The fact that synagogues got tagged and Jewish businesses were looted with [signs saying] 'Free Palestine' and 'Kill the Jews,' is not a coincidence. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! They spread out around the camp, and on Gideons signal, they all smash their jars and blow their trumpets and light their torches and yell! This continued until the plague of the death of the firstborn and finished him completely.. According to the Bible, the Amalekites inhabited the Negev. C. David drove the Amalekites out of Negev into transjordan Edomite territory at Mt. The RSV in Judges 5:14 wrongly changes the words in Amalek to into the valley, although that v. indicates in a footnote that the Heb. Gideon was an Abiezrite of the tribe of Manasseh who lived in Ophrah2. Usually angels start off with Do not fear! But, as will become clear, Gideon did not have this problem, so this angel starts with The Lord is with you. And like hes talking to his brother and not a celestial being of unimaginable power, Gideon fires back. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Omissions? Samuel, ever obedient, kills Agag himself (1 Samuel 15:3233). Hadar Susskind, President and CEO, Americans for Peace Now; Rabbi Bennett Miller, National Chair, ARZA; Robert Aronson, Chair, HIAS; Stuart Applebaum, President, Jewish Labor Committee; Meredith. The story we remind ourselves of each year, by reading Parshah Zachor, is that of the attack of the Amalekites, who are the descendants of Eliphaz, son of Esau (the patriarch Jacob's brother and sworn enemy) and his concubine Timna. So CAIR, a terrorist-linked group goes from influencing the War College to influencing Congress. Some have made the connection that Sadaam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran (modern Persia), are also descendants of Agog and Amalek and given what they want(ed) to do to the Jews and where they come from, it would come as no surprise if there was ever biological evidence to support this. 1 Samuel 30:1, 2 points to the Amalekite heavy raiding activity in the area of the Negeb, and Judges 6:3, 33 in speaking of the Amalekite association with the kings of the E in their raiding parties suggests that they may have lived sometime together in the Arabian territory toward the E. The Amalekites also extended their influence farther N into the Philistine country and the region of Ephraim. Gideon obeys, but he does it at night because hes afraid of the townspeople; they find out immediately the next day anyway. Nation and a character described in the Hebrew Bible, "Amalekites" redirects here. Bibliography G. A. Smith, The Historical Geography of the Holy Land (1896), 282; D. Baly, The Geography of the Bible (1957), 159. d. In the time of David. When God in judgment withdrew His hand of blessing and ordered them to go back S into the wilderness (14:1-25), the people again disobeyed God, and with their own feeble effort attacked the Amalekites. [4] Amalek is described as the "chief of Amalek" among the "chiefs of the sons of Esau",[5] from which it is surmised that he ruled a clan or territory named after him. They are killing themselves spiritually, politically, and even physically. Dont worry, theyll be back. Amalek wants to rule himself and everyone else. [52]John Gill also describes the cherem as an example of the law of retaliation being carried out. The story of Judges is that Israel would forget God and wander dive headlong into idolatry, a foreign nation would conquer them, Israel would repent, and only then would God raise up a leader to defeat their oppressors and lead Israel for a time. Rather in Numbers 24:20 Amalek as first is to be understood as its being the first among the nations to attack Israel in her Exodus experiences (cf. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill . Those who are claiming this are trying to find an ancient history to tie themselves to it to lay claim to the land of Israel. Yet, the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis (MBR) joined forces with the Hamas front group CAIR. The Bible notes a great deal of hatred and animosity between the Israelites and Amalekites: 599 Deut. He lays out some wool fleece and asks God to contain the dew to the fleece that night and keep the ground dry, if He really intends to save Israel. In fact, in 1990,JamesZogby, presidentof the Arab American Institute, established a . According to 1 Samuel 14:47, 48 the king had fought against this enemy. "After many years of research, Arthur Koestler, the well . and behaviors. I dont know either., This may not be a literal translation of the Hebrew., The most drawn-out miracle in the Old Testament is Elijahs battle with Jezebels priests of Baal in 1 Kings 18.. Within this period of the Judges the Amalekites were associated with the Moabites, Ammonites, and Midianites in their marauding activities. Amalek was one of the sons of Eliphaz and a grandson of Esau ( Gen 36:15, 16; 1 Chron 1:36 ). ). Thus the people of Amalek lived on, to continue to torment the Jews for generations. Contrary to Gods command, Saul kept alive the Amalekite king and the best of their livestock (vv. Ishmaelites were recorded as the descendants of Ishmael in the Bible. Therefore, when Hashem your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that Hashem your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. They slaughtered those who could not defend themselves. Etymology [ edit] In some rabbinical interpretations, Amalek is etymologised as am lak, 'a people who lick (blood)', [2] but most specialists regard the origin to be unknown. Israel rebelled. There is an earlier reference to the word Amalek in Genesis 14:7 where Chedorlaomer (c. 1900 b.c.) An expression denoting heat and cold (). The Amalekites were the descendants of Amalek, who was the son of Eliphaz (son of Esau, ancestor of the Edomites) and Eliphaz's concubine Timna (Genesis 36:12). But great for God, whose goal is glory for Himself, not glory for Gideon. This cycle repeated at regular intervals. [20], By the 19th century, there was strong support by Western theologians for the idea that the nation of Amalek could have flourished before the time of Abraham. I want it becomes more important than anything. The nation of Amalek is long gone, but they live on as the internal [and external] enemies that the Jewish people battle on a daily basis." But it scares me to know that there are Jews prepared to act in Amaleks name as well. This can be Jews or non-Jews. The following individuals want to make Klein a pariah. When a person says that they are not going to speak to members of their own family because they disagree with their ideology, that is a form of spiritual suicide, saying that the ideology trumps all. Intifada Realism is becoming more clear each day when radical Islam allies itself with the radical Left. Saul not only fails to kill Agag, but he also keeps all the best livestock alive and takes it for himself. [46], Maimonides explains that the commandment to destroy the nation of Amalek requires the Jewish people to peacefully request that they accept upon themselves the Seven Laws of Noah and pay a tax to the Jewish kingdom. The commandment isnt to conquer Amalek. And if you think that is enough, the Torah goes on to say that every animal belonging to Amalek needs to be put to death. Hes still not getting the whole God of Angel Armies thing. God has made His point, so Gideon calls out the Ephraimites to join his pursuit. So God sends Gideon and his servant Purah down into the camp of the Midianites and Amalekites to scout it out. 12; compare Timnah as name of an Edomite chief or clan, verse 40). Different people can embody that concept. Moses goes on to command that for this wicked treatment of an oppressed people, Israel later, when in the land of Canaan, was to exterminate the Amalekites (Deut 25:19). Amalek is a son of Esau's first-born son Eliphaz and of the concubine Timna, the daughter of Seir, the Horite, and sister of Lotan (Gen. xxxvi. On with our story. Amalek in later history. By tradition, the Amalekites were the descendants of the Edomite, Amalek, himself the grandson of Esauunless you are Arabian, in which case Amalek was the grandson of another Amalek who was also the Chief of the Amalekites, which was in fact, just another name for the Canaanites. And weve seen the Ammonite capital Rabbah also tied up with King Davidits where his army was when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. . Although he scalded himself, he succeeded to make others think that it was cooler than it really was. Next, the Amalekite who claimed he had finished killing Saul (cf. This is seen by observing the Kenites who lived with the Amalekites at the city of Amalek (1 Sam 15:5, 6) and that they earlier had taken up this residence with the people in the region of the Negeb near Arad (Judg 1:16), which was only about twenty m. S of Hebron. He said that he has a tradition from the Gaon of Vilna that the Germans are the descendants of Amalek (Horowitz, p. 428). After the attacks on synagogues in Fairfax, the major Modern Orthodox synagogues in nearby Beverlywood, the more modern counterpart of the community, conducted Black Lives Matter sessions. Saul fought a war with King Agog, a descendant of Amalek, and was commanded to kill him, but didnt, out of pity. During the Purim festival, the Book of Esther is read in the commemoration of the saving of the Jewish people from Haman who plotted to kill all Jews in Persian Empire. 