Ester 2:12

2:12 At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, ¹  when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus – for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women –

Ester 5:14

5:14 Haman’s ²  wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet ³  high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” ⁴ 

It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

[2:12]  ¹ tc The LXX does not include the words “that were required for the women.”

[2:12]  tn Heb “to be to her according to the law of the women”; NASB “under the regulations for the women.”

[5:14]  ² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:14]  ³ tn Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”

[5:14]  ⁴ tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”