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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

IntroIndex©

HAMAN

Son of Hammedatha the Agagite, a high official under King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) in Persia during the time of Esther. Haman became angry with Mordecai, the uncle of Esther the queen, because Mordecai would not bow down to him as all others did. In anger he planned to exterminate all the Jews in Persia (Est 3:8). While he was plotting Mordecai’s hanging, the king was reading about Mordecai’s valuable services. Haman’s plot to kill all Jews was revealed, and he went to the gallows made for Mordecai. Haman’s ten sons were killed shortly after, and their bodies were strung up as well. In the Hebrew Bible the sons’ names are written in a perpendicular manner, supposedly to show their relative positions on the gallows. The carnival atmosphere of the Feast of Purim sometimes resulted in Haman being hanged in effigy, or his name being written on the soles of shoes to express contempt.

See also Esther, Book of.