Difference between revisions of "Amalekite" - New World Encyclopedia

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The Amalekites were a biblical people and implacable enemy of the Israelites. They were reportedly wiped out entirely as the result of Israelite victories against them in wars beginning shortly after the Exodus and coninuing on into the biblical conquest of Canaan and the earlier Israelite monarchy. They are unknown historically and archaelogical outside of the bible except for traditions which rely on biblical accounts.
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[[Image:Amalekites-vs-joshua.jpg|thumb|250px|The Amalekites fight against the Israelites led by Joshua, with Moses pictured in the background on a hilltop.]]
 
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The Amalekites were a biblical people and enemy of the [[Israelites]]. They were reportedly wiped out almost entirely as the result of Israelite victories against them in wars beginning shortly after [[the Exodus]] and continuing into the period of the early Israelite monarchy. Amalekite settlements are reported in the biblical record as late as the reign of [[King Hezekiah]] in the eighth century B.C.E., and the [[Book of Esther]] portrays its later villain, [[Haman]], as a descendant of an Amalekite prince.
The name Amalekite is sometimes interpreted as "dweller in the valley" but most specialists regard its origin to be unknown (M. Weippert, Semitische Nomaden des zweiten Jahrtausends. ''Biblica'' vol. 55, 1974, 265-280, 427-433). In the Bible, the Amalekites are said to have descended from a common ancestor named Amalek.
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The Amalekites are unknown historically and archaeologically outside of the Bible except for traditions which themselves apparently rely on biblical accounts. In the [[Bible]], the Amalekites are said to have descended from a common ancestor named Amalek, a grandson of [[Esau]]. In this sense they may be considered as one of the [[Edomite]] tribes. Jewish tradition sees the Amalekites as an implacable enemy of both [[God]] and [[Israel]].
  
 
==Biblical account==
 
==Biblical account==
The first reference to the Amalekites is found in Genesis 14, which describes a military campaign of Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and his allies which took place in [[Abraham]]'s day before the birth of Isaac. Kedorlaomer conquered territories of the Amalekites, the Horites of Seir, Amorites, and others. Most of this territory seems to be in the area later designated as [[Edom]]—southeast of Israel in today's country of [[Jordan]]. On the other hand, Genesis 36:12 describes the birth of Amalek himself as Esau's grandson, born four long-lived generations after the events of Kedorlaomer's time. This account makes the Amalekites one of the Edomite tribes, descended from Esau's firstborn son, Eliphaz. Amalek's mother was named Timna, a Horite princess descended from Seir, for whom Edom's Mount Seir was named.
 
  
The Amalekites do not appear again until 400 years later, when Moses is leading the Israelites toward Canaan from Egypt. At Rephidim, they suddenly appear at attack the Israelites, who are apparently trespassing on their territory. Moses commissions the young Joshua to act as generall for the Israelites. Moses then climbs a nearby hill to watch the battle. A see-saw battle ensues, with the Amalekites prevailing whenever Moses lowers his arms and the Israelites prevailing whenever he raises them. Aaron and Hur help the aging Moses hold his arms high, and Joshua's forces eventually prove victorious.
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===Origins===
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The first reference to the Amalekites is found in [[Genesis]] 14, which describes a military campaign of Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and his allies which took place in [[Abraham]]'s day before the birth of [[Isaac]]. Kedorlaomer conquered territories of the Amalekites, the [[Horites]] of Seir, [[Amorites]], and others.
  
God then pronounces the Amalekites doom, commanding Moses: "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." (Exodus 17:14) This event occurs near the beginning of the Exodus, before the incident of the [[Golden Calf]], and we do not hear of the Amalekites again until nearly 40 years later. As the Israelites prepare to enter the promised land, Moses reminds them that the Amalekites are not to be forgiven:
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On the other hand, Genesis 36:12 describes the birth of Amalek himself as [[Esau]]'s grandson, born four generations after the events of Kedorlaomer's time. This account makes the Amalekites one of the [[Edomite]] tribes, descended from Esau's firstborn son, Eliphaz. Amalek's mother was named Timna, a [[Horite]] princess descended from Seir, for whom Edom's [[Mount Seir]] was named.
  
<blockquote>Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget! (Deuteronomy 25:17-19)</blockquote>
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===Israel's enemy===
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The Amalekites do not appear again until 400 years later, when [[Moses]] is leading the [[Israelites]] toward [[Canaan]] from [[Egypt]]. At [[Rephidim]], the Amalekites suddenly appear and attack the Israelites, who are apparently trespassing on their territory. Moses commissions the young [[Joshua]] to act as general for the Israelites. Moses climbs a nearby hill to watch the battle, and a see-saw battle ensues, with the Amalekites prevailing whenever Moses lowers his arms and the Israelites prevailing whenever he raises them. [[Aaron]] and Hur help the aging Moses hold his arms high, and Joshua's forces eventually prove victorious.
  
Later, when the Israelites have massed east of the [[Jordan]] in [[Moabite]] territory to prepare their conquest of Canaan. There, the famous prophet [[Balaam]] is hired by the Moabite king [[Balak]] to curse Israel and ensure the Israelites' defeat, but Balaam, inspired by God, only blesses Israel instead. In the process, he gives the following oracle concerning the Amalekites:  "Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last." (Numbers 24:20)
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God then pronounces the Amalekites' doom, commanding Moses: "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." (Exodus 17:14) This event occurs near the beginning of [[the Exodus]], before the incident of the [[Golden Calf]], and we do not hear of the Amalekites again until nearly 40 years later. As the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land, Moses reminds them that the Amalekites are not to be forgiven:
  
== Amalekites ==
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<blockquote>Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When [[Yahweh|the Lord]] your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget! (Deuteronomy 25:17-19)</blockquote>
  
The "maximalist" understanding of the Bible regards this [[genealogy]] as literal. An understanding of the Bible as a cultural repository regards it as traditional [[ethnology]] rather than literal genealogy. In this latter view the Amalekites are related to the [[Edomites]] (consequently also to the Hebrews) and [[Horites]]. This can be concluded from the genealogy in Gen. 36:12; 1 Chr. 1:36. Amalek is a son of Esau's son [[Eliphaz]] and of the [[concubine]] [[Timna]], a Horite and sister of [[Lotan]]. '''Amalek''', for whatever reason, has become eponymous for the '''Amalekites'''. Gen. 36:16 refers to him as the "chief of Amalek." Thus even within a literalist perspective of the Bible, his name can be understood to be a title derived from that of the clan or territory over which he ruled.
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[[Image:Edom.PNG|thumb|Map shows the extent of Edomite territory, in which the Amalekites may have operated.]]
  
An extra-Biblical tradition recorded by [[Nachmanides]] relates that the Amalekites were descended from a man named Amalek after whom Esau's grandson was later named. Such an eponymous ancestor of the Amalekites is also mentioned in Arab traditions.
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Later, the Israelites mass east of the [[Jordan]] to prepare their conquest of Canaan. There, the famous [[prophet]] [[Balaam]] is hired by the [[Moabite]] king [[Balak]] to curse Israel and ensure the Israelites' defeat, but Balaam, inspired by God, only blesses Israel instead. In the process, he gives the following oracle concerning the Amalekites: "Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last." (Numbers 24:20)
Some interpret Gen. 14:7 (which refers to the "land of the Amalekites"), to mean that the Amalekites existed as early as the time of Abraham, in the region that would later become the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] province of [[Arabia Petraea]] [http://www.dalton.org/groups/Rome/RMap.html]. This view corroborates Nachmanides' claim of an origin for the Amalekites earlier than Esau's grandson. However the passage in question does not require this interpretation as it may be referring to the region by a name from a later era. However, the Arab historian [[Masudi]], citing traditional Arab history relates that the Amalekites did indeed exist at this early period having originated in the region of Mecca before the time of Abraham.
 
  
Proponents of the [[Documentary Hypothesis]] of biblical criticism conjecture that Genesis 14 is an isolated source apart from the proposed four main sources (J,E,P, and D) (Friedman, ''The Bible with Sources Revealed''), and consider the mention of Amalekites in this chapter as simply a contradiction between sources.
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===Against the Judges===
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The Amalekites are not mentioned in the [[Book of Joshua]], as the [[Israelites]] march from victory to victory against the [[Canaan]]ite tribes. In the [[Book of Judges]], however, they make several appearances. Here they are described as an eastern tribe of the "hill country." They join forces with Eglon, king of [[Moab]], to reconquer [[Jericho]].<ref>Jericho here is referred to as the City of Palms. The passage seems to contradict the [[Book of Joshua]] and later claims that the city remained in ruins.</ref> The result is that: "The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years." (Judges 3:14)
  
