Amalekites, the.

• 1 min. read • grade level: 12

Descent of. Gen. 36:12, 16¹²And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife. (Genesis 36:12)
¹⁶Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah. (Genesis 36:16).

CHARACTER OF

Wicked. 1 Sam. 15:18¹⁸And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. (1 Samuel 15:18).

Oppressive. Jud. 10:12.

Warlike and cruel. 1 Sam. 15:33³³And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. (1 Samuel 15:33).

Governed by Kings. 1 Sam. 15:20, 32²⁰And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. (1 Samuel 15:20)
³²Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. (1 Samuel 15:32).

A powerful and influential nation. Num. 24:7⁷He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:7).

Possessed cities. 1 Sam. 15:5⁵And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. (1 Samuel 15:5).

COUNTRY OF

In the south of Canaan. Num. 13: 29. 1 Sam. 27:8⁸And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. (1 Samuel 27:8).

Extended from Haxilah to Shur. 1 Sam. 15:7⁷And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. (1 Samuel 15:7).

Was the scene of ancient warfare. Gen. 14:7⁷And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar. (Genesis 14:7).

Part of the Kenites dwelt amongst. 1 Sam. 15:6⁶And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. (1 Samuel 15:6).

Were the first to oppose Israel. Exo. 17:8⁸Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. (Exodus 17:8).

Discomfited at Rephidim, through the intercession of Moses. Exo. 17:9-13⁹And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. ¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹²But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ¹³And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. (Exodus 17:9‑13).

Doomed to utter destruction for opposing Israel. Exo. 17:14, 16¹⁴And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. (Exodus 17:14)
¹⁶For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. (Exodus 17:16). Deu. 25:19.

Their utter destruction foretold. Num. 24:20²⁰And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. (Numbers 24:20).

Presumption of Israel punished by. Num. 14:45⁴⁵Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah. (Numbers 14:45).

United with Eglon against Israel. Jud. 3:13.

Part of their possessions taken by Ephraim. Jud. 5:14, with Jud. 12:15.

With Midian, oppressed Israel. Jud. 6:3-5.

Overcome by Gideon. Jud. 6:33, 34. Jud. 7:21, 22

SAUL

Overcame, and delivered Israel. 1 Sam. 14:48⁴⁸And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them. (1 Samuel 14:48).

Commissioned to destroy. 1 Sam. 15:1-3¹Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. ²Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. ³Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. (1 Samuel 15:1‑3).

Massacred. 1 Sam. 15:4-8⁴And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. ⁶And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. ⁷And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. ⁸And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. (1 Samuel 15:4‑8).

Condemned for not utterly destroying. 1 Sam. 15:9-26⁹But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. ¹⁰Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, ¹¹It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night. ¹²And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. ¹³And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord. ¹⁴And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? ¹⁵And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. ¹⁶Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. ¹⁷And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? ¹⁸And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. ¹⁹Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? ²⁰And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. ²²And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. ²³For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. ²⁴And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. ²⁵Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord. ²⁶And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. (1 Samuel 15:9‑26). 1 Sam. 28:18¹⁸Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. (1 Samuel 28:18).

Agag, king of, slain by Samuel. 1 Sam. 5:32, 33.

Invaded by David. 1 Sam. 27:8, 9⁸And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. ⁹And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. (1 Samuel 27:8‑9). Pillaged and burned Ziklag. 1 Sam. 30:1, 2¹And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; ²And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. (1 Samuel 30:1‑2).

Pursued and slain by David. 1 Sam. 30:10-20¹⁰But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. ¹¹And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; ¹²And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. ¹³And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. ¹⁴We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. ¹⁵And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company. ¹⁶And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. ¹⁷And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. ¹⁸And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. ²⁰And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil. (1 Samuel 30:10‑20).

Spoil taken from, consecrated. 2 Sam. 8:11, 12¹¹Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued; ¹²Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. (2 Samuel 8:11‑12).

Conferated against Israel. Psa. 83:7⁷Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; (Psalm 83:7).

Remnant of, completely destroyed during the reign of Hezekiah. 1 Chr. 4:41-43⁴¹And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks. ⁴²And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. ⁴³And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day. (1 Chronicles 4:41‑43).

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The New Topical Textbook

• Access to God.

• Adoption.

• Affections, the.

• Afflicted, Duty Toward the.

• Afflicted Saints.

• Affliction, Consolation Under.

• Affliction, Prayer Under.

• Afflictions.

• Afflictions Made Beneficial.

• Afflictions of the Wicked, the.

• Agriculture or Husbandry.

• Alliance and Society With the Enemies of God.

• Altar of Burnt-Offering, the.

• Amalekites, the.

• Amusements and Pleasures, Worldly.

• Anointing of the Holy Ghost.