"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. And then Moses instructs Israel to make it happen: 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. This cycle repeated at regular intervals. [20][21] It is, however, possible that the name Amalek may have been given to two different nations. Some commentators explain this as a reference to the territory which was later on inhabited by the Amalekites. 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. Erdogan is the same way. The book of Genesis was written down long after all of these events took place, and the people who heard it or read it would have immediately known where the Amalekites lived, which makes their name a convenient shorthand for their geography. Just a few years later, the cycle repeats, except this time Amalek is helping Midian defeat Israel, destroying crops and livestock (Judges 6:14). Origen of Alexandria is sometimes cited as having viewed the herem passages allegorically; Hofreiter argues that although Origen viewed a spiritual interpretation as having primary importance to Christians, he did not deny that the herem passages described historical events.[54]. Consider the never ending virtue signaling that businesses, schools, and Hollywood proudly demonstrate while displaying no understanding of the irony [emphasis mine] of it all. and behaviors. The district over which they ranged was south of Judah and probably extended into northern Arabia. All are driven by jealousy. Evidently the Amalekites had some cities, as this one, in which they sometimes settled, and possibly fulfilled religious obligations as has been shown was the case of nomadic tribes in the Trans-Jordan in connection with a 15th cent. Weve talked about two of the ancient enemies of Israel, the Moabites and the Ammonites. They also have meaningful things to do with their lives. There is an earlier reference to the word Amalek in Genesis 14:7 where Chedorlaomer (c. 1900 b.c.) Like Ben Artzi, many rabbis throughout Jewish history have conjectured as to the identity of Amalek with the title frequently being placed on the worst enemies of the Jews. This demonstrates again Israels strong antipathy to Amalek. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Thus, abruptly, ends the story of Amalek in Scripture; we never see them again. This is an amazing story since it took place decades before the Holocaust. The answer is NO. 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). 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). They encamp just across the river. Matthew George Easton advocated that the Amalekites were not descendants of Amalek by taking a literal approach to Genesis 14:7. In a place where Jews murder, take revenge on, and discriminate against Arabs, they will ultimately murder, take revenge on, and discriminate against their fellow Jews. Many prosperous people will join in for the greatest jealousy is of virtue, and even the rich and famous are infested with it. Amalek in later history. They separated themselves off from the other Edomites at an early date, and became the predominant tribe in the more northern parts of the Sinaitic peninsula, claiming and exercising a sovereignty over the whole of the desert country between the . According to the midrash (homiletic teachings), after killing Jewish men, Amalek cut off the brit milah (circumcision) of the male Jewish casualties and threw them up at heaven. 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.[3]. Corrections? The rioters are antifa andBlack Lives Matterand they are inherently anti-Semitic. Who Was Amalek Eliphaz, son of Esau (the patriarch Jacob 's brother and sworn enemy), and his concubine Timna had a child named Amalek. . The Amalekites seem to have been fairly well controlled under the monarchy, for the OT does not mention them again until the time of Hezekiah (c. 700 b.c.) The archetypal enemies of Israel, Torah commands the Jews to wipe out the memory of Amalek. The politics of the progressive Jew is "bordering on the suicidal.". But, although many hoped that a "silver lining" around the Shoa might be the final dissipation . This has been accelerated by the hypocrisy and intolerance of the vindictive Left, aided and abetted by foolish bleeding-heart pseudo-liberals who have become accomplices in the undermining of democracy." But God does not forget! Perhaps the greatest lesson of the stories of Israel and Amalek is that Gods commands are followed even by sand and storm and time itself. Amalek was the grandson of Esau, Jacobs older brother. Home Rabbis Weigh In: Who Is Amalek Today? 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; Further, in their song (Judg 5:14) Deborah (who was from Ephraim, 4:5) and Barak speak of how Ephraim had shown strength in rooting out those of the Amalekites who were in its midst (cf. But youll remember from ten seconds ago what Saul did not remember: God said destroy, not capture. That Amaleks unrelenting and destructive spirit and action against God and the cause of His people Israel was heinous to the Lord is seen later in the reminder to Saul concerning these wilderness incidents and in Gods command that the king is to destroy these God-defying Amalekites (1 Sam 15:2, 3; cf. The elders talk about them all the time, but none of them seem to be recent, Rather than being offended, the angel claps him on the back, laughs uproariously3, and says, Yes! For example, Rabbi Hayim Palaggi stated: We can rely on the maxim that in ancient times, Sennacherib confused the lineage of many nations. Judaism, which is based on the chesed (loving kindness) of Abraham, is intellect over emotions., Amalek: Leading the Nations to Hate Israel. Jews are confusing genuine justice with social justice. Hamas is clearly this way. 