The king, in his fury, left the wine feast for the palace garden, while Haman remained to plead with Queen Esther for his life; for he saw that the king had resolved to destroy him. When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet room, Haman was laying prostrate on the couch on which Esther reclined. "Does he mean," cried the king, "to ravish the queen in my own palace?" No sooner did these words leave the king's lips than Haman's face was covered. Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, "What is more, a stake is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai--the man whose words saved the king." "Impale him on it!" the king ordered. So they impaled Haman on the stake which he had put up for Mordecai, and the king's fury abated. Esther 7:7-10. The Writings--Kethubim: A new translation of The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic text, Third Section, The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1982. Crayon on cardstock; edited on IrfanView. What was Haman doing on Esther's couch? My reference, The Writings: Kethubin: A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures According to the Traditional Hebrew Text, says that the meaning of "Haman's face 'was covered'" is unclear, and perhaps it means "blanched." Once again I ask, why did they teach us that Haman was hanged when it says right here, they impaled him on the stake in his own yard?
3" x ~2.8"
No comments:
Post a Comment