Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah. – Genesis 36:12

Today's Scripture Reading (September 3, 2021): Genesis 36

In the midrash, an expounding on the Hebrew scripture given by ancient Judaic authorities, there is a story of Timna, the concubine of Eliphaz, and the nephew of Jacob. According to the Midrash, Timna was a foreign princess who came in contact with the families of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The midrash asserts that Timna became interested in following the God of Abraham. As a result of this interest, Timna tried to convert to Judaism, although we have to realize that Judaism as a belief system was not fully formed at the time. (It would not become the belief system that we know of today until well after the life of Moses.) But Timna wanted to pledge herself and her talents to the God of Abraham. Unfortunately, for a reason that remains unclear, the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rejected her and refused to recognize her conversion. It seems likely that the Patriarchs didn't believe that Timna was sincere in her desire to follow Abraham's God. So, Timna decided to punish the Patriarchs of Judaism by becoming an opponent of their family and their faith. As a result of this desire to inflict injury, Timna decided to worm her way into the family of Esau, becoming a lover of Esau's son Eliphaz. The result of that union was a son named Amalek.

Amalek became the father of the Amalekites, and the Amalekites became a major thorn in the side of Israel. For a significant period, the Amalekites opposed the activities and presence of Israel in the region of Palestine. The Amalekites were supposedly wiped out by Israel shortly after the Exodus, somewhere around 1410 B.C.E, and yet they remained a threat well into the years of the monarchy of Israel, which began in 1043 B.C.E. In fact, Amelikite settlements were recorded in Palestine well into the reign of Hezekiah (729 – 687 B.C.E.) and Haman, the main antagonist in the story of Esther (the events in the story of Esther takes place between 483 B.C.E – 472 B.C.E.), is a proud descendant of Agag, the great King of the Amalekites, and a survivor of King Saul's extermination campaign that took place at the beginning of Israel's Monarchy period.

It is evident that the Amalekites were not exterminated in the years soon after the Exodus, but what isn't so obvious is the reason why the Israelites believe that they had consistently failed to get rid of the Amalekites. The Amalekites had so infected the psyche of Israelites that they began to think that the Amalekite warriors were shapeshifters. Essentially, Israel began to believe that Amalekite soldiers could camouflage themselves in times of conflict by changing into women, children, or even into livestock and field animals. This shapeshifting ability is one of the reasons why Israelite warriors were often instructed not to take plunders of animals or prisoners, but that they were to kill everything they found because what was left behind might be Amalekites hiding from the Israelite soldiers.

But all of this goes back to the rejection of Timna by the Patriarchs, and the terror of the Amalekites was part of her revenge on Israel for that rejection.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 37