Amalek#Amalekites

Most scholars regard the origin of the term, "Amalek" to be unknownM. Weippert, Semitische Nomaden des zweiten Jahrtausends. Biblica vol. 55, 1974, 265-280, 427-433 but in some rabbinical interpretations, it is etymologized as {{transliteration|hbo|am lak}}, 'a people who lick (blood)'.{{cite book |last=Patterson |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lMLmK-fmf8kC&pg=PA43 |title=A Genealogy of Evil: Anti-Semitism from Nazism to Islamic Jihad |date=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781139492430 |pages=43, 244}}

Richard C. Steiner has suggested that the name is derived from the Egyptian term *ꜥꜣm rqj "hostile Asiatic", possibly referring to Shasu tribesmen from around Edom.{{cite book |title=A Master of Secrets in the Chamber of Darkness: Egyptological Studies in Honor of Robert K. Ritner Presented on the Occasion of His Sixty-Eighth Birthday |last=Steiner |first=Richard C. |publisher=Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-61491-110-4 |pages=382–383 |editor-last=Muhs |editor-first=Brian P. |chapter=Merenptah's Israel, his Shasu militiamen, his copper caravan route, and the watering stations bearing his name at Kadesh-barnea and Me-nephtoah: Part One |editor-last2=Scalf |editor-first2=Foy D. |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/123986155}}

{{Redirect|Amalekites|Amalekites in the Book of Mormon|Amalekites (Book of Mormon)}}

According to the Hebrew Bible, Amalek was the son of Eliphaz (himself the son of Esau, ancestor of the Edomites and the brother of Israel) and Eliphaz's concubine Timna. Timna was a Horite and sister of Lotan.{{bibleverse|Genesis|36:12|HE}}; {{bibleverse|1 Chronicles|1:36|HE}} According to a midrash, Timna was a princess who tried to convert. However, she was rejected by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. She replied she would rather be a handmaiden to the dregs of Israel than be a mistress of another gentile nation. To punish the Patriarchs for their attitudes, God caused Timna to give birth to Amalek, whose descendants would cause Israel much distress. Amalek was also the product of an incestuous union since Eliphaz was Timna's stepfather according to 1 Chronicles 1:36,{{Bibleverse|1 Chronicles|1:36|HE}} after he committed adultery with the wife of Seir the Horite, who was Timna's biological father.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZLVbAAAAMAAJ&q=Timna |first=Louis |last=Ginzberg |title=The Legends of the Jews |year=1913 |pages=422–423}} For a Rabbinic explanation of Timna lineage see {{cite encyclopedia |url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/timna-concubine-of-eliphaz-midrash-and-aggadah#:~:text=Timna%20was%20the%20sister%20of%20Lotan%2C%20one%20of,she%20went%20and%20became%20the%20concubine%20of%20Eliphaz |title=Timna, concubine of Eliphaz: Midrash and Aggadah |encyclopedia=The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women |last=Kadari |first=Tamar |date=31 December 1999 |access-date=16 January 2022 }} First-century Roman Jewish scholar and historian Josephus refers to Amalek as a "bastard" ({{langx|grc-x-koine|νόθος}});{{sfn|Feldman|2004|p=8–9}} the Hebrew equivalent, mamzer, is a specific category of persons born from a forbidden relationship.

File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 053.png (1860), representing Exodus 17:8–16.]]

Amalek is described in Genesis 36:16{{bibleverse|Genesis|36:16|HE}} as the "chief of Amalek" among the "chiefs of the sons of Esau", from which it is surmised that he ruled a clan or territory named after him. In the oracle of Balaam, Amalek was called the "first of the nations".{{bibleverse|Numbers|24:20|HE}} One modern scholar believes this attests to Amalek's high antiquity,{{cite book |first=J. |last=Macpherson |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ERSpLM4DZgC&pg=PA78 |chapter=Amalek |editor-first=James |editor-last=Hastings |title=A Dictionary of the Bible: Volume I (Part I: A – Cyrus) |publisher=University Press of the Pacific |location=Honolulu |orig-year=1898 |date=2004 |pages=77–79|isbn=9781410217226 }} while traditional commentator Rashi states: "He came before all of them to make war with Israel".Rashi [http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9952#showrashi=true] The Amalekites ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|m|ə|l|ɛ|k|aɪ|t|s}}){{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/amalekite |title=Amalekite |dictionary=Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary}} were claimed to be Amalek's descendants through the genealogy of Esau.{{sfn|Mills|1997|p=21}}

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Amalekites inhabited the Negev and Sinai Peninsula.{{bibleverse|Numbers|13:29|HE}} They appear to have lived a nomadic or seminomadic lifestyle along the fringes of southern Canaan's agricultural zone.{{sfn|Mattingly|2000|p=48}} This is probably based on the association of this tribal group with the steppe region of ancient Israel and the area of Kadesh (Genesis 14:7).

