The Amalekites, a nomadic tribe descended from Esau's grandson Amalek, are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament as adversaries of the Israelites. Their hostility towards Israel is first recorded during the Exodus, when they attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. This initial encounter is detailed in Exodus 17:8-16, where the Amalekites' aggression is met with divine intervention. Moses, with the support of Aaron and Hur, holds up his hands, and as long as his hands are raised, Israel prevails. Ultimately, Joshua leads the Israelites to victory, and the LORD declares, "I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven" (Exodus 17:14).

Despite this early defeat, the Amalekites continued to be a thorn in Israel's side. Their persistent enmity is highlighted in the period of the Judges, where they join forces with other nations to oppress Israel. In Judges 6:3-5, the Amalekites, alongside the Midianites, invade the land, destroying crops and leaving the Israelites impoverished.

The Amalekites' most significant defeat of the Israelites occurs during the reign of King Saul. In 1 Samuel 15, God commands Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites as a divine judgment for their past transgressions against Israel. Saul, however, disobeys by sparing King Agag and the best of the livestock. This act of disobedience leads to Saul's rejection as king. The prophet Samuel confronts Saul, stating, "Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king" (1 Samuel 15:23).

The Amalekites' continued existence and their sporadic victories over Israel serve as a reminder of the consequences of incomplete obedience to God's commands. Their presence is felt even in the time of David, who conducts raids against them (1 Samuel 27:8-9) and later recovers everything they had taken from Ziklag (1 Samuel 30:1-20).

The Amalekites' final mention in the biblical narrative occurs in the book of Esther, where Haman, a descendant of Agag, seeks to annihilate the Jewish people. This connection underscores the enduring enmity between the descendants of Amalek and Israel, fulfilling the LORD's declaration of perpetual conflict between the two nations (Exodus 17:16).

Throughout the biblical account, the Amalekites symbolize opposition to God's people and His purposes. Their repeated conflicts with Israel highlight the spiritual and physical battles faced by the Israelites and serve as a testament to the importance of faithfulness and obedience to God's commands.Numbers 14:45
Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelled in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even to Hormah.
Nave's Topical Index

Judges 3:13
And he gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.
Nave's Topical Index

The Antiquities of the Jews
... Of A King Over The Israelites, Whose Name ... Of Jehoram King O Jerusalem; His Defeat
And Death ... Made An Expedition Against The Edomites And Amalekites And Conquered ...
//christianbookshelf.org/josephus/the antiquities of the jews/

The Nations of the South-East
... days of Gideon, along with the Amalekites and "the ... The Moabites must have hailed
the Israelites as saviours. ... After their defeat by Gideon, however, we hear of ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter iii the nations of.htm

God's Sovereignty Defined
... of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels ... But a little
later, the Amalekites dared to attack these same Israelites in the ...
/.../pink/the sovereignty of god/chapter one gods sovereignty defined.htm

The Historical Books.
... If we suppose that the oppression of the Israelites by the ... second sin in the matter
of the Amalekites Saul is ... lips of the risen Samuel, of the defeat of the ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xx the historical books.htm

The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
... See the long account in Numb, xiii., xiv., which terminates with the mention of
the defeat of the Israelites at Hormah; and cf. Bent. i.19-46. ...
/.../chapter iiithe hebrews and the.htm

The Reaction against Egypt
... had asserted their supremacy over it. Dushratta, however, was able to defeat
one of their chiefs. Repulsed on this side, they fell ...
/.../chapter iithe reaction against egypt.htm

The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
... with the stone knives used by Joshua for the circumcision of the Israelites after
the ... on the confines of the Sinaitic desert, and as the Amalekites who ranged ...
/.../chapter ithe first chaldaean empire.htm

Who was Hur in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What is the significance of Kadesh Barnea in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Haman the Agagite? | GotQuestions.org

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