The prophet Amos described a man who fled from a lion, only to be attacked by a bear, and when he finally made it home and leaned against the wall, a snake bit him (Amos 5:19). The rabbis of Esther Rabbah saw this as a parable for Israel's journey through four successive empires, each one waiting to strike the moment the previous one released its grip.
Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Aha identified the animals. The lion was Babylonia, based on Daniel's vision: "The first was like a lion" (Daniel 7:4). The bear was Media, matching "another beast, resembling a bear" (Daniel 7:5). Rabbi Yohanan added a twist, noting that the Hebrew word for "bear" (dov) could also be read as the Aramaic for "wolf" (dev), linking it to Jeremiah's prophecy: "A wolf of the deserts will plunder them" (Jeremiah 5:6). In Jeremiah's version, all four empires appear in sequence: the lion of the forest (Babylonia), the desert wolf (Media), the lurking leopard (Greece), and the beast that mauls everyone who passes (Edom, meaning Rome).
The midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) then overlays the Song of Songs onto the same pattern. When God calls to Israel, "Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my faultless one" (Song of Songs 5:2), each term of endearment corresponds to a different exile. "My sister" is Babylonia. "My love" is Media. "My faultless one" is Greece. "My dove" is Edom, because during the Greek period, the Temple still stood and Israel offered doves on the altar.
A second interpretation names specific rulers. The lion is Nebuchadnezzar. The bear is Belshazzar. And the snake is Haman, who crushed the people like a serpent. His descendants wrote letters to the Persian king urging him to halt the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 4:8). When the king complied and canceled the work, the people screamed: "Woe!" And so the Book of Esther begins: "It was during the days of Ahasuerus" (Esther 1:1).
“As when a man fled from the lion and a bear attacked him; he came home and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him” (Amos 5:19).Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon began: “As when a man fled from the lion and a bear attacked him; he came home and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him.” Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Aḥa in the name of Rabbi Ḥama bar Rabbi Ḥanina said: “As when a man fled from the lion,” that is Babylonia, according to: “The first was like a lion” (Daniel 7:4); “and a bear attacked him,” that is Media, according to: “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear” (Daniel 7:5). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: le dev is written [“a second one, resembling a bear (dov)].”9 The words in the verse in Daniel 7:5 domeh le-dov, “resembling a bear,” could be vocalized domeh le-dev, meaning resembling a wolf, as dev can mean wolf in Aramaic. This is the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, as Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “Therefore, a lion from the forest smote them” (Jeremiah 5:6), that is Babylonia; “a wolf of the deserts will plunder them” (Jeremiah 5:6), that is Media; “a leopard lies in wait near their cities” (Jeremiah 5:6), that is Greece; “everyone who emerges from them will be mauled” (Jeremiah 5:6), that is Edom; “he comes home” (Amos 5:19), that is Greece when the Temple stood; “and a snake bit him” (Amos 5:19), that is Edom, as it is stated: “Its sound will go forth like a snake” (Jeremiah 46:22).Likewise, it says: “Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my faultless one,” (Song of Songs 5:2). “Open for me, my sister,” that is Babylonia; “my love,” that is Media; “my faultless one,” in Greece; “my dove,” in Edom, as throughout the days of Greece[’s hegemony] the Temple was standing and Israel was offering doves and pigeons on the altar.Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina offered an interpretation [of “In my distress I called to the Lord and to my God I cried; from His Sanctuary He heard my voice, and my cry before Him came into His ears” (Psalms 18:7)]: It is written: “In my distress I called to the Lord,” in Babylonia; “and to my God I cried,” in Media; from His Sanctuary He heard my voice,” in Greece, as Rabbi Huna himself said: “My dove,” in Greece, as throughout the days of Greece, the Temple was standing and Israel was offering there doves and pigeons on the altar. That is: “from His Sanctuary He heard my voice and my cry before Him came into His ears,” in the kingdom of Edom.Another matter: “ As when a man fled from the lion,” that is Nebuchadnezzar; “and a bear attacked him,” that is Belshatzar; “he came home and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him,” that is Haman, who would crush the people like a snake. That is as it is written: “Reḥum the commander and Shimshai the scribe” (Ezra 4:8), that is the son of Haman; “wrote a letter…to Artaxerxes the king, as follows” (ibid.). And what was written in it? “Now issue a decree to cease, and that this city not be rebuilt ….” (Ezra 4:21), [“they will no longer pay] minda” (Ezra 4:13), that is land tax; “belo” (ibid.), that is the poll tax; and “halakh” (ibid.), that is the king’s service; “and the revenue of the kings will be harmed” (ibid.). Rav Huna and Rabbi Pinḥas said: Even things with which the kingdom entertains itself, e.g., theaters and circuses, this people harms. When he sent it, it was received by the king, and he canceled work on the Temple. When they saw that, everyone began screaming: 'Woe [vai];' “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1).
