Purim

Introduction

Welcome to Torah Today Ministries and a continuing series Divine Appointments, our studies in the holy days, the appointed times. And as you know, the Torah (תּוֹרָה) discusses seven mo’adim (מוֹעֲדִים), or appointed times — four of them in the spring beginning with Passover, and then the last three in the fall ending with Sukkot (סֻכּוֹת), or better known as the Feast of Tabernacles.

But later in the scriptures, there are two additional holy days that are referred to. And these are Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה), which usually takes place in December, and then Purim (פּוּרִים), which takes place usually end of February or early in March.

And today we want to look at this really kind of a raucous celebration of a holy day called Purim (פּוּרִים). And sometimes it doesn’t get much attention on the calendar because it’s not one of the seven Torah-commanded mo’adim (מוֹעֲדִים), but it’s still a spiritual day and something that’s very important.

Now, if you haven’t listened to the teaching I did on Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה), I highly recommend you go back and listen to that, because Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) and Purim (פּוּרִים), these two additional feast days, make a pair. They’re like two halves of a whole. Remember, everything comes in pairs. And these two feast days have some things in common. For one, they celebrate victories. But they also are quite different.

For example, Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) is mentioned only in the New Testament scriptures, in the Gospel of John, in John chapter 10, where Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) uses Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) to fulfill prophecies and to reveal himself as Israel’s Messiah. But Purim (פּוּרִים) is discussed not in the New Testament scriptures but in the Tanakh (תַּנַ”ךְ), in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). Sometimes Purim (פּוּרִים) is even called the Feast of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר).

At Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה), we find the people were not in physical exile. They were in their land, but they were in a time of spiritual exile. This is a time when Antiochus IV Epiphanes, this wicked, wicked ruler, was attacking Israel. He’s forcing conversion upon them, Hellenism and so on. And many of the Jews were falling to this.

But in Purim (פּוּרִים), the Jewish people were in physical exile. They were in Persia, modern-day Iran. But spiritually, they were close to God.

Now, Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) has open miracles involved. And if you listen to the Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) teaching I did, you’ll find there are two great miracles. The first miracle is that this ragtag bunch of Jewish — mostly priests — were able to overthrow the world’s mightiest army at the time. Not just once, but in six consecutive battles. It was an incredible upset. That was a great miracle.

But the miracle that Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) is best known for is the miracle of the lights. The symbol in Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה), of course, is always a menorah (מְנוֹרָה) — a menorah (מְנוֹרָה) with a center stalk and then eight branches, because this celebrates the fact that when they went to rededicate the Temple after it had been polluted by Antiochus and his wicked forces — and the word Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) means “dedication” — they found one day’s supply of sacred oil to use in the menorah (מְנוֹרָה). So they put that supply of oil in the menorah (מְנוֹרָה) to burn one day, and a great miracle happened. It burned for eight days. And that’s why the Hanukkiah (חֲנֻכִּיָּה) has four arms on both sides. We celebrate Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) for eight days.

But in Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), there are no miracles. I mean, it seems miraculous how they were able to win the day. But God’s name is never mentioned in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). Everything in Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) is hidden. God’s actions, when we look back at it from outside, we can see his hand had to have been there, but it’s always in a very hidden way.

The Mask – Satar (סָתַר)

And this is why for Purim (פּוּרִים), the symbol is a mask. God’s name is not mentioned. There are no open miracles. And yet there’s a great victory and great feasting at the end.

This mask explains why, if you go to a Purim (פּוּרִים) celebration, many people will dress in costume. Many times the children will dress either as Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי), the great hero of the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), or as Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) herself. Or they’ll dress like the wicked Haman (הָמָן), or they may dress like a cowboy or a policeman or a superhero. But people dress up.

And the reason for this again is because God is hidden in the book. In fact, the name Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) comes from the Hebrew word satar (סָתַר), which means “to hide.” And the first couple appearances of this word in the Hebrew scriptures, it has to do with hiding the face. Let me give you those two references.

