What was the timing of the events surrounding the judgment of the Amalekites (a tribe of the Canaanites)?
Here are the timing elements:
1.Israel escapes from Egypt--Amalek immediately attacks their weak and helpless.
2.Soon thereafter, Amalek also makes a frontal attack on Israel, in spite of the distance, and without provocation: There is every possibility that they had known about the promise of the land of Canaan that had been given to Esau's twin brother, Jacob; therefore, they should not have felt any threat to their interests in the Negev had this promise been remembered and taken seriously. After all, the promise was to be a means of blessing Amalek along with all the other nations (Gen 12:3) Indeed, given the travel path of Israel, there would have been no reason to even suspect that Israel would have tried to invade Palestine--this attack was altogether an act of aggression and attempted violation.
3.At that point God pronounces judgment on Amalek (including a prophetic allusion to continued conflict from Amalek: "from generation to generation"), to oppose them as a nation and to destroy them as a national entity sometime in the future. This has the effect of 'expanding' the original judicial charge from only the initial atrocity to one including recurring patterns of atrocity ('from gen to gen') [we will also see this in the discussion below on the 'walking in the sins of the fathers'.]
4.Israel sins against God in Num 14, and so they are beaten by Amalek in a presumptuous attack (note: the issue is not ethnic background!)
5.Israel wanders around for 40 years in the wilderness, while information about the power of Israel's God permeates the Land.
6.As Israel is about to enter the Land, God reminds them of the instruction to destroy the Amalek nation.
7.Also at this time, Balaam the Mesopotamian prophet specifically prophesizes to the King of Moab of the destruction of Amalek (Num 24.20). Moab and Midian were closes allies of Amalek throughout biblical history, and this prophesy would have been well known by the leadership of Amalek before they started the next couple of centuries of oppression and violence against Israel. [That Balaam was a famous prophet in this area has been confirmed by archeology.]
8.The Amalekites undoubtedly saw the conquests of Joshua, but there is no mention of them in the biblical record during this 10-25 year period.
9.Then, beginning with the period of the judges, Amalek continues the behavior of their forefathers--oppressing and attacking Israel for between 200 and 400 years (Judges 3,6,7, 10) and actually even AFTER the 'annihilation' of the main group of Amalekites (1 Sam 30).
10.But--during these same 200-400 years--Amalekites were welcomed into Israel as immigrants! (See the discussion on 2 Sam 1 below). There was a period of 'amnesty' and 'clemency' unparalleled in ancient history up to this time. God gave the individuals within the nation centuries to 'get out'
11.It is only after 200-400 years of opportunity and influences to change, and after 200-400 years of continued (and actually escalating) violence against Israel (who had not even been sanctioned or ordered to occupy Amalekite territory!), that God decides to execute the judgment given earlier.
12.The execution of the king of the Amalekites by Samuel (in 1 Samuel 15) shows that the judgment on the Amalekites was not SOLELY due to the ancient, initial savagery against Israel, but also included PRESENT atrocities as well. In fact, the initial atrocity is not mentioned at all in this judgment.
Do we have any reason to believe that this Israelite-version of the history is reliable, and not just the song of the conquering victors, who have violently stolen the land from the innocent Amalekites and naturally leave such crimes out of their literature?
Basically, yes
Anyone that reads the Old Testament history and prophetic writings attentively could see this didn't apply to them! The OT record is literally filled with their evil, esp. of the elites and religious authorities! And, they never seem to have a problem describing how frequently they get defeated in battle, for the text is filled with those events too.
Credits and Sources:
Glen Miller: http://www.christian-thinktank.com/
James Patrick Holding: http://www.tektonics.org/
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"Genocide" and the Bible Part 17 The Amalekitesby mdean1215612 views
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