×ַּרְ×Ö¼Ö·×”
Karkas, a eunuch of Xerxes
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Karkas, a eunuch of Xerxes
×ַּרְ×Ö¼Ö·×”(KarkaƧ)
Strongās Definition
Karkas, a eunuch of Xerxes
of Persian origin;
āOn the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,ā
No verses found containing this word study ID.
The Hidden Chamber of the Kingās House
Only once does this name appear in the sacred scroll, a single utterance in the vast tapestry of Estherās account. The name is *KarkaƧ*, a word of Persian origin, carried into the Hebrew tongue like a sealed letter from a foreign court. This man was a eunuch of King Ahasuerus, one of the seven servants who attended the royal presence when the kingās heart was lifted with wine. Yet within this single mention, the sages have seen a doorway into deeper truth. For the name itself, when its letters are opened to the light of the ancient pictographs, speaks of a hidden chamber where the kingās will is made known. The *kaf* (×) is the open palm, the hand that gives or receives. The *resh* (ר) is the head, the seat of authority. The *kaf* again, and the *samekh* (×”) which is the support, the prop that holds all things together. *KarkaƧ* is the hand under the head, the support of the kingās authorityāa eunuch who stands in the threshold between the throne and the world beyond.The Name That Whispers of a Secret Council
The etymology of *KarkaƧ* is veiled, for it is not a Hebrew word but a borrowed vessel from Persia. The ancient sages teach that when a name appears in the Holy Tongue from another language, it carries the echo of exile. This man was a servant in the palace of Shushan, a place of opulence and intrigue, where the true King of Israel seemed hidden behind the curtains of history. Yet the rabbis of old observed that every detail in the Megillah of Esther is woven with divine purpose. *KarkaƧ* is listed among the seven eunuchs sent to summon Queen Vashti (Esther 1:10). He was a messenger of the kingās command, a voice that carried authority he did not possess, a figure standing in the gap between the sovereignās decree and its execution. He is defined by his function: one who serves the kingās pleasure, yet whose own name is barely remembered. This is the pattern of many who walk the corridors of earthly powerāthey are known only by their task, not by their soul.The Defining Moment in the Kingās Court
The defining moment of *KarkaƧ* is not a battle, nor a prophecy, nor a prayer. It is a simple act of obedience: he goes where he is sent, and he speaks what he is told. In Esther 1:10-12, the king commands these seven eunuchs to bring Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown, to display her beauty. *KarkaƧ* is among them. He is a witness to the collision of pride and command. The queen refuses. The kingdom trembles. And this eunuch, this man of Persian origin with a name that means little in Hebrew, becomes a link in a chain that leads to Estherās rise, to the salvation of the Jewish people, and to the revelation of Godās hidden hand. The sages teach that even the smallest servant in the kingās house has a part in the great story. *KarkaƧ* did not choose his role, but he fulfilled it. His failure, if it can be named, is that he is nameless in the narrativeāa man who served without leaving a mark upon the text beyond his single mention. Yet that single mention is enough. For in the scroll of Esther, every name is a thread in the tapestry of redemption.The Covenant of the Unseen Servant
There is no covenant explicitly tied to *KarkaƧ*, no promise spoken over his life. Yet the covenant of Israel runs beneath his feet like a river under a palace floor. He is a Gentile in the service of a Persian king, yet his actions ripple into the deliverance of Godās chosen people. The ancient rabbis observed that the name *KarkaƧ* bears a numerical weight of three hundred (300), the gematria of the Hebrew letters. Three hundred is the number of the men who stood with Gideon against Midian (Judges 7:7). It is the value of the letter *shin* (ש), the tooth that consumes and the fire that refines. *KarkaƧ* carries the number of the remnant, the few who are chosen to bring victory through obedience. He is not a judge, not a prophet, not a kingāyet his number aligns him with the company of the faithful who stand in the gap. The covenant of Abraham extends to all who serve the purposes of the God of Israel, even those whose names are foreign and whose hearts are unknown to us.The Gematria of the Hidden Hand
The numerical value of *KarkaƧ* is three hundred, a number that echoes through the Tanakh with profound significance. Three hundred is the length of Noahās ark in cubits (Genesis 6:15), the vessel of salvation through the flood. It is the number of shekels of silver that Abraham paid for the field of Machpelah (Genesis 23:15), the purchase of the burial place of the patriarchs. It is the number of the foxes that Samson caught to burn the fields of the Philistines (Judges 15:4), a strange instrument of judgment. The rabbis of old taught that three hundred is the number of the *shin*, the letter that appears on the forehead of the high priest and on the doorposts of the faithful. It is the number of spiritual warfare, of hidden victory, of the oil that anoints the chosen. *KarkaƧ* bears this number as a silent testimony: even the least of the kingās servants carries the weight of divine purpose. His name is not great, but his number is holy.The Messianic Shadow of the Kingās Servant
How does a Persian eunuch point to Yeshua the Messiah? In the pattern of Scripture, the one who stands at the kingās command and goes where he is sent is a shadow of the greater Servant. Yeshua said, āI have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent meā (John 6:38). *KarkaƧ* was a messenger of an earthly king, but the Messiah is the Messenger of the King of Heaven. The eunuch served in the palace of Shushan, but Yeshua serves in the true tabernacle, the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 8:2). The name *KarkaƧ* speaks of the hand under the head, the support of authority. Yeshua is the one who upholds all things by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). He is the Servant who became the King, the one who was sent to summon a bride for the Kingās Son, even when the bride was unwilling. Vashti refused, but the true Brideāthe assembly of the redeemedāanswers the call. *KarkaƧ* points not to himself, but to the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the faithful and true witness who does the Fatherās will even unto death.What This Means for You
You, beloved reader, may feel like *KarkaƧ*āa name barely remembered, a servant in the shadows, a person of foreign origin in the courts of a world that does not know your God. Yet the Holy One who numbers the stars also numbers your days. He sees the single mention of your life, the one act of obedience that you offer in faith. You are not called to be a king or a prophet, but to be faithful where you stand. The King of Kings has sent his messengers to summon a bride, and you are part of that great procession. Your name may be small in the eyes of men, but in the scroll of the Lamb, it is written with letters of fire. The number three hundred is upon youāthe number of the remnant, the number of the ark, the number of the purchase of the promise. Go, then, as *KarkaƧ* went, and do the Kingās bidding. For the King who sent his servant to summon Vashti has sent his own Son to summon you. Do not refuse the call. Let your life be a single, faithful mention in the story of redemption, and the King will remember your name forever.