The Book of Esther (אסתר) is one of the only two books in the Bible named after a woman, the other is the book of Ruth (רות), also, one of the only two books in the Bible that God is not mentioned, the other one is the Song of Solomon.
Esther’s Hebrew name was Hadassah (הדסה), the beautiful Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (אחשורוש). She was of the tribe of Benjamin and lived during the time Israelites were exiled, and eventually became the queen who saved her entire people.
The essence of the story is – Haman (המן) the Agagite (האגגי) plotted to annihilate the Jews throughout the empire that spans across India in the east to Cush (southern regions of present-day Sudan and Egypt). Esther and her uncle Mordecai (מרדכי) reversed Haman’s evil plot and saved the whole population of the Jews.
In the end, not only Haman himself was executed on the gallows he set up to execute Mordecai, all his ten sons were also hung on the gallows upon Queen Esther’s request.
If Haman’s plot succeeded and all the Jews were annihilated it wouldn’t be possible for Yeshua (Jesus) to have come 2,000 years ago as He was to be born of the tribe of Judah (Shevet Yehudah, שבט יהודה), the Jews. Ref: Matthew 1:1~6 and Luke 3:31~34.
Who is Haman, and What Happened to His Ten Sons?
“Haman (המן) the son of Hammedatha (המדתא) the Agagite (האגגי)” is the chief minister of King Ahasuerus. As his name indicates, Haman was a descendant of Agag (אגג), the king of the Amalekites (עמלק).
In the book of 1st Samuel, Prophet Samuel (שמואל) told King Saul (שאול) to destroy the entire Amalekite nation. But Saul did not follow the instruction completely, he spared Agag, the Amalekite king.
1 Samuel 15:3
3 Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation – men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.” (NLT)
1 Samuel 15:7~9
7 Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt.
8 He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else.
9 Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs – everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.
Ending of Haman’s ten sons are in – Esther 9:11~14 (NKJV)
11 On that day the number of those who were killed in Shushan (שושן) the citadel was brought to the king.
12 And the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan (שושן) the citadel, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. Or what is your further request? It shall be done.”
13 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do it again tomorrow according to today’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows (עשרת בני המן יתלו על העץ).”
14 So the king commanded this to be done; the decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.
Around 2,400 years later in our recent history – we all know who was Adolf Hitler and what he did to the Jews. After the 2nd World War, Nuremberg trials in Germany, in 1945–46, sentenced twelve of the Hitler’s top Nazi leaders to death by hanging. But, Martin Bormann was tried and condemned to death in absentia, and Hermann Göring committed suicide before he could be executed. Hence, only the following ten of them were hanged on 16th October 1946.
1. Alfred Jodl
2. Alfred Rosenberg
3. Arthur Seyss-Inquart
4. Ernst Kaltenbrunner
5. Fritz Sauckel
6. Hans Frank
7. Joachim von Ribbentrop
8. Julius Streicher
9. Wilhelm Frick
10. Wilhelm Keitel
Who hanged Hitler’s top ten Nazi leaders?
The hangman was J.C. Woods, an U.S. Army master sergeant.
His name “Woods” in Hebrew is “עץ“ (êṣ) exactly the same “עץ“ as Haman’s ten sons were hung on.
Hebrew word “עץ“ (êṣ) means; tree, wood, timber, plank, gallows in English.
In summary;
Disobedience of King Saul – spared the life of Agag the Amalekite king and the consequence is Agag’s descendent Haman attempting to annihilate the Jews six centuries later that would have prevented the messiah Yeshua (Jesus) to be born.
Haman’s ten sons were already killed, yet they were still hung on the gallows.
Initially top twelve of Hitler’s Nazi leaders were sentensed to death by hanging, but only ten were actually hanged.
Both incidents resulted in ten members of each entity were hung/hanged on/by “עץ“ (êṣ).
Haman’s ten sons were hung on the gallows – “עץ“ (êṣ) in Hebrew.
Hitler’s Nazi top ten leaders were hanged by the hangman named Woods – “עץ“ (êṣ) in Hebrew.
Can these two similar major sinister episodes occurred 2,400 years apart in the history of mankind be mere coincidence?
Maybe, maybe not, you decide.
Shalom (שלום).