1 Amalek grew up in Esau's household, imbibing Esau's pathological hatred of Jacob's descendants along the way. R' Samson Raphael Hirsch said that the command was to destroy "the remembrance of Amalek" rather than actual Amalekites;[49] the Sfat Emet said that the command was to fully hate Amalek rather than performing any action;[50] and the Chofetz Chaim said that God would perform the elimination of Amalek, and Jews are commanded only to remember what Amalek did to them. Consequently, "[p]rotesters from the Black Lives Matter movement vandalized and toppled a statue . Travel restrictions are scheduled for the West Bank. This curse begins the forty years of wandering, making sure an entire generation dies before they reach the land God gave Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Only if they refuse must they be physically killed. In the wilderness wanderings. Gideons not convinced. Ibn-Arabshh purported that Amalek was a descendant of Ham, son of Noah. Regarding the Sages statement that the descendants of Haman learned Torah in B'nei Brak, according to this opinion, it occurred out of error, for the Beit Din was unaware that the person coming to convert was from the seed of Amalek, and thus accepted him, and after having already been accepted, they did not reject him (Yeshuot Malko). Rabbi Dayan paraphrased Rabbi Moshe Charlap, a leader in the religious Zionist movement of the first half of the 20th century. [53], According to Christian Hofreiter, historically almost all Christian authorities and theologians have interpreted the herem passages as referring to real, historical events when God commanded the Israelites to exterminate all the members of particular nations. The Amalekites seem to have been descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12). It should be mandatory reading at the Shabbat table. But Israel has more enemies, of course. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. Ironically, many of them come from the same area of the world what we know today as Iran, formerly known as Persia. The Left admires the godless quality of communism and yearns for the conquest of America. He states that "there is practically no historical evidence that anyone in the Great Church" viewed them as being purely an allegory. It is clear to me that the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah may not genetically be the descendants of Amalek, but ideologically, they are one and the same. Matthew George Easton advocated that the Amalekites were not descendants of Amalek by taking a literal approach to Genesis 14:7. Judg 12:15 and remarks earlier). And just as God raised up Ehud to defeat Eglon with his left-handedness, God raised up Gideon to defeat Midian very nearly by himself. ADr PremGuides and MagazinesWebsite So as soon as Moses tells them to go around the enemy armies, they immediately want to go through the land and fight. Israeli-born philanthropist and activist Adam Milstein, who lives in Los Angeles, said '[t]he Jewish community is in denial. Exodus 17 describes Israels first encounter with the wandering Amalekites at Rephidim, a place between the wilderness of Sin and the wilderness of Sinai (Exod 17:1; 19:2), at which the Israelites camped in their Exodus journey from Egypt. Seir: At the time of the Exodus, the Amalekites had expanded west to in the Negev: Numbers 13:29; The district over which they ranged was south of Judah and probably extended into northern Arabia. Hadar Susskind, President and CEO, Americans for Peace Now; Rabbi Bennett Miller, National Chair, ARZA; Stuart Applebaum, President, Jewish Labor Committee; Meredith Jacobs, CEO, Jewish Women International; Janet Gurvitch, President, Na'amat USA;
And obviously, the residents of Ashkelon, Sderot, and other Israeli cities in shooting range of Gaza, are expecting an increase in rocket attacks. And it was an Amalekite who killed Saul, the first king of Israel. The Arabians mention Imlik, Amalik, or Ameleka among the aborigines of Arabia, the remains of which were mingled with the descendants of Qahtan (Joktan) and Adnan and became Mostarabs or Mocarabes, that is, Arabians mixed with foreigners. Then why are we servants to the Midianites? An ancient marauding people in the S of Canaan and the Negeb who were fierce enemies of Israel particularly in the earlier part of her history. She replied she would rather be a handmaiden to the dregs of this nation than be the mistress of another Nation; to punish the Patriarchs for the affront they had made her, she was made the mother of Amalek, whose descendants would cause Israel much distress. But wait, if this war happened while Abraham and Lot were still alive this was two generations before Jacob and Esau, which means it was four generations before Amalek was even born! Today, 30 years later, one sees the power of this concept: Jews in the United States, like those in Israel, are now viewed by a generation of progressives as 'oppressors.'. also Judg 10:12). Chapter counts, verse counts, and word counts for every book, chapter, and verse in the Bible. Not just defeat them, but destroy every man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey (1 Samuel 15:13). [47], In addition, the Amalekites, as a physical nation, have been extinct since the time of Hezekiah's reign, according to the Hebrew Bible. Eynei Kol ai, 73, on Sanhedrin 96b. He reminds Israel during Balaams prophecies that were supposed to be curses: 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. 