Amalekites

Uh-mal´uh-kits

Descendants of Amalek, who was a grandson of Esau according to the OT (Gen 36:15-16). As a people, the Amalekites inhabited territory assigned to Israel, Judah, and the Transjordanian states. They attacked Israel on its wilderness journeys from Egypt (Exod 17:8-16). Other references to them suggest that they were proficient raiders of village and agrarian communities (1Sam 30:1-20; Judg 6:1-6).