Esther 3:8-9

Esther 3:8-9

[8] And Haman  said  unto king  Ahasuerus,  There is  a certain  people  scattered abroad  and dispersed  among the people  in all the provinces  of thy kingdom;  and their laws  are diverse  from all people;  neither keep  they the king's  laws:  therefore it is not for the king's  profit  to suffer  [9] If it please  the king,  let it be written  that they may be destroyed:  and I will pay  ten  thousand  talents  of silver  to the hands  of those that have the charge  of the business,  to bring  it into the king's  treasuries. 

What does Esther 3:8-9 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Perhaps Haman did not mention the Jews by name since Ahasuerus" predecessors, Cyrus and Darius I (Hystaspes), had issued proclamations favorable to them ( Ezra 1:1-4; Ezra 6:3-5; Ezra 6:8-12). In any case, his failure to mention them by name, set him up for Esther"s revelation that it was her people whom Haman planned to destroy ( Esther 7:4). The Jews did indeed live a separated life, as Haman said (cf. Numbers 23:9), but they were not a dangerous, rebellious element within the empire, which he claimed (cf. Jeremiah 29:7).
The10 ,000 talents of silver Haman offered to pay into the king"s treasury amounted to about two-thirds of the entire empire"s income. [1] Bush considered this figure satiric hyperbole. He believed Haman wanted the king to understand that the benefit that would come to him by executing the Jews would be extremely large. [2] Perhaps Haman could have afforded to do this because he had plans to confiscate the Jews" possessions ( Esther 3:13). Undoubtedly he planned to make a large profit personally as well.
"The planned massacre, gruesome though it was, was not without precedents. In522BC, at the time of King Cambyses" death, Smerdis the Magus usurped the throne. When he was put to death in a conspiracy every Persian in the capital took up his weapons and killed every Magus he could find. [3] If darkness had not put an end to the slaughter, the whole caste would have been exterminated." [4]