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

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Etymology

Origin of Amalekite

From Hebrew ʿămālēq Amalek + -ite ¹

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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

The Amalekite alone continued what he had always been, the untamable nomad of the southern desert.

From Patriarchal Palestine by A. H. (Archibald Henry) Sayce

The servant in his enthusiasm and the importance of his mission told the Amalekite that he came from a prince of Egypt.

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

They met as the Israelite and the Amalekite; and the memories of centuries of aggression and injuries, of shame and defeat, were crowded into the present moment.

From Notable Women of Olden Time by Anonymous

The third scene opens with the interview between David and the Amalekite who brings the tidings of the death of Saul and Jonathan.

From The Standard Oratorios Their Stories, Their Music, And Their Composers by George P. (George Putnam) Upton

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

I am sure he recollected that Moses sat on the top of an adjacent hill while Joshua was fighting the Amalekites.

From The Red Hand of Ulster by George A. Birmingham

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