In the [[Pentateuch]], the Amalekites are nomads who attacked the Hebrews at [[Rephidim]] in the desert of Sinai during their exodus from Egypt: "smiting the hindmost, all that were feeble behind," ([[Books of Samuel|1 Samuel]] 15:2). The Tanakh recognizes the Amalekites as indigenous tribesmen, "the first of the nations" ([[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 24:20) In the southern lowlands too, perhaps the dry grazing lands that are now the [[Negev]] (Num. 12, 14), there were aboriginal Amalekites who were daunting adversaries of the Hebrews in the earliest times. "They dwelt in the land of the south...from [[Havilah]] until thou comest to [[Shur]]" (Num. 13:29; 1 Sam. 15:7). At times said to be allied with the [[Moabite]]s (Judg. 3:13) and the [[Midian]]ites ([[Book of Judges|Judges]] 6:3). Each of their [[monarch|kings]] bore the hereditary name of [[Agag]] (Num. 24:7; 1 Sam. 15:8).  They also attacked the Israelites at [[Hormah]] (Num. 14:45). [[Saul the King|Saul]] defeated them utterly, but earned the wrath of God by sparing some for use as slaves, and failing to burn their treasures (1 Sam.). Saul also hesitated to kill Agag, at which point [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]] executed the Amalekite king himself.
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Interestingly, the [[Song of Deborah]] (Judges 5:14) refers people in the territory of [[Ephraim]], "whose roots were in Amalek," as joining Deborah's military campaign against the Canaanite king Jabin. On the other hand, the judge [[Gideon]] helps rid his territory of Amalekites, [[Midianite]]s, "and other eastern peoples" who raided Israelite areas and spoiled their crops. (Judges 6)
  
In his controversial book ''[[Ages in Chaos]]'', polymath [[Immanuel Velikovsky]] identified the Amalekites with the [[Hyksos]].
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===Destroyed by Saul and David===
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It would be the kings [[Saul]] and ultimately [[David]], however, who finally fulfilled—or nearly fulfilled—the doom pronounced earlier by [[Moses]] against the Amalekites. Saul "fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them." (1 Samuel 14:48) After this, God commands Saul to exterminate the Amalekites entirely:
  
== Allies of the Amalekites ==
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<blockquote>I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from [[Egypt]]. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys. (1 Samuel 15:2-3)</blockquote>
In the books of 1 Samuel and Judges, the tribe of [[Kenites]] are associated with the Amalekites, sometimes their allies, sometimes allied with the tribes of Israel. The Amalek people are invariably enemies of Israel. Saul's successful expedition against the unidentified "city of Amalek," in the plain (1 Sam. 15) resulted in the capture of the Amalekite king, Agag.
 
  
== Genocide of the Amalekites ==
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Saul warns the [[Kenites]], who dwell among the Amalekites, to move away from them. He then "attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword." (1 Samuel 15:7-8) According to the [[prophet]] [[Samuel]], however, God was not satisfied with this. For sparing Agag and allowing Israel's soldiers to plunder some of the Amalekite cattle, God rejects Saul as king. Samuel himself finishes the slaughter of the Amalekites by "hewing Agag in pieces before the Lord." (1 Samuel 15:33)
As the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' put it, "David waged a sacred war of extermination against the Amalekites," who subsequently disappeared from history. Long after, in the time of [[Hezekiah]], five hundred Simeonites annihilated the last remnant "of the Amalekites that had escaped" on Mount Seir, and settled in their place (1 Chr. 4:42-43).
 
  
The Biblical relationship between the Hebrew and Amalekite tribes was that the Hebrew tribes hated the Amalekites, primarily due to Amalek's attacking Israel on their way out of Egypt.
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The destruction of the Amalekites, however, is not as complete as it seems. The future king David encounters them later in Saul's reign when David is serving the [[Philistine]] King [[Achish]], having been declared an outlaw by Saul. As a Philistine vassal, David conducts raids against the Amalekite towns, killing all their inhabitants but sharing the plunder with Achish. While David is on campaign with Achish, the Amalekites retaliate against him by raiding and burning his town of [[Ziklag]] and taking his property, including his wives, Ahinoam and [[Abigail]].<ref>David is fortunate that the Amalekites do not kill all of the town's inhabitants, as David and Saul reportedly both did to Amalekite towns.</ref>
  
:"''8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
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David meets a wounded Egyptian slave belonging to the Amalekites, who leads him to the Amalekite camp. David's forces attack the Amalekites and succeed in freeing the captives, including David's wives. He kills all of the Amalekites except for 400 young men who get away on camels. Back in Ziklag, David receives news of Saul's death from an Amalekite man who claims to have slain the king at Saul's own request while the king was in his death throes after the [[Battle of Gilboa]]. David immediately has the man executed. (2 Samuel 1) In 2 Samuel 8, Amalekites are listed among those people subdued by David and whose sacred articles he dedicated to God. It is further reported that David killed 18,000 [[Edomites]] in the Valley of Salt, although it is not specified if these included Amalekites.
:"''14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord is my banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.''" (Exodus 17)
 
  
This enmity is repeated in Numbers 24, in Balaam's fourth and final oracle:
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No further mention is made of the Amalekites until the reign of King [[Hezekiah]] of Judah in the eighth century B.C.E. An Amalekite remnant is described as having "escaped" and are still living in the "hill country of Seir," where they are destroyed by 500 Simeonite families who have migrated to the area, "because there was pasture for their flocks." (1 Chronicles 4)
  
