So CAIR, a terrorist-linked group goes from influencing the War College to influencing Congress. The Golden calf is the liberal movement in action. It seems like angels just appear to everybody in Scripture, but thats because those are the stories worth telling. They are killing themselves spiritually, politically, and even physically. This is certainly countries and leaders like Iran. The story we remind ourselves of each year, by reading Parshah Zachor, is that of the attack of the Amalekites, who are the descendants of Eliphaz, son of Esau (the patriarch Jacob's brother and sworn enemy) and his concubine Timna. But this one,came forward and started and showed the way to others. New International Version (NIV). 25:17 Remember what Amalek did to the Israelites Remember how He swore to blot out the memory of Amalek? Buchman states that "we must acknowledge the phenomenon of biological Jews who are converts from Judaism to the nation of Amalek. They were the first nation to attack the Jewish people after theExodusfrom Egypt, and they are seen as the archetypal enemy of the Jews. First and foremost, Amalek is doubt in divine providence. The prophet Samuel tells Saul that God wants him to destroy the Amalekites for the way they treated Israel on its way out of Egypt. '", Obama went even farther in his transformation of the country and it should surprise no one that the riots, and the acceptance of a Marxist terrorist group such as BLM is now roundly applauded. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. Deuteronomy 25:19 ESV. 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. 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). Exod 17:8; Num 14:45). But then he makes a decision even weirder than the thing with the fleece: he takes some of the spoils of war and melts down the jewelry and makes a golden ephod (a ceremonial coat or vest worn by priests), and it inexplicably becomes an idol that Israel worships. Instead, this is the part of the story where Israel gets angry with God for taking them out of Egypt, and God declares that nobody who left Egypt will make it to the Promised Land. They were saying that there is no room in this world for a covenant with God., Atheism is an extreme form of Amalek. In fact, for millennia Amalek has stood for the archetypal enemies of the Jews, so that whatever nation was oppressing the Jews at any time was associated with Amalek. He reminds Israel during Balaams prophecies that were supposed to be curses: Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction. Judg 12:15 and remarks earlier). Etymology [ edit] 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. 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. This is seen in Judges 3:12-14 in the account of how Eglon, the king of Moab, collected the forces of the Amalekites and the Ammonites and defeated Israel and took the city of palms (evidently Jericho, cf. Without direct divine guidance, it is impossible to say with certainty who is Amalek, Berger told Breaking Israel News. Later in the time of the Judges the Amalekites showed continued harassing activity against Israel. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau's grandson, Amalek. [21], In the exegesis of Numbers 24:20 concerning Balaam's utterance: "Amalek was the first one of the nations, but his end afterward will be even his perishing", Richard Watson attempts to associate this passage to the "first one of the nations" that developed post-Flood. Liberalism is the focus of Amalek today. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. There had previously been an agreement between the king of Elam and these five other kings, and the other kings were sick of it, so they rebelled. [48], A few authorities have ruled that the command never included killing Amalekites. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Saul fought a war with King Agog, a descendant of Amalek, and was commanded to kill him, but didn't, out of pity. These are the traits of Amalek., Trump has done precisely the opposite. Territory. Today we look at the Amalekites, descendants of Amalek. You will not be surprised that the wars continue. "Amalek from Generation to Generation." Accordingly, a "Catholic teacher is fired for criticizing the Black Lives Matter Movement.". America encompasses the idea that the laws of our land are G-d given to protect our freedoms; the belief that there needs to be equal justice under the law is integral to America. [47], In addition, the Amalekites, as a physical nation, have been extinct since the time of Hezekiah's reign, according to the Hebrew Bible. 5. He believed that Purim documented the fate of the enemies of the Jewish people. See how the latest updates in Jerusalem and the world are connected to the prophecies we read in the Bible. