Man living at the time of Exile and Return
Harbona was one of the seven eunuchs who served King Ahasuerus, as mentioned in the book of Esther.
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Harbona is mentioned in Est.1.10 as one of the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, the Persian king who ruled over a vast empire from India to Ethiopia. He is the only one of the seven to be mentioned again (at Est.7.9). In the context of Esther 1, King Ahasuerus held a lavish banquet for all his officials and servants, displaying his wealth and splendor. On the seventh day of the feast, when the king was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs, including Harbona, to bring Queen Vashti before him wearing her royal crown, to show off her beauty to the people and officials. However, Queen Vashti refused to come, defying the king's command. This incident led to Vashti's removal as queen and paved the way for Esther to become the new queen. The mention of Harbona as one of the seven eunuchs highlights the importance of these court officials in the Persian royal court and their role in carrying out the king's orders. Harbona appears again in Est.7.9, this time playing a crucial role in the downfall of Haman, the villain in the book of Esther. Haman, the king's highest official, had plotted to destroy all the Jews in the Persian Empire due to his hatred for Mordecai, Esther's cousin and guardian. During a banquet that Esther had prepared for the king and Haman, Esther revealed Haman's evil plot and pleaded for the lives of her people. The king, furious with Haman, stepped out into the palace garden. At this moment, Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, spoke up and informed the king about the gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai, who had previously saved the king's life by exposing a plot against him. Harbona's timely intervention sealed Haman's fate, as the king ordered Haman to be hanged on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai. This turn of events led to the deliverance of the Jews and the elevation of Mordecai to a high position in the Persian court. Harbona's actions demonstrate the significance of speaking truth to power and the role that seemingly minor characters can play in God's providential plan.
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(a Persian word meaning “ass-driver”), one of the seven eunuchs or chamberlains of king Ahasuerus (Esther 1:10; 7:9).
(ass-driver), the third of the seven chamberlains or eunuchs who served King Ahasuerus. (Esther 1:10) (B.C. 483-475.)
HARBO'NA (ass-driver), a eunuch of Ahasuerus, Esth 1:10.
HARBO'NA (ass-driver), a eunuch of Ahasuerus, Esth 1:10.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
2 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H2726
On the seventh day, when the kingʼs heart was merry with wine, he ordered the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—
Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Hamanʼs house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” “Hang him on it!” declared the king.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.