Bible Dictionary
Amalekite
The Amalekites were a nomadic people who lived in the southern wilderness and opposed Israel repeatedly. They attacked Israel after the exodus, fought against Saul and David, and were progressively defeated by Israel’s kings.
Definition
The Amalekites were a pastoral and nomadic people who lived in the southern wilderness and the region between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. They repeatedly opposed Israel and became a persistent enemy in Israel’s early history.
Biblical Usage
They attacked Israel at Rephidim and Hormah, opposed Israel’s advance, and later allied with Moabites and Midianites. Saul devastated their territory, and David recovered spoil from them.
Historical Background
Their kings bore the hereditary name Agag. They occupied the southern land from Havilah toward Shur and were associated in ancient records with names such as Sute, Sittiu, and Khabbati, or “plunderers.”
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
A tribe that dwelt in Arabia Petraea, between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. They were not the descendants of Amalek, the son of Eliphaz, for they existed in the days of Abraham (Gen. 14:7). They were probably a tribe that migrated from the shores of the Persian Gulf and settled in Arabia. “They dwelt in the land of the south...from Havilah until thou comest to Shur” (Num. 13:29; 1 Sam. 15:7). They were a pastoral, and hence a nomadic race. Their kings bore the hereditary name of Agag (Num. 24:7; 1 Sam. 15:8). They attempted to stop the Israelites when they marched through their territory (Deut. 25:18), attacking them at Rephidim (Ex. 17:8-13; comp. Deut. 25:17; 1 Sam. 15:2). They afterwards attacked the Israelites at Hormah (Num. 14:45). We read of them subsequently as in league with the Moabites (Judg. 3:13) and the Midianites (Judg. 6:3). Saul finally desolated their territory and destroyed their power (1 Sam. 14:48; 15:3), and David recovered booty from them (1 Sam. 30:18-20). In the Babylonian inscriptions they are called Sute, in those of Egypt Sittiu, and the Amarna tablets include them under the general name of Khabbati, or “plunderers.”