ויחלש. הטיל עליו הגורל ושלשה שמות יש לו פור גורל חולש. ד"א לכך כתיב ויחלש ולא כתב ויכה לפי שעמלק חוזה בכוכבים היה ובחר לו אנשים שאינן עתידין למות באותה מלחמה. וכן יהושע עשה כן דכתיב בחר לנו אנשים דמשמע קיימים ובריאים לכך לא היה יהושע יכול להרגם אלא חתך ידיהם ורגליהם וזהו ויחלש: ויחלוש, ”he threw a lot;” when Haman was described as looking for a suitable date to decree the destruction of the Jewish people he did so also. (Esther 3,7) There are three different words for lots which appear at different points in the Bible, (גורל, פור, חולש (ישעיה 14,14. Alternate explanation: Instead of using the customary ויכה, “he smote,” the Torah used a word meaning “he weakened,” as Amalek had read in his astrological calendar where it was indicated that not all of its soldiers would die as a result of that war. Joshua used the same method (verse 9) where he is described as selecting a relatively small number of men of military age to confront Amalek. He did not kill the Amalekites on this occasion but only disabled them from fighting by cutting of their hands or feet. Hence the verb ויחלוש is most appropriate.