The Name of Jehovah in the Book of
Esther. This Is Appendix 60
From The Companion Bible.
It has been observed by many that no Divine Name
or Title is found in the book of Esther. This is the
more remarkable, since, in this short book of only 167 verses, the Median
King is mentioned 192 times, his kingdom is referred to 26 times, and his
name 1
"Ahasuerus" is given 29 times. Jehovah
had declared (Deuteronomy 31:16-18) 2
, that
if His People forsook Him, He would hide His face from them. Here this
threatening was fulfilled. But, though He was hidden from them, He was
working for them. Though the book reveals Him as overruling all, His Name
is hidden. It is there for His People to see, not for His enemies to see
or hear. Satan was at work, using Haman to blot out
the Nation, as once before he had used Pharaoh for the same purpose (see
Appendix 23 and
25). Jehovah’s
counsel must stand. His promise of Messiah, the coming
"Seed" of the woman (Genesis 3:15), must not fail.
Therefore He must overrule all for the preservation of His People, and of
the line by which that "Seed" was to come into the world.
His working was secret and hidden: hence, the name
of "JEHOVAH" is hidden secretly four times in this book, and the name
"EHYEH" (I am that I am) once. The Massorah (Appendix 30) has a
rubric calling attention to the former fact; and (at least) 3
three
ancient manuscripts are known in which the Acrostic 4
letters in all five cases are written Majuscular
(or, larger than the others) so that they stand out boldly and
prominently, showing the four consonant letters of the name JeHoVaH. In
the Hebrew , , , , or, as written in Hebrew
from right to left, , ,
, . In English, L,O,R,D. Also
the five letters of the fifth Acrostic, "EHYH."
THE FOUR ACROSTICS.
The following phenomena are noticed in examining the
four Acrostics which form the name "Jehovah":
1. In each case the four words forming the Acrostic
are consecutive. 2. In each case (except the first)
they form a sentence complete in itself. 3. There
are no other such Acrostics in the whole book, except the fifth Acrostic
at the end; though there is one other, forming another Divine Title, in
Psalm 96:11 (See note there.)
4. In their construction there are not two alike,
but each one is arranged in a manner quite different from the other three.
5. Each is uttered by a different speaker. The first
by Memucan (1:20); the second by
Esther (5:4); the third by
Haman (5:13); the fourth by
the inspired writer (7:7).
6. The first two Acrostics are a pair, having the
name formed by the Initial letters of the four words.
7. The last two are a pair, having the name formed
by the Final letters of the four words.
8. The first and third Acrostics are a pair, having
the name spelt backward. 9. The second
and fourth are a pair, having the name spelt forward. They
thus form an alternation:
A | Backward. B | Forward. A | Backward. B | Forward.
10. The first and third (in which the name is formed
backward) are a pair, being spoken by Gentiles.
11. The second and fourth (in which the name is
spelt forward) are a pair, being spoken by Israelites. They
thus form an Alternation:-
C | Spoken by a Gentile
(Memucan). D | Spoken by an
Israelite (Esther). C | Spoken by a Gentile
(Haman). D | Spoken
by an Israelite (inspired writer). 12.
The first and second form a pair, being connected with Queens and
Banquets. 13. The third and fourth are a
pair, being connected with Haman. 14.
The first and fourth are a pair, being spoken concerning the
Queen (Vashti) and Haman respectively. 15. The
second and third are a pair, being spoken by the Queen
(Esther) and Haman respectively. They thus form an Introversion:-
E | Words concerning a
Queen. F | Word spoken by a
Queen. F | Words spoken by
Haman. E | Words concerning
Haman. 16. It is remarkable also that,
in the two cases where the name is formed by the initial
letters, the facts recorded are initial also, and are spoken
of an event in which Jehovah’s overruling was initiated; while in the two
cases where the name is formed by the final letters, the
events are final also, and lead rapidly up to the end toward
which Jehovah was working. Thus in the two cases
where the name is spelt backward 5
,
Jehovah is seen overruling the counsels of Gentiles for the
accomplishment of His own; and where the name is spelt
forward 5
, He
is ruling directly in the interests of His own People
unknown to themselves.
THE FIRST ACROSTIC (1:20)
is formed by the initial letters, for the event
was initial; and the name is spelt backward because Jehovah
is turning back and overruling the councels of
man. The whole clause reads as follows; the words forming the Acrostic
being put in italic type:- "And when the
king’s decree which he shall make, shall be published throughout all his
empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their
husbands honour, both to great and small." The four words we give,
1st, in the Hebrew type (with the Majuscular letters at the beginning of
each word); 2nd, with the Transliteration; and 3rd, in English paraphrase,
reproducing the sentence in the word LORD with the initial
letters backward:-
4 3 2 1
1 2 3 4
Hi' V
ekal Hannashim Yitt
enu.
1 2 3 4
it and-all the-wives shall-give
"Due Respect Our Ladies
shall give to their husbands, both to great and
small."
THE SECOND ACROSTIC (5:4)
is formed, as before, by the initial letters,
for Jehovah is initiating His action; but the name is spelt
forward because He is ruling and causing
Esther to act; and take the first step, which was to lead up to so great
an end.
The four words are:
4 3 2 1
1 2 3 4
Yabo' Hammelek V
eHaman Hayyom
1 2 3 4
let-come the-king and-Haman this-day
"Let Our Royal Dinner
this day be graced by the king and Haman."
