The other nations followed and were burned but they didnt want to look bad in front of the others now that Amalek had jumped in., We see this happening today. If youve read this far, Im sure youd like to know how this ancient Biblical story relate to our lives today! 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. In the annals of Jewish history, "[t]he Amalekites, descendants ofAmalek, were an ancient biblical nation living near the land ofCanaan. 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. This is certainly countries and leaders like Iran. We know both his mother's name (Timna, a concubine of his father Eliphaz) and his grandmother's name (Adah, wife of his grandfather Esau) (Genesis 36:9-12; 1 Chronicles 1:34-36). 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). Amalek's spirit has continued through the millenniaits viciousness culminating in the Shoa. 25:17 Remember what Amalek did to the Israelites Amalek was the grandson of Esau whose descendants became a nation infamous for attacking the Hebrews after they came out of Egypt. The Bible mentions several dealings between the Israelites and the Kenites, who were always on friendly terms with each other. Territory. Rabbi Yosef Dayan, a member of the nascent Sanhedrin, is unafraid to make difficult judgments with dire consequences. They encamp just across the river. They are leading a meaningless existence. Only if they refuse must they be physically killed. Centenary year of the Scouting movement. Weve seen the redemption of the Moabites through the boundless faith of Ruth, the foreigner who became the great-grandmother of King David. You will not be surprised that the wars continue. Early history. They were the first nation to attack the Jewish people after theExodusfrom Egypt, and they are seen as the archetypal enemy of the Jews. But it scares me to know that there are Jews prepared to act in Amaleks name as well. Amalek, a son of Esau's son Eliphaz, was presumably the eponymous ancestor of the Amalekites. Twenty-two thousand men take the hint and skedaddle, leaving Gideon with less than a third of his force, just ten thousand men. And then Gideon goes out to meet them and slaughters the enemies of Israel in the strength of the Lord and everyone rejoices and they make him king and apologize for all the mean things they said about him when he pulled down the statue. 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. That is why Amalek and those who go in his way simply cannot bear the sight of Israel.. And they were at war. The Amalekites, like many other people groups, ceased to exist or completely mingled with other nations sufficiently long ago that they left no distinct records. "After many years of research, Arthur Koestler, the well . Amalek came to kill Israel after they saw all the wonders Hashem did for us when we came out of Egypt., The Torah says they came upon us by happenstance., How, undeterred by fear of Hashem, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. The rabbis derived these from Deuteronomy 25:1718, Exodus 17:14 and 1 Samuel 15:3. In the same chapter, Amalek is referred to as "one of the chiefs among Esau's descendants," meaning he either ruled a clan or some territory. [7] This role appears in several stories: In Genesis 14:7, the "field of the Amalekites" is mentioned, though the person Amalek had not yet been born. The story of Amalek and the kings of Israel is very much like the stories of Moab and Ammon. Although he scalded himself, he succeeded to make others think that it was cooler than it really was. Israel is on its way through the wilderness toward Mount Sinai. For example, Rabbi Hayim Palaggi stated: We can rely on the maxim that in ancient times, Sennacherib confused the lineage of many nations. Without direct divine guidance, it is impossible to say with certainty who is Amalek, Berger told, . 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. Seir: At the time of the Exodus, the Amalekites had expanded west to in the Negev: Numbers 13:29; The Amalekites, descended from Amalek, a grandson of Esau, fall naturally into the anti-Israel alliance. For less than $5/mo. Amalek didnt just do random evil, Rabbi Dayan told Breaking Israel News. In Numbers 24:20 Balaam refers to the Amalekites as "first among the nations," but he most likely meant only that the Amalekites were the first ones to attack the Israelites upon their exodus from Egypt or that the Amalekites were "first" in power at that time. d. In the time of David. The shepherd boy who doesnt see an angel also doesnt compose a song about it. When Gideon and Purah get back, the Israelites return to the camp of Midian and Amalek armed with the ancient near east equivalent of flash-bangs: jars of clay, trumpets, and torches. Goering committed suicide so that only 10 descendants of Amalek were hung, Some of the ancestral connections are more obvious than others. First and foremost, Amalek is doubt in divine providence. Way back in the War of the Nine Kings, the one where Lot gets kidnapped and Abraham has to rescue him and they meet Melchizedek on the way back and accidentally invent a priestly order both older and higher than the sons of Aaron that the author of Hebrews later uses to point to Jesus as the Messiah, there were, um, nine kings. The holiday where Queen Esther saved the Jewish people of Persia from being wiped out by the wicked Haman. 