Little Known Bible Characters: Harbonah the Eunuch

By Elizabeth Prata

After two essays about characters from the Old Testament and two essays on characters from the New Testament (linked below), I return to the Old Testament to discover more about a man named Harbonah.

Harbonah (or Harbona) was the third of the seven eunuchs or chamberlains who served Ahasuerus, king of Persia (AKA Xerxes). The list of the 7 eunuchs is in Esther 1:10;

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he said for Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who attended to the presence of King Ahasuerus,

It was a big deal to have access to the King. Not many did. Not even his wife. Esther knew that if she went into the presence of the King without being summoned by name, she could be killed.

The eunuchs did not have first place with the king, that was reserved for “the seven officials of Persia and Media who had access to the king’s presence and sat in the first place in the kingdom” (Esther 1:14b). Those 7 men advised the king. The eunuch group to which Harbonah belonged carried out the kings orders.

Some eunuchs were doorkeepers, two of these, “Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who were doorkeepers, became furious and sought to send forth their hand against King Ahasuerus”. (Esther 2:21).

Doorkeeper: Person guarding access to an important or restricted place. Temple doorkeeper was an important office in biblical times. The doorkeepers collected money from the people (2 Kings 22:4). Some Levites were designated doorkeepers (or “gatekeepers”) for the ark (1 Chron. 15:23–24). The Persian kings used eunuchs for doorkeepers (Esther 2:21). Women also served this function (John 18:16–17; Acts 12:13). Source- Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 438).

So access to the king didn’t mean complete contentment. Discontent, intrigue, and assassination plots were fomented by those close to the king and eunuchs were in a perfect place to do so.

What is a eunuch? “A male servant or supervisory official in the court of a ruler; often castrated.” It was safer for the king to have men who could not procreate in charge of his women. An illegitimate heir was bad for purity of royal lineage.

The eunuchs had the task of managing the two harems. One was for women waiting to go into the king’s bed, (virgins) and the other was for ones who had already been summoned to his bed (concubines).

Rembrandt: Haman disgraced before Xerxes and Esther

Eunuchs in the Ancient World

Ancient Near Eastern cultures made frequent use of eunuchs, particularly in service to royalty. Royal leaders such as Cyrus the Great sought out eunuchs as servants because he perceived them as loyal, compliant, and trustworthy around women (e.g., Xenophon, Cyropaedia 7:59–65). Eunuchs could possess noteworthy roles such as statesmen, military generals, and palace officials; however, often they supervised the female quarters of a royal home or oversaw a royal harem. (Source the Lexham Bible Dictionary).

Hegai was Xerxes’ chief eunuch it seems. He managed all the women, and in fact saw Esther as kind and beautiful so he apparently had authority to transfer her to the best place in the harem and supply her with the best cosmetics and food. (Esther 2:9-10).

So after the mention of Harbonah the eunuch in Esther 1:10, he is only mentioned one other time, toward the end of Esther, in Esther 7:9. The Lord used Harbonah to propel the conclusion of Esther’s story.

When it became obvious that Haman’s plot to kill Mordecai and all the rest of the Jews was failing, Harbonah who “just so happened” to be near Xerxes at the right moment, made a powerful suggestion. He delivered this nugget to the King, which the King probably hadn’t known:

Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king, said, “Behold indeed, the gallows—which Haman made for Mordecai who spoke good on behalf of the king—are standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” (Esther 7:9).

Just in case the King had forgotten that Mordecai had done the King a good deed in revealing the assassination plot to the King and had been written in the Book of Deeds, Harbonah inserted that reminder in his statement, perhaps to bolster its worthiness. What’s going on with Harbonah? Hmmm-

Jewish tradition has it that Harbona had originally been a confederate of Haman, but, upon noting the failure of the latter’s plans, abandoned him. Harbona, Harbonah. (1915). In The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia.

Jan Victors: Haman begging Queen Esther for mercy, 1642

Was Harbonah’s suggestion a helpful one to aid the king? Or one to rid himself of a co-conspirator? Only God knows. We do know that eunuchs had previously been involved in dastardly intrigue. The two doorkeepers Bigthan and Teresh had been unmasked as traitors early on in Esther, they had plotted to kill the king. It’s not unreasonable to wonder if Harbonah may have involved himself in the same kind of activity.

*Esther Denouncing Haman* (1888) by Ernest Normand. Notice all the people attending the king. Some of these are Eunuchs, and according to the Bible, Harbonah would have been in the scene at that moment.

On the other hand, eunuchs were usually loyal. Pragmatically, they had a good place in the court, comfortable surroundings, and influence or at least proximity to the king. So again, only God knows the true intentions of Harbonah in this moment.

The Jewish Encyclopedia entry for Harbonah ends with this: A liturgical piece for Purim beginning “Shoshannat Ya’aḳob” ends with the words, “and let Harbona, too, be remembered for good.”

Jan Lievens (1607–1674) Esther accuses Haman during her meal with Assuerus (Esther 7:1-17)

“One of the most dramatic moments from the Book of Esther comes when the queen accuses the king’s advisor Haman of treachery against her people (Esther 7:1–7). Through her efforts, Haman’s plot for the slaughter of all the Jews in Persia was unmasked before King Ahasuerus (Xerxes). Seated before his chamberlain, Harbonah, the king reacts in anger with arms outstretched and hands clenched. Across from him sits the isolated, shadowy figure of Haman, who cowers at the king’s wrath. Shortly thereafter, Haman’s life would end on the gallows“. (Source)