Annihilating Amalek/1/he

מחיית עמלק

הקדמה

A Disproportionate Response?

Shortly after the Children of Israel begin their trek through the wilderness, Amalek comes to do battle with them. After Yehoshua vanquishes Amalek's army, שמות י״ז:י"ד records Hashem's promise to obliterate any trace of Amalek from the face of the earth:

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה כְּתֹב זֹאת זִכָּרוֹן בַּסֵּפֶר וְשִׂים בְּאָזְנֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ כִּי מָחֹה אֶמְחֶה אֶת זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם.

What about Amalek's actions engendered such a harsh Divine response? Were Amalek's actions so much worse than those of the Egyptians who, despite enslaving the Israelites for centuries¹ and tossing their infants into the Nile, were nonetheless shielded by the Torah's command "לא תתעב מצרי"?²

שמות מול דברים

In its recounting of the Amalek story, דברים כ״ה provides further details which were absent from the שמות י״ז account:

(יז) זָכוֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְךָ עֲמָלֵק בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם. (יח) אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וַיְזַנֵּב בְּךָ כׇּל הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִים אַחֲרֶיךָ וְאַתָּה עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ וְלֹא יָרֵא אֱלֹהִים. (יט) וְהָיָה בְּהָנִיחַ ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ מִכׇּל אֹיְבֶיךָ מִסָּבִיב בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ תִּמְחֶה אֶת זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם לֹא תִּשְׁכָּח.

While in Shemot, the Torah sufficed with saying merely that Amalek came and attacked, here, in Devarim, the Torah elaborates on how Amalek ambushed the Israelites when they were weakened and weary from their journey. Does this action of Amalek betray a moral failing and thus explain the need to exact retribution from them, or does it simply reflect their use of sound military strategy? This question may depend, in part, on whether the accompanying phrase "וְלֹא יָרֵא אֱלֹהִים" describes the character of the Israelites or the Amalekites.

Additionally, while שמות י״ז tells of Hashem's vow that He will be the one to destroy Amalek, in Devarim, it is the Children of Israel who are instructed to do so. What accounts for this discrepancy?³

Timing of the Fulfillment

דברים כ״ה commands that the eradicating of Amalek should take place only after the Israelites have completed the conquest of all of their other enemies. שמות י״ז:ט״ז even hints at an eternal battle with Amalek ("מִלְחָמָה לַה' בַּעֲמָלֵק מִדֹּר דֹּר"). But if Amalek's crime was so heinous, why did Hashem postpone their day of reckoning? Could He not have ordered Moshe to wipe them out completely when Amalek first attacked בשמות י"ז? Furthermore, why does Hashem tell Moshe already בשמות י"ז (before it is even known that Moshe will not be leading the nation into the Promised Land) to convey Hashem's intentions to Yehoshua? Is it not Shaul in שמואל א׳ ט״ו, rather than Yehoshua, who is ultimately commanded to execute this command?

¹ לדיון יותר ממצה, ראו אורך גלות מצרים.

² ראו דברים כ"ג:ז'. שאלה זו מוצגת על ידי ר׳ יוסף אבן כספישמות י״ז:ט״זאודות ר' יוסף אבן כספי.

³ ראו אברבנאלשמות י״ז שאלותאודות ר' יצחק אברבנאל המעלה שאלה זו.