The first one is in Genesis 4:14. This is after Cain had killed his brother Abel. God punishes him and Cain says:

“Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be satar (סָתַר) — I shall be hidden.” — Genesis 4:14

Then in Exodus 3:6, this is Moses at the burning bush. And God speaks to Moses and says:

“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses satar (סָתַר) — he hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. — Exodus 3:6

So masks are very suitable for a Purim (פּוּרִים) celebration. And if you go to a Purim (פּוּרִים) celebration, the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) is read — or it’s acted out, or a shortened version is read — and whenever the villain Haman (הָמָן) is named and mentioned in the story, people boo and hiss and they have noisemakers to drown out his name. But whenever Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) is mentioned, everybody applauds and claps and cheers because he’s the hero. It’s a lot of fun. And it may sound like it’s not very spiritual, but who says spiritual things always have to be somber? This is a case where spirituality is something celebrated, and there’s a lot of laughter and a lot of joy.

The Origin of Purim (פּוּרִים)

Now, we read about Purim (פּוּרִים), the Feast of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), of course in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). And so let’s take a look at Esther 9, verses 20 and 22. And this tells a little bit about the history of how Purim (פּוּרִים) came to be. And we assume that Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) is the one who wrote the entire book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר).

And Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus (אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ), both near and far, obliging them to keep the 14th day of the month Adar (אֲדָר), and also the 15th day of the same, year by year, as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday — that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor. — Esther 9:20–22

What a wonderful time of celebration.

Pur (פּוּר): Casting Lots

Now, you may be wondering, well, how did Purim (פּוּרִים) get its name? What does this mean? You go down a few more verses, Esther 9, starting in verse 24:

For Haman (הָמָן) the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast pur (פּוּר) — that is, cast lots. — Esther 9:24

And I believe the only place you find this word pur (פּוּר) in the Bible is in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). And it’s found a number of times — six, seven, eight, nine times in the book. But pur (פּוּר) was some type of lot. Sometimes people show dice. They use dice to represent the pur (פּוּר). But we don’t know exactly what form these pur (פּוּר) took. But apparently they were used for some type of supernatural divination or something. And Haman (הָמָן) used them to try to figure out what is the most auspicious day with the gods to choose to destroy the Jews. He wanted to wipe out the Jews off the face of the planet. So he cast lots so the gods would reveal to him what day would be the most auspicious day to do this.

So, as we continue on:

…and had cast pur (פּוּר), that is, cast lots, to crush and destroy them. But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore they called these days Purim (פּוּרִים), after the term pur (פּוּר). — Esther 9:24–26

Purim (פּוּרִים) is plural for pur (פּוּר), like cherubim (כְּרוּבִים) is plural for cherub (כְּרוּב).

Yom Kipurim (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים) – A Day Like Purim?

Now, again, even though God’s name is not mentioned in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), and though the celebration of Purim (פּוּרִים) might seem not very spiritual, there’s something really interesting about its name.

For example, in Leviticus 23:28, when we think of the most holy, the most set apart of all the mo’adim (מוֹעֲדִים), which is Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר), it says:

And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Adonai (אֲדֹנָי) your God. — Leviticus 23:28

Now, whenever you see “Day of Atonement” in the scriptures, it’s Yom Kipurim (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים). Do you hear something in that sound, in that name, that rings familiar?

And the rabbis say you could take the phrase Yom Kipurim (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים), Day of Atonement, and you could also translate it “a day like Purim” (יוֹם כְּפוּרִים). Well, stop the music.

If there’s any celebration in the Bible and in the Jewish calendar that is not like Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר), it would be the day of Purim (פּוּרִים). On Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר), it’s a fast day. Purim (פּוּרִים), it’s a feast day, as we just read in Esther 9. And the day of Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר) is very solemn. It’s very serious. People don’t gather together at the Temple like they did on Passover and Shavuot (שָׁבוּעוֹת) — Pentecost — and on Sukkot (סֻכּוֹת) at the Feast of Tabernacles. People could stay home on Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר). The high priest did everything himself. And there was not a lot of dancing and singing and rejoicing. It was a very, very, very serious day.

And yet Purim (פּוּרִים) is a day of raucous celebration and laughter and cheering and noisemaking. And how can the rabbis say it’s “a day like Purim (פּוּרִים)”? And yet in the Hebrew, Yom Kipurim (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים) can be translated “a day like Purim (פּוּרִים).”

