Amalek
Americannoun
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the son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau.
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a nomadic tribe or nation descended from Amalek and hostile to Israel.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the Torah, Amalek refers to descendants of Esau who are known as the Israelites’ sworn enemy.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026
In the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, Amalek is a nation whose soldiers ambushed the Israelites as they made their way to the Promised Land.
From Salon • Nov. 13, 2023
But some Jewish thinkers suggest that there is a little bit of Amalek in all of us, and that while we fight the evil in others we must also fight the evil in ourselves.
From Newsweek • Jul. 30, 2012
Indeed, Amalek himself was a descendant of Esau, Isaac’s mistreated and wayward son.
From Newsweek • Jul. 30, 2012
If the object is to inspire the Jews for later struggles with more formidable foes, the story is ill-contrived, for we read of no surprising force of Amalek, and no inspiriting exploit of Joshua.
From The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Exodus by Chadwick, G. A.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