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com. Thus the people of Amalek lived on, to continue to torment the Jews for generations. The Amalekites as a nomadic desert tribe moved in the area from the Sinaitic region and the steppe land of the Negeb in S Canaan, S of Beersheba, over E to include the Arabah region N of Elath and Ezion-geber and possibly the more interior Arabia. AMALEK m lk, AMALEKITES m l k ts (, ; Gr , ). [25], According to a midrash, Amalek's mother Timna was a princess who had tried to convert to Judaism but had been rejected by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Hakirah: The Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought, Volume 28, Spring 2020, pp. According to the Bible, the Amalekites inhabited the Negev. There is no real purebred Amalek today since, according to the Talmud, King Sennacherib mixed up the nations, Rabbi Winston told, . Today, 30 years later, one sees the power of this concept: Jews in the United States, like those in Israel, are now viewed by a generation of progressives as 'oppressors.'. They are often associated with Edom, living in the same area as Edom. 1 Samuel 30:1, 2 points to the Amalekite heavy raiding activity in the area of the Negeb, and Judges 6:3, 33 in speaking of the Amalekite association with the kings of the E in their raiding parties suggests that they may have lived sometime together in the Arabian territory toward the E. The Amalekites also extended their influence farther N into the Philistine country and the region of Ephraim. servant of an Amalekite (30:11-15), found the Amalekite camp, defeated the enemy, and recovered his wives and possessions (30:16-20). The Midianites and Amalekites pull out their swords and swipe at anything that moveswhich is mostly their comrades. It is clear to me that the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah may not genetically be the descendants of Amalek, but ideologically, they are one and the same. First, God has Gideon invite anyone who is afraid to take off, no questions asked. But God does not forget! By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. . Even though these same synagogues had to rush out their Torah scrolls to protect them from a racist mob, they did not voice any pain or outrage, or offer solidarity to their fellow vandalized synagogues. For less than $5/mo. The Kenites were an ancient people living near the land of Canaan around the time of Abraham ( Genesis 15:18-21 ). Now go in this strength of yours and defeat Midian. Agag was the king of Amalek (1 Sam. Israel is on its way through the wilderness toward Mount Sinai. Anyone who acts this way today is from the seed of Amalek., The commandment isnt to conquer Amalek. Usually angels start off with Do not fear! But, as will become clear, Gideon did not have this problem, so this angel starts with The Lord is with you. And like hes talking to his brother and not a celestial being of unimaginable power, Gideon fires back. Verses 8-16. 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. This is borne out by Judges 12:15 where the area of Ephraim around the town Pirathon (not far from present-day Nablus) is called the hill country of the Amalekites. See 1 Samuel 27:5-7 and 30:1 for the fact that Amalek raided Philistine towns like Ziklag (a few m. N of Beersheba) which Achish, king of Gath, had given to David. 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. Amalek seeks Israel's physical as well as spiritual annihilation. However, some other genealogies point out at a . For an Rabbanic explanation of Timna lineage see. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! Amalek was the grandson of Esau whose descendants became a nation infamous for attacking the Hebrews after they came out of Egypt. The narrative of wiping out the remembrance of Amalek is so important that women, who are normally not obligated in the weekly Torah reading, are obligated to come . Thus, the continuing oppressive spirit of this pagan nomadic tribe required a different treatment by the Lord from that which was to be normally carried out; namely, that terms of peace be first offered to a potential enemy (Deut 20:10-12). Gideon, not surprisingly, is victorious. And if you think that is enough, the Torah goes on to say that every animal belonging to Amalek needs to be put to death. For Sauls failure to fulfill completely the divine command, Samuel announced to the monarch the Lords rejection of him as king (1 Sam 15:10-23). Iran is willing to destroy their economy, they are willing to destroy their own country, just to convince the other Arab nations to attack Israel. The etymology is uncertain, according to John L. McKenzie (1995), while Cox (1884) suggested "High." It means the Lord is peace.). Omissions? 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. It also means that Amalek has gotten mixed into the other nations and a little bit of Amalek is in everyone., Amalek is more than a physical people. Now David is both more obedient to God and better at war than Saul ever was, so he starts fighting the Amalekites even while Saul is hunting him down (1 Samuel 27:810). Sign up to our free daily newsletter today to get all the most important stories directly to your inbox. . [4] Amalek is described as the "chief of Amalek" among the "chiefs of the sons of Esau",[5] from which it is surmised that he ruled a clan or territory named after him. The Amalekites were a people of the Negev and adjoining desert that were a hereditary enemy of Israel from wilderness times to the early monarchy. The Amalekites, descended from Amalek, a grandson of Esau, fall naturally into the anti-Israel alliance. 