As a people, the Amalekites are identified throughout the Hebrew Bible as a recurrent enemy of the Israelites:{{sfn|Mills|1997|p=21}}

• In Exodus 17:8–16 during the Exodus, the Amalekites ambush the Israelites encamped at Rephidim, but are defeated. Moses orders Joshua to lead the Israelites into battle, while Moses, Aaron and Hur watch from a nearby hill. When Moses' hands holding his staff are raised, the Israelites prevail, but when his hands are lowered, the Israelites falter. He sits with his hands held up by Aaron and Hur until sunset, securing the Israelite victory.
• In Deuteronomy 25:17–19,{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|25:17–19|HE}} The Israelites are specifically commanded to "blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven" once they have taken possession of the Promised Land in retribution for "what Amalek did to [them] on the way as [they] were coming out of Egypt", a reference to the Amalekite ambush on the Israelites at Rephidim. Earlier, in Deuteronomy 7:1–16{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|7:1–16|HE}} and Deuteronomy 25:16–18,{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|25:16–18|HE}} they are commanded to utterly destroy all the inhabitants of the idolatrous cities in the promised land and their livestock; scripture purports that King Saul ultimately loses favor with Yahweh for failing to kill King Agag and the best livestock of the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|15|HE}} in defiance of these commandments.
• In Numbers 14:45,{{Bibleverse|Numbers|14:45|HE}} the Amalekites and Canaanites kill a group of Israelites who tried to enter the hill country of the Amorites without Moses's permission.
• In Judges 3:13,{{Bibleverse|Judges|3:13|HE}} Amalek, and their Moabite and Ammonite allies, defeat Israel so that the Moabites could oppress them. Judges 10:11–13{{Bibleverse|Judges|10:11–13|HE}} confirms Amalek as being one of the many oppressors of Israel.
• In Judges 6:1–6,{{Bibleverse|Judges|6:1–6|HE}} Amalek, and their Midianite allies, destroy Israelite farms "as far as Gaza", inducing a famine. They also help the Midianites wage wars against Israel, according to Judges 6:32–34{{Bibleverse|Judges|6:32–34|HE}} and Judges 7:11–13.{{Bibleverse|Judges|7:11–13|HE}}
• In 1 Samuel 15:1–9,{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|15:1–9|HE}} Samuel identifies Amalek as the enemy of Israelites, saying "Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt," a reference to Exodus.{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|15:2|HE}} God then commands Saul to destroy the Amalekites, by killing man, woman, infant and suckling.{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|15:3|HE}} This massacre is believed to be a retelling of the raids in 1 Samuel 14:48,{{Bibleverse|1 Samuel|14:48|HE}}{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=1 Samuel 15: Matthew Poole Commentary |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/poole/1_samuel/14.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123042732/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/poole/1_samuel/14.htm |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |website=Biblehub}} although it additionally specifies that it occurred in the "city of Amalek", which was believed to be the "principal place of arms" or the "metropolis" of Amalek.{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=1 Samuel 15: Benson Commentary |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/1_samuel/15.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123080146/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/1_samuel/15.htm |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |website=Biblehub}} In 1 Samuel 15:33,{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|15:33|NKJV}} Samuel identifies King Agag of Amalek as an enemy and killer, saying "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women."
• In 1 Samuel 27:8–9,{{Bibleverse|1 Samuel|27:8–9}} David and his men conduct raids against the Amalekites and their Geshurite and Gezirite allies. He kills every man and woman but takes sheep, cattle, donkey, camels, and clothing. These Amalekites were theorized to be refugees who fled from Saul or a separate Amalekite faction that dwelt to the south of Israel. Gili Kluger believes these narratives were anti-Saul propaganda, designed to make him appear weak compared to David, since no losses were attributed to David.{{sfn|Kugler|2020}}
• According to 1 Samuel 30:1–2,{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|30:1–2|HE}} the Amalekites invaded the Negev and Ziklag in the Judean/Philistine border area towards the end of the reign of King Saul, burning Ziklag and taking its citizens away into captivity. David led a successful mission against the Amalekites to recover "all that the Amalekites had carried away".{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|30:9–20|NKJV}}
• In 2 Samuel 1:5–10,{{bibleverse|2 Samuel|1:5–10|HE}} an Amalekite tells David that he found Saul leaning on his spear after the battle of Gilboa. The Amalekite claims he euthanized Saul, at Saul's request, and removed his crown. David gives orders to his men to kill the Amalekite for killing the anointed king, believing him to be guilty by admission.{{bibleverse|2 Samuel|1:16|HE}}
• In 1 Chronicles 4:43,{{Bibleverse|1 Chronicles|4:43|HE}} the Simeonites kill the remaining survivors of Amalek and live in their settlements.
• In Psalm 83:7,{{Bibleverse|Psalm|83:7|HE}} Amalek joins Israel's other historic enemies in annihilating Israel. Their attempts are thwarted by God. Although most scholars believe the passage refers to a real historical event, they are unsure which event it should be identified with.Black, Matthew, editor (1962), Peake's Commentary on the Bible, Camden, NJ: Thomas Nelson and Sons One likely answer is that it occurred during the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the 9th to 7th centuries BC.The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990. {{ISBN|0-13-614934-0}}.

File:Davidster Dick Stins The Hague.jpg) by Dick Stins is a Holocaust memorial in The Hague. The text at the side (in Dutch and Hebrew) is from Deuteronomy 25:17, 19 – "Remember what Amalek has done to you ... do not forget."]]

