Amalekite

American  

[am-uh-lek-ahyt, uh-mal-i-kahyt] / ˈæm əˌlɛk aɪt, əˈmæl ɪˌkaɪt /

noun

• Amalekites,
  plural
• Amalekite
  plural

1. a member of the tribe of Amalek.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Amalekites.

Amalekite British  

/ əˈmæləˌkaɪt /

noun

1. Old Testament a member of a nomadic tribe descended from Esau (Genesis 36:12), dwelling in the desert between Sinai and Canaan and hostile to the Israelites: they were defeated by Saul and destroyed by David (I Samuel 15–30)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Amalekite
  plural
• Amalekites
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Amalekite

From Hebrew ʿămālēq Amalek + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Amalekite Amalekites

According to a second account of the death of Saul in 2 Sam. i. ff., an Amalekite came unexpectedly to Mount Gilboa.

From The History of Antiquity, Vol. II (of VI) by Max Duncker

Hurriedly he despatched one of his serving men to the Amalekite to bid him await a message.

From The Yoke A Romance of the Days when the Lord Redeemed the Children of Israel from the Bondage of Egypt by Elizabeth Miller

At a single glance the Amalekite saw that there was a circlet of gold about the brow, that the face was fine and that the garments swept the sands.

From The Yoke A Romance of the Days when the Lord Redeemed the Children of Israel from the Bondage of Egypt by Elizabeth Miller

Agag, i.e., the fiery one, is not a proper name, but a surname of all Amalekite kings.

From Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, Vol. 1 by Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg

Let us yoke this great Amalekite to the gun.

From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 by John Roby

Meanwhile, the Israelites face threats from the rival army of Philistines and the menacing scavenger tribe of Amalekites.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

Then Samuel said, ‘Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.’

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2024

Exactly when did the Amalekites wage war against the Hebrews in the wilderness?

From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 2022

The Hebrew Bible repeatedly has God ordering genocides, as of the Amalekites; and the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata, contains contradictions with no neat unifying message.

From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2019

So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites, and Saul smote the Amalekites and defeated them.

From The Bible Story by Newton Marshall Hall