Amalek

thumb|Esther Denouncing Haman (1888) by Ernest Normand 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 Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, commonly identified as Xerxes I (died 465 BCE) but traditionally equated with Artaxerxes I or Artaxerxes II. His epithet, Agagite, indicates that Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites. Some commentators interpret this descent to be symbolic, due to his similar personality.

thumb|Illustration from Phillip Medhurst Collection depicting Joshua fighting Amalek (Exodus 17).|alt=|upright=1.3 Amalek (; ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the territories of Amalek, which they inhabited.

thumb|''La mort d'Agag, illustration by Gustave Doré Agag (; ʾĂgāg'') is a Northwest Semitic name or title applied to a biblical king. It has been suggested that "Agag" was a dynastic name of the kings of Amalek, just as Pharaoh was used as a dynastic name for the ancient Egyptians. The etymology is uncertain, according to John L. McKenzie (1995), while Cox (1884) suggested "High."

thumb|right|180px|Moses holding up his arms during the [[Battle of Refidim, assisted by Hur and Aaron, in John Everett Millais' Victory O Lord! (1871).]] Rephidim or Refidim () is one of the places visited by the Israelites in the biblical account of the Exodus from Egypt. thumb|The road from Elim to Rephidim, according to an 1899 map of the Exodus.

battle in the Book of Exodus

first Book of Samuel chapter