:"''20 Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction.
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== Rabbinical views==
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[[File:Esther Denouncing Haman.jpg|thumb|250px|Haman, the villain of the Book of Esther, was an "Agagite," supposedly descended from Amalekite kings.]]
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In [[Judaism|Jewish]] tradition, the Amalekites came to represent the archetypal enemy of the Jews. For example, [[Haman (Judaism)|Haman]], the murderous villain of the [[Book of Esther]], is called the "Agagite," which is interpreted as being a descendant of the Amalekite king [[Agag]]. Of the [[613 mitzvot]] (commandments) followed by [[Orthodox Jew]]s, three refer to the Amalekites: to remember what the Amalekites did to the Jews, to remember what the Amalekites did to the Israelites in the wilderness, and to destroy the Amalekites utterly.
  
And again in the law, in Deuteronomy 25:
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The first century Jewish historian [[Josephus]] preserves a tradition justifying the slaughter of Amalekite women and children by King [[Saul]]:
  
:"''17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.''"
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<blockquote>"He betook himself to slay the women and the children, and thought he did not act therein either barbarously or inhumanly; first, because they were enemies whom he thus treated, and, in the next place, because it was done by the command of God, whom it was dangerous not to obey''" ([[Flavius Josephus]], ''[[Antiquites Judicae]]'', Book VI, Chapter 7).</blockquote>
  
The fighting is mentioned again in Judges 3:13, in the Judgeship of Ehud, and again under Gideon, as the Amalekites teamed up with the Midianites (Judges 6:3, 6:33, 7:12). This enmity is also the background of the command of the Lord to Saul:
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[[Talmud]]ic sages justified the treatment of the Amalekites on the ground of Amalekite treachery toward Israel. Not only did the Amalekites attack the Israelites, one opinion states, they first deceived them into believing they merely wanted to negotiate peacefully. Moreover, they attacked from the rear in a cowardly fashion and mutilated the bodies of those Israelites they succeeded in killing. (Pesik. R. 12, Mek. BeshallaḦ)
  
:"''2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.''" (1 Sam. 15:2-3).  
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The great medieval sage [[Maimonides]], however, explained that the commandment to destroy the nation of Amalek is by no means absolute. Indeed, according to the [[Deuteronomy|Deuteronomic precepts]], before fighting, it is required that the [[Israelites]] peacefully request of them to accept the [[Noachide laws]] and pay a tax to the Jewish kingdom. Only if they refuse is the commandment applicable.
  
Saul's failure to obey this command cost him his kingship. Note the commentary on this total destruction later by Samuel, when Saul summons him from the dead through a medium:
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The [[hasidism|hasidic]] teacher known as the [[Baal Shem Tov]] used the term "Amalekite" to represent the rejection of God, or [[atheism]]. The term has been used metaphorically to refer to enemies of Judaism throughout history, including the [[Nazism|Nazis]], and controversially, by some to refer to those among the [[Arabs]] who attempt to destroy Israel today. [[Samuel]]'s words to [[Agag]]: "As your sword bereaved women, so will your mother be bereaved among women" (Samuel 1:15:33) were repeated by Israeli president [[Itzhak Ben-Zvi]] in his letter turning down Nazi war criminal [[Adolf Eichmann]]'s petition for mercy before his execution. <ref>Yoseph Carmel. ''Itzchak Ben Zvi from his Diary in the President's office.'' (Mesada: Ramat Gan, 1967), 179.</ref>
  
:"''16 And Samuel said, 'Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.''" (1 Sam 28)
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==Critical views==
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The origins and identity of the Amalekites remain a subject of discussion, and the ethics of their treatment by the [[Israelites]] are a topic of contentious debate.
  
Later Jewish tradition also commented on this event:
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No archaeological evidence of the Amalekites exists that can be distinguished from their [[Edomite]] and other semitic counterparts. It is thus impossible to identify them historically outside of the biblical record, which is written by their mortal enemies, the very people who claim to have exterminated them at God's command.
  
:"''He betook himself to slay the women and the children, and thought he did not act therein either barbarously or inhumanly; first, because they were enemies whom he thus treated, and, in the next place, because it was done by the command of God, whom it was dangerous not to obey''" ([[Flavius Josephus]], ''[[Antiquites Judicae]]'', Book VI, Chapter 7).
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The [[Bible]] itself gives contradictory accounts of their origins. Genesis 14 describes them as present already in Abraham's time, while the prophet [[Balaam]] calls them as "the first of the nations." Genesis 36 contradicts this by portraying them as an Edomite clan descended from [[Esau]]'s son Eliphaz, by his concubine Tinma. That they operated in the territory of the [[Edomites]] and also in the hill country east of the Jordan River seems clear, although their reported presence at Rephidim puts them farther south in the Sinai peninsula. This is certainly plausible if they, like other semitic tribes, were nomadic. The report of Amalekites existing in [[Abraham]]'s time, meanwhile, is seen as evidence that the [[Book of Genesis]] consists of multiple sources which do not always agree with each other, for they could not have been so ancient if they were descendant from Esau's grandson.  
  