The name of Jehovah is read in the invitation,
intimating that there would be a fourth at that
banquet."
THE THIRD ACROSTIC (5:13)
is the beginning of the end; for Haman had gone forth from
that banquet "joyful and with a glad heart" (5:9) "that
day." Yet it was to be his last. Hence the third Acrostic is formed
with the final letters, for the end was
approaching; and the name is spelt backward, for Jehovah was
overruling Haman’s gladness, and turning back Haman’s
counsel.
The four words are:
4 3 2 1
1 2 3 4
zeH 'eynennV shoveH l
eY
1 3 2 4
this availeth nothing to-me
The English may be freely rendered "Yet am I
saD; foR, nO avaiL
is all this to me."
THE FOURTH ACROSTIC (7:7)
is formed, like the third, by the final
letters, for Haman’s end had come. But it is spelt forward
like the first, for Jehovah was ruling and bringing about
the end He had determined. Haman saw there was cause for fear. A
fourth is there - Jehovah Himself! And when Esther pleads
for her life (7:3), the king asks
"Who is he and where is he?" which brings in Jehovah’s own
ineffable name - the Acrostic of the five final letters spelling in Hebrew
"I am" (see the fifth Acrostic below). Esther replies:
"The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." The king,
filled with wrath, rises, and goes forth into the palace garden. Haman,
filled with fear, rises, "to make request for his life to Esther
the queen, for he saw
that evil was determined against him
by the king."
This was the climax, the end had come. Hence the name
is spelt by the final letters:
4 3 2 1
1 2 3 4
kY kal
ethaH elayV hara'aH
1 4 2 3
that evil was-determined aginst-him
Translated, as before, the Acrostic appears in English
thus: "For he saw that there was
eviL tO feaR determineD
against him by the king."
THE FIFTH ACROSTIC (7:5)
in this book does not form the name "Jehovah,"
but the remarkable name E H Y H which means
"I AM."
It is noted in some manuscripts by Majusclar letters,
which have Massoretic authority (see Appendix 30).
The Acrostic is formed by the final letters, and the
name is spelt backward. The king asks "Who is
he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do
so?": that is to say, to sell for destruction Queen Esther and her
People. In saying this he unconsciously gives the name of Him who came
down to deliver His People out of the hand of Pharaoh, and had then come
down to deliver them again out of the hand of Haman, "the Jews’
enemy", who, like Pharaoh, sought to destroy the whole nation
(compare Exodus 2:23-25 with
3:14,15). The great enemy
of the Messiah - the living Word - was seeking to destroy all hope of His
promised coming (Genesis 3:15), and make void
the repeated promise of Jehovah. Ahasuerus only
pointed to human agency, but his words point us to the Satanic agency
which was behind it. The Acrostic is in the final letters of his question
"Who is he, and where is he?" Only the great "I am
that I am" could know that, and could answer that question. Esther
and Mordecai knew the human instrument, but none could know who was
directing him but the One Who sees the end from the beginning.
The words forming the Acrostic are
4 3 2 1
1 2 3 4
hu'E zeH v
e`eY zeH
1 2 3 4
[who is] he this
[man] and
where [is] this [man]
"who durst presume in his heart to do so": that
is to say, to conspire against the life of the Queen and her People.
We may English it thus:
"WherE dwelletH the-enemY that-daretH
presume in his heart to do this thing?"
Thus was the name of the great "I AM" of
Exodus 3:14 presented to the
eye, to reveal the fact that He who said of E H Y H "this is
My Name for ever, and this is My Memorial unto all generations"
(verse 15), was there to
remember His People. Here was a "generation" in Persia who
experienced the truth and the power of this Name, as a former
"generation" had done in Egypt. The
same "I AM" had indeed come down to deliver them from Haman; as He
had from Pharaoh, and from the great "enmity" (of Genesis
3:15) which instigated
both to accomplish the Satanic design of exterminating the Nation of
Isreal. In these five Acrostics we have something
far beyond a mere coincidence; we have design. When we read the
denunciation in Deuteronomy 31:16-18, and see it
carried out in Persia, we learn that though God was not
among His people there, He was for them.
Though He was not acting as Jehovah, "that dwelleth between the
Cherubim," He was "the God of Heaven," ruling and
over-ruling all "in the Heaven above and in the Earth
beneath" for the fulfillment of His purposes, and in the
deliverance of His People. Hence, though His name, as well as His
presence, is HIDDEN, yet, it is there, in the Word; and so wonderfully
interwoven that no enemy will ever know how to put it out.
Footnotes:
1. In the note on
Esther 1:1 this Ahasuerus is
identified with Astyages, who is the same as Darius the Mede. See notes Appendix
57. 2. The Talmud
(Kelim 139) says "Where do we get Esther in the
Law?" And the answer is "Deuteronomy 31:18, ‘and I will
surely hide my face’". So here, the outward form of the revelation
takes on the form of its inward and spiritual meaning. For the same reason
we have the Divine Title "the God of heaven" as
characterising the book Ezra-Nehemiah. See note on 2Chronicles
36:23.
3. How many more
there may be will be ascertained only when all the special scrolls of
Esther shall be examined. 4. For other
examples of Acrostics in the Hebrew text, see Appendix 63
vii. 5. In the use of
these terms, "backward" and "forward" the
English reader must bear in mind that Hebrew is read from right to left
both in the spelling and wording. |