2238. Zeresh

Lexical Summary

Zeresh: Zeresh

Original Word: זֶרֶשׁ
Part of Speech: Proper Name Feminine
Transliteration: Zeresh
Pronunciation: ZEH-resh
Phonetic Spelling: (zeh'-resh)
KJV: Zeresh
NASB: Zeresh
Word Origin: [of Persian origin]

1. Zeresh, Haman's wife

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Zeresh

Of Persian origin; Zeresh, Haman's wife -- Zeresh.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of foreign origin
Definition
wife of Haman
NASB Translation
Zeresh (4).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

זֶ֫רֶשׁ proper name, feminine wife of Haman Esther 5:10,14; Esther 6:13 (twice in verse) (according to Opp^{Esth. 25} = Persian zaris, Zend zairis, la dorée, compare aurum ductile, Vull^{ii. 128 b}; Jen^{VOJ, 1892, 64} compare Elamite goddess Kiriša).

Topical Lexicon

Identity and Narrative Placement

Zeresh is introduced exclusively in the Book of Esther as the wife of Haman the Agagite, the chief antagonist in the narrative set during the reign of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). She functions as an intimate counselor in the unfolding drama surrounding the threatened annihilation of the Jews in Persia. Though mentioned only four times (Esther 5:10, 5:14, 6:13 [twice]), her counsel decisively shapes critical events that reveal the providential reversal central to the book.

Literary Role in Esther

1. Counselor of Pride (Esther 5:10–14) – After Haman vents his indignation over Mordecai’s refusal to bow, “His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, ‘Have a gallows seventy-five feet high built. In the morning ask King Xerxes to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go merrily with the king to the banquet.’ ” (Esther 5:14). Zeresh voices the strategy that embodies Haman’s hubris: silence opposition by conspicuous, brutal display.
2. Harbinger of Doom (Esther 6:13) – When Haman returns humiliated from honoring Mordecai, “His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, ‘Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is of Jewish origin, you cannot prevail against him—you will surely fall before him.’ ”. Her earlier confidence collapses into prophetic certainty of defeat once divine favor toward the Jews becomes undeniable.

Character Profile

• Insightful yet morally compromised – Zeresh rightly discerns both Haman’s ego and, later, the inevitability of his downfall, yet she directs her discernment toward destructive ends.
• Catalyst of action – Her suggestions spur Haman to build the gallows that ultimately become the instrument of his own execution (Esther 7:9–10).
• Foil to Esther – Whereas Esther risks her life to preserve her people, Zeresh schemes to destroy an innocent man for personal pride, sharpening the narrative contrast between covenant faithfulness and self-exalting wickedness.

Theological and Moral Implications

• Human counsel vs. divine sovereignty – Zeresh’s advice epitomizes worldly wisdom rooted in pride. Providence overturns such counsel, demonstrating that “There is no wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel against the LORD” (Proverbs 21:30).
• The boomerang of retributive justice – Her plan to hang Mordecai results in Haman’s execution on the very device built at her urging, illustrating the biblical principle that “whoever digs a pit will fall into it” (Proverbs 26:27).
• Recognition of God’s people – Zeresh’s final words acknowledge an irreversible divine commitment to Israel’s preservation, underscoring the covenant faithfulness that threads through Scripture.

Historical and Cultural Background

In Achaemenid Persia, a wife’s public counsel to a high official was socially plausible within elite circles, yet Zeresh’s boldness is striking. The recommended gallows (literally a wooden pole or stake) rises to an ostentatious fifty cubits—an extravagant height intended to magnify Haman’s power and intimidate opponents. Such displays were not uncommon in Persian capital cities, where public punishment reinforced the sovereign’s authority.

Ministry and Practical Lessons

• Discern the source of counsel – Believers are cautioned to weigh advice by scriptural principles rather than personal ambition (Psalm 1:1).
• Pride’s destructive trajectory – Zeresh’s encouragement of Haman’s ego, and her abrupt shift to fatalism, warn against alliances that feed fleshly desires rather than godly humility (James 4:6).
• God’s unthwarted purposes – Her acknowledgment of inevitable defeat serves as a reminder that resistance to God’s redemptive plan is futile; His purposes stand despite human plotting (Isaiah 14:24).

Key References

Esther 5:10; Esther 5:14; Esther 6:13; Esther 7:9–10; Proverbs 21:30; Proverbs 26:27; Psalm 1:1; Isaiah 14:24; James 4:6

Forms and Transliterations

וְזֶ֣רֶשׁ וזרש זֶ֥רֶשׁ זֶ֨רֶשׁ זרש לְזֶ֤רֶשׁ לזרש lə·ze·reš ləzereš leZeresh veZeresh wə·ze·reš wəzereš ze·reš zereš Zeresh

Englishman's Concordance

Esther 5:10
HEB: אֹהֲבָ֖יו וְאֶת־ זֶ֥רֶשׁ אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃
NAS: for his friends and his wife Zeresh.
KJV: for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.
INT: went his friends Zeresh and his wife

Esther 5:14
HEB: וַתֹּ֣אמֶר לוֹ֩ זֶ֨רֶשׁ אִשְׁתּ֜וֹ וְכָל־
NAS: Then Zeresh his wife and all
KJV: Then said Zeresh his wife
INT: said Zeresh his wife and all

Esther 6:13
HEB: וַיְסַפֵּ֨ר הָמָ֜ן לְזֶ֤רֶשׁ אִשְׁתּוֹ֙ וּלְכָל־
NAS: recounted to Zeresh his wife
KJV: told Zeresh his wife
INT: recounted Haman to Zeresh his wife and all

Esther 6:13
HEB: ל֨וֹ חֲכָמָ֜יו וְזֶ֣רֶשׁ אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ אִ֣ם
NAS: to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife
KJV: his wise men and Zeresh his wife
INT: said his wise and Zeresh his wife If

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2238
4 Occurrences

lə·ze·reš — 1 Occ.
wə·ze·reš — 1 Occ.
ze·reš — 2 Occ.