Amalek in the Bible: Esau, Edom, and Israel’s Ancient Enemy

Based on Bible Mysteries Podcast Episode 299: The Mystery of Amalek — Esau, Edom, and Israel’s Ancient Enemy

The name Amalek has taken on new significance in recent years as political leaders have invoked this ancient biblical enemy in connection with modern conflicts. But before applying the name Amalek to Hamas, Iran, Palestinians, or any other people today, there is a more important question to ask: Who was Amalek in the Bible?

Scripture does not leave Amalek's identity a mystery. Amalek had a specific genealogy, a specific connection to Esau and Edom, and a specific history with the nation of Israel.

Understanding that history is necessary before attempting to make a modern application.

Who Was Amalek in the Bible?

The first thing Scripture establishes about Amalek is his lineage.

Genesis 36:1 identifies Esau with Edom:

“Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.”

Esau was Jacob's brother. Jacob became Israel, while Esau became Edom. Genesis 36:8 states it again plainly:

“Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.”

Amalek enters the biblical record through this family line. Genesis 36:12 tells us:

“And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek...”

Amalek was therefore a grandson of Esau through Eliphaz. He was an Edomite.

Genesis 36:15–16 also identifies Amalek as one of the dukes descended from Esau:

“Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom...”

A duke was a chieftain or leader. Amalek was not simply the name of an obscure individual. His descendants became a people who would eventually wage war against Israel.

This connection to Edom is important. Amalek cannot be properly understood apart from Esau and the long conflict between Edom and Israel.

Amalek in the Bible Begins With Esau and Edom

When Esau separated from Jacob, he settled in Mount Seir. His descendants became the Edomites, and Amalek arose from this lineage.

This gives us a biblical starting point that cannot simply be replaced with a modern political identification. If we want to know who Amalek is, Scripture first directs us toward Esau and Edom, not toward whatever nation happens to be fighting Israel today.

Why Did God Declare War Against Amalek?

After God delivered Israel from Egypt, Amalek became one of the first enemies to attack them.

Exodus 17:8 states:

“Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.”

Joshua fought against Amalek while Moses stood upon the hill with the rod of God. As long as Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When his hand fell, Amalek prevailed. Aaron and Hur eventually supported Moses' hands until Joshua defeated Amalek.

God then made a remarkable declaration:

“And 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

Moses subsequently built an altar called Jehovah-nissi, and Exodus 17:16 says:

“...the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Why was God's judgment so severe?

Deuteronomy provides additional information about Amalek's attack.

Amalek in the Bible Attacked the Weak and Weary

Deuteronomy 25:17–18 says:

“Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;

How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.”

This was not merely a battle between two armies. Amalek attacked Israel from behind, striking those who were feeble, faint, and weary.

God therefore commanded Israel:

“...thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.”— Deuteronomy 25:19

The historical context matters. God was judging a particular people for a particular action committed against Israel after the Exodus. This was not a general command authorizing Israel to label any future enemy “Amalek” and apply the same judgment to them.

The Prophecy Concerning Amalek in the Bible

Amalek appears again in the prophecy of Balaam.

Balaam had been hired to curse Israel, but God caused him instead to pronounce blessing and prophecy. Numbers 24 looks forward to a ruler who would come from Israel:

“...there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel...”— Numbers 24:17

The prophecy goes on to address Edom and then Amalek:

“And 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

Once again, Scripture foretells the end of Amalek.

That creates an important problem with attempts to continually identify new nations or peoples as Amalek. God said He would put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven, and Balaam prophesied that Amalek would perish forever.

We should therefore look at what Scripture records concerning the fulfillment of that judgment.

Saul Was Commanded to Destroy Amalek

Many years later, God gave King Saul a direct command concerning the Amalekites.

Samuel told Saul:

“Thus 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.”— 1 Samuel 15:2

Notice that God specifically identifies why Amalek was being judged. The command was connected to what Amalek had done when Israel came out of Egypt.

Saul was instructed to utterly destroy Amalek and everything they possessed. Instead, he spared Agag, king of the Amalekites, along with the best livestock.

When Samuel confronted him, Saul claimed that he had obeyed God.

Samuel responded:

“What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”— 1 Samuel 15:14

Saul attempted to blame the people and claimed that the animals had been spared for sacrifice. His disobedience ultimately cost him the kingdom.

Scripture does not tell us why the animals were included in God's command. We have considered elsewhere the possibility of corruption or mixing of species associated with Nephilim influence, but that would be speculation in this passage. What Scripture establishes with certainty is that Saul disobeyed the command of God. 

What Eventually Happened to Amalek?

Amalek continued to appear during David's time. Second Samuel 8 records David's victories over surrounding nations, including Amalek, and tells us that David placed garrisons throughout Edom.

