Translation of Esther 3:7

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Danielkim
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun Dec 15, 2013 7:27 pm

Translation of Esther 3:7

Post by Danielkim »

בַּחֹ֤דֶשׁ הָרִאשֹׁון֙ הוּא־חֹ֣דֶשׁ נִיסָ֔ן בִּשְׁנַת֙ שְׁתֵּ֣ים עֶשְׂרֵ֔ה לַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹ֑ושׁ הִפִּ֣יל פּוּר֩ ה֨וּא הַגֹּורָ֜ל לִפְנֵ֣י הָמָ֗ן מִיֹּ֧ום ׀ לְיֹ֛ום וּמֵחֹ֛דֶשׁ לְחֹ֥דֶשׁ שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂ֖ר הוּא־חֹ֥דֶשׁ אֲדָֽר׃ ס

Hello.

This is the text of Esther 3:7

when I read this verse, I began to think this verse might be revealing this year in history did not have 2nd Adar( 13th months)

that is why it says they throw the lot from month to month until 12th months, and they got Month Adar.

please check if my idea is just speculation or probable interpretation.

I believe this was in 473 B.C

it means if any calendar has 13th month in the end of 473 B.C which means beginning of 472 B.C, it is wrong calendar.

too much calendar debating cause me to think about this verse.

if that year was leap year, it should have said " they throw the lot from month to month until 13th month, and they got Adar".

please share your input and let me know if It is just speculation, or wrong interpretation.

thank you.
Last edited by Danielkim on Thu Dec 10, 2015 12:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kenneth Greifer
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Re: Translation of Esther 3:7

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

Danielkim,

I gave an alternative translation of Esther 3:7 on this forum before. Maybe you will look at it:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=616
Kenneth Greifer wrote:I would like to suggest an explanation for Esther 3:7 that I think is interesting, and I was wondering if anyone has ever seen it in any commentary.

I think it says the king cast lots "from the day to the day, and from the month to the twelfth month." Instead of meaning he cast a lot for every day, maybe it means he put the lot on the number of the day and caused it to fall onto the same number, and then he put the lot on the number of the month and caused it to fall onto the twelfth month.

Esther 3:12 says it was the thirteenth day of the first month, so he could have put the lot on the number 13 and then it fell onto the number 13 again, then he put it on the number one for the month and made it fall onto the number 12 for the twelfth month. This way he cast the lot from the day to the day (13) and from the month (1) to the twelfth month (12) and got the date, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month.

I think this idea makes more sense and explains how the date was chosen better than the usual explanation that he cast lots for every date of the year.

Kenneth Greifer

Kenneth Greifer
Kenneth Greifer
kwrandolph
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Re: Translation of Esther 3:7

Post by kwrandolph »

Danielkim wrote:בַּחֹ֤דֶשׁ הָרִאשֹׁון֙ הוּא־חֹ֣דֶשׁ נִיסָ֔ן בִּשְׁנַת֙ שְׁתֵּ֣ים עֶשְׂרֵ֔ה לַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹ֑ושׁ הִפִּ֣יל פּוּר֩ ה֨וּא הַגֹּורָ֜ל לִפְנֵ֣י הָמָ֗ן מִיֹּ֧ום ׀ לְיֹ֛ום וּמֵחֹ֛דֶשׁ לְחֹ֥דֶשׁ שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂ֖ר הוּא־חֹ֥דֶשׁ אֲדָֽר׃ ס

Hello.

This is the text of Esther 3:7

when I read this verse, I began to think this verse might be revealing this year in history did not have 2nd Adar( 13th months)
This would be true even if they had 13 months that year. What it says is that the lot fell on the 12th month.
Danielkim wrote:I believe this was in 473 B.C
From where do you get the date?

From what I hear from other sources, our knowledge of Persian history is pretty spotty with disagreements among different historians, thanks to Alexander the Great burning the official records. If this is the same king that Nehemiah served, then the date would have been closer to 420 BC.

Karl W. Randolph.
S_Walch
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Re: Translation of Esther 3:7

Post by S_Walch »

Danielkim wrote:let me know if It is just speculation, or wrong interpretation.
Quick answer: wrong interpretation.

As Karl pointed out, if the lot fell on the 12th month, it doesn't matter whether the year had 12, 13, or even 20 months - the month the lot fell on wouldn't change.
Ste Walch
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SteveMiller
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Re: Translation of Esther 3:7

Post by SteveMiller »

I thought it says that they cast lot for each day from today up until the 12 month. This verse doesn't say where the lot fell. If you add the word "fell" to the text, it still doesn't say which day. This is revealed later in v13. That is just how I read it.

In any case it doesn't mean that there was no leap year that year because in the 1st month of the year, they don't know whether there will be a leap month that year or not. They don't know until the 12th month whether to add a 13th month. So they would just take lots for 12 months. If they took lots for a 13th month and there wasn't one, then it wouldn't happen.
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Steve Miller
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