What Does Esther 6:9 Mean?
And let this apparel and horse be given into the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may clothe the man with it whom the king delights to prize, and bring him on horseback through the wide street of the city, and call out before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to prize.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.THE KEY
The word translated “honour” carries the sense of preciousness: the ceremony makes visible what the king values.
THE MEANING
Honor here takes visible form in clothing, a horse, and a public announcement. The king’s recognition passes through another person’s hands, then becomes something the city can see and hear. The repeated declaration makes honor both embodied and spoken.
THE ROOT
בִּיקָרוֹ
biqārō
GROWS FROM
יקר
y-q-r
To be precious, costly, or prized; preciousness and value.
“delights to prize” in this verse is biqārō. The word for honor carries the language of what is precious. The ceremony displays what the king counts valuable, making that regard visible to the city.
ALSO GROWS
yāqār: Precious, valuable, costly.
יָקָר
It shows the value embedded in the word translated “honour.”
yĕqār: Preciousness, honor.
יְקָר
This noun uses the same root to name the value that the public ceremony displays.
וְהִלְבִּישׁוּ
vehilbishū
GROWS FROM
לבש
l-b-sh
To wear clothing or clothe someone.
“clothe the man with it” in this verse is vehilbishū. Hebrew forms the verb “array” and the word for “apparel” from the same root. English separates the clothing from the act of dressing, while the Hebrew links them: honor is put onto the body where it can be seen.
ALSO GROWS
lāvaš: To wear or put on clothing.
לָבַשׁ
It is the basic clothing action beneath the verb translated “array.”
levūš: Garment, clothing, attire.
לְבוּשׁ
The apparel itself shares the root of the act that clothes the honored person.
וְקָרְאוּ
veqārə’ū
GROWS FROM
קרא
q-r-ʾ
To call out, summon, or announce.
“call out” in this verse is veqārə’ū. The city is not left to guess what the horse and clothing signify; a voice names the honor aloud. This root joins calling out with the gathering of listeners around a shared declaration.
ALSO GROWS
qārā’: To call, cry out, or proclaim.
קָרָא
It is the verb behind the public announcement before the honored person.
miqrā’: A convocation or public reading.
מִקְרָא
This related form shows how calling can bring people together to hear something publicly.
THE PATTERN
Honor becomes publicly legible when a valued person is given visible signs of status and the recognition is spoken before others.
And the Great House took the ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put a chain of gold about his neck. And he made him ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried out before him, Bend the knee! And he set him over all the land of Egypt.Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.If anyone serves me, let them follow me, and where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, my Father will give them weight.THE THREAD
The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and weight.The word for “honour” shares the root יקר (y-q-r), meaning preciousness or value, with the ceremony in this verse. Later, that same honor belongs to the Jews as a people, beside light, gladness, and joy.
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