Esther 7:6. Esther still hesitates to name Haman, but at last brings the predicate into prominence: The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.—She does not say: “The evil-disposed person,” viz. of whom she is speaking, but without the article, אִישׁ צַר, in order to make as strikingly prominent as possible the conception of the man so inimical. Haman trembled; for נִבְעַת means more than that he was simply alarmed (comp. 1 Chron. 21:30; Dan. 8:17, and בִּעוּתִּים, Ps. 88:17; Job 6:4).
Latin Vulgate: dixit Hester hostis et inimicus noster pessimus iste est Aman quod ille audiens ilico obstipuit vultum regis ac reginae ferre non sustinens
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ReplyDelete"ויאמר לאסתר המלכה מי הוא זה ואי-זה הוא... ותאמר אסתר איש צר ואויב המן הרע הזה"
“And he said to Esther the Queen, ‘Who is he, and where is he...?’ And Esther said, ‘An adversary and an enemy this wicked Haman.’ ” (7:5-6)
QUESTION: Why did Achashveirosh ask two questions, “Who is he? And where is he...?” Moreover, when Esther responded, she should have said only one word, “Haman”?
ANSWER: In Hebrew grammar the word “hu” is used for someone not present, and the Hebrew grammatical term for this is “nistar” — literally “hidden.” The word “zeh” applies to a subject matter which is present and therefore revealed.
Esther told Achashveirosh that the Jewish people were suffering from two enemies: “One openly displays his hatred, while the other hates us deep down in his heart, though he does not say so openly.” Achashveirosh asked Esther, “Since you talk of two enemies, please tell me mi hu — who do you refer to as — ‘zeh’ — ‘the open and revealed enemy’ — and ve’ei-zeh — who is it that you consider — ‘hu’ — ‘the hidden enemy’ ”?
Esther responded “Haman hara — the wicked Haman — is ‘hazeh’ — our open and revealed enemy” and she left it to Achashveirosh’s imagination to figure out who was — “hu” — the “concealed” enemy.