Well, let me share something with you that shares a great similarity between these two days, and that is this: hiddenness. Again, that word hiddenness. In the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), we don’t see any open miracles. God’s name is not mentioned in the entire book.

And on the day of Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר), everything is taking place in a rather hidden way. True, the high priest does come out and he does kill a bull and he does kill a goat and make a selection of a couple of goats. But the high priest’s real work is all behind the curtain, behind the parochet (פָּרֹכֶת), in the Holy of Holies — a place completely out of sight. He is the only person who ever gets to go into the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year, on the day of Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר).

So we see hiddenness in both cases — the hiddenness of God in the activities of the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), and the hiddenness of the high priest as he goes into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the people of Israel.

Now, if you think about it more — and the rabbis do write about this, and you can do more research on your own — they draw other parallels between these two days which on the surface seem so different. They could not be more different from each other. But I just want you to keep that in mind.

The Tomb of Esther and Mordecai – Hamadan, Iran

Now, historically, as I mentioned, the events of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) take place in what is now modern-day Iran. Then it was called Persia. And just to get a little idea of where Persia is and where this all takes place — Israel is right over here. That’s the Mediterranean Sea just to the west. And then if you go east, you cross through Jordan or Syria and then through Iraq and then to Iran. And I have this place in Iran pointed out. This is the town of Hamadan. And that is where the tomb of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) and Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) exists today.

If you have the courage to go to Iran — I don’t recommend you do — but if you went there, you could visit the tomb of Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) and Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). And this is what the building looks like. It’s a very ancient building, of course. Not very big, not very impressive, but it is still maintained. And there are Jewish people who still live in Iran. And they do visit the tombs of Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) and Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). And there you can see a lady who is praying there at the tomb of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר).

So it’s pretty amazing to think that these events really are real and you can visit them. They’re tombs. They’re there. They’re physically tangible.

God’s Hidden Name in the Book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר)

Now I said that God’s name is not mentioned in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), and it isn’t. But it is found there in a hidden way. Everything is hidden. Everything is masked. You know, in Isaiah — I think it’s chapter 45:15 — Isaiah proclaims:

“You are a God who hides himself.” — Isaiah 45:15

And he does hide himself, but he makes himself findable. That’s why he commands us to seek his face. So he is hidden in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). But let me show you how you can find his name there — not just once, but four times, in four very unique ways.

Esther 1:20 — You see this phrase: “hi v’khol hanashim yitnu” (הִיא וְכָל הַנָּשִׁים יִתְּנוּ). And of course Hebrew reads from right to left. And in English this means, “It, and all wives shall give.” And you can read the chapter and get the context for this phrase. But this phrase in Hebrew is four words. And if we look at the first letter of each of these four words — hey (ה), vav (ו), hey (ה), yud (י) — you recognize those four letters? They’re God’s name: yud-hey-vav-hey (יהוה), but backwards. So these four words, the first letter of each of these four words, backwards spells God’s holy name.

Esther 5:4 — And then if we go a bit further to chapter 5, verse 4, we see the phrase: “yavo hamelekh v’Haman hayom” (יָבוֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהָמָן הַיּוֹם) — “Let the king and Haman (הָמָן) come today.” If you look at the first letter of those four words — yavo (י), hamelekh (ה), v’Haman (ו), hayom (ה) — this time we see the first letters spelling out God’s name yud-hey-vav-hey (יהוה), going forward.

So you have it. We see four words where the first letters spell God’s name backwards. And then in chapter 5:4, we see four words where the first letters spell God’s name going forward.

Esther 5:13 — We’re not done. In chapter 5, verse 13, we see the phrase: “zeh einenu shoveh li” (זֶה אֵינֶנּוּ שֹׁוֶה לִי) — “This avails nothing to me.” Now here it’s not first letters but last letters of four consecutive words. And we see hey (ה), vav (ו), hey (ה), yud (י) — again God’s name spelled backwards, but this time using the last letters of these four consecutive words.

Esther 7:7 — And then in chapter 7, verse 7, we see the phrase: “ki khaletah elav hara’ah” (כִּי כָלְתָה אֵלָיו הָרָעָה). And this time it’s the last letters once again, but this time spelling God’s name forward: yud-hey-vav-hey (יהוה).

