The month of Nisan was the first month in the Hebrew calendar, which began on the new moon of mid-March to mid-April. The name “Nisan” is Babylonian in origin and appears in Old Testament writings only after the Babylonian exile. In the Pentateuch the Canaanite name “Abib” occurs for the first month (see Exo 13.4). Nueva Biblia Española translates this phrase “in the first month, that is, the month of April.” For discussion of the author’s practice of identifying months by name and by number, see 2.16 and the detailed comment on the Hebrew calendar, page 97.

In the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, about 472 B.C., refers to the twelfth year of his rule as king, as Good News Translation explicitly states (so also Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Nueva Biblia Española).

They cast Pur is literally “he caused Pur to fall” (so Chouraqui). Good News Translation interprets the unspecified third person subject to be Haman (also Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). The majority of the versions, however, avoid being explicit by referring to an indefinite “they” (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version), or to an indefinite third person singular pronoun (the French on, or “one,” as in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Segond. Some translations use a passive construction (“the pur was cast” New Jerusalem Bible).

Pur is a Persian word, probably of Akkadian origin (see 9.26 and comments). Its meaning, “lot, chance,” is therefore given in Hebrew in the original text. Most versions retain Pur while translating its Hebrew equivalent. At least one common language translation omits the word Pur from the translation, saying only “they cast lots,” and then stating in a footnote that the drawing of lots was called Pur (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Translators should, however, keep this word in the text, since it shows that the writer explained the meaning of pur for the original readers.

Good News Translation uses the plural form “purim,” perhaps because the festival itself is known by that name. Good News Translation also places the words “ ‘purim,’ they were called” within parentheses, indicating that the writer was interrupting the story in order to explain to the reader the meaning of the unknown foreign word “pur.” It should be noted that Good News Translation takes some liberty with the text here in placing in parentheses the Persian word, which is actually in the main text (see Revised Standard Version), and by adding the explanatory or interpretive comment “they were called.”

Although the term may originally have meant that pebbles were cast, ordinary expressions for casting lots may be used in the receptor languages if they are not overly culture-specific. For instance, if casting lots is referred to as “throwing cowries,” that may be acceptable, whereas “looking at the crab” may be too specific. Terms that have a bad meaning, or imply bad luck or fate, should also be avoided.

The lots were cast day after day and month after month till the twelfth month. The Hebrew of the last clause is literally “from month to month; it was the twelfth month, Adar.” It sounds in Revised Standard Version as if lots were cast every day from the first month of the year until the last month of the year. However, as the note in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible indicates, the casting of lots probably consisted of checking each day of every month in order to decide on the right day for the extermination of the Jewish people. All this may have taken place in one day and at one sitting, though the text does not say. Verse 12 below does indicate that by the thirteenth day of the first month, the day had been decided on.

Some translations are similar to New Jerusalem Bible: “the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in Haman’s presence, to determine the day and the month” (so also New International Version, Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version). Such a translation does not mislead the reader into thinking that lots were cast day after day, month after month, but it also obscures the fact that lots were apparently cast for each day of the year until the right day was found. The Revised English Bible translation, “taking the days and months one by one,” is both clear in meaning and accurate in describing how the lots were cast. See also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible: “casting the lot by passing from one day to the next and from one month to the next.”

The twelfth month, which is the month of Adar: Adar was the last month of the Hebrew calendar, and it began on the new moon of mid-February to mid-March. Like “Nisan,” the name “Adar” is Babylonian in origin. Nueva Biblia Española translates this phrase as “in the twelfth month, that is, the month of March.”

Only in verse 13 of this chapter are we told that the plot was to be carried out on the thirteenth day of Adar. Good News Translation brings this information forward into verse 7: “The thirteenth day of the twelfth month” (so also New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised English Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). It is possible that a scribe accidentally skipped over part of the original Hebrew text, omitting the words which state that the lot fell on the thirteenth day (Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives a “B” evaluation to the text translated in Revised Standard Version, but for translation purposes translators may choose to follow the example of Good News Translation).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on Esther (The Hebrew Text). (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .