Esther still did not reveal her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther obeyed Mordecai’s bidding as she had done when she was under his tutelage” which seems to indicate that Esther and Mordecai were still involved in a covert operation, whether she was queen or not. There is some discussion as to when the “second gathering of the virgins” occurred, was it before Esther was queen or after? If it occurred before Esther was queen, the just-mentioned testing theory may not apply. However, it still reveals that Mordecai was aware of all plots which might affect the king.
[4] Note, the name Esther is translated in the Talmud to mean “I will hide” or “I am hiding” which seems to be significant in this interpretation of the story (see Talmud Hullin 139b and Megilla 13a). It is also significant that her given name, Hadassah (which could be associated with a flower), is quickly removed and replaced by the name Esther.
[5] Evidence of this recruitment is further provided by Mordecai’s famously enigmatic statement in 4:13 that Esther cannot remain silent because relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish.” The meaning of this statement has been debated for generations and it has been interpreted to be a subtle illusion to God and divine deliverance (Moore, Esther, 50, 52 among others). However, if the story is viewed through a lens of Mordecai thwarting a coup, the phrase could mean that he had other plans (plans B if you will; if the usual explanation is adopted, that would mean that God was plan B – one wonders how God could be an alternative fall back plan, it does not make sense that God is a backup plan) as any competent commander would have. This is especially so since the plan using Esther is so tenuous. The other means which Mordecai has in mind may include another country. If Esther fails, he will have to resort to the other means and Esther might very well perish in the war that would surely be fought. Still further, Mordecai reminds Esther that she has been elevated to Queen for just such crisis; seemingly supporting the thesis of this essay.
[6] One would think the king would know of every detail about a plot such as that, in particular the name of the person who broke it. Thus, the king’s “discovery” was a hoax to fool or trap Haman.
[7] It might be observed that in 2:10, we are told that “Esther did not reveal her people or her kindered, for Mordecai had told her not to reveal it.” Then, in the next verse, we are told “Every single day Mordecai would walk about in front of the court of the harem, to learn how Esther was faring and what was happening to her.” Both of these verses seem to support the conclusion that Esther was a plant from Mordecai and he was watching her and gaining intelligence from her at all times.