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. It is to wipe him out from the world because as long as there is a memory of Amalek in the world, the Moshiach (Messiah) cannot come., Obama was not satisfied in setting his countrys policy against Israel. In it, he referred to Hamas as the seed of Amalek.. Amalek was the grandson of Esau whose descendants became a nation infamous for attacking the Hebrews after they came out of Egypt. Exod 17:8; Num 14:45). Ultimately, liberalism is idolatry. It tells us about Esav's son Eliphaz and his many immoral relationships: "And Timna was a concubine to Eliphaz and Eliphaz gave birth to Amalek.. 1 " The Talmud in Sanhedrin informs us of the background to this fateful occurrence. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com. You will not be surprised that the wars continue. Amalek was burned but he wanted so much to harm Israel that he didnt care, even though Israel hadnt done anything to them. 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. Today we look at the Amalekites, descendants of Amalek. Nur Masalha, Elliot Horowitz, and Josef Stern suggest that Amalekites have come to represent an "eternally irreconcilable enemy" that wants to murder Jews, that Jews in post-biblical times sometimes associate contemporary enemies with Haman or Amalekites, and that some Jews believe that pre-emptive violence is acceptable against such enemies. There is no real purebred Amalek today since, according to the Talmud, King Sennacherib mixed up the nations, Rabbi Winston told, . But each person must ask himself if he has the traits of Amalek., Amalek is a symbol, it is a character trait. He marches the army out to meet the enemy, at which point God decides to give a sign of His own. Nonetheless, Israel has peace for forty years, until Gideon dies, at which point they apparently abandon the golden ephod and go back to worshiping Baal until the next invasion. C. David drove the Amalekites out of Negev into transjordan Edomite territory at Mt. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. 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. After Saul dies, David kills the Amalekite who killed him (2 Samuel 1:1516) and conquers the Amalekites along with many other nations (1 Samuel 30; 2 Samuel 8:1112; 1 Chronicles 18:11). Although he scalded himself, he succeeded to make others think that it was cooler than it really was. A major trait of Amalek is the rejection of any rule, in particular the rule of heaven. [20], Alternatively, during the Islamic Golden Age, certain Arabic writings claimed that the Amalekites existed long before Abraham. 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). 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. To obey is better than sacrifice, he says, and, Because you [Saul] have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you form being king (1 Samuel 15:2223). Amalek's spirit has continued through the millenniaits viciousness culminating in the Shoa. But each person must ask himself if he has the traits of Amalek.. Zogby's initiatives promoted Jews as privileged 'whites.' In a broader sense, I would say that Amalek represents the senseless hatred, the murderous impulse, and the love of seeing other people suffer. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! Their radical Islamic allies never stop in their all-consuming desire to create a global caliphate. There is no real purebred Amalek today since, according to the Talmud, King Sennacherib mixed up the nations, Rabbi Winston told Breaking Israel News. Agag (/ e /; Hebrew: gg) is a Northwest Semitic name or title applied to a biblical king.It has been suggested that "Agag" was a dynastic name of the kings of Amalek, just as Pharaoh was used as a dynastic name for the ancient Egyptians. Finally, Gideon is convinced, or maybe just scared to ask Almighty God for Yet Another Sign. The Bible mentions several dealings between the Israelites and the Kenites, who were always on friendly terms with each other. The Amalekites had their origin within the Edomites, being descendants of Esau. 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. Yet, as Dean Sherr points out, too many Jewish organizations have a "new set of attitudes towards anti-Semitism: that it is of lesser importance in the west than other forms of racism." Ishmael was the elder brother of Isaac. By the time he catches up with the enemy, there are only 15,000 left of the 135,000 who had originally gone to war against Israel. Amalek (/mlk/;[1] Hebrew: , 'mlq, Arabic: 'Amlq) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. . It is clear from the text that Haman, the villain in the Book of Esther was a direct descendant of Agog. They were saying that there is no room in this world for a covenant with God., Atheism is an extreme form of Amalek. Want the Verse of the Day sent to your inbox? According to the Bible, the Amalekites inhabited the Negev. Moses sits on a hill overlooking the battlefield, holding his staff (the one God turned into a snake). ", As Mark Alexander writes "[b]ut today, the ability of Americans to discern 'between true and false, right and wrong, virtue and vice,' is being systematically eroded by leftist politicos, in collusion with their 24/7 Left media and Big Tech enablers, relentlessly seeking to empower the state.".