AMNESTY

At Esther 2:18 it is related that the Persian monarch Ahasuerus, after making Esther his queen, held a great banquet in her honor and granted “an amnesty for the jurisdictional districts” of his domain. The Hebrew word hana·hhahʹ here used occurs but once in the Scriptures. It is variously translated as “release” (AV), “remission of taxes” (RS), “holiday” (AT), “un jour de repos [a day of rest]” (JB [French]); and commentators suggest that the release or amnesty may have involved a remission of tribute, a remission of military service, release from prison, or a combination of these.

A different Hebrew word (sh^emit·tahʹ) is used elsewhere in the Scriptures to describe a releasing from debt or suspension of labor. (Deut. 15:1, 2, 9; 31:10; see SABBATH YEAR.) As to a release of prisoners, it may be noted that during the reign of Xerxes the Great, believed to be the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther, a number of revolts occurred. An inscription from Persepolis attributed to Xerxes states: “After I became king, there were some among these countries . . . which revolted but I crushed these countries . . . and I put them again into their former political status.” Political prisoners doubtless resulted from such suppression of uprisings, and the festive time of Esther’s being made queen may have been the occasion for Ahasuerus to efface the charges against such ones and grant them an amnesty or release. (Compare Matthew 27:15.) The precise nature of the amnesty, however, remains undetermined.