In the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides derived three commandments, two positive and one negative, related to references to Amalek in the Torah:

Many rabbinic authorities such as Maimonides ruled that the commandment only applies to a Jewish king or an organized community, and cannot be performed by an individual.Maimonides (Sefer Hamitzvot, end of positive commandments), Nachmanides (Commentary to Exodus 17:16), Sefer HaYereim (435), Hagahot Maimoniyot (Hilchot Melachim 5:5) According to Rashi, the Amalekites were sorcerers who could transform themselves to resemble animals, in order to avoid capture. Thus, in {{Bibleverse|1 Samuel|15:3}}, it was considered necessary to destroy the livestock when destroying Amalek.Rashi, 1 Samuel 15:3 commentary, The Rubin Edition, {{ISBN|1-57819-333-8}}, p. 93 According to Haggahot Maimuniyyot, the commandment only applies to the Messianic Age and not present times; medieval authorities widely support this limitation.{{cite web |first=Aryeh |last=Klapper |url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/how-not-to-talk-about-amalek/ |title=How Not to Talk About Amalek |work=The Times of Israel |date=4 March 2020 |access-date=16 January 2022 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304085123/https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/how-not-to-talk-about-amalek/ |archive-date=2020-03-04 }} According to the Midrash, every nation on Earth has a guardian angel overseeing its destiny, except for two: Israel rejected archangel Michael as its guardian, in favor of God himself. The other is Amalek, whose guardian angel is the foremost angel of evil, Satan. The final war will be fought between the children of God and the children of Satan, between good and evil. This is possibly why the 188th commandment exists: to wipe out Amalek completely, male and female, young and old, sparing none, since evil has no future. However, one obscure prophecy states that all nations will eventually worship God alone, which raises the question of how there can be a Third Temple when Amalek is annihilated. The Midrash state there is no quandary, given the last Amalekite is a convert to Judaism.THE MIDRASH SAYS, Copyright 1980 Rabbi Moshe Weissman, Brooklyn, NY. Benei Yakov Publications 1742 E.7th St. Brooklyn, NY 11223.

Maimonides elaborates that when the Jewish people wage war against Amalek, they must request the Amalekites to accept the Seven Laws of Noah and pay a tax to the Jewish kingdom. If they refuse, they are to be executed.Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot, 6:1 and 6:4

Other Talmudic commentators argued that the calls to spare no Amalekite or "blot out their memory" were metaphorical{{cite news |last1=Kampeas |first1=Ron |title=Netanyahu rejects South Africa's claim that his quote about 'Amalek' was a call to genocide |url=https://www.jta.org/2024/01/16/israel/netanyahu-rejects-south-africas-claim-that-his-quote-about-amalek-was-a-call-to-genocide |access-date=13 February 2024 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2024-01-16}} and did not require the actual killing of Amalekites. Samson Raphael Hirsch said that the command was to destroy "the remembrance of Amalek" rather than actual Amalekites.Commentary to Deuteronomy 25 Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter interpreted the command as thoroughly hating Amalek without performing any physical action.Shemot Zachor 646 Yisrael Meir Kagan said that God would perform the elimination of Amalek and that Jews only need to remember what Amalek did to them.Introduction to positive commandments, Beer Mayim Hayim, letter Alef

Isaac S.D. Sassoon believes that the ḥerem commands existed to prevent the Jewish community from being endangered but believes people should think twice before literally following them.{{Cite web |last=Sassoon |first=Isaac S.D. |date=May 14, 2015 |title=Obliterating Cherem |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/obliterating-cherem |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209001511/https://www.thetorah.com/article/obliterating-cherem |archive-date=February 9, 2024 |website=TheTorah.com}} Nathan Lopes Cardazo argues that the Torah's ethically questionable laws were intentional since they were a result of God working with an underdeveloped world. He believes that God appointed the Chazal to help humanity evolve in their understanding of the Torah.{{Cite web |last=Cardazo |first=Nathan Lopes |date=October 19, 2016 |title=The Deliberately Flawed Divine Torah |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-deliberately-flawed-divine-torah |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212110948/https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-deliberately-flawed-divine-torah |archive-date=February 12, 2024 |website=TheTorah.com}}

Theologian Charles Ellicott explains that the Amalekites were subject to ḥerem in the Book of Samuel for incapacitation due to their 'accursed' nature and the threat they posed to the commonwealth of surrounding nations.{{Cite web|date=|title=1 Samuel 15: Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers|url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/1_samuel/15.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108155512/http://biblehub.com:80/commentaries/ellicott/1_samuel/15.htm |archive-date=2014-11-08 |access-date=|website=Biblehub}} Matthew Henry considers the ḥerem to be defensive warfare since the Amalekites were invaders.{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=1 Samuel 14: Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible |url=https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhm/1-samuel-14.html#verses-47 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123041504/https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhm/1-samuel-14.html#verses-47 |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |website=StudyLight.org}} John Gill describes the ḥerem as the law of retaliation being carried out.{{Cite web|title=1 Samuel 15: Gill's Exposition|url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/1_samuel/15.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217205118/http://biblehub.com:80/commentaries/gill/1_samuel/15.htm |archive-date=2013-12-17 |access-date=|website=Biblehub}}

