Est 3:8 | TNotes | STEP | 3:8 who keep themselves separate: Jews intermarried within tight-knit communities and resisted integration into the larger culture. • Their laws are different: They had a unique set of laws (eating and religious customs) and were to be separate from the sinful customs of the people around them (Lev 14:42-45 ; 15:31 ; 19:2 , 26-37 ). • they refuse to obey the laws of the king: This accusation, which is false in general, probably refers to Mordecai’s refusal to bow to Haman. • So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live: Haman played on the king’s fears and interests as Memucan had done in Esth 1:16 . Intolerance toward any particular group of people ran against the general Persian tendency to be respectful of other people’s cultural and religious differences.

bLev 14:42-45►

fEsth 1:16►

‏ Esther 3:8

3:8 ^a who keep themselves separate: Jews intermarried within tight-knit communities and resisted integration into the larger culture.

• Their laws are different: They had a unique set of laws (eating and religious customs) and were to be separate from the sinful customs of the people around them (Lev 14:42-45 ^b; 15:31 ^c; 19:2 ^d, 26-37 ^e).

• they refuse to obey the laws of the king: This accusation, which is false in general, probably refers to Mordecai’s refusal to bow to Haman.

• So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live: Haman played on the king’s fears and interests as Memucan had done in Esth 1:16 ^f. Intolerance toward any particular group of people ran against the general Persian tendency to be respectful of other people’s cultural and religious differences.