And these are the only four occurrences where we see either first letters or last letters spelling God’s name forward or backwards. And there’s one of each: first letters backwards spelling his name, first letters forward spelling his name, last letters backward spelling his name, last letters forward spelling his name.

And if that’s not fascinating enough, we go just a bit further. We analyze these a bit further. We’re going to find that each time God’s name is spelled forward, it is a Jew speaking. And each time God’s name is spelled backwards, it’s a Gentile speaking. In other words, God’s name is hidden even a bit more from the Gentiles than it is from the Jews.

But the one time — out of these four occurrences — where God’s name is spelled forward using the initial letters, the first letters of the words, it is Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) who is speaking. Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), the heroine of the story, as it should be.

That to me is just incredible. This is one of those hidden things. God is hidden in his word because “it is the glory of God to conceal a matter; it is the glory of kings to search out a matter.” God loves playing this game of hide and seek with us, doesn’t he?

Trust in God’s Word

Now, before I show you this next thing — which to me is even more astounding, it’s very prophetic — I just want to introduce you to the numerical values of Hebrew letters. Here we see the 22 Hebrew letters and their numerical values. The first 10 letters, aleph (א) through yud (י), have values from 1 to 10. The next 10 letters, from kaf (כ) to qof (ק), have the numerical values of 20 to 100. Then the last three — resh (ר), shin (שׁ), tav (ת) — are 200, 300, and 400. And we find these numerical values encoded into God’s word all through.

Now, I know there are some people who say, “I just don’t believe in this gematria stuff,” and then they mistakenly call it numerology. It is not numerology. Numerology is some kind of an occult superstitious practice. I am not involved in that. But gematria — each letter having a numerical value in the scriptures — that is something that’s been established from day one.

And if you just don’t see this, if you just refuse to see that the letters of scripture — the numerical values — do have meaning, all I can say is: be patient. Eventually your god will grow up and become large enough that he learns arithmetic. So eventually you’ll see it, because it is there and you cannot ignore it. Was that demeaning? I’m sorry if it was. But you know, all of us tend to have a God who’s too small. And I just pray for you and for me that our concept of God grows and becomes more into his image and becomes a vessel that can more fully hold him. He deserves more faith than we give him, and more credit. Anyways, enough of that.

The Undersized Letters: Tav (ת), Shin (שׁ), Zayin (ז)

Let’s move on to this next section. Now, in Esther chapter 9, verses 6 through 10, if you have a scroll of Esther (מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר) — and many people do have a scroll of Esther (מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר) in their homes, and if they’re proficient in Hebrew they will read from that scroll on Purim (פּוּרִים) — people will applaud for Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) and boo Haman (הָמָן).

When you come to chapter 9, verses 6 through 10, the scroll looks like this. Verse 6 is starting right here and goes down through this section. And it’s saying there that the Jews in this battle killed 500 men, 500 of the enemy. And then you come to verse 7, then down here is verse 8, verse 9. Now these verse numbers do not appear in the Torah (תּוֹרָה) or in the scroll of Esther (מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר). But I just want to point them out here in case you had questions.

And you’ll notice down the left-hand side it says “v’et” (וְאֵת), “v’et” (וְאֵת). It just keeps saying that. And we translate “v’et” (וְאֵת) as “and.” And what it’s doing is giving us the names of Haman’s (הָמָן) 10 sons. So they killed these 500 men and then verse 7 starts “v’et” (וְאֵת) — “and” — and then it gives us the name of the first son of Haman (הָמָן): Parshandatha. “V’et” (וְאֵת) — “and” — and then the next son, Dalphon. “V’et” (וְאֵת) — and then it gives us the next one and the next one and the next one and the next one. And if you count, there are 10 sons. And they were all hanged on the gallows — 10 sons of Haman (הָמָן).

Now, this is what’s so fascinating about this. When you think of Hitler, Hitler was like a 20th century version of Haman (הָמָן). Like Haman (הָמָן), he didn’t just want to have victory over the Jews. He wanted to erase them from planet Earth. He wanted to eradicate the entire race to where there was not one drop of Jewish blood remaining. He wanted them completely wiped out. That was Haman’s (הָמָן) goal. That was Hitler’s goal.

