In brief
Zeresh is the wife of Haman, the high official of King Ahasuerus who wanted to destroy the Jews, in the book of Esther. With Haman's friends, she advises him to have a gallows fifty cubits high built to hang Mordecai on it. The next day, after her husband's humiliation, she tells him he will fall before Mordecai. She is remembered for bad advice, followed by a late clear-sightedness.
What does the name Zeresh mean?
Zeresh is probably a name of Persian origin whose meaning remains uncertain, and some link it to a word evoking gold. The Bible does not explain it and presents her only as the wife of Haman, alongside his friends (Esther 5:10).
The story of Zeresh
Haman parades his glory
Esther 5:9-12Haman leaves Esther's first banquet in high spirits. But at the king's gate Mordecai does not stand up for him. Haman restrains himself, goes home and sends for his friends and for Zeresh his wife. Before them he speaks of his riches, the number of his sons, his rank and the queen's invitation for the next day.
Nothing is enough
Esther 5:13Haman then confesses what is in his heart: “Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” All his glory cannot soothe his hatred. It is to this bitterness that Zeresh and Haman's friends will respond.
The advice about the gallows
Esther 5:14Zeresh and all of Haman's friends propose a solution: build a gallows fifty cubits high and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then he can go in merrily to the banquet with the king. The advice pleases Haman, who has the gallows made at once.
A humiliated return
Esther 6:10-13The next day, the king orders Haman to lead Mordecai on horseback through the city square, proclaiming his honor. Haman goes home in mourning, with his head covered, and tells Zeresh and his friends everything. The plan they had advised is already beginning to turn against him.
A clear-sighted prediction
Esther 6:13-14His wise men and Zeresh then say to him: “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him, but you will surely fall before him.” They are still speaking when the king's eunuchs arrive to take Haman to Esther's banquet.
The end of Haman's house
Esther 7:10; 9:10-14Haman is hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king gives his house to Esther. Later, Haman's ten sons, of whom he boasted before Zeresh, are killed at Susa and then hanged. The Bible says nothing about the fate of Zeresh herself.
What Zeresh teaches us
- Advice that feeds another person's anger instead of calming it can lead to ruin.
- Pride and hatred make people blind: Haman had everything, yet a single offense spoiled it all.
- Whoever sets a trap for another may fall into it, as Haman did on the gallows he had built.
- God protects his people, and even their adversaries end up recognizing that nothing can be done against them.
Key verses
The advice of Zeresh and Haman's friends: build a gallows fifty cubits high for Mordecai. Advice inspired by hatred, which will turn against the one who followed it.
After Haman's humiliation, Zeresh and his wise men admit that he will not prevail against Mordecai if he is of Jewish descent. Even the adversaries of God's people sense his protection.
“Pride goes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” The course of Haman, encouraged by those around him, illustrates this proverb exactly.
Bible verses to meditate on
Frequently asked questions
Who was Zeresh in the Bible?
Zeresh was the wife of Haman the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews in the book of Esther. She appears in only two scenes: in Esther 5:10-14, where she and his friends advise him to have a gallows built to hang Mordecai, and in Esther 6:13, where she tells him he will fall before Mordecai.
What advice did Zeresh give Haman?
With all of Haman's friends, Zeresh advised him to prepare a gallows fifty cubits high and to ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Haman followed this advice. But the next day it was he who had to honor Mordecai, and it was on that gallows that he was finally hanged (Esther 5:14; 7:10).
Where is Zeresh found in the Bible?
Zeresh is named in three verses of the book of Esther: Esther 5:10, 5:14 and 6:13. To understand her role, read all of Esther 5 and 6, then Esther 7, which tells of Haman's fall at the queen's second banquet, and Esther 9:10-14 on the fate of his sons.