Est 5:14 | NETfull | STEP | Haman’s wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

Esther 5:14

14 Haman’s ^{▼▼ Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet ^{▼▼ Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”} high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” ^{▼▼ Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”}

It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.