Zeresh
The wife of Haman. When he came home boasting of his honours and complaining that all of it meant nothing while Mordecai sat at the king's gate, it was Zeresh and his friends who suggested the gallows fifty cubits high. Days later, after Haman had been forced to lead Mordecai through the city in the king's robes, the same advisers told him he had begun to fall and would not prevail — and while they were still speaking the eunuchs arrived to take him to the banquet.
What we know — and how we know it
Where in scripture
EstherNevertheless Haman restrained himself, and went home. There, he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife.
Esther 5:10
Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on it. Then go in merrily with the king to the banquet.” This pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.
Esther 5:14 — Advises the gallows
Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him, but you will surely fall before him.”
Esther 6:13
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
Family
In their own words — 2 recorded sayings
“Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, Let a pillar, fifty cubits high, be made ready for hanging him, and in the morning get the king to give orders for the hanging of Mordecai: then you will be able to go to the feast with the king with a glad heart. And Haman was pleased with the suggestion, and he had the pillar made.” — Esther 5:14
“And Haman gave his wife Zeresh and all his friends an account of what had taken place. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, If Mordecai, who is starting to get the better of you, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not be able to do anything against him, but you will certainly go down before him.” — Esther 6:13
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
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Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)