[[Maimonides]] explains, however, that the commandment of killing out the nation of Amalek requires the Jewish people to peacefully request of them to accept upon themselves the [[Noachide laws]] and pay a tax to the Jewish kingdom. Only if they refuse is the commandment applicable.
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Being a tribe of the [[Edomite]]s would make the Amalekites immune from destruction by the Israelites, since God commanded the Israelites to treat the Edomites as brothers (Deuteronomy 23:7). The biblical writers may have used the unprovoked attack by the Amalekites against the Israelites during [[the Exodus]] to supersede this injunction, making the Amalekites a special case—reprobate Edomites not to be treated as brothers, but singled out by God Himself for extermination.
  
The destruction of animals and booty, however, was not universal at Saul's time. This was evidently a command for a particular battle. His contemporary David handled the matter differently a few years later.
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The commandment of God to destroy the Amalekites seems to be a clear case of biblically-endorsed [[genocide]] that has troubled commentators from time in memoriam. The fact that the Amalekites had attacked the Israelites during the Exodus seems inadequate grounds to justify such a drastic policy. Supporters of the doctrine of biblical [[inerrancy]] argue that since God is good and the Bible says that God commanded the extermination of the Amalekites, then actions toward that end—even the killing of women and children—must be good in this case. Indeed, the slaughter of the Amalekites was such a moral imperative that [[Saul]]'s failure to fulfill the order completely is said to have disqualified him from the kingship. Arguing against this, biblical critics claim that histories such as those in the [[Bible]] are written "by the winners," who are free to make whatever claims they wish to about God's supposed will, since they victims cannot answer them. Such critics argue that by any objective standard, the actions of military leaders such as Saul and [[David]] toward the Amalekites must be judged as war crimes of the first order.
  
:"''8 Now David and his men went up and made raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. 9And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish.''"
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== Footnotes ==
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<references/>
  
It is important, in Jewish tradition, that the plot to exterminate the Jews, as reported in the book of Esther, was carried out by Haman, an Agagite, or Amalekite. Because the Lord promised to "blot out the name" of Amalek, when the book of Esther is read at the [[Purim]] festival, the hearers make noise whenever "Haman" is mentioned, so his name is not heard.
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== References ==
 
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*Evans, Mary. ''The Message of Samuel: Personalities, Potential, Politics, and Power.'' InterVarsity Press (2004). ISBN 0830824294
See [[#External links|below]] for a current rabbinical teaching on the matter.
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*Feldman, Louis H. ''REMEMBER AMALEK!—Vengeance, Zealotry, and Group Destruction in the Bible.'' Hebrew Union College Press, 2004. ISBN 9780878204557
 
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*Horowitz, Elliott. ''Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence.'' Princeton University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780691124919
== Symbolism of the Amalekites ==
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*Sagi, Avi. "The Punishment of Amalek in Jewish Tradition: Coping with the Moral Problem." ''Harvard Theological Review'' 87(3) (1994): 323-346.
In [[Judaism|Jewish]] tradition, the Amalekites came to represent the archetypal enemy of the Jews. For example, [[Haman (Judaism)|Haman]], from the [[Book of Esther]], is called the Agagite, which is interpreted as being a descendant of the Amalekite king [[Agag]].
 
 
 
The term has been used metaphorically to refer to enemies of Judaism throughout history, including the [[Nazism|Nazis]], and controversially, by some to refer to the [[Arabs]].  Rabbi [[Elchonon Wasserman]] taught in the name of Rabbi [[Yisrael Meir Kagan]] that the leaders of the Jewish communists and the secular Zionist movement descended from the [[Erev Rav]] from the seed of Amalek. <sup>[[Citation needed]]</sup>
 
 
 
Samuel's words to [[Agag]]: "As your sword bereaved women, so will your mother be bereaved among women." (Samuel 1:15:33) were repeated by Israeli president [[Itzhak Ben-Zvi]] in his letter turning down [[Nazism|Nazi]] [[war criminal]] [[Adolf Eichmann]]'s petition for mercy. <ref> Carmel, Yoseph, ''Itzchak Ben Zvi from his Diary in the President's office'' , Mesada , Ramat Gan, 1967 , page 179 </ref>
 
 
 
===Rejection of God===
 
The concept has long been used by [[rabbi]]s (particularly the [[Baal Shem Tov]]) to represent the rejection of God, or [[Atheism]]. Of the [[613 mitzvot]] (commandments) followed by [[Orthodox Jew]]s, three refer to the Amalekites: to remember what the Amalekites did to the Jews, to not forget what the Amalekites did to the Jews, and to destroy the Amalekites utterly. The rabbis derived these from [[Deuteronomy]] 25:17-18, [[Exodus]] 17:14 and 1 Sam. 15:3. [[Rashi]] explains the third mitzvah:
 
 
 
: ''From man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, so that the name of Amalek not be mentioned even with reference to an animal by saying "This animal belonged to Amalek".''
 
