9. The king’s scribes. In deference to the Persian legal custom by which a royal edict was unalterable, Mordecai successfully devised a means of counteracting the effects of Haman’s decree without actually revoking it. The resulting decree was published in every language, copies being made by the royal stenographers (see 3:12).
The third month. It is not certain whether this was in the 12th or the 13th year of Ahasuerus ( 460; see on 3:7, 12). In the former case, the date would be June 25, 474 ; in the latter, July 12, 473 In either case, it was 2 months and 10 days after the proclamation of Haman’s decree, and 8 months and 19 or 20 days before it was to become effective.
This, the longest verse in the Bible, contains 43 Hebrew words, or 192 letters.