Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Banyai AT t-online.de (Michael Banyai)]

Beg your pardon Yigal, but I can not see how you replyed the evidence for the 
Amalekites, I brought in my paper.

The only point you have made was that any arabic (not to say islamic) sources 
concerning the Amalekites postpones our biblical literature by a millenium. 

I pointed you to the fact that this evidence is only the youngest showing the 
Amalekites as a people dwelling in the same region later islamic reference 
had them. See for example the position of the Malichae (of Ptolemaios) on the 
map reconstruction of Arabia by Groom - once more in the region Mekka/Medinah 
- as in the arabian and kuranic lore. Taking a place by Iathrippa (Medina) 
and Macoraba (Mekka). One must add, the reason for the scarce references to 
the Malichae (by Plinius - para-Malacum that is a Greek beyond the Malichae - 
in the same position like the Malichae of Ptolemy) during the late antiquity 
is the obviously very little known geography of Arabia. Arabia was during all 
the helenistic and roman time a big mystery. 

I furthermore pointed you to the fact that the coeval mention of Meluhha in 
Assyrian and Akkadian sources parallels that of Amalek in biblical ones, 
being used for a country in Arabia, ocasionally stretching into the Sinai, 
anyway filling the Arabian desert till to the Euphrates by the bridge of Bazu 
(probably Zeugma=Greek bridge). See for Bazu both the geography of Sargon of 
Akkade and the inscription of Sfire.

You could have take notice that a further name given to Meluhha was Musri, 
the same name as later used for Egypt. See for example Sfire and the coeval 
Assyrian inscriptions speaking of BZ, and M$R.
The reason is the identity of the Meluhha/Amalekites with the Hyksos. The 
Hyksos labelled the name of their polity onto the conquered Egypt. For all 
this there exists a huge and detailed argumentation. 

Now, I can not remember in which point you have tried to correct me till now. 
Should this have happened, than I will politely excuse myself not having 
answered your objections.


Best regards,

Bányai Michael
Stuttgart