On the 13thof Adar, the Jews prevailed over their enemies: The results of the battle are reported to the king, after which Ahasuerus asks Esther if there is anything else she re… See more

The Hebrew root ת.ל.ה/י can mean hang. But in the context of corpses, it most likely means “impale,” and thus עץ here means not “tree” or “gallows” but “stake.” Assyrian reliefs depi… See more

Just as early modern translators imagined Haman being killed by a method with which they were familiar, ancient Greek translators also imagined something familiar to t… See more

The interpretation of Haman’s death as crucifixion had serious consequences in late antiquity, since the crucifixion of Haman suggested to Jewish minds a connection … See more

For some ancient Jews, singing this poem likely functioned as a pressure-release valve. The daily hard and soft forms of Christian persecution for which they could not seek po… See more