From Where You Came You Shall Remain Until You Are Complete Again
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Who were the Amalekites?
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The Amalekites were a formidable tribe of nomads living in the area southward of Canaan, betwixt Mountain Seir and the Egyptian border. The Amalekites are not listed in the table of nations in Genesis x, as they did not originate until afterwards Esau'due south time. In Numbers 24:20 Balaam refers to the Amalekites as "beginning among the nations," but he most probable meant simply that the Amalekites were the first ones to assail the Israelites upon their exodus from Egypt or that the Amalekites were "first" in ability at that time. Genesis 36 refers to the descendants of Amalek, the son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau, as Amalekites (verses 12 and 16). So, the Amalekites were somehow related to, but distinct from, the Edomites.
Scripture records the long-lasting feud between the Amalekites and the Israelites and God's direction to wipe the Amalekites off the face of the globe (Exodus 17:eight–thirteen; 1 Samuel 15:2; Deuteronomy 25:17). Why God would call His people to exterminate an entire tribe is a difficult question, but a look at history may give some insight.
Similar many desert tribes, the Amalekites were nomadic. Numbers xiii:29 places them equally native to the Negev, the desert between Arab republic of egypt and Canaan. The Babylonians called them the Sute, Egyptians the Sittiu, and the Amarna tablets refer to them as the Khabbati, or "plunderers."
The Amalekites' unrelenting brutality toward the Israelites began with an attack at Rephidim (Exodus 17:8–thirteen). This is recounted in Deuteronomy 25:17–19 with this admonition: "Remember what the Amalekites did to you lot along the fashion when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you lot on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind [typically women and children]: they had no fright of God. When the LORD your God gives you residue from all the enemies effectually you in the country he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, yous shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!"
The Amalekites later on joined with the Canaanites and attacked the Israelites at Hormah (Numbers fourteen:45). In Judges they banded with the Moabites (Judges 3:13) and the Midianites (Judges half dozen:3) to wage war on the Israelites. They were responsible for the repeated devastation of the Israelites' land and food supply.
In ane Samuel 15:2–three, God tells Rex Saul, "I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to State of israel when they waylaid them every bit they came up from Egypt. Now become, set on the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them, put to decease men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."
In response, Rex Saul beginning warns the Kenites, friends of State of israel, to go out the surface area. He then attacks the Amalekites but does not complete the chore. He allows the Amalekite Rex Agag to live, takes plunder for himself and his regular army, and lies nearly the reason for doing and then. Saul's rebellion against God and His commands is so serious that he is rejected past God as king (1 Samuel 15:23).
The escaped Amalekites continued to harass and plunder the Israelites in successive generations that spanned hundreds of years. First Samuel 30 reports an Amalekite raid on Ziklag, a Judean village where David held property. The Amalekites burned the village and took captive all the women and children, including two of David's wives. David and his men defeated the Amalekites and rescued all the hostages. A few hundred Amalekites escaped, however. Much later, during the reign of King Hezekiah, a group of Simeonites "killed the remaining Amalekites" who had been living in the hill country of Seir (1 Chronicles four:42–43).
The last mention of the Amalekites is establish in the book of Esther where Haman the Agagite, a descendant of the Amalekite rex Agag, connives to have all the Jews in Persia annihilated by order of Rex Xerxes. God saved the Jews in Persia, even so, and Haman, his sons, and the balance of Israel's enemies were destroyed instead (Esther 9:5–10).
The Amalekites' hatred of the Jews and their repeated attempts to destroy God's people led to their ultimate doom. Their fate should be a warning to all who would attempt to thwart God's plan or who would curse what God has blessed (come across Genesis 12:three).
Miscellaneous Bible Questions
Who were the Amalekites?
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This page last updated: January 4, 2022
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