Annihilating Amalek/1/en
Annihilating Amalek
Introduction
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, Shemot 17:14 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 their enslavement of the Israelites for centuries1 and tossing of their infants into the Nile, were nonetheless shielded by the Torah's command "You shall not abhor an Egyptian"?2
Shemot vs. Devarim
In its recounting of the Amalek story, Devarim 25 provides some details which were absent from the Shemot 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 the initial telling in Shemot the Torah sufficed with saying that Amalek came and fought, here in Devarim the Torah elaborates on how Amalek ambushed the Israelites who were weakened and weary from their journey. Does this action betray a moral failing of Amalek and account for the need to exact retribution from them, or was it simply a sound military strategy on their part?
Additionally, while in Shemot Hashem promises to
