Bible Strands
Exodus 17:14
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks to Moses immediately after Joshua defeats the Amalekite army. He commands Moses to record the event and instruct Joshua before the next act of worship.
The words — כְּתֹב (ke.To) means write, and זִכָּרוֹן (zi.ka.rOn) means reminder. The text explicitly orders a written record to preserve the memory of the coming judgment.
The thread — This command echoes the covenantal writing instruction in Exodus 34:27 and anticipates later conflicts with Amalek recorded in 1 Samuel 30:1 and 1 Samuel 30:17.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine judgment against Amalek is recorded for preservation and future reference. It requires the reader to treat the written record as a fixed declaration of God’s promised action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Cross-references
- Exodus 34:27 The LORD also said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
- 1 Samuel 30:1 On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.
- 1 Samuel 30:17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels.
- Numbers 24:20 Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.”
- Numbers 33:2 At the LORD’s command, Moses recorded the stages of their journey. These are the stages listed by their starting points:
- Deuteronomy 25:17 Remember what the Amalekites did to you along your way from Egypt,
- 2 Samuel 8:12 from Edom and Moab, from the Ammonites and Philistines and Amalekites, and from the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
- Exodus 12:14 And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.
- Exodus 13:9 It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.
- Exodus 24:4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.