אַסְפָּתָא
Aspatha, a son of Haman
Definition
Aspatha is the name of one of the ten sons of Haman the Agagite, the primary antagonist in the book of Esther. He is listed among those executed by the Jews in the city of Susa on the 13th of Adar, as recorded in Esther 9:7-10. The name itself is of Persian origin, and its specific meaning is uncertain, though it fits the pattern of other Persian names in the narrative. As a proper noun, it refers exclusively to this individual, with no other biblical meanings or applications.
Biblical Usage
The word is used only once in the Old Testament, in Esther 9:7. It appears in a list of the ten sons of Haman who were killed after Esther's intervention. The context is the execution of Haman's lineage, which was a decisive act in the Jews' self-defense and the reversal of the genocidal decree. The usage is purely as a proper name identifying a specific person within a historical record of judgment.
Etymology
The name Aspatha is of Persian derivation, as noted in Strong's Concordance. Many names in the book of Esther, including Mordecai (Marduk) and Esther (Ishtar), have Persian or Babylonian origins, reflecting the historical setting of the Jewish diaspora in the Persian Empire. The exact Persian root and meaning are not definitively known, but it was a recognizable personal name within that cultural context.
Semantic Range
While the name Aspatha itself is not theologically loaded, its inclusion is significant within the larger theme of divine justice and providence in the book of Esther. The execution of Haman's sons, including Aspatha, represents the complete overthrow of the enemy who sought to destroy God's people (Esther 9:1). It underscores the biblical principle that the schemes of the wicked will ultimately be turned back upon them (Psalm 7:15-16). The listing of the names serves as a concrete, historical record of God's hidden deliverance.
In the Persian cultural context, the public listing and execution of a defeated enemy's sons was a severe measure to eliminate future claimants to power and to demonstrate total victory. The narrative records the sons being killed, but notably, the Jews did not plunder their goods (Esther 9:10, 15-16), distinguishing their act of judicial defense from greedy conquest. The Persian names of Haman's sons highlight that the conflict was not ethnic but spiritual—between the seed of the Agagite (an Amalekite) and the people of God.
There are no direct Hebrew synonyms for this proper name. Other sons of Haman listed in Esther 9:7-9 share the same category: Parshandatha (H6577), Poratha (H6334), Adalia (H118), etc.—all are proper nouns of Persian origin.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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