Rethinking Amalek in This 21st Century

Twice in the Hebrew Bible—Exodus 17:14-16 and Deuteronomy 25: 17-19—the ancient Israelites were commanded to “blot out” the memory of Amalek, their enemy for all time (as God intended to do as well). Yet, because these texts are a part of Jewish (and Christian) religious traditions, annually these p...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions
Main Author: Jacobs, Steven L. 1947- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: MDPI [2017]
In: Religions
Year: 2017, Volume: 8, Issue: 9, Pages: 1-15
Further subjects:B Palestinians
B Jews
B Amalek
B Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)

MARC

LEADER 00000caa a22000002 4500
001 1586240676
003 DE-627
005 20190116172606.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 190115s2017 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.3390/rel8090196  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1586240676 
035 |a (DE-576)516240676 
035 |a (DE-599)BSZ516240676 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 0  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)143520628  |0 (DE-627)64658927X  |0 (DE-576)337496749  |4 aut  |a Jacobs, Steven L.  |d 1947- 
109 |a Jacobs, Steven L. 1947-  |a Jacobs, Steven Leonard 1947- 
245 1 0 |a Rethinking Amalek in This 21st Century  |c Steven Leonard Jacobs 
264 1 |c [2017] 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a Twice in the Hebrew Bible—Exodus 17:14-16 and Deuteronomy 25: 17-19—the ancient Israelites were commanded to “blot out” the memory of Amalek, their enemy for all time (as God intended to do as well). Yet, because these texts are a part of Jewish (and Christian) religious traditions, annually these passages are read in the synagogue on the appropriate Sabbath occasions in the annual reading cycle, and linked to the Festival of Purim that is based on the Book of Esther. Over the course of Jewish history, Amalek has served as the symbolic enemy of the Jewish people (e.g., Armenians, Nazis, Palestinians); indeed, all of the enemies of the Jews were and are understood to be descendants of the original Amalekites, and thus worthy not only of enmity but of destruction as well (e.g., Haman, Antiochus, Titus, Hadrian, Torquemada, Khmelnitsky, Hitler). Today, many of those in Israel allied with the so-called “settler movement” associated with right-of-center Orthodox Judaism and located among populations primarily of Palestinian Muslims, and Arabs view them as the descendants of Amalek as well, and thus sanction and legitimate their own at times violent actions and behaviors. At its most transparent level, responding to Amalek is a response to antisemitism, both historical and contemporary. This paper examines the history of Amalekut (“Amalek-ness”) within the Jewish (and Christian) religious tradition, the role of memory and forgetting of those survivors and their descendants traumatized by their enemies, the current manner of branding one's enemies as descendants of Amalek, and whether, in truth, reconciliation is even possible among enemies of long standing. The implications and consequences for all of the divided groups thus becomes an enormous challenge. Practical suggestions are offered at the end as potential models for both present and future work as well. 
650 4 |a Amalek 
650 4 |a Hebrew Bible/Old Testament 
650 4 |a Jews 
650 4 |a Palestinians 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Religions  |d Basel : MDPI, 2010  |g 8(2017), 9, Seite 1-15  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)665435797  |w (DE-600)2620962-7  |w (DE-576)348219067  |x 2077-1444  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:8  |g year:2017  |g number:9  |g pages:1-15 
856 |u https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/8/9/196/pdf?version=1505872012  |x unpaywall  |z Vermutlich kostenfreier Zugang  |h publisher [oa journal (via doaj)] 
856 4 0 |u https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/8/9/196  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
856 |u https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8090196  |x doi  |3 Volltext 
936 u w |d 8  |j 2017  |e 9  |h 1-15 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 3045407781 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1586240676 
LOK |0 005 20190115144321 
LOK |0 008 190115||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a ixzo 
OAS |a 1 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw 
REL |a 1 
SUB |a REL