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]. In Judaism, the Amalekites came to represent the archetypal enemy of the Jews. And that is unthinkable. This demonstrates again Israels strong antipathy to Amalek. We know both his mothers name (Timna, a concubine of his father Eliphaz) and his grandmothers name (Adah, wife of his grandfather Esau) (Genesis 36:912; 1 Chronicles 1:3436). The people try to make Gideon king, but hell have none of it: God is your king, he says. This can be the United Nations or even movements like BDS (Boycott Divest Sanctions). 15-33. Samuel, ever obedient, kills Agag himself (1 Samuel 15:3233). 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 . 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. Then the future king, through the help of an abandoned Egyp. Elams king has an amazing name: Chedorlaomer., Youre not expected to know what an Abiezrite is or where Ophrah is. The answer is NO. This is an amazing story since it took place decades before the Holocaust. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! That is because Amalek in gematria (Hebrew numerology) is 240, equal to the word, (doubt); they want you to doubt what you know is clearly the word of God., Amalek puts emotions over the intellect. But each person must ask himself if he has the traits of Amalek.. Observing this connection, there is no need, as some have attempted, to emend the text of Judges 1:16 from the people (Heb. The Bible notes a great deal of hatred and animosity between the Israelites and Amalekites: . And obviously, the residents of Ashkelon, Sderot, and other Israeli cities in shooting range of Gaza, are expecting an increase in rocket attacks. They were among the nomadic raiders defeated by Gideon and were condemned to annihilation by Samuel. Israel rebelled. In it, he referred to Hamas as the seed of Amalek., your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that, your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of, Rabbi Ben Artzi stated that, as the seed of Amalek, this commandment applied to. 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. Amalek wants to rule himself and everyone else. They reject discussion and other opinions. Who Was Amalek Eliphaz, son of Esau (the patriarch Jacob 's brother and sworn enemy), and his concubine Timna had a child named Amalek. Amalek seeks Israel's physical as well as spiritual annihilation. Gideon, not convinced by an angel, this second miracle, and a dream from God, wants more. They were nomads as a people dwelling in that tract would naturally be. Today we look at the Amalekites, descendants of Amalek. Consequently, America is presently in a battle, not only for its physical well-being but also for its spiritual values. They slaughtered those who could not defend themselves. His economy is crashing but he doesnt care. It is not a coincidence that liberals are atheists. For once, Saul has an opportunity to finish the job himself. Marilyn Wind, President, MERCAZ USA; Sheila Katz, CEO, National Council of Jewish Women; Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, Chief Executive, Rabbinical Assembly; Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union of Reform Judaism; Leslie Lichter, Interim CEO, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; Rabbi Marla Feldman, Executive Director, Women of Reform Judaism; Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive, Central Conference of American Rabbis; and, Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, Executive Director, Women's League for Conservative Judaism, Moreover, in 2017 progressive Jews released an open letter in defense of anti-Semite Linda Sarsour this, despite Sarsour's praise for Nation of Islam leader and rabid anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, and the claim that "sharia law is reasonable.". Rabbi Ben Artzi stated that, as the seed of Amalek, this commandment applied to Hamas. The Marxist Left has vowed to destroy America. Moses, ever the leader (and well past eighty) delegates the fighting to Joshua, who needs the experience given whats coming in the next few decades. He allied with the Amalekites, of course, as well as the Ammonites (Judges 3:1214). 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. God has made His point, so Gideon calls out the Ephraimites to join his pursuit. Certainly Jews in the US have traditionally been supportive of those who suffered from discrimination. He was the son of the 86-year-old Abraham from Hagar, the personal handmaid of Sarah, Abraham's wife. [13] This is probably based on the association of this tribal group with the steppe region of ancient Israel and the area of Kadesh (Genesis 14:7). defeats enemies before Israels army even gets there, How the Books of the Bible Got Their Names, A List of Books In the Bible By Number of Chapters. But why did he do it? 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. Davids initial encounter with the Amalekites, in the OT record, took place during the time of his association with Achish, king of Gath, when the young Israelite made raids in the S against the Amalekites and others (1 Sam 27:8). At its most transparent level, responding to Amalek is a response to . The commandment isnt to conquer Amalek. Instablogs.com A Dr Prem Guides Magazines Site. It is also customary to recite Deuteronomy 25:1718 (see below) on the Shabbat before Purim. (He builds an altar there and calls it Yahweh-shalom, which is a fantastic name for an altar. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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.. See how the latest updates in Jerusalem and the world are connected to the prophecies we read in the Bible. Different people can embody that concept. "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. For Amalekites in the Book of Mormon, see, Commandment to exterminate the Amalekites, Religious and modern scholarly discussion. Jealousy and its precipitous hatred for the Jews and Judeo-Christian America unite them. But great for God, whose goal is glory for Himself, not glory for Gideon. It is to wipe him out from the world because as long as there is a memory of Amalek in the world, the, Rabbi Yosef Dayan, a member of the nascent Sanhedrin, is unafraid to make difficult judgments with dire consequences. This can be compared to a bathtub of boiling water into which no living creature could descend. First, God has Gideon invite anyone who is afraid to take off, no questions asked. Without direct divine guidance, it is impossible to say with certainty who is Amalek, Berger told Breaking Israel News. 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. . Gideon prepares an entire feast of a young goat and bread and broth. There is no real purebred Amalek today since, according to the Talmud, King Sennacherib mixed up the nations, Rabbi Winston told Breaking Israel News. And seriously, the Lord of all creation is with you.. In particular, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin have defended a literal reading of these passages at length. Certainly, "chaos is the order of the day throughout the entire democratic world. Although the son of a concubine, he nonetheless became head of a significant tribe, which in later times distinguished itself as a ruthless enemy of Israel. - THE WAR WITH AMALEK. At this place, following the Amalekite attack, Israel defeated her enemy (Exod 17:8-16). So Saul gathers 210,000 soldiers and crushes Amalek and captures their king, Agag. When a person gets to this point, Amalek has won., People who acknowledge a covenant with God, his existence and presence in this world, they appreciate life as a gift. In a broader sense, I would say that Amalek represents the senseless hatred, the murderous impulse, and the love of seeing other people suffer. They came to stop the Jews from entering Israel. 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. Rabbi Dayan played a. central role in so-called death curse ceremonies, or Pulsa diNura, aimed at Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon as a punishment for their giving up portions of Israel and dealing with murderers of Jews. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. They are often associated with Edom, living in the same area as Edom. Judaism, which is based on the. and Gr. 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. The Nazis clearly did this. Israeli-born philanthropist and activist Adam Milstein, who lives in Los Angeles, said '[t]he Jewish community is in denial. Ishmaelites were recorded as the descendants of Ishmael in the Bible. Much of liberalism today is like that. We have many reasonable accounts of Amalek in Scripture, from Genesis to Psalms, that we have no reason to disbelieve and every reason to believe. Verse 16 mentions that Amalek became a chief among the Edomites. After all, we survived! (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) Jews are confusing genuine justice with social justice. Moses sits on a hill overlooking the battlefield, holding his staff (the one God turned into a snake). [20], Alternatively, during the Islamic Golden Age, certain Arabic writings claimed that the Amalekites existed long before Abraham. The Bible doesnt specify that God is steering them clear of the Amalekites. 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). 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. Numbers 24:20 ESV. and his associate kings subdued among others, all the country of the Amalekites, which reference need not be taken as an anachronism, but is to be understood as possibly a different Amalek, or better, that the term is used to identify the land which later became the home of the Amalekite descendants of Esau. It is also a concept and a spiritual reality. C. David drove the Amalekites out of Negev into transjordan Edomite territory at Mt. Gideon and Purah overhear some soldiers talking about a dream, and the soldiers correctly interpret the dream to mean Gideon will destroy them. Not just defeat them, but destroy every man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey (1 Samuel 15:13). Amalek was the grandson of Esau, Jacobs older brother. Prophecy from the Bible is revealing itself as we speak. Whoever goes in the ways of Amalek will most certainly be wiped out., Amalek: Preventing the Jews From Settling Israel. So God sets about decimating Gideons army to make sure nobody can claim they did it on their own without Gods help. Im not a scholar, but I can think of three possible reasons. According to the Bible, the Amalekites inhabited the Negev. AMALEK m lk, AMALEKITES m l k ts (, ; Gr , ). This cycle repeated at regular intervals. Which suits God just fine. God is a fan of raising up youngest sons, and Gideon is no exception. As a people, the Amalekites were identified as a recurrent enemy of the Israelites. Which must have been a weird dream for them, and an even weirder interpretation, but their conversation encourages Gideon. If you experience technical problems, please write to, undermine the Jewish community in America. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. in Madison, Wisconsin, ofCol. Hans Christian Heg, an immigrant from Norway who died fighting for the Union against slavery.