Bible Dictionaries
Amalekite

Holman Bible Dictionary

(am' ay lehk ite) A nomadic tribe of formidable people that first attacked the Israelites after the Exodus at Rephidim. Descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12 ), they inhabited the desolate wasteland of the northeast Sinai peninsula and the Negeb. They were the first to attack Israel after the Exodus (Numbers 24:20 ). Israel won the initial battle (Exodus 17:8-16 ), but later was driven back into the Sinai wilderness by a coalition of Amalekites and Canaanites (Numbers 14:39-45 ). Thereafter the Amalekites waged a barbaric guerrilla war against Israel (Deuteronomy 25:17-19 ). Fighting continued after Israel settled in Canaan. Because of their atrocities, God commanded Saul to exterminate the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:2-3 ). Saul disobeyed, and the Amalekites were not defeated completely until late in the eighth century B.C. (1 Chronicles 4:43 ). No archaeological data concerning the Amalekites has been discovered to date. See also Exodus and Negeb .

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