And what’s so fascinating is Haman (הָמָן) had 10 sons who were all executed on the same day on the gallows, by hanging. And if you’re familiar with the Nuremberg Trials — these were held right after the end of World War II. It took about six, eight, ten months — I forget how many months. But in the city of Nuremberg, a panel of judges was put together, a tribunal of judges from America, Russia, England, and France. And they had 22 men who were accused of war crimes. The top one was Hermann Göring, who was the second guy right below Hitler. Hitler had committed suicide. So Göring was the number one war criminal. And then they had all these others, 22 of them in all. 12 of them were found guilty of death by hanging.

But before the day of execution came, one of them escaped. And Hermann Göring — someone slipped him a cyanide tablet, and he committed suicide. So now we’re down to 10. Is that just a coincidence? Haman (הָמָן) had 10 sons who were hanged, and now you’ve got Hitler’s 10 sons— spiritually speaking— who are also hanged on the same day.

Now, what’s so interesting — the reason I’m showing you this scroll — is because in this scroll there are some very unusual features. If you look at the name Parshandatha, that’s the first son of Haman (הָמָן) that’s mentioned. You’ll notice that the letter tav (ת) in his name is written undersized. And when you go down a little bit further, you’ll see that in the name Parmashta, the shin (שׁ) is written undersized. And then when you go down to the name of the last son, you’ll notice that the letter zayin (ז) is written undersized.

So we have these three undersized letters. We have a tav (ת), we have a shin (שׁ), and we have a zayin (ז). Tav (ת) equals 400. Shin (שׁ) equals 300. Zayin (ז) equals 7. We total those up, we get 707.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about how the Hebrew calendar works. As I record this, it’s the year 2026, roughly 2026 years from when Messiah was born. And we know that number is not exactly right, but it’s rough. Okay, 2026. Well, the Jewish calendar doesn’t count from the time of Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ). They count from the creation of Adam. And of course their years might be off a little bit too. But on the Jewish calendar, this year is 5786. Here, I have a Jewish desk calendar. I’ll hold it up to this camera, and you can see right here that the year is 5786, and it corresponds to the year 2026. 5786.

And you have to remember one other thing for this calculation to make any sense. The Jewish new year does not begin January 1st. The Jewish new year falls on Rosh Hashanah (רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה), which this last year in 2025 was in September — I forget which date, September 10th maybe. So the new year began in September. So by the time January comes around, we’re already three months and a few days into the new year. So there’s this overlap.

Well, after the Nuremberg Trials and the execution of these 10 men on the gallows, someone went back and revisited the scroll of Esther (מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר) and said, “You know, these undersized letters add up to 707.” And it just so happened that on the Jewish calendar, the year that these 10 ministers of Hitler were hanged was the year 5707.

But they thought, “This is just a coincidence, because how do we know which millennium it’s referring to? How can we know for sure it’s this millennium? How do we know it’s not supposed to be the year 4707 or 2707?”

Well, there’s one more odd thing in this scroll. If you look down here at the name of the last son, the first letter is a vav (ו). And it’s written oversized. You see that vav (ו)? It’s too big. And it’s written that way in every scroll of Esther (מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר), and has been that way for many centuries. All of these things I’m showing you have been in the scroll of Esther (מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר) for centuries and centuries and centuries.

Well, vav (ו) has a numerical value of six, and it’s written oversized. So they’re saying, well, the six must refer to the 6th millennium, thus making it 5707, which equals the year 1946 — the year that these 10 men, these 10 sons of Hitler, were hanged.

“Purimfest 1946” – Julius Streicher’s Last Words

And here’s something that’s just utterly bizarre. Here’s a copy of Newsweek magazine from — I believe it’s October 1946. Yes, October the 26th, I think it is, 1946. The guy on the cover has nothing to do with the Nuremberg Trials. He’s a machinist. They happened to have his picture on there. They had an article about trades in America. But in this issue, there was an article about the hanging of these 10 sons of Hitler, these 10 war criminals.

