Mordecai
He raised Esther, refused to bow, and asked, "Who knoweth…?"
Old Testament · 5th century BC · Esther · Also known as Mordecai the Jew, Cousin of Esther
About Mordecai
Mordecai was a Jew living in Shushan, the Persian capital, descended from exiles taken from Jerusalem. He raised his orphaned cousin Esther as his own daughter. Sitting at the king’s gate, he uncovered a plot against King Ahasuerus. When he refused to bow to the powerful official Haman, Haman plotted to destroy all the Jews. Mordecai urged Esther to go to the king: "Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" The plot was overturned, Mordecai was honoured and made second to the king, and he wrote to establish the feast of Purim.
The book of Esther is set in the Persian empire, after many Jews had been taken into exile. It famously never mentions God by name, yet many readers see God’s hand in its "coincidences," like a king’s sleepless night. Purim is still celebrated each year.
The story
He took her for his own daughter
Mordecai "brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother… whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter." When she was taken into the palace, he walked by the court every day to see how she was.
Esther 2:5-11
A plot at the gate
Sitting at the king’s gate, Mordecai learned that two of the king’s officers, Bigthan and Teresh, planned to kill King Ahasuerus. He told Esther, she told the king, and the plot was stopped. It was written down in the king’s chronicles, but Mordecai was not rewarded.
Esther 2:21-23
He bowed not
The king promoted Haman and commanded everyone at the gate to bow to him. "But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence." He had told them he was a Jew. Haman was furious, and plotted to destroy not just Mordecai but all the Jews in the empire.
Esther 3:1-6
For such a time as this
Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. He urged Esther to plead with the king, though going uninvited could cost her life. "Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house… who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Esther 4:1-17
The king couldn’t sleep
"On that night could not the king sleep," so he had the chronicles read to him and heard what Mordecai had done. He asked Haman what should be done for a man the king wished to honour. Haman, thinking it meant himself, described a royal robe and horse. Then he was made to lead Mordecai through the city, proclaiming his honour.
Esther 6:1-11
Key moments
- Raises Esther: As his own daughter. (Esther 2:7)
- Saves the king: Uncovers a plot at the gate. (Esther 2:22)
- Refuses to bow: To Haman. (Esther 3:2)
- "For such a time as this": Urges Esther to act. (Esther 4:14)
- Honoured by the king: Led through the city by Haman. (Esther 6:11)
- Establishes Purim: Days of feasting and joy. (Esther 9:20-22)
Questions about Mordecai
In meetBible these answers are given in Mordecai’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Why wouldn’t you bow to Haman?
Scripture records that "Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence," and that when the king’s servants pressed me day after day, I told them I was a Jew. It doesn’t give my full reason. Readers have suggested loyalty to God alone, or the old hostility between my people and Haman’s ancestors, the Agagites. The text leaves it there.
What did you mean by "such a time as this"?
I told Esther not to think she would escape because she lived in the palace. "If thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place… and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" I believed help would come for our people, and that she might be the one placed there to bring it.
What is Purim?
Haman had cast "Pur, that is, the lot" to choose the day to destroy us. When the day became one of deliverance instead, I wrote to the Jews everywhere to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar every year, "as the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies… from sorrow to joy," with feasting, gifts to one another and gifts to the poor. "They called these days Purim after the name of Pur."
Connected people
- Esther: Cousin; raised her
- Daniel: Fellow exile at a foreign court
- Nehemiah: Also served the Persian court
- Haman: Enemy
- Ahasuerus: King he saved
Read it yourself
Start with Esther 2–4; 6.