The Amalekites were descendants of Esau through his wife Adah (Genesis 36:2, Genesis 36:16). One of Esau’s sons, Eliphaz, fathered Amalek through his concubine Timna (Genesis 36:12). They generally settled in the south of Canaan in the Negev (Numbers 13:29) though some also lived in the hill country of Ephraim (Judges 12:15).1 They had attacked the Israelites at a place called Rephidim while the Israelites were making their journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai (Exodus 17:8–15). According to Deuteronomy 25:18, the Amalekites had focused their initial unprovoked attack on the stragglers at the back of the Israelite caravan. In 1 Samuel 1:1–31:13, they are portrayed as terrorists who never failed to take advantage of weaker opponents (1 Samuel 15:1–9; 1 Samuel 27:8–12; 1 Samuel 30:1–6).2
8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’