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 . And seriously, the Lord of all creation is with you.. The story of Amalek and the kings of Israel is very much like the stories of Moab and Ammon. Fortunately, this conundrum has a simple answer, although Im not sure anybody can confirm it. 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). Well, according to biblical scholar Matthew Henry, "The Amalekites were probably descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:12), and so enemies of Isaac's family." In other words, they were enemies of God's chosen people from the very beginning. Gods call was (as usual) timely, because the Amalekites and Midianites are on the move. - THE WAR WITH AMALEK. Liberalism is what happens when you take God and meaning out of life. A tribe dwelling originally in the region south of Judah, the wilderness of et-Tih where the Israelites came into conflict with them. In fact, "[s]peaking to the 2015 Women in the World Summit, Clinton declared that 'deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed. Moses sits on a hill overlooking the battlefield, holding his staff (the one God turned into a snake). 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites . [20][21] It is, however, possible that the name Amalek may have been given to two different nations. Just a few years later, the cycle repeats, except this time Amalek is helping Midian defeat Israel, destroying crops and livestock (Judges 6:14). 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. So, the Amalekites were somehow related to, but distinct from, the Edomites. [46], Maimonides explains that the commandment to destroy the nation of Amalek requires the Jewish people to peacefully request that they accept upon themselves the Seven Laws of Noah and pay a tax to the Jewish kingdom. Theyve gotten hangry, so God has sent them quail and manna from heaven (Exodus 16:4) and water from a rock (Exodus 17:56). Thus, we must be strong and alert in order to prevail. When they cry ceasefire, it is just like in the Ten Plagues when Pharaoh was stubborn until he got a plague, relented, and then returned to being stubborn until the next plague. The answer is NO. This is why they will say that abortion and homosexuality, actions that detract from life, are moral imperatives. 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. It also means that Amalek has gotten mixed into the other nations and a little bit of Amalek is in everyone., Amalek is more than a physical people. Verse 16 mentions that Amalek became a chief among the Edomites. After all, we survived! 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. Too many men! says God to Gideon. The Bible doesnt specify that God is steering them clear of the Amalekites. At the same time, an extremist rabbi has called for revenge attacks on Arabs, a protest of right-wing settlers turned into an attempt to bring down the home of the Mercaz HaRav terrorist, and a prominent Haredi rabbi, known for his legal decisions, issued a ruling that yeshivot (learning centers) have to fire the Arabs working for them, and already the ruling has begun being followed. 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. ", 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.". Theyve encamped at a place called Rephidim. Gideon and Purah overhear some soldiers talking about a dream, and the soldiers correctly interpret the dream to mean Gideon will destroy them. The Bible tells us that when the Israelites left Egypt, they were attacked from behind by Amalek and his people. Ishmael was the elder brother of Isaac. 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. They reject discussion and other opinions. The shepherd boy who doesnt see an angel also doesnt compose a song about it. He organized Europe in order to give Iran nuclear weapons, even though Iran was calling for Death to Israel and Death to America. He used the United Nations against Israel. Thursday evening marks the holiday of Purim. Weve seen the redemption of the Moabites through the boundless faith of Ruth, the foreigner who became the great-grandmother of King David. The Amalekites seem to have been descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12). [22] However, the modern biblical scholar David Freedman uses textual analysis to glean that the use of Amalekite in Genesis 14:7 is actually an anachronism,[13] and in the early 19th century, Richard Watson enumerated several speculative reasons for having a "more ancient Amalek" than Abraham. Gideon obeys, but he does it at night because hes afraid of the townspeople; they find out immediately the next day anyway. Although he scalded himself, he succeeded to make others think that it was cooler than it really was. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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.. His economy is crashing but he doesnt care. Near the beginning of this period, King Eglon of Moab ruled Israel for eighteen years. He said that he has a tradition from the Gaon of Vilna that the Germans are the descendants of Amalek (Horowitz, p. 428). In the annals of Jewish history, "[t]he Amalekites, descendants ofAmalek, were an ancient biblical nation living near the land ofCanaan. Twenty-two thousand men take the hint and skedaddle, leaving Gideon with less than a third of his force, just ten thousand men. The first reason is not a good one. For Amalekites in the Book of Mormon, see, Commandment to exterminate the Amalekites, Religious and modern scholarly discussion. 