Amalek (son of Eliphaz)

Biblical Record

This Amalek appears only in the genealogy of Esau in Genesis 36 and in the genealogy in 1 Chronicles 1. Scripture records no account of his life or deeds.

• Genesis 36:12 states that Timna, the concubine (a secondary wife rather than a full wife) of Esau's son Eliphaz, bore Amalek. Because Eliphaz was the son of Esau's wife Adah, Amalek was Esau's grandson.
• Genesis 36:16 lists "duke Amalek" among the chiefs (tribal heads) of Edom descended from Eliphaz.
• 1 Chronicles 1:36, in listing the descendants of Eliphaz, names Amalek last.

Significance in Scripture

This Amalek is understood to be the ancestor of the Amalekites, a people who repeatedly opposed Israel after the Exodus. The Amalekites attacked Israel at Rephidim (Exodus 17:8–16), and Deuteronomy 25:17–19 commands Israel to remember what Amalek did. The Amalekites also appear in later accounts, including Saul's war against Amalek (1 Samuel 15).

Because Amalek was a descendant of Esau, the Amalekites were a kindred people, related by blood to Israel, the descendants of Jacob. The name Amalek does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Debates

• Timna's status: 1 Chronicles 1:36 reads as though Timna were included in the list of Eliphaz's sons. Interpreters therefore differ on how to reconcile this verse with Genesis 36:12. Some hold that the Chronicler abbreviated "Amalek, born of Timna," while others attribute the difference to variations in the manuscript tradition. Another view identifies Eliphaz's concubine with the Timna who appears in Genesis 36:22 as the sister of Lotan the Horite.
• "All the country of the Amalekites" in Genesis 14:7: This verse concerns events in the time of Abraham, before Amalek was born. One view holds that the passage uses a later place name to designate the region; another holds that a separate, earlier group bore the same name.
• Later traditions: Jewish rabbinic literature preserves a story that Timna sought to join Abraham's household, was rejected, and then became the concubine of Eliphaz. This account, however, is not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Amalek as an individual is rarely discussed in sermons or Sunday school lessons in the Korean church. He is usually mentioned briefly as the ancestor of the Amalekites when the battle against Amalek in Exodus 17 is taught. That battle narrative, centered on the scene in which Moses raises his hands while Aaron and Hur hold up his arms, is frequently used in sermons on prayer and partnership in ministry.