 
 
== Kings of the Amalekites ==
 
* Agag  (1 Sam. 15:8)
 
 
 
== Listing of Amalek/Amalekite references in the Old Testament ==
 
'''Genesis''' 14:7; 36:12, 16
 
 
 
'''Exodus''' 17:8-11, 13-14, 16
 
 
 
'''Numbers''' 13:29; 14:25, 43, 45; 24:20; 25:19
 
 
 
'''Deuteronomy''' 25:17
 
 
 
'''Judges''' 3:13; 5:14; 6:3, 33; 7:12; 10:12; 12:15
 
 
 
'''1 Samuel''' 14:48;15:2-8, 15, 18, 20, 32; 27:8; 28:18; 30:1, 13, 18
 
 
 
'''2 Samuel''' 1:1, 8, 13; 8:12
 
 
 
'''1 Chronicles''' 1:36; 4:43; 18:11
 
 
 
'''Psalms''' 83:7
 
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=267677 Wipe Out Amalek, Today?] chabad.org
+
All links retrieved May 17, 2021.
* [http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2283 Amalek, Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe]  
+
* [http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2283 Amalek, Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe]. ''www.chabad.org''.  
* [http://www.aish.com/purimthemes/purimthemesdefault/Remembering_Amalek.asp Remembering Amalek]
+
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1351&letter=A&search=Amalek Amalek]. ''www.jewishencyclopedia.com''.
* [http://ohr.edu/yhiy/article.php/1170 Latznu: Popular Culture and the Disciples of Amalek]
+
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01377c.htm Amalec]. ''www.newadvent.org''.  
* [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/ Antiquities of the Jews - by Josephus Flavius]
 
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1351&letter=A&search=Amalek ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'', 1901-6: Amalek]
 
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01377c.htm Amalec] - [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] article
 
 
 
== References ==
 
* ''The Punishment of Amalek in Jewish Tradition: Coping with the Moral Problem'', Avi Sagi, Harvard Theological Review Vol.87, No.3 (1994) p.323-46.
 
 
 
* [http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i8213.html ''Between Rephidim and Jerusalem''], Elliott Horowitz.  This introduction from the book ''Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence'' (Princeton University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-691-12491-9) examines the influence of the Amalek symbolism on relations between Israelis and Palestinians in the twenty-first century.
 
  
== Footnotes ==
 
<references/>
 
  
 
[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
 
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Revision as of 19:13, 6 January 2023

The Amalekites fight against the Israelites led by Joshua, with Moses pictured in the background on a hilltop.

The Amalekites were a biblical people and enemy of the Israelites. They were reportedly wiped out almost entirely as the result of Israelite victories against them in wars beginning shortly after the Exodus and continuing into the period of the early Israelite monarchy. Amalekite settlements are reported in the biblical record as late as the reign of King Hezekiah in the eighth century B.C.E., and the Book of Esther portrays its later villain, Haman, as a descendant of an Amalekite prince.

The Amalekites are unknown historically and archaeologically outside of the Bible except for traditions which themselves apparently rely on biblical accounts. In the Bible, the Amalekites are said to have descended from a common ancestor named Amalek, a grandson of Esau. In this sense they may be considered as one of the Edomite tribes. Jewish tradition sees the Amalekites as an implacable enemy of both God and Israel.

Biblical account

Origins

The first reference to the Amalekites is found in Genesis 14, which describes a military campaign of Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and his allies which took place in Abraham's day before the birth of Isaac. Kedorlaomer conquered territories of the Amalekites, the Horites of Seir, Amorites, and others.

On the other hand, Genesis 36:12 describes the birth of Amalek himself as Esau's grandson, born four generations after the events of Kedorlaomer's time. This account makes the Amalekites one of the Edomite tribes, descended from Esau's firstborn son, Eliphaz. Amalek's mother was named Timna, a Horite princess descended from Seir, for whom Edom's Mount Seir was named.