According to Christian Hofreiter, almost all Christian authorities and theologians have historically interpreted the ḥerem passages literally. He states that "there is practically no historical evidence that anyone in the Great Church" viewed them as being purely an allegory. In particular, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin have defended a literal reading of these passages at length. Origen is sometimes cited as having viewed the ḥerem passages allegorically; Hofreiter argues that although Origen prioritized a spiritual interpretation of the Bible, he did not deny that the herem passages described historical events.{{cite book |last1=Hofreiter |first1=Christian |title=Making Sense of Old Testament Genocide: Christian Interpretations of Herem Passages |date=16 February 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-253900-7 |pages=247–248 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_WlNDwAAQBAJ }}

Paul Copan argues that the ḥerem commands were hyperbolic since the passages contain merisms such as "man and woman"{{Cite book |last=Copan |first=Paul |title=Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God |date=2011 |publisher=Baker Books |isbn=978-0801072758 |pages=175–176}} and Near Easterners valued "bravado and exaggeration" when reporting warfare.{{cite journal |last=Copan |first=Paul |date=Fall 2010 |title=How Could God Command Killing the Canaanites? |journal=Enrichment Journal |pages=138–143}}{{Cite book |last=Copan |first=Paul |title=Is God a Vindictive Bully? Reconciling Portrayals of God in the Old and New Testaments |date=2022 |publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-1540964557 |pages=205}} Kluger believes this is an earnest attempt to absolve the Israelites, and their God, of moral responsibility. Nonetheless, she argues Copan's interpretation still "normalizes mass violence" and "hostility towards targeted groups".{{sfn|Kugler|2020}}

Ibn Khaldūn believed that God ordered Saul, the king of Israel, to depose the Amalekites, which caused Haman's hostility to the Jews in the Book of Esther.{{Cite book |last=Silverstein |first=Adam J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MzhxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |title=Veiling Esther, Unveiling Her Story: The Reception of a Biblical Book in Islamic Lands |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0198797227 |pages=39–63}}

Some commentators have discussed the ethics of the commandment to exterminate all the Amalekites, including children, and the presumption of collective punishment.{{cite book |title=Divine Command Ethics: Jewish and Christian perspectives |last=Harris |first=Michael J. |pages=137–138}}{{cite book |title=The Bible's Top Fifty Ideas: The essential concepts everyone should know |last1=Elkins |first1=Dov Peretz |last2=Treu |first2=Abigail |pages=315–316}}{{cite book |title=The Ethics of War: Shared problems in different traditions |first1=Richard |last1=Sorabji |last2=Rodin |first2=David |page=98}}{{cite book |title=Theory and Practice in Old Testament Ethics |author1=Rogerson, John William |author2=Carroll, M. Daniel |page=92}} It has also been described as genocidal, according to genocide scholars like Norman Naimark.{{cite book |last1=Naimark |first1=Norman M. |title=Genocide: A World History |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-976526-3 |language=en|pages=8–9}}{{cite journal |last1=Morriston |first1=Wes |title=Ethical Criticism of the Bible: The Case of Divinely Mandated Genocide |journal=Sophia |date=2012 |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=117–135 |doi=10.1007/s11841-011-0261-5 |s2cid=159560414 |url=https://spot.colorado.edu/~morristo/divinely-mandated-genocide.pdf}}{{cite journal |last1=Freeman |first1=Michael |title=Religion, nationalism and genocide: ancient Judaism revisited |journal=European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie / Europäisches Archiv für Soziologie |date=1994 |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=259–282 |doi=10.1017/S000397560000686X |jstor=23997469 |s2cid=170860040 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23997469 |issn=0003-9756|url-access=subscription }}{{sfn|Kugler|2020}}

Gili Kluger of the University of Haifa states that the Israelites' desire to exterminate the Amalekites stemmed from a form of self-hatred, as they viewed the Amalekites as their "rejected son" embodying the negative qualities the Israelites saw in themselves. However, she notes that the descriptions of the Amalekites in the Hebrew Bible are surprisingly neutral and do not adequately explain why they were singled out for complete annihilation over the Egyptians and the Canaanites.{{sfn|Kugler|2020}}

According to Ada Taggar-Cohen of Doshisha University, ḥerem commands were not uncommon in the ancient Near East. These commands had a dual purpose: convey to an enemy that the aggressor's deity was on their side, and that the enemy deserved the deity's wrath as punishment for their "sins". They also allowed kings to pursue militarist policies without accepting moral responsibility.{{Cite web |last=Taggar-Cohen |first=Ada |date=October 6, 2022 |title=War at the Command of the Gods |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/war-at-the-command-of-the-gods |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209015324/https://www.thetorah.com/article/war-at-the-command-of-the-gods |archive-date=February 9, 2024 |website=TheTorah.com}}

C. L. Crouch of Radboud University considers the ḥerem commands to be an exceptional component to Israelite and Judahite warfare. They were erratically applied, even in the early stages of national and ethnic identity formation, and were an extreme means to eradicate the threat of chaos, views shared by Assyrian rulers such as Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal.{{Cite book |last=Crouch |first=C. L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vDF9A0jT8RQC |title=War and Ethics in the Ancient Near East: Military Violence in Light of Cosmology and History |date=2009 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3110223514 |edition=1st|doi=10.1515/9783110223521 }}

