Agag
Summary
The hereditary title or name of the kings of Amalek, most notably borne by the king whom Saul wrongly spared and Samuel subsequently executed.
☩The Name
Agag appears to have been the common title of the kings of Amalek, similar to Pharaoh in Egypt and Abimelech among the Philistines. The name possibly derives from an Arabic root meaning "flame" or "fiery one," which may describe the violent character associated with Amalekite royalty. The first Agag mentioned in Scripture appears in Balaam's prophecy, where it is implied that the Amalekite king was a greater monarch than is commonly imagined.
☩Agag and King Saul
The most notable Agag was the king whom Saul defeated in battle but wrongly spared alive, contrary to God's explicit command to utterly destroy the Amalekites. This divine decree dated back to Amalek's unprovoked attack on Israel in the wilderness, which had brought them under a perpetual sentence of destruction. Saul also kept the best of the Amalekite livestock, claiming it was for sacrifice, but this disobedience was rejected by God.
☩Samuel's Judgment
When Samuel arrived at Saul's camp, he rebuked the king for his disobedience and pronounced that the kingdom would be torn from him. Samuel then commanded Agag to be brought before him. Agag came "delicately" (or confidently), perhaps believing his life would be spared, but Samuel declared, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women," and hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal. This retribution in kind matched Agag's own cruelty toward his victims.
☩The Agagite Connection
Haman, the enemy of the Jews in the Book of Esther, is called "the Agagite," which Jewish tradition interprets as indicating descent from the royal line of Amalek. This connection explains the ancient enmity between Haman and Mordecai the Benjamite, representing the ongoing conflict between Israel and Amalek.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Agag," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Agag," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Agag," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).