Purim
Twelfth month Adar
March 14 thru March 15 (at evening, March 13 until evening, March 14)
An Israelite festival celebrating the deliverance from massacre. Esther the queen and her cousin Mordecai (the southern kingdom; a Benjamite) thwarted Haman the Agagite (Amalek; Esau), Judah’s enemy, attempt to annihilate all Judah. Haman and his sons were hanged on the gallows that he planned for Mordecai. Because Esther found favor in the sight of king Ahasuerus (Media and Persia), she decreed the destruction of thousands of Judah’s enemies, with the sword (under the command of Mordecai), that was meant for them in all the provinces of the king, from India unto Ethiopia.
Purim (Persian: “lots”; poo-rim, poo-reem), plural for Pur, “lot”. Thus, the festival is named Purim, because Haman cast Pur, the lot, to determine when to execute his plan to destroy Judah.