Egyptian and Assyrian monumental inscriptions and records lack any reference to Amalek or the Amalekites, even though both recorded various tribes and peoples of the Levant. This led archaeologist Hugo Winckler to conclude that the Amalekites and the Biblical stories about them were ahistorical.{{cite book |last1=Singer |first1=Isidore |title=The Jewish encyclopedia: a descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the Jewish people from the earliest times to the present day |date=1901 |publisher=Cornell University Library |isbn=978-1112115349 |edition=2004 reprint}} Although archaeological research has improved knowledge about nomadic Arabs, no specific findings definitively link to Amalek.{{sfn|Mattingly|2000|p=48}}

However, some scholars propose a connection between Amalekites and certain fortified settlements in the Negev highlands, such as Tel Masos near Beer-sheba, which is possibly equivalent to ancient Hormah,Aharon Kempinski, [https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/tel-masos/ "Tel Masos: Its Importance in Relation to the Settlement of the Tribes of Israel in the Northern Negev,"] Expedition Magazine vol. 20, issue 4 1978..{{sfn|Mattingly|2000|p=49}} If true, Saul's campaigns against the Amalekites may have been motivated by a strategic desire to control of copper production at Tel Masos, a valuable resource for the early Israelites and their theology and rituals.Nissim Amzallag, "A Metallurgical Perspective on the Birth of Ancient Israel," Entangled Religions 12.2 (2021)

Further archaeological evidence from sites in the Negev like Tell el-Qudeirat and Horvat Haluqim, dating to the late 11th to early 10th century BC, could corroborate with the Biblical Israelite-Amalekite confrontations during the reigns of Saul and David. Hendrik J. Bruins of Ben Gurion University of the Negev discovered that their inhabitants were semi-nomadic agro-pastoralists who lived in tents, rode camels, traded copper, and worshipped gods at masseboth shrines. Oval fortresses were built during the relevant timeframe. Still, other scholars attribute these settlements to the Edomites or Simeonites.{{cite journal |title=Masseboth Shrine at Horvat Haluqim: Amalekites in the Negev Highlands-Sinai Region? Evaluating the Evidence |journal=Negev, Dead Sea and Arava Studies |url=https://www.adssc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/journal14-3-11.pdf.pdf |last=Bruins |first=Hendrik J. |issue=2–4 |volume=14 |pages=121–142 |year=2022}}

File:Gustave Doré Morte Agag.jpg, The Death of Agag. "Agag" may have been the hereditary name of the Amalekite kings. The one depicted was killed by Samuel (1 Samuel 15).]]

In {{Bibleverse|Genesis|14:7}}, the "field of the Amalekites" is mentioned, but the person who is named Amalek was not born yet.

Some commentators claim that this passage is a reference to the territory which was later inhabited by the Amalekites.Including Rashi C. Knight elaborates this concept by making a comparison: one might say "Caesar went into France", though Gaul only later became known as France.{{sfn|Knight|1833|p=411}}

John Gill believes the Amalekites of {{Bibleverse|Genesis|14:7}} were equivalent to the Hamite-Arabian Amalekites described by Muslim scholars. He argues the Amalekites were always allied with the Canaanites who descended from Ham, were conquered by the Shemite Chedorlaomer, existed before the Edomite Amalekites thus affirming {{Bibleverse|Numbers|24:20}}, and that the Edomites never rescued these Amalekites from Saul's campaigns due to inter-tribal feuds.{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Genesis 14 Gill's Exposition |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/genesis/14.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212054958/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/genesis/14.htm |archive-date=February 12, 2024 |website=Biblehub.com}}

By the 19th century, many Western theologians believed that the nation of Amalek could have flourished before the time of Abraham. Matthew George Easton theorized that the Amalekites were not the descendants of Amalek by taking a literal approach to {{Bibleverse|Genesis|14:7}}.{{sfn|Easton|1894|p=35, Am'alekite}} However, the modern biblical scholar Gerald L. Mattingly uses textual analysis to glean that the use of Amalekite in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|14:7}} is actually an anachronism,{{sfn|Mattingly|2000|p=48}} and in the early 19th century, Richard Watson enumerated several speculative reasons for the existence of a "more ancient Amalek" than Abraham.{{sfn|Watson|1832|p=50}}

In his exegesis of {{Bibleverse|Numbers|24:20}}, concerning Balaam's utterance: "Amalek was the first one of the nations, but his end afterward will be even his perishing", Richard Watson attempts to associate this passage to the "first one of the nations" that developed post-Flood.{{sfn|Watson|1832|p=50}} According to Samuel Cox, the Amalekites were the "first" in their hostility toward the Israelites.{{sfn|Cox|1884|pp=125-126}}