Israel's enemy

The Amalekites do not appear again until 400 years later, when Moses is leading the Israelites toward Canaan from Egypt. At Rephidim, the Amalekites suddenly appear and attack the Israelites, who are apparently trespassing on their territory. Moses commissions the young Joshua to act as general for the Israelites. Moses climbs a nearby hill to watch the battle, and a see-saw battle ensues, with the Amalekites prevailing whenever Moses lowers his arms and the Israelites prevailing whenever he raises them. Aaron and Hur help the aging Moses hold his arms high, and Joshua's forces eventually prove victorious.

God then pronounces the Amalekites' doom, commanding Moses: "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." (Exodus 17:14) This event occurs near the beginning of the Exodus, before the incident of the Golden Calf, and we do not hear of the Amalekites again until nearly 40 years later. As the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land, Moses reminds them that the Amalekites are not to be forgiven:

Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget! (Deuteronomy 25:17-19)

Map shows the extent of Edomite territory, in which the Amalekites may have operated.

Later, the Israelites mass east of the Jordan to prepare their conquest of Canaan. There, the famous prophet Balaam is hired by the Moabite king Balak to curse Israel and ensure the Israelites' defeat, but Balaam, inspired by God, only blesses Israel instead. In the process, he gives the following oracle concerning the Amalekites: "Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last." (Numbers 24:20)

Against the Judges

The Amalekites are not mentioned in the Book of Joshua, as the Israelites march from victory to victory against the Canaanite tribes. In the Book of Judges, however, they make several appearances. Here they are described as an eastern tribe of the "hill country." They join forces with Eglon, king of Moab, to reconquer Jericho.[1] The result is that: "The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years." (Judges 3:14)

Interestingly, the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:14) refers people in the territory of Ephraim, "whose roots were in Amalek," as joining Deborah's military campaign against the Canaanite king Jabin. On the other hand, the judge Gideon helps rid his territory of Amalekites, Midianites, "and other eastern peoples" who raided Israelite areas and spoiled their crops. (Judges 6)

Destroyed by Saul and David

It would be the kings Saul and ultimately David, however, who finally fulfilled—or nearly fulfilled—the doom pronounced earlier by Moses against the Amalekites. Saul "fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them." (1 Samuel 14:48) After this, God commands Saul to exterminate the Amalekites entirely:

I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys. (1 Samuel 15:2-3)

Saul warns the Kenites, who dwell among the Amalekites, to move away from them. He then "attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword." (1 Samuel 15:7-8) According to the prophet Samuel, however, God was not satisfied with this. For sparing Agag and allowing Israel's soldiers to plunder some of the Amalekite cattle, God rejects Saul as king. Samuel himself finishes the slaughter of the Amalekites by "hewing Agag in pieces before the Lord." (1 Samuel 15:33)

The destruction of the Amalekites, however, is not as complete as it seems. The future king David encounters them later in Saul's reign when David is serving the Philistine King Achish, having been declared an outlaw by Saul. As a Philistine vassal, David conducts raids against the Amalekite towns, killing all their inhabitants but sharing the plunder with Achish. While David is on campaign with Achish, the Amalekites retaliate against him by raiding and burning his town of Ziklag and taking his property, including his wives, Ahinoam and Abigail.[2]

David meets a wounded Egyptian slave belonging to the Amalekites, who leads him to the Amalekite camp. David's forces attack the Amalekites and succeed in freeing the captives, including David's wives. He kills all of the Amalekites except for 400 young men who get away on camels. Back in Ziklag, David receives news of Saul's death from an Amalekite man who claims to have slain the king at Saul's own request while the king was in his death throes after the Battle of Gilboa. David immediately has the man executed. (2 Samuel 1) In 2 Samuel 8, Amalekites are listed among those people subdued by David and whose sacred articles he dedicated to God. It is further reported that David killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt, although it is not specified if these included Amalekites.

No further mention is made of the Amalekites until the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah in the eighth century B.C.E. An Amalekite remnant is described as having "escaped" and are still living in the "hill country of Seir," where they are destroyed by 500 Simeonite families who have migrated to the area, "because there was pasture for their flocks." (1 Chronicles 4)

Rabbinical views

Haman, the villain of the Book of Esther, was an "Agagite," supposedly descended from Amalekite kings.

In Jewish tradition, the Amalekites came to represent the archetypal enemy of the Jews. For example, Haman, the murderous villain of the Book of Esther, is called the "Agagite," which is interpreted as being a descendant of the Amalekite king Agag. Of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) followed by Orthodox Jews, three refer to the Amalekites: to remember what the Amalekites did to the Jews, to remember what the Amalekites did to the Israelites in the wilderness, and to destroy the Amalekites utterly.

The first century Jewish historian Josephus preserves a tradition justifying the slaughter of Amalekite women and children by King Saul:

"He betook himself to slay the women and the children, and thought he did not act therein either barbarously or inhumanly; first, because they were enemies whom he thus treated, and, in the next place, because it was done by the command of God, whom it was dangerous not to obey" (Flavius Josephus, Antiquites Judicae, Book VI, Chapter 7).

