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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

MORDECAI

1. Jewish leader during the exile. Our knowledge of Mordecai comes exclusively from the book of Esther, which, according to some rabbinic sources, Mordecai himself wrote. Mordecai’s activities are set against the period in which Xerxes (Ahasuerus) reigned over ancient Persia, a vast empire stretching over 127 provinces. Mordecai was a Benjamite descendant of Kish, the father of King Saul. His relatives were among those Jews who left Palestine during the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar. While his name reveals a Babylonian etymology, his heart burned with love for his countrymen who, notwithstanding the decree of Cyrus permitting their return to the Holy Land (538 BC), determined to colonize in dispersion rather than face the hardships of resettling in Palestine.

His remarkable life’s drama is intertwined with Hadassah (Esther), his cousin, who became his ward following the death of her parents. Esther’s sudden, unexpected exaltation to the position of queen following Vashti’s deposition was an essential link to the deliverance of her people; Mordecai’s forceful influence upon this beautiful Jewess was another. Behind them both, however, moved their sovereign God, whose love for Israel provided protection against the malevolent designs of Xerxes’ prime minister, Haman.

Haman, the very incarnation of evil, had determined to exterminate the Jews of Persia because of Mordecai’s unwillingness to pay him homage. Mordecai, learning of the plot, communicated the matter to Esther by way of Hathach, one of the king’s officers. Her initial hesitancy to intervene on behalf of her people was met with her cousin’s concise and stern answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Est 4:13-14, niv).

Several days elapsed during which Haman erected an enormous gallows upon which to hang Mordecai. On the evening of its completion, Xerxes, being unable to sleep, ordered the book containing the record of his reign to be read to him. Upon hearing of the actions of Mordecai in frustrating an earlier assassination attempt against him, he inquired as to what honors Mordecai had received in recognition of his service. Finding he had not been rewarded, Xerxes summoned Haman and asked him what fitting thing should be done for the man the king had purposed to honor. Haman, thinking that he was the object of the king’s query, responded with three grand ideas (Est 6:7-9). Ironically, Haman was chosen to carry out his recommendations on behalf of Mordecai. A final touch of irony is seen in the execution of Haman on the very instrument he had prepared for Mordecai.

Following Haman’s death, Mordecai and Esther had to act quickly to counteract the irrevocable edict directed against the Jews at Haman’s instigation. Xerxes, now solicitous of the Jews’ well-being, issued another edict allowing the Jews the freedom both to defend themselves and to retaliate against any aggressors. Apparently, the Persian officials to whom Mordecai forwarded this follow-up directive cooperated fully in protecting the Jews from their adversaries, thousands of whom were slain.

Consequently, Mordecai instructed all Jews to celebrate the time of their deliverance annually on the 14th and 15th days of Adar (roughly, March). The name of the festival, Purim, is derived from the word pur (“lot”), which was cast by Haman to determine the day for the Jews’ annihilation.