Esther 5:12. Tomorrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
It was a rare privilege for a subject, however high his station, to be permitted to banquet with the king. Occasionally, however, this was allowed, and Haman had reason to feel highly honored at the invitation he received from the queen by permission of the king. It must be understood, however, that when subjects were thus admitted to feast with royalty they were reminded of their inferior position. “The monarch reclined on a couch with golden feet, and sipped the rich wine of Helbon; the guests drank an inferior beverage, seated upon the floor” (Five Monarchies, vol. 3, p. 214). On some very special occasions the rigidity of this rule was relaxed. The king presided openly at a banquet where large numbers of dignitaries were assembled, and royal couches and royal wine were provided for them all. Such a feast is referred to in Esther 1:3.