Pur; Purim

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(lots). The Jewish festival commemorative of the preservation (deliverance) of the Jews in Persia. Celebrated yearly on 14th and 15th of the month Adar (Esther 3:7; 9:20-32⁷In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. (Esther 3:7)
²⁰And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, ²¹To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, ²²As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. ²³And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them; ²⁴Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; ²⁵But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. ²⁶Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them, ²⁷The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year; ²⁸And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. ²⁹Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim. ³⁰And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, ³¹To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry. ³²And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book. (Esther 9:20‑32)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

A feast, signifying “lot or lots.” Haman cast lots to find an auspicious day for the destruction of the Jews. On this being averted their deliverance was commemorated by an annual feast (Esther 3:7⁷In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. (Esther 3:7); Esther 9:24-32²⁴Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; ²⁵But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. ²⁶Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them, ²⁷The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year; ²⁸And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. ²⁹Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim. ³⁰And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, ³¹To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry. ³²And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book. (Esther 9:24‑32)). It fell on the 14th and 15th of Adar. This feast is not mentioned by name in the New Testament though some suppose it to be alluded to in John 5:1¹After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (John 5:1); but of this there is no intimation, and such a feast did not call the Lord to go to Jerusalem. The feast is still kept by the Jews: the Book of Esther is read, and curses are pronounced on Haman and on his wife; and blessings on Mordecai, and on Harbonah.

Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:

Number:

6332 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Transliteration:

Puwr

Phonic:

poor

Meaning:

also (plural) Puwriym {poo-reem'}; or Puriym {poo-reem'}; from 6331; a lot (as by means of a broken piece)

KJV Usage:

Pur, Purim

Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:

frustration: lot : Purim = masculie plural of Pur

Potts’ Bible Proper Names:

Lots:―an annual Jewish festival [PUR], Esth. 9:26. {Sortes}

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

Esther 9:26²⁶Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them, (Esther 9:26). Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur.

Pur is a Persian word signifying a part, and thence denoting a lot. With the Hebrew plural termination it becomes purim, “lots.” This is the name by which the feast is known which is kept to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from the plot of Haman. It is called the Feast of Lots because Haman in his superstition resorted to divination for the purpose of ascertaining when he could most effectually destroy the Jews. See Esther 3:7⁷In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. (Esther 3:7). Some think that the name was given in irony, as denoting the contempt in which the Jews held Haman and his divination.

There is a tradition that the introduction of this feast among the Jews met with some opposition, though it afterward became generally observed. The day before the feast is kept as a solemn fast. On the day of the feast the people assemble in the synagogue, where the book of Esther is read amid clapping of hands and stamping of feet, as demonstrations of contempt for Haman and of joy for the deliverance of the Jews. After leaving the synagogue there are great feasts at home, which have been sometimes carried to such excess that some writers have called the Feast of Purim the Bacchanalia of the Jews.