Discovery BoxEsther 9:26 
Context9:26 For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur.
Esther 9:24
Context9:24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised plans against the Jews to destroy them. He had cast pur (that is, the lot) in order to afflict and destroy them.
Esther 3:7
Context3:7 In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year 1 of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur 2 (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month. 3 It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). 4
1 sn This year would be ca. 474
2 tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).
3 tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.
tn Heb “from day to day and from month to month” (so KJV, NASB).
4 tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.