25:19 Not to forget Amalek's atrocities and ambush on our journey from Egypt in the desert, Some commentators have discussed the ethical deficiency of the commandment to exterminate all the Amalekites, especially including the command to kill children, and the presumption of collective punishment. They came to stop the Jews from entering Israel. [29] Groups identified with Amalek include the Romans, Nazis, Stalinists, ISIS, Palestinians[30] and bellicose Iranian leaders such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[31][32]. "Timna was a concubine to Elifaz, son of Esau, and she bore Amalek to Elifaz." Some verses later, we are told more about Timna's background. God promised that Amalek will be wiped out. Deuteronomy 25:19. Fortunately, this conundrum has a simple answer, although Im not sure anybody can confirm it. Zogby saw the power of framing Israelis as 'white oppressors' of innocent, indigenous, darker-skinned Palestinians. On the other, the five kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar). This was because Haman was considered to be an Amalekite although this label is more likely to be symbolic rather than literal.[33][34][35]. They want to oust Mort Klein of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) because he dared to point out Black Lives Matter's Jew hatred and hatred of Israel. For Sauls failure to fulfill completely the divine command, Samuel announced to the monarch the Lords rejection of him as king (1 Sam 15:10-23). [22] However, the modern biblical scholar David Freedman uses textual analysis to glean that the use of Amalekite in Genesis 14:7 is actually an anachronism,[13] and in the early 19th century, Richard Watson enumerated several speculative reasons for having a "more ancient Amalek" than Abraham. [7] In the oracle of Balaam, Amalek was called the 'first of the nations'. After Rephidim, the next major encounter with Amalek came following the report of the spies to Israel that the enemy to the N of Kadesh-barnea in the wilderness of Paran in S Canaan, including the Amalekite forces which dwelt in the land of the Negeb, were too strong to conquer, despite the pleadings of Caleb and Joshua to the contrary (Num 13:25-33; 14:38). Rabbi Ben Artzi stated that, as the seed of Amalek, this commandment applied to Hamas. Searching the Bible to find the author of Psalm 89. They have forgotten that the Jew is always the canary in the mine. When they joined the Midianites to invade Israel they came "with their cattle and their tents" ( Judges 6:3-5 ). Deut 34:3). Today we look at the Amalekites, descendants of Amalek. (They dont know thats where theyre going, but we do.) Theyre dismayed to see the enemy lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number (Judges 7:12). Eventually, Mosess brother Aaron and a man named Hur hold Mosess hands up for him, and Israel wins the day. Then the future king, through the help of an abandoned Egyp. In Jewish folklore, the Amalekites are considered to be the symbol of evil. They reject discussion and other opinions. The second thing that Amalek does is that they are willing to kill themselves in order to bring that about. Near the beginning of this period, King Eglon of Moab ruled Israel for eighteen years. The Midianites and Amalekites pull out their swords and swipe at anything that moveswhich is mostly their comrades. It is making God in the image of man, making man the ultimate authority, freeing him to do what he wants. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. . Liberalism is what happens when you take God and meaning out of life. In Numbers 24:20 Balaam prophesied, Amalek was the first of the nations, but in the end he shall come to destruction. This reference does not suggest that the early Genesis 14:7 reference to Amalek is in conflict with the Genesis 36:16 statement regarding Amalek, the grandson of Esau. 1 Chronicles 4:41-43 (NASB) 41 "These, recorded by name, came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and [a]attacked their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and destroyed them utterly . Some commentators explain this as a reference to the territory which was later on inhabited by the Amalekites. The psalmist (Ps 83:7) lists Amalek with the avowed enemies of Israel. He was born to Eliphaz by his concubine Timna (Gen 36:12) was one of the tribal chiefs (, H477) of Edom (Gen 36:16, 17). In Judaism, three of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) involve Amalek: to remember what the Amalekites did to the Israelites, not to forget what the Amalekites did to Israelites, and to destroy the Amalekites utterly. . [20][21] It is, however, possible that the name Amalek may have been given to two different nations. For Amalekites in the Book of Mormon, see, Commandment to exterminate the Amalekites, Religious and modern scholarly discussion. Later Amalek raided the Negeb and, in Davids absence, completely conquered Ziklag, taking captive the inhabitants including Davids two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail (1 Sam 30:1-6). However, the timeline gets confused immediately, because the name Amalekite shows up long before Esau does. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. And I will tell you! If Amalek has always been identified with the enemies of Israel, then perhaps they were never a distinct nation that would leave behind distinctive artifacts. The Bible tells us that when the Israelites left Egypt, they were attacked from behind by Amalek and his people. In the Beginning. In it, he referred to Hamas as the seed of Amalek.. Rabbi Berger quoted Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, an 11th century French Torah scholar who is known by the acronym Rashi, who explained the verse. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. [24] While considerable knowledge about nomadic Arabs has been recovered through archeological research, no specific artifacts or sites have been linked to Amalek with any certainty. I want it becomes more important than anything. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com. He asks for another sign the next night: dew on the ground, but not on the fleece. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the territories of Amalek, which they inhabited. temple (E. F. Campbell and G. E. Wright, Tribal League Shrines in Amman and Shechem, BA, XXXII, No. And where are all the miracles? Sure enough, Saul is defeated by the Philistines, but when Saul is injured, the man who ultimately kills him and takes his crown is an Amalekite (2 Samuel 1:810). It also means that Amalek has gotten mixed into the other nations and a little bit of Amalek is in everyone., Amalek is more than a physical people. , he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. [51], Theologian Charles Ellicott explains that the Amalekites were subject to cherem in the Book of Samuel for the purposes of incapacitation, due to their 'accursed' nature and the threat they posed to the commonwealth of surrounding nations. But, although many hoped that a "silver lining" around the Shoa might be the final dissipation . 1. Sign up to our free daily newsletter today to get all the most important stories directly to your inbox. But theres a slight twist here that changes the course of Israels history. But first, the wars do not continue. The story of Amalek and the kings of Israel is very much like the stories of Moab and Ammon. [21], In the exegesis of 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. Who Was Amalek Eliphaz, son of Esau (the patriarch Jacob 's brother and sworn enemy), and his concubine Timna had a child named Amalek. But youll remember from ten seconds ago what Saul did not remember: God said destroy, not capture. Now go in this strength of yours and defeat Midian. In Esther, the Jew-hating Haman is called "the Agagite" (Esther 3:1). Breaking Israel News asked several rabbis their opinion: Rabbi Pinchas Winston, a prolific author and end-of-days expert, has written several books on the subject of Amalek. Therefore, Haman and his sons were Amalekites. In particular, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin have defended a literal reading of these passages at length. [44], In addition, many rabbinic authorities ruled that the commandment only applies to a Jewish king or an organized community, and cannot be performed by an individual. Goering committed suicide so that only 10 descendants of Amalek were hung, At this place, following the Amalekite attack, Israel defeated her enemy (Exod 17:8-16). Hence, Streicher's yell, "Purim Fest 1946!" Purim's historical background: It goes like this. Just a few years later, the cycle repeats, except this time Amalek is helping Midian defeat Israel, destroying crops and livestock (Judges 6:14). Too many men! says God to Gideon. They encamp just across the river. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites . In the light of Amaleks past harassment of Israel the Lord commanded Saul to exterminate this enemy (1 Sam 15:1-3). The Amalekites are the descendants of Esau, who sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of soup and in doing so forfeited his firstborn birthright (Genesis 25; Hebrews 12:16). When some men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who exercised some control over the Negeb and the area of Hebron, presumably they also came in contact with the Amalekites who roamed the same general area. Thus the people of Amalek lived on, to continue to torment the Jews for generations. 1 Sam 31:3-5; 2 Sam 1:4-10) was killed by David because he had slain the Lords anointed king (1:14-16), and also had confessed he was an Amalekite (1:8, 13). Centenary year of the Scouting movement. At its most transparent level, responding to Amalek is a response to . If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. Weve talked about two of the ancient enemies of Israel, the Moabites and the Ammonites.