HARBONA; HARBONAH

har-bo'-na (charebhona' charebhonah): One of the seven eunuchs who served Ahasuerus and to whom was given the command to bring Queen Esther before the king (Esther 1:10). It was he who suggested that Haman be hanged upon the self-same gallows that he had erected for Mordecai (Esther 7:9). Jewish tradition has it that Harbona had originally been a confederate of Haman, but, upon noting the failure of the latter's plans, abandoned him. The Persian equivalent of the name means "donkey-driver."

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.