Amalek is the archetypal enemy of the Jews and the symbol of evil in Jewish religion and folklore.{{Cite book |last1=Britt |first1=Brian |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/37317042 |title=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |chapter=Amalek, Amalekites. II. Judaism |last2=Lipton |first2=Diana |last3=Soltes |first3=Ori Z. |last4=Walfish |first4=Barry Dov |date=2010 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-018355-9}} Nur Masalha, Elliot Horowitz, and Josef Stern suggest that the Amalekites represent an "eternally irreconciliable enemy" that wants to murder Jews. In post-biblical times, Jews associated contemporary enemies with Amalek or Haman and, occasionally, believed pre-emptive violence is acceptable against such enemies.* {{cite book |last=Masalha |first=Nur |title=Imperial Israel and the Palestinians: the politics of expansion |date=2000 |publisher=Pluto Press |pages=129–131}}

• {{cite book |last=Stern |first=Josef |title=Judaism and modernity: the religious philosophy of David Hartman |date=2004 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |editor1-last=Hartman |editor1-first=David |pages=360–362 |chapter=Maimonides on Amalek, Self-Corrective Mechanisms, and the War against Idolatry" |editor2-last=Malino |editor2-first=Jonathan W.}}
• {{cite book |last=Hunter |first=Alastair G. |title=Sanctified aggression: legacies of biblical and post-biblical vocabularies |date=2003 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |editor1-last=Bekkenkamp |editor1-first=Jonneke |pages=99–105 |chapter=Denominating Amalek: Racist stereotyping in the Bible and the Justification of Discrimination |editor2-last=Sherwood |editor2-first=Yvonne}} Groups identified with Amalek include the Romans, Nazis, Stalinists, Islamic State,{{cite book |last=Horowitz |first=Elliott |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x4ZeDwAAQBAJ |title=Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-691-19039-6 |pages=1–7}} and bellicose Iranian leaders such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Roth, Daniel. [https://elmad.pardes.org/2018/02/shabbat-zachor-remember-what-amalek-did-to-you-but-why-did-he-do-it-can-we-reconcile-with-our-eternal-sworn-enemies/ "Shabbat Zachor: "Remember what Amalek did to you!" But why did he do it? Can we reconcile with our eternal sworn enemies?"] Pardes from Jerusalem, 18 Feb. 2018. Elmad by Pardes.{{Cite web |last=Zaimov |first=Stoyan |date=April 29, 2017 |title=ISIS a Reenactment of Biblical War Between Israel and the Amalekites, Military Analysts Say |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/isis-reenactment-biblical-war-israel-amalekites.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416093336/https://www.christianpost.com/news/isis-reenactment-biblical-war-israel-amalekites.html |archive-date=2021-04-16 |website=Christian Post}} More metaphorically, to some Hasidic rabbis (particularly the Baal Shem Tov), Amalek represents atheism or the cynical rejection of God, which leads to unethical hedonism. This is sometimes known as the "Amalekite doctrine".{{Cite web |last=Koperwas |first=Josh |title=Destroying Amalek: Removing Doubt & Insecurity |url=https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/8012?lang=bi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123050025/https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/8012?lang=bi |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |website=Sefaria}} In contemporary times, religious Jews associate Amalek with violent antisemites,{{Cite web |title=Esther 3 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/esther/3.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702205114/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/esther/3.htm |archive-date=Jul 2, 2023 |access-date= |website=Biblehub}} nihilism and Jewish doubt in God.

During the Purim festival, the Book of Esther is read in commemoration of the salvation of Jewish people from Haman, who plotted to kill all Jews in Persian Empire. It is customary for the audience to make noise and shout whenever "Haman" is mentioned, in order to desecrate his name, based on {{Bibleverse|Exodus|17:14}}. It is also customary to recite {{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|25:17-18}} on the Shabbat before Purim. This was because Haman was considered to be an Amalekite although this label is more likely to be symbolic rather than literal.{{cite web |last=Finley |first=Mordecai |date=21 February 2018 |title=Unmasking Purim, Fighting Amalek: Behind the whimsy of this holiday lie some deep lessons for living |url=http://jewishjournal.com/culture/religion/purim/231046/unmasking-purim-fighting-amalek-behind-whimsy-holiday-lie-deep-lessons-living/ |access-date=22 February 2018 |work=Jewish Journal}}{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia|title=HAMAN THE AGAGITE|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7124-haman-the-agagite|first1=Emil|last1=Hirsch|first2=M.|last2=Seligsohn|first3=Solomon|last3=Schechter|volume=6|page=189–190}} Retrieved 13 February 2017 Some Iranophilic Jews interpreted Haman's Amalekite background as being anathema to both Jews and 'pure-blooded Iranians'.

Early Church fathers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and Cyprian consider the defeat of Amalek in {{Bibleverse|Exodus|17:8-13}} to be reminiscent of Jesus defeating the powers of the devil at the cross. Origen sees the battle as an allegory of the Law mysteriously invoking Christ, who recruits strong people (i.e. Christians) to defeat the demonic Strong Man, as described in {{Bibleverse|Ephesians|6:12}}.{{Cite journal |last=Paczkowski |first=Mieczysław |date=2014 |title=Amalek and the amalekites in the ancient christian literature |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280211465 |journal=Teologia i Człowiek |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=137–155 |doi=10.12775/TiCz.2014.021 |via=ResearchGate}}

