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Concept
Amalek
Summary
Amalek (ˈæməlɛk; עֲמָלֵק, , عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. 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.
In some rabbinical interpretations, Amalek is etymologised as , 'a people who lick (blood)', but most specialists regard the origin to be unknown.
According to the Bible, Amalek was the son of Eliphaz (himself the son of Esau, ancestor of the Edomites) and Eliphaz's concubine Timna. Timna was a Horite and sister of Lotan. Amalek is described as the "chief of Amalek" among the "chiefs of the sons of Esau", from which it is surmised that he ruled a clan or territory named after him.
The Amalekites (ˈæməlɛkaɪts) were considered to be Amalek's descendants through the genealogy of Esau. In the oracle of Balaam, Amalek was called the 'first of the nations'. One modern scholar believes this attests to Amalek's high antiquity, while traditional commentator Rashi states: "He came before all of them to make war with Israel". First-century Roman-Jewish scholar and historian Flavius Josephus refers to Amalek as a 'bastard' (νόθος) in a derogatory sense.
According to the Bible, the Amalekites inhabited the Negev. They appear to have lived a nomadic or seminomadic lifestyle along the fringes of southern Canaan's agricultural zone. 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). It has been suggested by Moshe Kochavi that the ‘ir Amaleq, (city of Amalek) referred to at 1 Samuel 15:5 may be identified with the site at Khirbet eI-Meshash (Tel Masos) on the periphery of the Wadi Beer-sheba, some 12 kilometres east of the city of Beer Sheva itself. An earlier hypothesis held that the Tel Masos site was an Israelite settlement mentioned in the Bible as Hormah.
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