Talmudic sages justified the treatment of the Amalekites on the ground of Amalekite treachery toward Israel. Not only did the Amalekites attack the Israelites, one opinion states, they first deceived them into believing they merely wanted to negotiate peacefully. Moreover, they attacked from the rear in a cowardly fashion and mutilated the bodies of those Israelites they succeeded in killing. (Pesik. R. 12, Mek. BeshallaḦ)

The great medieval sage Maimonides, however, explained that the commandment to destroy the nation of Amalek is by no means absolute. Indeed, according to the Deuteronomic precepts, before fighting, it is required that the Israelites peacefully request of them to accept the Noachide laws and pay a tax to the Jewish kingdom. Only if they refuse is the commandment applicable.

The hasidic teacher known as the Baal Shem Tov used the term "Amalekite" to represent the rejection of God, or atheism. The term has been used metaphorically to refer to enemies of Judaism throughout history, including the Nazis, and controversially, by some to refer to those among the Arabs who attempt to destroy Israel today. Samuel's words to Agag: "As your sword bereaved women, so will your mother be bereaved among women" (Samuel 1:15:33) were repeated by Israeli president Itzhak Ben-Zvi in his letter turning down Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann's petition for mercy before his execution. [3]

Critical views

The origins and identity of the Amalekites remain a subject of discussion, and the ethics of their treatment by the Israelites are a topic of contentious debate.

No archaeological evidence of the Amalekites exists that can be distinguished from their Edomite and other semitic counterparts. It is thus impossible to identify them historically outside of the biblical record, which is written by their mortal enemies, the very people who claim to have exterminated them at God's command.

The Bible itself gives contradictory accounts of their origins. Genesis 14 describes them as present already in Abraham's time, while the prophet Balaam calls them as "the first of the nations." Genesis 36 contradicts this by portraying them as an Edomite clan descended from Esau's son Eliphaz, by his concubine Tinma. That they operated in the territory of the Edomites and also in the hill country east of the Jordan River seems clear, although their reported presence at Rephidim puts them farther south in the Sinai peninsula. This is certainly plausible if they, like other semitic tribes, were nomadic. The report of Amalekites existing in Abraham's time, meanwhile, is seen as evidence that the Book of Genesis consists of multiple sources which do not always agree with each other, for they could not have been so ancient if they were descendant from Esau's grandson.

Being a tribe of the Edomites would make the Amalekites immune from destruction by the Israelites, since God commanded the Israelites to treat the Edomites as brothers (Deuteronomy 23:7). The biblical writers may have used the unprovoked attack by the Amalekites against the Israelites during the Exodus to supersede this injunction, making the Amalekites a special case—reprobate Edomites not to be treated as brothers, but singled out by God Himself for extermination.

The commandment of God to destroy the Amalekites seems to be a clear case of biblically-endorsed genocide that has troubled commentators from time in memoriam. The fact that the Amalekites had attacked the Israelites during the Exodus seems inadequate grounds to justify such a drastic policy. Supporters of the doctrine of biblical inerrancy argue that since God is good and the Bible says that God commanded the extermination of the Amalekites, then actions toward that end—even the killing of women and children—must be good in this case. Indeed, the slaughter of the Amalekites was such a moral imperative that Saul's failure to fulfill the order completely is said to have disqualified him from the kingship. Arguing against this, biblical critics claim that histories such as those in the Bible are written "by the winners," who are free to make whatever claims they wish to about God's supposed will, since they victims cannot answer them. Such critics argue that by any objective standard, the actions of military leaders such as Saul and David toward the Amalekites must be judged as war crimes of the first order.

Footnotes

  1. Jericho here is referred to as the City of Palms. The passage seems to contradict the Book of Joshua and later claims that the city remained in ruins.
  2. David is fortunate that the Amalekites do not kill all of the town's inhabitants, as David and Saul reportedly both did to Amalekite towns.
  3. Yoseph Carmel. Itzchak Ben Zvi from his Diary in the President's office. (Mesada: Ramat Gan, 1967), 179.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Evans, Mary. The Message of Samuel: Personalities, Potential, Politics, and Power. InterVarsity Press (2004). ISBN 0830824294
  • Feldman, Louis H. REMEMBER AMALEK!—Vengeance, Zealotry, and Group Destruction in the Bible. Hebrew Union College Press, 2004. ISBN 9780878204557
  • Horowitz, Elliott. Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence. Princeton University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780691124919
  • Sagi, Avi. "The Punishment of Amalek in Jewish Tradition: Coping with the Moral Problem." Harvard Theological Review 87(3) (1994): 323-346.

External links

All links retrieved May 17, 2021.

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