PUR

A non-Hebrew word found at Esther 3:7 and 9:24, 26; it means “lot” (Heb., goh·ralʹ; see LOT, I). This is the singular form, the plural being “Purim.” (Es 9:26, 28-32) “Pur” is linked with an Akkadian word, puru, meaning “lot.” It is the source of the name of the Jewish festival Purim.​—See PURIM.

The name comes from the act of Haman in casting pur (lot) to determine the auspicious day to carry out an extermination plot against the Jews. Being an Agagite, perhaps a royal Amalekite, and a worshiper of pagan deities, he was resorting to this as “a species of divination.” (Es 3:7, Le, ftn; see DIVINATION; LOT, I; PUR.)