Who was Haman, the man who tried to destroy the Jewish people?
The Bible calls him Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite
(Esther 3:1). The word Agagite is often linked to King Agag, the ruler of the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15. This creates a contrast between Haman, possibly an Amalekite, and Mordecai, a Jew from the tribe of King Saul, who had once fought against Agag.
However, it is unlikely that Haman was an actual descendant of King Agag, because the Amalekites as a nation had already been destroyed (2 Samuel 1:1; 2 Samuel 8:12). Still, it is possible that some Amalekites survived and lived scattered in other regions (1 Chronicles 4:43).
The historian Josephus called Haman an Amalekite, but the book of Esther does not. It calls him an Agagite, which may have meant that he came from a place called Agag (or possibly Agaz), mentioned in an ancient inscription of Sargon II.
The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) does not connect Haman with the Amalekites at all. This shows that the exact origin of Haman is not the main point of the story. What matters most in the book of Esther is Haman’s hatred and pride, which led to his plan to destroy the Jews.
In the book of Esther, Haman plays a major role as the man who aimed to exterminate the Jews. He is introduced as Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite
(Esther 3:1). Both names are probably Persian, but what does the designation Agagite
mean? This designation is often associated with the Amalekite king Agag (1 Samuel 15:1–35). The book of Esther would then make a contrast between Mordecai, as a Jew from Bethlehem (the tribe of King Saul), and Haman, a descendant of king Agag. It is possible that the narrative evokes this association, but it is doubtful that Haman was a descendant of this king. Since the time of David, the Amalekites had been defeated and disappeared as a people (2 Samuel 1:1; 2 Samuel 8:12), but it is not impossible that there were still descendants of this people living in scattered areas (see 1 Chronicles 4:43). Flavius Josephus calls Haman an Amalekite. 1 In this equation, however, it is strange that Haman is called an Agagite and not an Amalekite.
Another possibility is that Agag refers to a district. The Assyriologist J. Oppert translated an inscription of Sargon II (722-705 BC), found in Khorsabad. In it the king mentions that he devastated the territories of Agag [possibly Agaz] and Ambanda in Media, opposite the Arabs in the east, after they had not paid their tribute. Oppert mentions the possibility that Haman came from this area. 2 The LXX has Bougaios (with unknown meaning) here and in 9:24 Makedōn (Macedonian), while in 3:10 and 8:3,5 the addition is missing. This Greek translation makes no connection to the Amalekites and it is therefore unlikely that an important message of the book of Esther would be implied here.3,4
1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces,