Chris Watts:
To understand the Amalek stories in the Bible, it helps to know who Amalek
represents. The individual name “Amalek” comes from the group name first
set forth at Genesis 14: 7: (MLQY. That is probably the Hebrew rendering
of: A-ma-li-qa-ya. Amm- means “to see” in Hurrian, and always has some
suffix as a common word, such as am-mu-li. Attested Hurrian personal names
based on this root are Am-ma-a-a, Am-ma-aq-qa and A-ma-aq-qa, all three of
which probably mean [or imply]: “Teshup Sees”. As compared to the
attested name A-ma-aq-qa, the Biblical rendering has added the suffix -li as
the
first suffix, which is attested in the common word am-mu-li, and has added
the -a-a [or -ia or -ya] theophoric ending that is attested in Am-ma-a-a
[and in the other names is merely implied].
At Genesis 14: 7, the “Amalekites” are victims of Hittite aggression, and
as such may be viewed primarily in a positive light. However, in the rest
of the Bible, this one “Teshup Sees” individual, (MLQ/“Amalek”,
personifies a Hurrian remnant who opposed the Israelites. By contrast, a
majority
of the Hurrian remnant is portrayed in the Bible as joining forces with the
Israelites: Caleb, Heber, Jael, Uriah, Araunah, the Jebusites, etc. The
Bible tells us over and over and over again that most of the Hurrian
remnant were absorbed by the Israelites, whereas a few Hurrians, personified
as
Amalek, allied with those peoples who opposed the Israelites.
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois
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