Why Did Mordecai Not Bow To Haman

Mordecai’s Risky Challenge

Guide of Esther is filled with tension and anxiety as it announces the story of the dangerous Jewish presence in the Diaspora. The scripting rests on a difficult request: Why is Mordecai, who is called a “Jew,”[1] Refusing to bow to Haman, putting his individuals at risk? It is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them” (3:8).[2] This led to Ahasuerus’ genocidal quest over the Jews, the “Final Solution”, although he did not understand the exact reasons and even the identification of individuals. Certainly, as a clever courtier, Mordecai would certainly watch out for the king’s approximate means. What was so troubling about bowing to Haman that it could expose Mordecai to such a terrible threat? Mordecai did not respond to the concern of the King’s slaves: “Why do you disobey the king’s orders?” (3: 3).[3] All he could tell them was that he was a Jew (verse 4). The first is Mordecai’s refusal to bow to spiritual concepts – obedience to Haman is an expression of idolatry. The second factor leads to national hatred – the rejection acts as a pretense for the endless war between Amalek as well as Israel.

Analysis 1: A type of idolatry

At the beginning of phase 3, Haman is promoted to viceroy: The need for a courtier to bow to the king’s second order is harmless enough; The Hebrew Bible is full of instances of bowing to people.[4] There is no provision in the Torah that explicitly restricts it. However, this particular junction וְיִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה, “bow and obey,”[5] appears only in the Hebrew Holy Bible as a movement in remembrance of the only God.[6] This can be interpreted – at least according to ancient interpreters – to imply that Haman is presenting himself as some kind of god.

Haman is wearing an idol – Rabbi’s Interpretation

Rabbinic tradition holds that Haman wears an idol – like a medallion around his neck or embroidered on a turban.[7] Apparently, they suggest this because, as noted above, nothing in the Bible — or in the rabbi’s halacha — forbids a Jew from bowing to a person. However, the Septuagint and Targum Sheni make a different claim.

Bow only to God – Septuagint and Targum Sheni

Read more: Why Everyone Hates Chiefs Esther’s Greek Version (Septuagint),[8] presents Mordecai’s defense along these lines. By obeying the rule of the King of Persia and bowing to Haman, he would betray his allegiance to the King of Kings, the God of the Jewish nation. In what scholars call Supplement C (which follows chapter four of the MT), Mordecai turns to God in prayer, with a clear theological message not found in the Masoretic text: His tone of voice. I was bitter, almost apologetic, for the terrible difficulties he had brought. on his person. But he justified his integrity as being motivated by “the glory of God.” The Aramaic Targum Sheni, like the Greek version, does not mention an idol, but argues that it is inappropriate for a “Jew” to bow before a mortal.[9] For example, in chapter 3, to the question of the king’s servants: “Why did you disobey the king’s orders” (3:3, where no answer is given in the MT), Mordecai came out. Hand before man’s arrogance, In both the Targum Sheni and the Septuagint, bowing before a man is, in essence, a form of idolatry, and as such it presents a challenge to doctrine. monotheism, which held that the Jews were subject to God alone.

Explanation 2: Do not bow to an Amalekite

A second possibility is that the “Jewish” Mordecai was the embodiment of Israel, refusing to bow to Haman, Agagite, who was the embodiment of Amalek. This tradition is recorded in liturgical practice on Shabbat Zakhor before Purim, when we read (in Maftir) the injunction “Remember what Amalek has done to you,” attacking the elderly and the weary of running. hiding in the desert when leaving Egypt. And paradoxically, we are urged to “wipe out the memory of Amalek” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19; see Exodus 17:8-16). preserved the life of Agag, the Amalekite king (1 Sam. 15 was Haftorah). Mordecai, a descendant of Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin (Esther 2:5, see 1 Samuel 9:1-2), then got the job done, so to speak. of the Esther scrolls, genealogical links pointing to an ethnic group will be played between these two characters. However, the Greek version never referred to Haman as Agagites, so this allusion to ethnic divisions would be lost among Greek readers. Instead, Haman was called “Bougean” (in the Septuagint Alpha-text), perhaps a pitiful association for the Greek-speaking Jews at the time.[11]Read more: Why does my heater blow cold air In contrast, the Rabbinic tradition, based solely on MT, could not fail to hear the warning trumpet at the beginning of chapter 3: “And after these, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha Agagite… ..,” reverberated throughout Megillah, with the addition of the story being “the enemy of the Jews.” [tzror ha-yehudim]” (3:10, 7: 6, 9:10 and 24).

Combining interpretations – Targum Sheni

Targum Sheni (approximately 3 to 6 cents AD) uses the same plant, but traces back to Jacob and Esau. Haman is introduced, at the beginning of chapter 3, with a list of ancestors spanning 20 generations, ending with Amalek’s father, Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn (see Genesis 36:12). Furthermore, Targum associates this genealogy with Mordecai’s refusal to bow. (3: 4). What words? Although the simple meaning of the text may allude to Mordecai’s refusal to bow because “he is a Jew” (as he tells them, verse 4), the middle paragraph suggests a conversation ” lost” between Mordecai and the king’s servants. This unique exegesis is the combination of religious principles and national pride that underpin Mordecai’s argument.[13] Of course, in the reading with which we are familiar, Haman does not accept “these words” as a good reason for disobeying the king. On the contrary, they spurred a determination to kill all the Jews, “the people of Mordecai,” for he disdainfully laid his hand on Mordecai (3:6). The reasons are irrelevant, as the anti-Semites only see that “he is a Jew.”

Jewish survival in diaspora

The question of Jewish survival and integrity within the Diaspora community lies at the heart of the drama of the Esther story in all its forms. In the Targum Sheni, composed most likely in the Land of Israel between the 3rd and 6th centuries C.E., the answer to anti-Semitism, which Haman offers, is expressed even by Mordecai’s particular stance. as well as his universal vision that By patiently refusing to bow to Haman “before this gate” (in the court of Persia), all the peoples of the Earth would eventually acknowledge the one true God. only within the borders of the Land of Israel.[14] Targum conveys a message of profound clarity through Mordecai’s voice, linking national concerns with popular, accepted moral monotheism. where national identity plays a minimal role compared to religious values. Each offers a different model of Mordecai in today’s world – one may proudly wear a kipah, guarding a synagogue in Copenhagen or Paris, the other may speak eloquently, in a suit and Metallic striped tie, with Christian clerics and Miss. In both cases, Jewish courtier stands for “dignity of difference,” to borrow a phrase from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sack. He carried a banner defending the Jewish singularity in the face of assimilation and the threat of authoritarianism and violence. Read more: Why sloths have small ears

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