The term Agagite is used in the

Book of Esther The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Judaism, Jewish ''Tanak ...

as a description of

Haman Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite or Haman the evil) 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 ...

. 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 Agag (; he, אֲגַג ''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 Egyp ...

, the enemy of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and king of the

Amalekites Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) 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 ...

.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." With this understanding, the Greek translator rendered the term "Macedonian." A well known

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

ic explanation of the term relates it to King

of the

whereby it is viewed as meaning either a literal descendant of Agag or a symbolic term for an

antisemite Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, due to the Amalekites being a perennial enemy to the Israelites.

References

Hebrew Bible people Book of Esther Amalek {{Tanakh-stub