The term Agagite () is used in the
Book of Esther
The Book of Esther (; ; ), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Hebrew Bible. It is one of the Five Megillot, Five Scrolls () in the Hebr ...
as a description of
Haman
Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian empire under King Ahasuerus#Book of Esther, Ahasuerus, comm ...
. The term is understood to be an
ethnonym
An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...
although nothing is known with certainty about the people designated by the name.
According to Cheyne and Black, this term is used to label Haman, figuratively, as a "descendant" of
Agag, the enemy of
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and king of the
Amalekites.
[Cheyne and Black (1899), ''Encyclopaedia Biblica,'' entry for "Agagite.]
/ref> "Haman, as an Amalekite, is opposed to Mordecai, the descendant of Kish (Esth r2:5) ... The meaning is that there is an internecine struggle between the Jews and their enemies, like that between Saul and Agag of old."Midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...
ic explanation of the term relates it to King Agag of the Amalekites whereby it is viewed as meaning either a literal descendant of Agag or a symbolic term for an antisemite
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, due to the Amalekites being a perennial enemy to the Israelites.
[Reliable sources include this one:]
(from the "Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...
dot org" website) -- which is itself replete with footnotes. See e.g. the superscript numbers 10 through 13 in the "quote" field above -- hich are "expanded on" somewhat, here below It says that (or ... it explains "the sense in which") Agagites can be seen as both genetically iterallyand figuratively "descendants" of Amalek. Among the footnotes in that "chabad dot org" web page -- from which a portion of it is "d" above -- one can find these four "footnote" references to (biblical or 'commentary') sources:
* 0br>I Samuel 15:3.
* 1"Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi ().
Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...
, Deuteronomy 25:19.
* [12">n
Deuteronomy 25:19.
* [12br>I Samuel 15.
and
* [13] " Esther Rabbah, Petichta 7." (Even if this source is not found on the "chabad dot org" web site, -- as "[10]" and "[12]" were -- it can be "looked up" at e.g. https://www.sefaria.org/Esther_Rabbah%2C_Petichta.7?lang=bi instead.) Note that the source referenced here (' Esther Rabbah') is considered to be a Midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...
ic source.
References
Hebrew Bible people
Book of Esther
Amalek
{{Tanakh-stub