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. Whoever goes in the ways of Amalek will most certainly be wiped out., Amalek: Preventing the Jews From Settling Israel. And therefore, God commanded the Israelites to wipe out the memory of Amalek. Then why are we servants to the Midianites? Rabbi Ben Artzi stated that, as the seed of Amalek, this commandment applied to Hamas. Every man, woman, and child of Amalek needs to be wiped out. 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). "After many years of research, Arthur Koestler, the well . In short, Saul fights them, David defeats them, and Solomon sets them to forced labor. Years later, when Saul is under attack by the Philistines, he consults a medium who brings up the spirit of Samuel, and Samuel reminds him of his disobedience and tells him the consequences have arrived: the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me [in Sheol] (1 Samuel 28:1519). The police are warning that this week marks 40 days after Mugniyah was killed in Syria an event that Hizbollah attributes to Israel and are on high alert for revenge attacks on Israel. Gideon, not convinced by an angel, this second miracle, and a dream from God, wants more. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. It is making God in the image of man, making man the ultimate authority, freeing him to do what he wants. 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. Amalek's spirit has continued through the millenniaits viciousness culminating in the Shoa. Not only that, but the Amalekites continued to be a thorn in Israel's side throughout their history. Chapter counts, verse counts, and word counts for every book, chapter, and verse in the Bible. According to the, (homiletic teachings), after killing Jewish men, Amalek cut off the, (circumcision) of the male Jewish casualties and threw them up at heaven. 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]. Israel365 News is the only media outlet reporting on it. , the rabbi of King Davids Tomb on Mount Zion, believes that Amalek exists in the world today, in individuals and also in nations. He asks for a miracle. 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. Merely two weeks after the tragedy of Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, it is hard to turn sorrow into merriment. It is clear from the text that Haman, the villain in the Book of Esther was a direct descendant of Agog. , a prominent Israeli mystic, gave a sermon that was published on Sunday. Those who stick their heads straight in the water go home; those who cup their hands and lap at it stay. Amalekite, member of an ancient nomadic tribe, or collection of tribes, described in the Old Testament as relentless enemies of Israel, even though they were closely related to Ephraim, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Jews, "especially those lacking an authentic Jewish education, consider that the well-being of the world and politically correct standards of social values must be their priority -- with disregard to the harm this inflicts on them as a community." Instead of confronting the Israelite people in a traditional battle or war, Amalek ambushed them, as a terrorist would. Finally they flee, and Gideon, with his tiny little force, pursues. He allied with the Amalekites, of course, as well as the Ammonites (Judges 3:1214). He was the youngest son of his father Joash and part of the smallest family in Manasseh, which was not exactly the dominant tribe in Israel. Answer Ishmael was a son of Abraham, born of Sarah's maidservant Hagar in an attempt to bring into the world the son God had promised to Abraham and Sarah. And he saw the possibilities of mobilizing left-leaning ethnic, racial, and religious groups against 'Israeli oppression.' 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. 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]. Saul fought a war with King Agog, a descendant of Amalek, and was commanded to kill him, but didnt, out of pity. Among the victims of the four kings during this war was all the country of the Amalekites (Genesis 14:17). Bibliography G. A. Smith, The Historical Geography of the Holy Land (1896), 282; D. Baly, The Geography of the Bible (1957), 159. The politics of the progressive Jew is "bordering on the suicidal.". They are Arabs who are mostly Muslim and some who are Christian. According to 1 Samuel 14:47, 48 the king had fought against this enemy. Ironically, many of them come from the same area of the world what we know today as Iran, formerly known as Persia. {amount} donation plus {fee_amount} to help cover fees. 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. King Jehoshaphats Prayer: A Scriptural Response to Fear, From Sodom and Gomorrah to Jesus: The Story of the Moabites, Sitting In the Shadows of History: The Story of the Ammonites, Everywhere and Nowhere: The Story of the Amalekites you are here.