Amalek Challenges God
ויאמר כי יד על כס יה מלחמה ליהוה בעמלק מדר דר
Exodus 17:16 BHS1
saying,A hand upon the banner of the lord! the lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.(Exodus 17:16 RSV)
What spiritual truths does God teach in this verse? It is about judgment and war.
In the battle with Amalek, Moses held up his hands, beseeching God for victory. As long as his hands were raised, Israel won. When he grew tired, Aaron and Hur put a stone beneath him for a seat, and held his hands up for him. (Exodus 17:8-16). God told him to write this down.
Just because God is love (1 John 4:8), does not mean He will not judge (Revelation 20:11). Nor does it mean God will not fight (Exodus 15:3, Isaiah 42:13). Exodus 34:6-7 makes it clear even though forgiveness is available there will remain those who are guilty.
Steadfast love, justice and righteousness all go hand in hand with God (Jeremiah 9:23). These are all parts of His character.
But why would God wage war against Amalek from generation to generation?
Amalek was the first nation to fight with Israel after they came out of Egypt (Numbers 24:20). They chose to oppose Israel even though everyone in the region knew what great deeds God had executed upon Egypt (Joshua 2:9-11). They deliberately chose to challenge God.
They were a violent people. They were a people who could live peacefully for years with others and one day just suddenly attack (Numbers 13:29; Judges 3:13, 6:3).
Amalek was a descendant of Esau, Jacob's brother. The Amalekites may or may not have descended from him. If they were descendants of Esau, they chose to ignore the fact the Israelites were relatives and attacked (Deuteronomy 25:17-19).
1 Chronicles 4:43 seems to imply they were eventually destroyed, but as a nomadic people, it is more likely they scattered into neighbouring countries.
The unfortunate truth is they learned to mask their violent ways in order to live in these nations. And when they feel they can get away with it, they spread the seeds of violence and are violent. That is why the conflict continues from generation to generation.
(Malachi 2:16)
This verse is recognition of that branch of humanity that is fit only for destruction (Romans 9:22). To ignore this is to reject the true history of the human race. One would be incapable of accepting the fact that God will judge us. If one cannot accept this, then one cannot accept entire sections of the Bible: the flood in Noah's day, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Israel's invasion of Canaan, and the book of Revelation. If one cannot accept this, one is not a believer, and or worships a false god.
The numeric features act as God’s mathematical signature to confirm the truth of the text.
a) 1 2 3 4 5 b) 257 30 14 100 80 c) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 d) 6- 10- 1- 40- 200 20- 10 10- 4 70- 30 20- 60 e) and he said for hand up to throne of a) 6 7 8 9 b) 15 123 56 242 c) 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 d) 10- 5 40- 30- 8- 40- 5 30- 10- 5- 6- 5 2- 70- 40- 30- 100 e) Yah war with Yhwh against Amalek a) 10 11 b) 244 204 c) 31 32 33 34 35 d) 40- 4- 200 4- 200 e) from generation generation a) Word position d) Letter value b) Word sum e) Approximate English c) Letter position (N.B. Hebrew is read from right to left. The numbers are presented from left to right.)2
The Numeric Features
Primary Features
(Derived from Revelation 1:8 and grouped for easy reference.)
A.1Numeric total of the passage: 1365 = 3 x 5 x 7 x 13. (See feature 1.3.)
A.5Number of letters: 35 = 5 x 7. (See feature 1.2.)
B.4Every other letter (odd positions): 966 = 2 x 3 x 7 x 23. (See feature 2.1.)
B.4.2Every other letter (even positions): 399 = 3 x 7 x 19. (See feature 2.1.2.)
C.3.2First and last letter of each word: 1071 = 3 x 3 x 7 x 17. (See feature 3.3.)
D.3.3First letter of each word: 252 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 7. (See feature 3.1.)
E.3.3Last letter of each word: 819 = 3 x 3 x 7 x 13. (See feature 3.2.)
Words And Letters
1.1There are 11 words, a numeric picture of the one God who is both Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8).
1.2There are 35 letters (5 x 7).
1.3The numeric total is 1365 = 3 x 5 x 7 x 13. SF: 28 = 2 x 2 x 7. SF: 11. The chain of factors gives 2 sevens, and once again ends with eleven.
1.4The first and last words together have seven letters. So do the third and third last, fourth and fourth last, and fifth and fifth last. This repeated pattern through these words continues the confirmation of God’s will.
2.God’s steady hand is not only seen in the words that pair up first and last, but through the verse in the letters.
2.1Every other letter (odd positioned):
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 6 1 200 10 4 30 60 5 30 40 30 5 5 70 30 40 200 200
Total: 966 = 2 x 3 x 7 x 23. SF: 35 = 5 x 7.
2.1.2Every other letter (even positioned):
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 10 40 20 10 70 20 10 40 8 5 10 6 2 40 100 4 4
Total: 399 = 3 x 7 x 19.
