The result was that Mordecai was given the position at court once
occupied by the chamberlains Bigthan and Teresh. Indignant that a place
once filled by senators should be given to a barbarian, the ousted
officials resolved to be revenged upon the king and take his life.
Their purpose was to administer poison, which seemed easy of
accomplishment, as they were the royal butlers, and could find many
occasions to drop poison into a cup of water before handing it to the
king. The plan successfully carried out would have satisfied their
vengeful feelings, not only as to the king, but as to Mordecai as well.
It would have made it appear that the death of Ahasuerus was
attributable to the circumstance, that he had entrusted his person to
the care of the Jew, as his life had been secure under Bigthan and
Teresh. They discussed their plans in the presence of Mordecai, acting
upon the unwarranted assumption, that he would not understand the
language they spoke, the Tarsian, their native tongue. They were
ignorant of the fact, that Mordecai was a member of the Sanhedrin, and
as such knew all the seventy languages of the world. Thus their own
tongue betrayed them to ruin.
However, Mordecai had no need to make use of his great knowledge of
languages; he obtained his information about the plot of the two
chamberlains through prophetical channels. Accordingly, he appeared one
night in the palace. By a miracle the guards at the gates had not seen
him, and he could enter unrestrained. Thus he overheard the
conversation between the two conspirators.
Mordecai had more than a single reason for preventing the death of
Ahasuerus. In the first place, he desired to secure the king's
friendship for the Jews, and more especially his permission for the
rebuilding of the Temple. Then he feared, if the king were murdered
immediately after his rise to a high place in the state, the heathen
would assign as the cause of the disaster his connection with the Jews
his marriage with Esther and the appointment of Mordecai to office.
Esther's confidence in Mordecai's piety was so great that she
unhesitatingly gave credence to the message she received from him
concerning the mischievous plot hatched against the king. She believed
that God would execute the wishes of Mordecai. Albeit Bigthan and
Teresh had no plans of the sort attributed to them by her uncle, they
would conceive then now in order to make Mordecai's words true. That
Esther's confidence was justified appeared at once. The conspirators
got wind of their betrayal to the king, and in good time they removed
the poison they had already placed in Ahasuerus's cup. But that the lie
might not be given to Mordecai, God caused poison to appear where none
had been, and the conspirators were convicted of their crime. (88) The
king had the water analyzed which he was given to drink, and it was
made manifest that it contained poison. (89) Other evidence besides
existed against the two plotters. It was established that both had at
the same time busied themselves about the person of the king, though
the regulations of the palace assigned definite hours of service to the
one different from those assigned to the other. This made it clear that
they intended to perpetrate a dark deed in common. (90)
The two conspirators sought to escape the legitimate punishment for
their dastardly deed by ending their own life. But their intention was
frustrated, and they were nailed to the cross. (91)