John Gill believes that Amalek is a type of antichrist that 'raises his hand against the throne of God, his tabernacle and his saints'. He believes the phrase "from generation to generation" in {{Bibleverse|Exodus|17:16}} specifically refers to the Messianic Age, where Amalek and other antichristian states are exterminated by the Lamb.{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Exodus 17 Gill's Exposition |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/exodus/17.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212053408/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/exodus/17.htm |archive-date=February 12, 2024 |website=Biblehub.com}} Likewise, Charles Ellicott notes that the Amalekites were collectively called 'the sinners' in {{Bibleverse|1 Samuel|15:18}}, which was only used elsewhere for the Sodomites in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|13:13}}.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch state that the Amalekites were extinct by the second half of Hezekiah's reign.{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=1 Chronicles 4 Keil and Delitzsch OT Commentary |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/kad/1_chronicles/4.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212081010/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/kad/1_chronicles/4.htm |archive-date=February 12, 2024 |website=Biblehub.com}}

Professor Philip Jenkins notes that Christian extremists have historically labelled enemies such as Native Americans, Protestants, Catholics and Tutsis as Amalekites to justify their genocides.{{Cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Philip |title=Laying Down the Sword: Why We Can't Ignore the Bible's Violent Verses |date=2013 |publisher=HarperCollins Religious US |isbn=978-0061990724}} Jews and victims of the Crusades were also called Amalekites. Because of this, modern Christian scholars have re-examined the Biblical narratives that inspired these atrocities using philology, literary analysis, archaeology and historical evidence.{{sfn|Kugler|2020}}

Islamic commentators believe that the Amalekites were an ancient Arabian tribe. The monotheistic Ishmaelites evangelized to them in Mecca and later, they supplanted their population. However, the paganism of the Amalekites and other Arabian tribes negatively influenced the Ishmaelites, including their approach to the Kaaba.{{Cite journal |last=Athamina |first=Khalil |date=2005 |title=Abraham in Islamic Perspective Reflections on the Development of Monotheism in Pre-Islamic Arabia |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/islm.2004.81.2.184 |journal=Der Islam |volume=81 |issue=2 |pages=193–196 |doi=10.1515/islm.2004.81.2.184 |s2cid=170567885 |via=De Gruyter|url-access=subscription }}

Adam J. Silverstein observes that most scholars who lived in the medieval Muslim world ignored the Book of Esther or they modified the details of it, despite their familiarity with the Persian Jewish community. This was caused by their attempt to reconcile the Biblical Esther with the Quranic Haman, who was the antagonist of the Exodus narrative, and Persian mythological historical traditions. Notable exceptions include Ibn Khaldūn, who affirmed the Amalekite origins of Haman and his antisemitic vendetta.

Rabbis generally agree that Amalek no longer exist as a unified nation, based on the argument that Sennacherib deported and mixed the nations, so it is no longer possible to determine who is an Amalekite.Eynei Kol Ḥai, 73, on Sanhedrin 96b. Also Minchat Chinuch, parshat Ki Tetze, mitzvah 434.

Since the Holocaust, the phrase as it appears in {{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|25:17}} is used as a call to witness. Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the Holocaust, features the phrase on a banner, and in letters between European Jews during the Holocaust, they plead with each other to "bear witness".

In the Israel–Palestine conflict, some Israeli politicians and extremists have compared Palestinians to Amalek, stated that the Palestinians are the Amalekites{{cite magazine |last1=Goldberg |first1=Jeffrey |title=Among the Settlers |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/05/31/among-the-settlers |access-date=14 November 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |date=May 24, 2004}}{{cite web |last1=Lanard |first1=Noah |title=The Dangerous History Behind Netanyahu's Amalek Rhetoric |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/11/benjamin-netanyahu-amalek-israel-palestine-gaza-saul-samuel-old-testament/ |website=Mother Jones |access-date=15 November 2023}} or accused Arabs of exhibiting "behavior" that is "typical" of Amalekites. Yasser Arafat was called "the Amalek and Hitler of our generation" by 200 rabbis. Many in the Gush Emunim movement see Arabs as the "Amalek of today".{{cite book|title=Imperial Israel and the Palestinians|author=Nur Masalha|page=113|publisher=Pluto Press}} One reason includes the belief that Amalek is any nation that prevents Jews from settling in the Land of Israel, which includes the Palestinians. During the 2014 Gaza war, a leading yeshiva identified Palestinians as the descendants of the ancient Amalekites and Philistines.{{cite book|title=Defining Israel:The Jewish State, Democracy, and the Law|page=281|publisher=Hebrew Union College Press}} In the past, some Jews associated Amalek with the Roman Empire and medieval Christians.{{cite book|title=Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence|author=Elliott Horowitz|year=2018|publisher=Princeton University Press|pages=2–4}}

