The edict carried out
The number of those slain in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.”
13 “If it pleases the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on gallows.”
14 So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman. 15 The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
16 Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. 17 This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.
Many people, including many Jewish writers, are distressed and question the morality of such slaughter. Especially disturbing is Esther’s request for another day to attack the enemies. As usual, the book of Esther offers no evaluation of the motives of the various participants. We need not assume that all who took part in the destruction of the enemies acted out of pure motives of self-defense. There may have been a vengeful spirit on the part of some of the Jews. On the other hand, the account demonstrates that the Jews tried to protect themselves from charges of malice and selfishness. They didn’t take any plunder from the victims, in order to protect themselves from charges of killing others simply to enrich themselves. There is no indication that they took advantage of the king’s permission to kill women and children. The text tries to emphasize that the Jewish attack on their enemies was a defensive attack: “to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies.” If the Jews did not strike their enemies at this time, the enemies might regain the king’s favor and recover their power to attack the Jews on another occasion. The Jews felt compelled to fight the battle to its conclusion while they had the upper hand.