Not only among Haman's advisers, but in the camp of the Jews as well, the humbling of Haman is understood to signal a shift in power and the moment to act – before Haman should have the chance to revive, defend himself, and recover his losses.

Haman is brought to the queen's banquet, and there the king repeats his query for the third time: “Whatever your wish, Queen Esther, it will be given you. Whatever your request, up to half the kingdom, it will be done” (7.2).

This time, the narrative records no hesitation in the queen's voice. The king will give her a fair hearing now or he never will. She makes her appeal in words she has rehearsed a hundred times:

A terrific silence reigns as the king struggles to grasp what she has asked of him. Could someone wish to murder the queen? Should he be forced to go through such torment again? He asks so that he should be able to understand:

“Who is it, and which is he, who has inclined his heart to do so?”

“A tormentor and an enemy – this evil Haman” (7.5–6).

Ahashverosh seethes, the temperature rises. Livid, shaking with rage, he storms out into the garden. The vizier is struck with terror, the very same terror of standing alone before the wrath of the king with which Esther has lived every day, every hour, since learning of the decree.

But why does the king leave the room? What does such behavior really mean? Storming out if insulted or embarrassed, slamming a door behind, or similarly, not speaking with someone for years, abandoning a flagging marriage without a word, resigning from high office, and in the extreme, suicide – all these are familiar, and they are the same.