Esther 3:8

“And Haman said unto King Ahasuerus, Or “had said” f115, as some choose to render it; nor indeed is it likely that Haman should cast lots to know when would be a proper time to destroy the Jews, until he had got leave of the king to do it: there is a certain people scattered abroad, and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; for, though many of the Jews returned to their own land, on the proclamation of Cyrus, yet others remained, being well settled as to worldly things, and not having that zeal for God and his worship as became them, and not caring to be at the trouble and expense of such a journey, and especially those of the ten tribes; now Haman, through contempt…”

“3:8 who keep themselves separate: Jews intermarried within tight-knit communities and resisted integration into the larger culture. • Their laws are different: They had a unique set of laws (eating and religious customs) and were to be separate from the sinful customs of the people around them (Lev 14:42-45; 15:31; 19:2, 26-37). • they refuse to obey the laws of the king: This accusation, which is false in general, probably refers to Mordecai’s refusal to bow to Haman. • So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live: Haman played on the king’s fears and interests as Memucan had done in Esth 1:16. Intolerance toward any particular group of people ran against the general Persian…”

“scattered abroad: Lev 26:33; Deu 4:27, Deu 30:3, Deu 32:26; Neh 1:8; Jer 50:17; Eze 6:8, Eze 11:16; Zac 7:14; Joh 7:35; Jam 1:1; Pe1 1:1 their laws: Ezr 4:12-15; Act 16:20, Act 16:21, Act 17:6, Act 17:7, Act 24:5, Act 28:22 for the king's profit to: Heb. meet, or equal for the king to, etc Esther 3:9”