Esther's School House Rock: Verbs

Often when studying narratives in the bible you will observe a particular character associated with a particular action. Sometimes the association is so close between action and person that a nickname is developed. 

• Thomas doubted Christ's resurrection (John 20:24-27). The verb of doubt has now been associated with the person, hence "Doubting Thomas". 
• David the shepherd boy fought against Goliath the Philistine giant and killed him (1 Samuel 17). Through that action he became a giant killer. 
• Elijah the prophet was called to serve during the time of wicked king Ahab. Ahab hated Elijah's work and called him the "troubler" of Israel (1 Kings 18:17). 

In Esther we can follow the verbs to discover a bit more about the defining moments, actions, and lasting legacies of characters. One note here for you grammarians - often in English translators will render a Hebrew verb as an adjective. If you see adjectives used in place of verbs, that's often because rendering a verb from Hebrew brings with it easier reading or better meaning for our language as an adjective rather than a verb. 

Xerxes' Verbs

In Esther 1:1 and 1:2 we're given the first two verbs associated with any character in the book. They both are in connection with Xerxes and they point to his position as king. In 1:1 Xerxes is described as "ruling" or "reigning". The Hebrew verb here is מָלַךְ mālaḵ which means "to be king (or queen)" or "to make someone king or queen". The second verb used in connection with Xerxes is his posture. The phrase translated by the NIV is "At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa,". The NIV takes the verb יָשַׁב yāšaḇ which means "to dwell" or "to sit" or "to abide" and applies this to Xerxes' royal position rendering the verb as "reigned". The unspoken question implied is: what do kings do when they are sitting on their thrones, they preside, rule, and reign over their kingdom. From the get go we see that Xerxes is going to be connected with rulership, authority, and be a character in the story wielding power. 

In Esther 2:1 we're told that the king "remembered" his wife Vashti. In the original language of the text, the word used here is זָכַר zāḵar which is a Hebrew verb to mean "To remember" or "To call into memory". The king's remembering of his queen begins the search for a new queen. This is the only time we're told Xerxes remembered anything. He wasn't exactly the most thoughtful fellow. When Haman asked to commit genocide against the Jews (Esther 3), Xerxes didn't even ask "which people do you want to kill?". When Xerxes couldn't sleep he didn't remember the service that Mordecai had rendered to save his life. He didn't know what honor had been given to Mordecai (Esther 6:1-3).

By Esther chapter 7 we see Xerxes kingship and thoughtlessness played out in dramatic fashion. When Esther begs for the life of herself and her people (7:3-4) Xerxes' doesn't seem to have a clue about what was going on. Xerxes didn't know that his queen Esther was of Jewish lineage. Xerxes didn't know that Esther was raised by Mordecai (whom 24 hours earlier Xerxes ordered Haman to honor). Xerxes didn't even know what people group harm was coming to! Xerxes didn't know who was responsible for the edict that was given to endanger Esther and her people (7:5). The verb used in 7:5 is a very common one אָמַר 'āmar. It's used to convey that someone is speaking. Sometimes the verb's meaning is dictated by the message of the speaker. In this case, because Xerxes seeks an answer from Esther, the verb is translated as "asking" to "asked". On the one hand this is something of a strange verb from a king. He's the king, we might think he should be in the know about the affairs of his kingdom. He gave permission to Haman to seal the edict with his royal ring (Esther 3:10). On the other hand this is not strange at all coming from Xerxes. He had to ask queen Esther what her request was when she entered his royal court (5:3), he had to ask what honor had been done for Mordecai (6:3), and he had to ask at the first (5:6) and second banquet (7:2) what Esther's request was. 

Early on and then continually throughout the book we have the picture of Xerxes as a king who is in a position of authority, and yet he is not a particularly good king. He is not a wise king who brings prosperity, justice, and peace. He is a king, but he's not the sort of king that any of us would want to reign over us. 

Mordecai is honored in this 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld

Mordecai's Verbs

The first verb used in connection with Mordecai is one that denotes his status as an exile: גָּלָה gālâ (2:6). This verb means "to remove" or "to depart" or "to go into exile". We learn right away that he is not a ruler or king like Xerxes, but rather is in a foreign land with seemingly little or no authority. The small amount of authority Mordecai does have is in relationship to his cousin Esther. We're given another verb in association with Mordecai, אָמַן 'āman. This means "to support" or "to raise" or "to foster-father". 

The closest verb to Esther chapter 7 about Mordecai is in 6:12 שׁוּב šûḇ which means "to return" or "to turn back". When the parade to honor Mordecai was completed, he returned to his position at the king's gate. He went back to life as it was prior to the parade. Mordecai seems unchanged by the event. Mordecai was consistent in his service and in his diligent service at the king's gate. While fame, money, and power reveal the worst in many, Mordecai received fame and yet returned to his previous position with humility and perseverance. 

Mordecai's actions show him to be a man faithful to his family. He was a man who was willing to accept the responsibilities that were a part of his duty. Mordecai is a wonderful contrast to Xerxes and a delightfully refreshing person by comparison. While Xerxes was a king none of us would want ruling over us, Mordecai would be an exceptional family member, employer, or employee. We could do much worse than to aspire to grow in perseverance and service in ways that resemble Mordecai. 

Next time we will take a look at the verbs surrounding Esther and Haman.