And here it is. It’s on page 46. And I don’t have the whole article printed out here, but I’ve blown up the last bit that you find down here near the bottom. And look at what it says.

Julius Streicher was the last of the 10 men to be hanged on that day that they hanged these 10 war criminals. It says, “Only Julius Streicher went without dignity. He had to be pushed across the floor, wild-eyed and screaming, ‘Heil Hitler.’ Mounting the steps, he cried out, ‘And now I go to God.’” There’s something to think about. “He stared at the witnesses facing the gallows and shouted — are you ready for this? — ‘Purimfest 1946.’ Purim is a Jewish feast. Then to the American officer he cried, ‘The Bolsheviks will hang you one day.’ And he spoke again, said something for his wife, but then they pulled the thing, he fell through, and that was it for Julius Streicher.”

Think about this for a moment. The 10th war criminal to be hanged on that day in 1946, Julius Streicher, goes to the gallows. The noose is put around his neck, and one of the last things he said was “Purimfest 1946.” He wasn’t Jewish. Did he know anything about Purim (פּוּרִים)?

It would seem that God’s Spirit had spoken through him to proclaim to the world that what is happening today in 1946 — of these 10 war criminals under the wicked Hitler — is a fulfillment of what’s foreshadowed in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), in chapter 9, where it gives us the very year that these 10 men would be hanged.

I’m not making this up. This is one of the most incredible things to be found in the Hebrew scriptures.

So, I just had to share that with you because sometimes we tend to look down our nose at Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) and Purim (פּוּרִים) because these are not holy days found in the Torah (תּוֹרָה). And yet God has imbued them with great spirituality. When we see the words that Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) spoke on Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) there in John’s Gospel, chapter 10, and when you see the prophetic significance he has invested in the scroll of Esther (מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר) dealing with events that would take place at the end of World War II — you realize God’s fingerprints are all over these writings.

So anyways, I’m recording this on the last day of the month, and tomorrow night begins the month of Adar (אֲדָר), which is the month in which Purim (פּוּרִים) takes place. So I pray that you have a blessed Purim (פּוּרִים) and a wonderful month of Adar (אֲדָר), and that you’re inspired and encouraged and your faith is built up a little bit by what we’ve learned today as we look into the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). God bless you and I wish you shalom (שָׁלוֹם).

