Let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet - It was necessary to invite Haman to prevent his suspicion, and that he might not take any hasty step which might have prevented the execution of the great design.

If it seem.

Esther 5:8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request...

Proverbs 29:11 A fool utters all his mind: but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards.

the banquet. Mishteh, from shathah, 'to drink,' a compotation, feast, or banquet accompanied with drinking; the drinking in the East being at the beginning, and not at the end of the entertainment. Olearius, describing an entertainment at the Persian court, says, 'The floor of the hall was covered with cotton cloth, which was covered with all sorts of fruits and sweetmeats in basons of gold. With them was served up excellent Shiraz wine. After an hour's time, the sweetmeats were removed, to make way for the more substantial part of the entertainment, such as rice, boiled and roast mutton, etc. When the company had been at table an hour and a half, warm water was brought, in a ewer of gold, for washing; and grace being said, they began to retire without speaking a word, according to the custom of the country.'

Esther 5:8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request...

Esther 3:15 The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace...

Genesis 27:25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless you. And he brought it near to him...

Genesis 32:20 And say you moreover, Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goes before me...

Psalm 112:5 A good man shows favor, and lends: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

1 Corinthians 14:20 Brothers, be not children in understanding: however, in malice be you children, but in understanding be men.

Dining with a Pharisee. Sabbath Healing and Three Lessons Suggested by the Event.
(Probably Peræa.) ^C Luke XIV. 1-24. ^c 1 And it came to pass, when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him. [The Pharisees were an unorganized party, hence their rulers were such not by office, but by influence. Those who were members of the Sanhedrin, or who were distinguished among the rabbis, might fitly be spoken of as rulers among them. The context favors the idea that Jesus was invited for the purpose of being …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel