Esther 3:6

3:6 But the thought of striking out against 1  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed 2  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. 3  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) 4  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Esther 3:10

3:10 So the king removed his signet ring 5  from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, who was hostile toward the Jews.

1 tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

2 tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

3 tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

4 tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (’am, “people”) to עִם (’im, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.

5 sn Possessing the king’s signet ring would enable Haman to act with full royal authority. The king’s ring would be used to impress the royal seal on edicts, making them as binding as if the king himself had enacted them.