The edict carried out
In the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. 2The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those seeking their destruction. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. 3 And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. 4 Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.
When the crucial day arrived, the Jews eliminated their enemies. In the capital city alone, they killed eight hundred men in two days. This included the ten sons of Haman, who were executed one day and hung on gallows (the word can also mean “poles”) the next.
The empire-wide total of 75,000 seems incredibly large, but it is not larger than the toll of other similar uprisings or reprisals recorded in history. Shocking as it is, there is nothing inherently improbable about it. It is also true to human nature that non-Jewish officials were quick to jump to the Jews’ assistance when they thought that such an action would gain them favor with the powerful Mordecai.