Teaching Material

Hebrew Word Studies

• Purim (פּוּרִים) — “Lots” (plural); the feast celebrating the Jewish victory over Haman’s (הָמָן) genocide plot, named after the pur (פּוּר) — lots — he cast to choose the day of destruction. Purim (פּוּרִים) is plural of pur (פּוּר), like cherubim (כְּרוּבִים) is plural of cherub (כְּרוּב). The rabbis note that Yom Kipurim (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים) can be read “a day like Purim” — linking the most solemn and most raucous days through hiddenness. — Sefaria: Purim
• Pur (פּוּר) — “Lot”; the device Haman (הָמָן) cast for supernatural divination to determine the most auspicious day to destroy the Jews. Found only in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). — Strong’s H6332
• Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) — The heroine of the story; her name comes from the root satar (סָתַר), meaning “to hide.” She is the one through whom God’s hidden hand delivers the Jewish people. In the acrostic of Esther 5:4, the initial letters of her words spell God’s name forward — the heroine speaks the divine name. — Strong’s H635
• Satar (סָתַר) — “To hide, to conceal”; the root behind the name Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). First used of Cain hiding from God’s face (Genesis 4:14) and Moses hiding his face at the burning bush (Exodus 3:6). God hides himself in the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) — no open miracles, no divine name — yet his hand is everywhere. — Strong’s H5641
• Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) — The great hero of the Purim (פּוּרִים) story and presumed author of the book of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר). He recorded the events and sent letters establishing Purim (פּוּרִים) as an annual observance on the 14th and 15th of Adar (אֲדָר). — Strong’s H4782
• Haman (הָמָן) — “The Agagite”; the villain who plotted genocide against all Jews. He cast pur (פּוּר) to choose the day of destruction, but his plan returned on his own head. His 10 sons were hanged on the gallows — foreshadowing the 10 Nazi war criminals hanged in 1946. — Strong’s H2001
• Yom Kipurim (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים) — “Day of Atonement”; the most solemn of the mo’adim (מוֹעֲדִים). The rabbis note the name can be read “Yom K’Purim” — “a day like Purim.” Both days share the theme of hiddenness: God’s name hidden in Esther (אֶסְתֵּר), the high priest hidden behind the parochet (פָּרֹכֶת) in the Holy of Holies. — Kippur: Strong’s H3725
• Parochet (פָּרֹכֶת) — “Curtain, veil”; the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, behind which the high priest performed his hidden work on Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר). — Strong’s H6532
• Mo’adim (מוֹעֲדִים) — “Appointed times, divine appointments”; the seven Torah-commanded feasts. Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) and Purim (פּוּרִים) are two additional appointed times added later. — Strong’s H4150
• Adar (אֲדָר) — The twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar, the month of Purim (פּוּרִים). The 14th and 15th of Adar (אֲדָר) are the days established by Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) for annual celebration. — Sefaria: Adar
• Ahasuerus (אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ) — The Persian king in whose provinces the events of Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) took place; generally identified with Xerxes I. — Strong’s H325
• Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) — “Dedication”; the companion feast to Purim (פּוּרִים). Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) features open miracles and is mentioned in the New Testament (John 10); Purim (פּוּרִים) features hidden miracles and is found in the Tanakh (תַּנַ”ךְ). — Strong’s H2598
• Menorah (מְנוֹרָה) — “Lampstand”; the symbol of Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה), representing the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days. — Strong’s H4501
• Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) — “Salvation”; uses Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) in John 10 to reveal himself as Israel’s Messiah. — Strong’s H3442
• Gematria (גִּמַטְרִיָּא) — The system of numerical values assigned to Hebrew letters, established from the beginning and encoded throughout Scripture. Not numerology — which is an occult practice — but a legitimate hermeneutic tool. The undersized letters tav-shin-zayin (תשז) in Esther 9 total 707, pointing to the Jewish year 5707 (1946 CE).
• Shalom (שָׁלוֹם) — “Peace, wholeness, completeness.” — Strong’s H7965

Scripture References

Open All Scripture in Bible Gateway

• Esther 9:20–22 — Mordecai (מׇרְדְּכַי) establishes Purim (פּוּרִים): “days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor”
• Esther 9:24–26 — Haman (הָמָן) cast pur (פּוּר), lots, to destroy the Jews; “therefore they called these days Purim (פּוּרִים), after the term pur (פּוּר)”
• Esther 9:6–10 — The 10 sons of Haman (הָמָן) hanged on the gallows; the scroll contains undersized letters tav-shin-zayin (תשז) = 707 and an oversized vav (ו) = 6th millennium → year 5707 / 1946 CE
• Esther 1:20 — First letters of four words spell God’s name backwards — a Gentile speaking
• Esther 5:4 — First letters of four words spell God’s name forward — Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) speaking
• Esther 5:13 — Last letters of four words spell God’s name backwards — a Gentile speaking
• Esther 7:7 — Last letters of four words spell God’s name forward — a Jew speaking
• Genesis 4:14 — Cain: “From your face I shall be hidden (satar)” — the first use of the root behind Esther’s name
• Exodus 3:6 — Moses hid (satar) his face at the burning bush
• Leviticus 23:28 — Yom Kipurim (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים): “a day of atonement” — which the rabbis also read as “a day like Purim”
• Isaiah 45:15 — “You are a God who hides himself” — the theme of hiddenness linking Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) and Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּפּוּר)
• Proverbs 25:2 — “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; it is the glory of kings to search out a matter”
• John 10 — Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) at Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה) in Jerusalem, revealing himself as Israel’s Messiah

External References & Further Study

• The Book of Esther — Sefaria — Full Hebrew and English text of the Megillah
• Purim — Chabad — Comprehensive overview of the holiday: history, customs, costumes, Megillah reading, mishloach manot
• Julius Streicher Last Words Trials and Purim — Historical context
• Torah Today Ministries — Home of Divine Appointments, The Hebrew Key, and other Torah-centered teachings