Amalekites
The Amalekites were a formidable tribe of nomads living in the area south of Canaan between Mount Seir and the Egyptian border. They resisted the Israelites during the time of the exodus, and they remained perennial foes of God’s people.
The Amalekites are not listed in the table of nations in Genesis 10, as they did not originate until after Esau’s time. The “territory of the Amalekites“ is mentioned in Genesis 14:7 as being conquered by kings during Abraham’s time, but this reference is likely an example of prolepsis, a representation of something ”out of time.” The territory was designated by the name of its future, well-known inhabitants during Moses’ time. Balaam refers to the Amalekites as “first among the nations” (Numbers 24:20), but he most likely meant only that the Amalekites were the first ones to attack the Israelites upon their exodus from Egypt or that the Amalekites were “first” in power at that time. Genesis 36 identifies the Amalekites as descendants of Amalek, the son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau (verses 12 and 16). So, the Amalekites were somehow related to, but distinct from, the Edomites.
The Amalekites are not listed in the table of nations in Genesis 10, as they did not originate until after Esau’s time. The “territory of the Amalekites“ is mentioned in Genesis 14:7 as being conquered by kings during Abraham’s time, but this reference is likely an example of prolepsis, a representation of something ”out of time.” The territory was designated by the name of its future, well-known inhabitants during Moses’ time. Balaam refers to the Amalekites as “first among the nations” (Numbers 24:20), but he most likely meant only that the Amalekites were the first ones to attack the Israelites upon their exodus from Egypt or that the Amalekites were “first” in power at that time. Genesis 36 identifies the Amalekites as descendants of Amalek, the son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau (verses 12 and 16). So, the Amalekites were somehow related to, but distinct from, the Edomites.