(There’s also a certain irony in being told not to forget to blot out a name. This very command to blot out the name has ensured the continuation of Amalek’s name, to the extent that Amalek, though long gone, is far better remembered than most of ancient Israel’s other enemies in the Bible.) In the New Testament, too, the violence is what happened, while peace is what should happen, with, again, an exception for justice. We therefore find a hierarchy or sorts: Peace trumps violence, but justice in turn trumps peace.
