JOSEPHUS’ VIEW OF THE AMALEKITES*

Louis H. Feldman Yeshiva University

The Importance of Amalek for Josephus

That the Amalekites are important for Josephus may be seen from the fact that, though he often, in his paraphrase of the Bible in his Antiquities, omits passages of lesser importance or passages that seem repetitious, he has seen fit to include no fewer than thirteen passages referring to them: Ant. 1.174 (= Gen 14:5–7), Ant. 2.5–6 (= Gen 36:40–41), Ant. 3.39–61 (= Exod 17:8–16), Ant. 4.304 (= Deut 25:17–19), Ant. 5.210 (= Judg 6:3, 6:33, 7:12), Ant. 6.129 (= 1 Sam 14:47–48), Ant. 6.131–55 (= 1 Sam 15:1–35), Ant. 6.323 (= 1 Sam 27:8–9), Ant. 6.336 (= 1 Sam 28:18), Ant. 6.356–67 (= 1 Sam 30:1–31), Ant. 6.371–72, 7:1–6 (= 2 Sam 1:1–16), Ant. 9.188–98 (= 2 Chr 25:5–20), and Ant. 11.209, 11.211, 11.277 (= Esth 3:1; 3:10; 8:3; 8:5; 9:24).1 The seven major references to the Amalekites are Ant. 3.39–61, containing the account of the attack of the Amalekites on the in the wilderness; Ant. 4.304, containing the commandment to eradicate the Amalekites; Ant. 6.131–55, containing the account of ’s campaign against the Amalekites; Ant. 6.356–67, containing the account of ’s campaign against them in revenge for their sack of Ziklag; Ant. 6.371–72, 7:1–6, containing the account of the slaying of Saul by an Amalekite; Ant. 9.188–98, containing the account of the campaign of Amaziah of Judah against the Amalekites; and Ant. 11.209, 211, and 277, containing the references to Haman as a descendant of Agag, the Amalekite king. It is surely significant that, whereas the most important passage about the attack of the Amalekites upon the Israelites (Exod 17:8–16) contains 119 words in the Hebrew text, Josephus’ account (Ant. 3.39–61) has

* With kind permission of Eisenbrauns, USA. Previously published in: Bulletin for Biblical Research 12 (2002): 161–86. 1 Johann Maier, “Amalek in the Writings of Josephus,” in Josephus and the History of the Greco-Roman Period: Essays in Memory of Morton Smith (ed. Fausto Parente and Joseph Sievers; Leiden: Brill, 1994) 109–26, lists and examines these passages briefly but does not focus, in particular, on the command to annihilate the Amalekites. 90 louis h. feldman

1,039 words, 8.73 times as many (to be compared with a ratio of 1.20 for the account of Abraham [2.86 for the Aqedah], 1.04 for Isaac, 1.08 for Jacob, l.63 for Joseph [5.45 for the episode of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife], and 1.17 for Moses). Significantly, as we would expect from one who himself had been a general in the war against the Romans, Josephus stresses the military aspects of the war between the Israelites and the Amalekites. On the other hand, for the passage containing the commandment to eradicate the Amalekites (Deut 25:17–19), the Hebrew text has 47 words, whereas Josephus (Ant. 4.304) has 28 words, a ratio of .60 of Josephus to the Bible. For the passage concerning Saul’s failure to carry out the commandment, the Bible (1 Sam 15:1–35) has 506 words, whereas Josephus (Ant. 6.131–55) has 1,119 words, a ratio of 2.21 to the Bible, apparently reflecting Josephus’ general interest in and identification with Saul.2 For David’s campaign against the Amalekites, the Hebrew text (1 Sam 30:1–31) has 485 words, whereas Josephus (Ant. 6.356–67) has 547 words, a ratio of 1.13 to the Bible. For the account of the slaying of Saul by an Amalekite, the Hebrew text (2 Sam 1:1–16) has 229 words, whereas Josephus (Ant. 6.371–72, 7:1–6) has 366 words, a ratio of 1.60 to the Bible. For the account of King Amaziah’s campaign against the Amalekites, the Hebrew text (2 Chr 25:5–20) has 307 words, whereas Josephus (Ant. 9.188–98) has 448 words, a ratio of 1.46 to the Bible. From this we may see that the episode that held the greatest interest and importance for Josephus was the Amalekites’ initial attack upon the Israelites, and the episode that was second in importance was Saul’s vengeful attempt to carry out the divine mandate to eliminate the Amalekites.

The Birth and Origin of Amalek

Regarding the significance of the birth and origin of Amalek, the Bible (Gen 36:12) states that he was born to Timna, the concubine of Elip- haz, Esau’s son. The fact, however, that he was a grandson of Esau is extremely significant, inasmuch as it connects Amalek with (by which name Esau is known) and, quite probably, Rome, and will help to explain why Josephus, who was so indebted to the Romans, would

2 See my Josephus’ Interpretation of the Bible (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998) 509–36, especially 509–11, 535–36.