During the 2023–24 Gaza war (beginning in October 2023), Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli government was "committed to completely eliminating this evil from the world", and he also stated: "You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible. And we do remember".{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-gaza-attacks-hamas-idf-netanyahu-long-fight-rcna122651#rcrd23808|title=Netanyahu invokes 'Amalek' narrative in speech about expanding ground operation in Gaza}} At an argument to the International Court of Justice about allegations of genocide in the 2023 Israeli attack on Gaza, South Africa presented the comments as inciting genocide against the Palestinian people. Netanyahu denied that was his intention, stating the South African accusation reflected a "deep historical ignorance" since he was referring to Hamas, not Palestinians as a whole.{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/pms-office-says-its-preposterous-to-say-invoking-amalek-was-a-genocide-call/|date=16 January 2024|title=PM's office says it's 'preposterous' to say his invoking Amalek was a genocide call|website=Times of Israel}}{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-south-africa-genocide-hate-speech-97a9e4a84a3a6bebeddfb80f8a030724|date=18 January 2024|title=Harsh Israeli rhetoric against Palestinians becomes central to South Africa's genocide case|website=Associated Press}}

• Agag, an ancestor of Haman
• The Bible and violence

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|last1=Cox|first1=Samuel|author-link=Samuel Cox (minister)|title=Balaam: An Exposition and a Study|date=1884|publisher=K. Paul, Trench, & Company|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/balaamanexposit00coxgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/balaamanexposit00coxgoog/page/n128 125]}}
• {{cite book|last1=Easton|first1=Matthew George|author-link=Matthew George Easton|title=Illustrated Bible Dictionary|date=1894|publisher=T. Nelson|location=London|edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KspEAAAAYAAJ&q=amalek&pg=PP31}}
• {{cite book|last1=Feldman|first1=Louis H|title=Remember Amalek!: Vengeance, Zealotry, and Group Destruction in the Bible according to Philo, Pseudo-Philo, and Josephus|date=2004|publisher=Hebrew Union College Press|isbn=0878204636}}
• {{cite book|last1=Mattingly|first1=Gerald L.|title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible|date=2000|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=9780802824004|edition=David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, Astrid B. Beck|chapter=Amalek, Amalekites|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&pg=PA48}}
• {{cite book|last1=Knight|first1=Charles|author-link=Charles Knight (publisher)|title=Penny Cyclopaedia, Volumes 1-2|date=1833|location=Great Britain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sttPAAAAMAAJ&q=amalekites&pg=PA411}}
• {{cite journal |last=Kugler |first=Gili |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14623528.2020.1827781 |title=Metaphysical Hatred and Sacred Genocide: The Questionable Role of Amalek in Biblical Literature |journal=Journal of Genocide Research |date=2020 |volume=23 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1080/14623528.2020.1827781 |s2cid=228959516 |url-access=subscription }}
• {{cite book|last1=Mills|first1=Watson E.|editor=Roger Bullard|title=Mercer Dictionary of the Bible|date=1997|publisher=Mercer University Press|location=Macon, Ga.|isbn=9780865543737|edition=3rd and corr. print.|chapter=Amalek/Amalekites|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&q=amalekites&pg=PA21}}
• {{cite book|last1=Watson|first1=Richard|author-link=Richard Watson (Methodist)|title=A Biblical and theological dictionary|date=1832|publisher=John Mason|location=London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LcJzS1HTU-kC&q=amalekites&pg=PA50}}

{{refend}}

{{refbegin}}

• Sagi, Avi (1994). The Punishment of Amalek in Jewish Tradition: Coping with the Moral Problem, Harvard Theological Review Vol.87, No.3, p. 323-46.
• Horowitz, Elliott. (1999). "From the Generation of Moses to the Generation of the Messiah: The Jews Confront “Amalek” and his Incarnations", Zion Vol. 64(4), 425–454. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23563945

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Amalek}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMVs7akyMh0 Israeli PM invokes the Amalek in the context of the war on Gaza]—YouTube
• [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=267677 Wipe Out Amalek, Today?]—Chabad.org
• [http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2283 Amalek, Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe]
• [http://www.divreinavon.com/pdf/Zachor.pdf Remember Amalek: A lesson in Divine Providence]
• [http://www.aish.com/purimthemes/purimthemesdefault/Remembering_Amalek.asp Remembering Amalek] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112044/http://www.aish.com/purimthemes/purimthemesdefault/Remembering_Amalek.asp |date=2016-03-04 }})
• [http://ohr.edu/yhiy/article.php/1170 Latznu: Popular Culture and the Disciples of Amalek]
• [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/ Antiquities of the Jews] by Flavius Josephus
• [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1351&letter=A&search=Amalek "Amalek"] in The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901–1906
• [http://www.ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=war66-nechama A Kabbalistic view of Amalek]
• [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01377c.htm "Amalec"]—Catholic Encyclopedia article
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150905092638/http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i8213.html Between Rephidim and Jerusalem]—Amalek symbolism in relations between Israelis and Palestinians
• [http://torahmusings.com/2012/02/contemporary-amalek/ "Contemporary Amalek"]—A blog post in Torah Musings by Rabbi Gil Student explaining Rav Soloveitchik's controversial view that the Nazis were considered Amalekites
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKwJBM2jz00 "Amalek"]—A discussion with R. Eliezer Breitowitz & Dr. Elliott Malamet (Passages, 2022) on YouTube

{{Authority control}}

Category:Edom

Category:Esau

Category:Genocide

Category:Hebrew Bible nations

Category:Torah people

Category:Massacres in the Bible

Category:Phrases related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Category:Pre-Islamic Arabia

Category:Tribes of Arabia

Category:Negative Mitzvoth

Category:Positive Mitzvoth