At the expiration of the hundred and eighty days allotted to the feast
for the nobles, Ahasuerus arranged a great celebration for the
residents of Shushan, the capital city of Elam. From the creation of
the world until after the deluge the unwritten law had been in force,
that the first-born son of the patriarchs was to be the ruler of the
world. Thus, Seth was the successor to Adam, and he was followed in
turn by Enosh, and so the succession went on, from first-born son to
first-born son, down to Noah and his oldest son Shem. Now, the
first-born son of Shem was Elam, and, according to custom, he should
have been given the universal dominion which was his heritage. Shem,
being a prophet, knew that Abraham and his posterity, the Israelites,
would not spring from the family of Elam, but from that of Arpachshad.
Therefore he named Arpachshad as his successor, and through him
rulership descended to Abraham, and so to Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, and
to David and his posterity, down to the last Judean king Zedekiah, who
was deprived of his sovereignty by Nebuchadnezzar.
Then it was that God spake thus: "So long as the government rested in
the hands of My children, I was prepared to exercise patience. The
misdeeds of the one were made good by the other. If one of them was
wicked, the other was pious. But now that the dominions has been
wrested from My children, it shall at least revert to its original
possessors. Elam was the first-born son of Shem, and his seed shall be
given the rule." So it happened that Shushan, the capital city of Elam,
became the seat of government. (14)
That there were any celebrations in Shushan was due to Haman, who even
in those early days was devising intrigues against the Jews. He
appeared before Ahasuerus, and said: "O king, this people is a peculiar
people. May it please thee to destroy it." Ahasuerus replied: "I fear
the God of this people; He is very mighty, and I bear in mind what
befell Pharaoh for his wicked treatment of the Israelites." "Their
God," said Haman, "hates an unchaste life. Do thou, therefore, prepare
feasts for them, and order them to take part in the merry-makings. Have
them eat and drink and act as their heart desireth, so that their God
may become wrathful against them."
When Mordecai heard of the feasts that were planned, he advised the
Jews not to join in them. (15) All the prominent men of his people and
many of the lower classes took his advice to heart. They fled from
Shushan, to avoid being compelled to take part in the festivities. (16)
The rest remained in the city and yielded to force; they participated
in the celebrations, and even permitted themselves to eat of food
prepared by the heathen, though the king had taken care not to offend
the religious conscience of the Jews in such details. (17) He had been
so punctilious that there was no need for them to drink wine touched by
the hand of an idolater, let alone eat forbidden food. The arrangements
for the feast were entirely in the charge of Haman and Mordecai, so
that neither Jew nor Gentile might absent himself for religious
reasons. (18)
It was the aim of the king to let every guest follow the inclination of
his heart. When Ahasuerus issued the order, that the officers of his
house were to "do according to every man's pleasure," God became wroth
with him. "Thou villain," He said, "canst thou do every man's pleasure?
Suppose two men love the same woman, can both marry her? Two vessels
sail forth together from a port, the one desires a south wind, the
other a north wind. Canst thou produce a wind to satisfy the two? On
the morrow Haman and Mordecai will appear before thee. Wilt thou be
able to side with both?" (19)
The scene of the festivities was in the royal gardens. The upper
branches of the high trees were made to interlace with each other, so
as to form vaulted arches, and the smaller trees with aromatic foliage
were taken up out of the ground, and placed in artfully constructed
tents. From tree to tree stretched curtains of byssus, white and
sapphire blue, and vivid green and royal purple, fastened to their
supports by ropes depending from round silver beams, these in turn
resting on pillars of red, green, yellow, white, and glittering blue
marble. The couches were made of delicate draperies, their frames stood
on silver feet, and the rods attached to them were of gold. The floor
was tiled with crystal and marble, outlined with precious stones, whose
brilliance illuminated the scene far and wide. (20)
The wine and the other beverages were drunk only from golden vessels,
yet Ahasuerus was so rich that no drinking cup was used more than a
single time. (21) But magnificent as these utensils of his were, when
the holy vessels of the Temple were brought in, the golden splendor of
the others was dimmed; it turned dull as lead. The wine was in each
case older than its drinker. To prevent intoxication from unaccustomed
drinks, every guest was served with the wine indigenous to his native
place. In general, Ahasuerus followed the Jewish rather than the
Persian manner. It was a banquet rather than a drinking bout. (22) In
Persia a custom prevailed that every participant in a banquet of wine
had to drain a huge beaker far exceeding the drinking capacity of any
human being, and do it he must, though he lost reason and life. The
office butler accordingly was very lucrative, because the guests at
such wassails were in the habit of bribing him to purchase the liberty
of drinking as little as they pleased or dared. This Persian habit of
compelling excess in drinking was ignored at Ahasuerus's banquet; every
guest did as he chose. (23)
The royal bounty did not show itself in food and drink alone. The
king's guests could also indulge in the pleasures of the dance if they
were so minded. Dancers were provided, who charmed the company with
their artistic figures displayed upon the purple-covered floor. (24)
That the enjoyment of the participants might in no wise be marred, as
by separation from their families, all were permitted to bring their
households with them, (25) and merchants were released from the taxes
imposed upon them. (26)
So sure was Ahasuerus of his success as a host that he dared say to his
Jewish guests: "Will your God be able to match this banquet in the
future world?" Whereunto the Jews replied: "The banquet God will
prepare for the righteous in the world to come is that of which it is
written, 'No eye hath seen it but God's; He will accomplish it for them
that wait upon Him.' If God were to offer us a banquet like unto thine,
O king, we should say, Such as this we ate at the table of Ahasuerus."
(27)