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
Hebrew gif
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.