But there is an important later passage.

First Chronicles 4 records that five hundred men from the sons of Simeon went to Mount Seir. Verse 43 states:

“And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.”

This is the final biblical reference to the Amalekites by name.

The wording is significant: “the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped.”

Scripture had repeatedly declared that Amalek would be blotted out and would ultimately perish. By this point, the biblical record describes a remaining group of Amalekites who had escaped and were subsequently smitten. 

That should make us very cautious about assigning Amalek's identity to modern peoples thousands of years later.

Does Amalek in the Bible Represent Israel’s Modern Enemies?

This brings us to the modern controversy.

In 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly invoked Amalek following the Hamas attack upon Israel. The reference has been understood by some as connecting Israel's present enemies with the Amalekites of Scripture. Scott addresses that statement directly in the episode and asks whether the biblical text actually supports such an application. 

The problem is that the context of Deuteronomy 25 is specific.

Amalek attacked Israel when they came out of Egypt. They attacked from behind and struck the feeble, faint, and weary. God's subsequent command to destroy Amalek explicitly refers back to that event.

There is no passage of Scripture identifying Hamas, Iran, Palestinians, or another modern people as Amalek.

Applying an Old Testament command concerning a particular historical people to a modern population requires something the biblical text itself does not provide.

Amalek in the Bible and the Age of Grace

There is another problem for Christians who attempt to turn God's command concerning Amalek into a present-day mandate.

We are living in the age of grace.

Paul writes:

“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”— 1 Timothy 2:4

He continues:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”— 1 Timothy 2:5–6

We cannot take a command God gave Israel concerning a specific people under the law and turn it into a present-day command for believers when God's revealed purpose in this age is that all men be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Our responsibility is to pray for all men—including kings and those in authority—and proclaim reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ.

A Problem With Applying Old Testament Judgments to Modern Israel

There is another reason we should be consistent in handling these passages.

Judges 3 records a time when God strengthened Israel's enemies against Israel because Israel had done evil.

“And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel...”— Judges 3:12

Eglon gathered Ammon and Amalek and defeated Israel.

This does not mean that Hamas or any other modern enemy is God's instrument of punishment against modern Israel. Rather, it demonstrates the danger of lifting Old Testament events out of their historical setting.

If someone insists that an Old Testament judgment against Amalek can be transferred directly onto a modern enemy, consistency would require applying other Old Testament patterns in the same manner.

Scripture gives us no authority to do either.

Genealogy, Geography, and Spiritual Type

Three separate issues must not be confused when discussing Amalek in the Bible.

Genealogically, Amalek descended from Esau through Eliphaz.

Geographically, Amalek was associated with Edom, whose ancient territory lies largely within what is now southern Jordan.

Spiritually, Scripture may provide patterns or types that can be compared with later groups who oppose God.

These are three different things.

A spiritual comparison does not establish genealogical descent.

Amalek in the Bible as a Spiritual Type

If we are going to consider spiritual analogies, then we must allow Scripture—not modern political loyalties—to establish the characteristics.

Paul wrote concerning unbelieving Jews who persecuted believers in Christ:

“Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved...”— 1 Thessalonians 2:15–16

Paul himself was a Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin. His criticism was not directed at someone because of Jewish ancestry. The immediate context distinguishes the churches of God in Judaea “which are in Christ Jesus” from those who opposed Christ and persecuted His followers.

That distinction matters.

Scripture also warns of those who claim a spiritual identity they do not possess. Revelation speaks of a “synagogue of Satan” and those who “say they are Jews, and are not.”

If we make a comparison between Amalek and a modern spiritual type, it must remain precisely that—a type, not a claim of genealogical identity. Scott makes that distinction explicitly in the episode. 

The Real Lesson of Amalek in the Bible

The biblical record gives us no authority to redefine Amalek according to today's political conflicts.

Amalek had a genealogy. He descended from Esau.

Amalek had a homeland. He was connected to Edom.

Amalek committed a particular offense against Israel after the Exodus.

God pronounced judgment upon Amalek and later commanded Saul to carry it out. Scripture eventually records that the remaining Amalekites who had escaped were smitten in Mount Seir.

Claiming that Hamas, Iran, Palestinians, or another modern people are literally Amalek goes beyond what Scripture says.

And when Christians consider Israel today, our standard must remain the same standard we apply to every nation and every individual: Jesus Christ.

The promises of God ultimately center upon Him. Israel's hope is not found simply in military strength, national identity, or possession of territory. The Redeemer is Jesus Christ.

The true Israel of God will receive her Redeemer. Until then, believers should be careful not to turn ancient judgments into modern mandates that God has not given.

Our responsibility in this present age is to proclaim the truth of Scripture and the salvation God offers to all men through His Son.