2.2There is another sequence in the letters running through the verse.
2.2.1Take every fifth letter:
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 200 70 5 5 5 100 200
Total: 585 = 3 x 3 x 5 x 13.
2.2.2Beginning with the first letter, take every fifth:
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 6 20 30 40 30 2 40
Total: 168 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 x 7.
The idea of taking every fifth letter was not a random choice. There are 35 letters in the passage, and 5 is a factor of 35. By selecting every fifth, a total of seven letters are picked. And this worked whether one began with the first letter or with the fifth.
3.Revelation 1:8's description of God applies to classifying numbers in complementary groups. The most obvious is Alpha and Omega, or the first and last letters of each word.
a) Letter position b) Letter value a) 1 6 8 10 12 14 16 21 26 31 34 b) 6 20 10 70 20 10 40 30 2 40 4
Total: 252 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 7.
a) Letter position b) Letter value a) 5 7 9 11 13 15 20 25 30 33 35 b) 200 10 4 30 60 5 5 5 100 200 200
Total of the letter positions: 203 = 7 x 29. Total of the letters: 819 = 3 x 3 x 7 x 13. SF: 26 = 2 x 13.
3.3First and last letters together: 1071 = 3 x 3 x 7 x 17.
3.4Letters that are not first OR last:
a) Letter position b) Letter value a) 2 3 4 17 18 19 22 23 24 27 28 29 32 b) 10 1 40 30 8 40 10 5 6 70 40 30 4
Total: 294 = 2 x 3 x 7 x 7.
4.A second classification would be odd and even.
4.1Odd valued letters:
3 15 20 23 25 1 5 5 5 5
Total of odd val let: 21 = 3 x 7.
4.2Even valued letters:
a) 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 21 22 b) 6 10 40 200 20 10 10 4 70 30 20 60 10 40 30 8 40 30 10 a) 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 b) 6 2 70 40 30 100 40 4 200 4 200
Total of even val let: 1344 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 x 7.
5.A third classification would be whether a letter appeared an odd number of times, or an even number of times.
5.1Letters that appeared an odd number of times: 1 2 4 8 10 40 60 100 200. The total number of appearances of these letters: 21 = 3 x 7. The total of words where they appeared: 3472 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 7 x 31.
5.2Letters that appeared an even number of times: 5 6 20 30 70. The total number of appearances: 14 = 2 x 7. (The total of their words yield no feature.)
6.A fourth classification would be the number of times a letter appeared in the verse. Rank the letters by the number of appearances. Split the list in two with one list containing the letters that appeared the least, and the other list with letters that appeared the most.
6.1From the ranked list, seven letters appeared the least (1 2 8 60 100 6 70). The sum of these letters: 247 = 13 x 19. The total of the words in which they appeared: 1599 = 3 x 13 x 41.
6.2Seven letters appeared the most (20 4 200 5 30 10 40). The sum of the letters has no feature, but their total of the words do: 3409 = 7 x 487. SF: 494 = 2 x 13 x 19.
7.The letters of God’s name in Hebrew (10-5-6-5) can be used as letter positions.
10 5 6 5 70 200 20 200
Total: 490 = 2 x 5 x 7 x 7.
8.1The letters count through the words:
a) Letter value b) Word count c) Adjusted count d) Word found a) 6 10 1 40 200 20 10 10 4 70 30 20 60 10 5 40 30 b) 6 16 6 46 202 24 12 11 15 74 38 25 63 18 12 41 38 c) 6 5 6 2 4 2 1 11 4 8 5 3 8 7 1 8 5 d) 15 80 15 30 100 30 257 204 100 56 80 14 56 123 257 56 80 a) 8 40 5 30 10 5 6 5 2 70 40 30 100 40 4 200 4 b) 13 42 14 33 21 15 10 15 6 76 50 36 103 44 15 204 10 c) 2 9 3 11 10 4 10 4 6 10 6 3 4 11 4 6 10 d) 30 242 14 204 244 100 244 100 15 244 15 14 100 204 100 15 244 a) 200 b) 210 c) 1 d) 257
Word total: 3939 = 3 x 13 x 101. SF: 117 = 3 x 3 x 13.
8.2The first letter of each word is applied as word positions:
a) First letter of each word b) As word position c) Word found a) 6 20 10 70 20 10 40 30 2 40 4 b) 6 9 10 4 9 10 7 8 2 7 4 c) 15 242 244 100 242 244 123 56 30 123 100
Word total: 1519 = 7 x 7 x 31.
8.3The positions of the first and last letters of each word are summed and applied counting words:
a) Sum of first and last letter positions b) Word count c) Adjusted count d) Word found a) 6 13 17 21 25 29 36 46 56 64 69 b) 6 19 25 24 27 34 37 50 62 71 74 c) 6 8 3 2 5 1 4 6 7 5 8 d) 15 56 14 30 80 257 100 15 123 80 56
Word total: 826 = 2 x 7 x 59.
