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In the Hebrew version of Esther, Haman’s wife and friends warn that he cannot beat a Jewish rival. The Greek Septuagint translation has them give the reason, that God is with Mordecai, changing the story to make God explicit.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Esther 6:13
Hebrew Bible
12 Then Mordecai again sat at the king’s gate, while Haman hurried away to his home, mournful and with a veil over his head. 13 Haman then related to his wife Zeresh and to all his friends everything that had happened to him. These wise men, along with his wife Zeresh, said to him, “If indeed this Mordecai before whom you have begun to fall is Jewish, you will not prevail against him. No, you will surely fall before him!” 14 While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived. They quickly brought Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
LXX Esther 6:13
Septuagint
12 Then Mordecai returned to the courtyard, but Haman turned back to his own home distressed, his head covered. 13 And Haman related the things that had happened to him to Zeresh, his wife, and his friends. Then his friends and his wife said to him, “If Mordecai is of the Judean race, and you have begun to be humbled before him, when falling, you will fall and not be able to withstand him, for the living God is with him.” 14 While they were speaking the eunuchs arrived, urging Haman to the drinking party that Esther had prepared.
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Notes and References
… intermediary, charges Esther to entreat the king on behalf of her people. To this the Septuagint adds that Mordecai bid her ἐπικάλεσαι τὸν κύριον ‘Call upon the Lord’. At 6.1, on the night before Haman plans to hang Mordecai, the king is sleepless. According to the Greek narrator, ὁ δὲ κύριος ἀπέστησεν τὸν ὕπνον ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως τὴν νύκτα ἐκείνην ‘But the Lord kept sleep from the king that night’. At 6.13 Haman’s wife and friends tell him that if Mordecai is Jewish, Haman cannot prevail against him. The Greek adds, ὅτι θεὸς ζῶν μετʼ αὐτοῦ ‘because a living god is with him’. …
Boyd-Taylor, Cameron
"Esther and Additions to Esther" in Aitken, James K. (ed.) The T&T Clark Companion to the Septuagint
(pp. 214-215) T&T Clark, 2015
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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