ABSTRACT
Mordecai and Esther have parted ways once again. The next time Mordecai will present himself to Esther, all the important work will have been done: Haman (not Mordecai) will be hanging on the stake meant for Mordecai, and Esther (not Mordecai) will be in charge of his estate (8:1). But before then: two face-to-face encounters with royal law (one involving Esther and the king [5:1-8], the other involving Mordecai and Haman [5:9-14]) and a royal bout with insomnia, in which sleep is not all that is lost.