8.3.1The positions of the first and last letters of each word summed and then used to count through the letters:
a) Sum of first and last letter positions b) Letter count c) Adjusted count d) Letter found a) 6 13 17 21 25 29 36 46 56 64 69 b) 6 19 36 22 47 41 42 53 74 68 102 c) 6 19 1 22 12 6 7 18 4 33 32 d) 20 40 6 10 20 20 10 8 40 200 4
Letter total: 378 = 2 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 7.
8.4Odd positioned words as word positions:
a) Odd positioned word's value b) As word position c) Word found a) 257 14 80 123 242 204 b) 4 3 3 2 11 6 c) 100 14 14 30 204 15
Word total: 377 = 13 x 29. SF: 42 = 2 x 3 x 7.
8.5Even positioned words applied as word positions:
a) Even positioned word b) As word position c) Word found a) 30 100 15 56 244 b) 8 1 4 1 2 c) 56 257 100 257 30
Word total: 700 = 2 x 2 x 5 x 5 x 7. SF: 21 = 3 x 7.
8.5.1Even positioned words used to count letters:
a) Even positioned word b) Counting letters c) Adjusted count d) Letter found a) 30 100 15 56 244 b) 30 130 40 61 270 c) 30 25 5 26 25 d) 100 5 200 2 5
Letter total: 312 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 x 13.
8.6Odd positioned letters as word positions:
a) Odd positioned letter b) As word position c) Word found a) 6 1 200 10 4 30 60 5 30 40 30 5 5 70 30 40 200 b) 6 1 2 10 4 8 5 5 8 7 8 5 5 4 8 7 2 c) 15 257 30 244 100 56 80 80 56 123 56 80 80 100 56 123 30 a) 200 b) 2 c) 30
Word total: 1596 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 7 x 19.
8.7Even valued words as word positions:
a) Even valued words b) As word position c) Word found a) 30 14 100 80 56 242 244 204 b) 8 3 1 3 1 11 2 6 c) 56 14 257 14 257 204 30 15
Word total: 847 = 7 x 11 x 11.
8.7.1Even valued words counting letters:
a) Even valued words b) Counting letters c) Adjusted count d) Letter found a) 30 14 100 80 56 242 244 204 b) 30 44 109 84 70 277 276 235 c) 30 9 4 14 35 32 31 25 d) 100 4 40 10 200 4 40 5
Letter total: 403 = 13 x 31.
8.8Odd valued letters as letter positions:
a) Odd valued letters b) As letter position c) Letter found a) 1 5 5 5 5 b) 1 5 5 5 5 c) 6 200 200 200 200
Letter total: 806 = 2 x 13 x 31.
8.8.1Odd valued letters counting letters:
a) Odd valued letters b) Counting letters c) Adjusted count d) Letter found a) 1 5 5 5 5 b) 1 6 11 16 21 c) 1 6 11 16 21 d) 6 20 30 40 30
Letter total: 126 = 2 x 3 x 3 x 7.
8.9The lesser half of the ranked words applied as letter positions:
a) Lesser half of ranked words b) As letter position c) Letter found a) 14 15 30 56 80 100 b) 14 15 30 21 10 30 c) 10 5 100 30 70 100
Letter total: 315 = 3 x 3 x 5 x 7.
8.9.1The lesser half of the ranked words applied counting letters:
a) Lesser half of ranked words b) Counting letters c) Adjusted count d) Letter found a) 14 15 30 56 80 100 b) 14 29 59 80 90 120 c) 14 29 24 10 20 15 d) 10 30 6 70 5 5
Letter total: 126 = 2 x 3 x 3 x 7.
8.10The positions of the greater half of ranked words counting letters:
a) Positions of the greater half of ranked words b) Counting letters c) Letter found a) 11 9 10 1 b) 11 20 30 31 c) 30 5 100 40
Letter total: 175 = 5 x 5 x 7.
8.11The values of the greater half of ranked words counting words:
a) Higher valued words b) Word count c) Adjusted count d) Word found a) 204 242 244 257 b) 204 248 250 265 c) 6 6 8 1 d) 15 15 56 257
Word total: 343 = 7 x 7 x 7. SF: 21 = 3 x 7.
Conclusion
Exodus 17:16 is not a very deep spiritual lesson like The Proclamation, Revelation 1:8, or Matthew 13:52-58. Nor is there a proper human response like Joshua 24:24. As a result, it does not have as many Primary Features as the other verses.
Notes
- The Hebrew or Greek text is from Bibleworks 3.0 by Hermeneutika, Michael S. Bushell, 11995, translated into HTML entities. Vowel marks and punctuation from the Hebrew have been removed. Greek accent marks and punctuation have also been removed.
- Interlinear translation is from The NIV Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament, vol. 1, edited by John R. Kohlenerger III, The Zondervan Corporation, 1982.