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King James Version (KJV)
“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody
Scripture focus
In the first month, that [is], the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that [is], the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, [to] the twelfth [month], that [is], the month Adar.
Esther 3:7 — KJV
Nisan. Among the Jews this name replaced Abib after the Captivity.
The twelfth year. April 5, 474 B.C., to April 21, 473 B.C., according to Persian reckoning.
They cast Pur. The superstitious casting of lots, as a means of determining favorable times for certain projects, has been common in the East since time immemorial. Lots were drawn by means of dice, by chips of wood, by strips of parchment, by white and black stones, and in other ways. The Jews supposed that a special dispensation of Providence supervised the casting of lots (Prov. 16:33), and thought that matters decided in this way were according to God’s will. Hainan appears to have cast lots, first to determine the day of the month, and then the month.
It cannot be discovered from the context whether Hainan cast lots to determine a favorable date for proposing his scheme to the king or for the execution of the decree of extermination. Neither is it certain whether the process of casting of lots was extended over a period of several months or whether it was conducted at one time, to determine the supposedly auspicious time. The Hebrew reading of the text may possibly imply the former (see p. 460).
Adar. The lot apparently indicated the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth and last month of the year. Like Nisan, Adar is a Babylonian name. Adar corresponds to our month of March (see Vol. II, p. 108).
By SdaBc
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