Amalek

Amalek in the Bible

Genesis 36:12 identifies the ancestor of this people as Amalek, the son of Eliphaz, son of Esau, by his concubine Timna. The principal biblical episodes are as follows.

• The battle at Rephidim: Shortly after the Exodus, Amalek attacked Israel at Rephidim. Joshua went out to fight, and whenever Moses held up his hands on the hilltop, Israel prevailed; whenever he lowered them, Amalek prevailed. Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands, and Israel won the battle. Moses built an altar there and called it "Jehovahnissi" ("the LORD is my banner") (Exodus 17:8–16).
• The wilderness and the period of the judges: When the Israelites went up into the hill country in defiance of God's word, Amalek struck them down as far as Hormah (Numbers 14:43–45). During the period of the judges, the Amalekites joined with Eglon king of Moab and with Midian to oppress Israel (Judges 3:13; 6:3).
• Saul and Amalek: Samuel conveyed to Saul the command to utterly destroy Amalek (that is, to destroy everything as devoted to God). Saul, however, spared King Agag and the best of the livestock, and for this he was rejected as king (1 Samuel 15).
• David and Amalek: When the Amalekites raided Ziklag, David pursued them and recovered his family and possessions (1 Samuel 30). The man who brought David news of Saul's death was likewise a young Amalekite (2 Samuel 1).
• 1 Chronicles 4:42–43 records that descendants of Simeon struck down the remnant of the Amalekites who remained at Mount Seir.

Background

The Bible portrays the Amalekites as inhabiting the Negev south of Canaan and the region of the Sinai Peninsula (Numbers 13:29). They appear riding camels in surprise attacks and raids (1 Samuel 30:17) and are therefore understood to have been nomadic. By descent they were closely related to Edom. However, almost nothing about them has been clearly confirmed by extrabiblical records or archaeological evidence, so scholars differ on the precise extent of their territory and on their dates. The original meaning of the name is also uncertain.

Significance Across Scripture

Deuteronomy 25:17–19 commands Israel to remember that Amalek attacked the weak who were faint and lagging behind, and to blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Balaam prophesied that "Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever" (Numbers 24:20).

In the book of Esther, Haman is called "the Agagite" (Esther 3:1). Jewish tradition understands him to be a descendant of King Agag, whom Saul had spared, but the text does not explicitly identify Haman as an Amalekite. Amalek does not appear directly in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Debate

• The command of total destruction: The command to destroy even women and children (1 Samuel 15:3) has long been a matter of ethical debate. Conservative interpreters regard it as a limited divine judgment on Amalek's repeated wickedness and stress that it is not a command for believers to follow today. Some scholars read it as the hyperbolic language common in ancient Near Eastern war accounts, pointing to the continued appearance of the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 30 and 1 Chronicles 4.
• Spiritual interpretation: Some early church fathers read Moses' raised hands as a type—a foreshadowing—of the cross. Another tradition interprets Amalek as the sin or fleshly desire that believers must resist. Such readings are later interpretations rather than what the text itself states.
• Judaism: Jewish custom calls for reading Deuteronomy 25:17–19 on the Sabbath immediately preceding Purim.

In the Korean Church

Exodus 17 is frequently preached as a text on prayer and partnership in ministry. Aaron and Hur, who held up Moses' hands, are commonly presented as a model of intercessory prayer or as a picture of church members supporting their pastor. The words of 1 Samuel 15:22, "to obey is better than sacrifice," are often quoted in sermons on obedience.