Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

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