Hammedatha

Hammedatha (meaning he that troubles the law) was the father of Haman, the villain of the book of Esther. He is designated the Agagite (Esth. 3:1; 8:5; 9:24), a designation linking Haman's lineage to Agag, king of the Amalekites whom Saul failed to execute as commanded by Samuel (1 Sam. 15:8–9). This genealogical connection sets up the Esther narrative as a continuation of the long enmity between Israel and Amalek: Haman the Agagite's attempt to destroy the Jews echoes the Amalekite pattern of opposition to God's people, while Mordecai the Benjaminite's role parallels Saul's failed duty.

Hammedatha himself has no independent narrative role in the text and is known only as Haman's father. His name appears repeatedly in the formulaic designation Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which emphasizes Haman's ethnic and genealogical identity as the source of his hostility to Mordecai and the Jewish people.