Zeresh

Zeresh (Hebrew: זֶרֶשׁ) was the wife of Haman the Agagite who is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Esther.^[1]

Etymology

The etymology of the name Zeresh is debated. Some scholars suggest that the name may derive from the Avestan word zairiçi, ‘blonde’, while others have related it to the Elamite deity Kiriša or to an Avestan demoness.^[2]

Role in Book of Esther

Zeresh advised her husband to prepare a high gallows (50 cubits) and to hang Mordecai on it (Esther 5:14). However, she later advised Haman that he would not be able to win against Mordecai (Esther 6:12-13).^[1] Their plans were soon reversed when King Ahasuerus ordered Haman to be hanged on the same gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai (Esther 7:9-10).

Ten sons of Haman (and possibly of Zeresh) were later killed in fighting, and Ahasuerus had their bodies hanged on the same gallows that their father was hanged on (Esther 9:7-14). Zeresh's fate is not recorded.

References

^ ^a ^b Meyers, Carol; Craven, Toni; Kraemer, Ross Shepard (2001). Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-8028-4962-5.
^ Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd (2023). Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther: Achaemenid Court Culture in the Hebrew Bible. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-78673-635-2.

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[Meyers-1] Meyers, Carol; Craven, Toni; Kraemer, Ross Shepard (2001). Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-8028-4962-5.

[2] Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd (2023). Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther: Achaemenid Court Culture in the Hebrew Bible. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-78673-635-2.

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