Post date: Feb 12, 2013 4:43:33 AM
Asah hamelech
The king made
(1:5)
It seems that the word ‘Hamelech’ is superfluous in this pasuk. Three pesukim earlier the phrase ‘Kisheves hamelech’ (1:2) is used, and the next few pesukim all continue to refer to Achashveirosh. So it would seem that there is no need to specifically mention ‘the king’ again. Why not just skip the word ‘Hamelech’ in this pasuk since it’s clear that the subject of this pasuk, like the previous ones, continues to be Achashveirosh?
The Gemarah (Megillah 12a) tells us that Achashveirosh was a foolish king, and the Gemara wasn’t alone in this thinking. Many people in the time of the Purim story also felt this way, and for that reason he was never fully accepted as their supreme ruler. The Be’er Yosef tells us that this is precisely the reason why the phrase ‘Kisheves hamelech’ (1:2) was employed earlier instead of the more natural prefix of ‘Bisheves hamelech’. He explains that the Chaf hints to us that Achashveirosh was only sort of the ruler—it was ‘like’ he was sitting as the king, but not with the full authority that a more confident ruler would have had.
So when Achashveirosh trotted out during the party wearing the clothes of the Kohain gadol without dying (unlike what had happened to Balshatzar), it was impressive enough to persuade many in attendance (and those who heard about it) to truly accept him as their king. Now that Achashveirosh had succeeded in solidifying his position as king, a slight reordering of the words in our pasuk reveals that Achashveirosh was finally made king—Asah hamelech, he had finally become the king in the eyes of everyone!
[Zvi Fleisher @ ShemaYisrael.com]