The Quran

138

وَجاوَزنا بِبَني إِسرائيلَ البَحرَ فَأَتَوا عَلىٰ قَومٍ يَعكُفونَ عَلىٰ أَصنامٍ لَهُم ۚ قالوا يا موسَى اجعَل لَنا إِلٰهًا كَما لَهُم آلِهَةٌ ۚ قالَ إِنَّكُم قَومٌ تَجهَلونَ

Muhammad Asad

AND WE BROUGHT the children of Israel across the sea; and thereupon they came upon people who were devoted to the worship of some idols of theirs.¹ Said [the children of Israel]: "O Moses, set up for us a god even as they have gods!" He replied: "Verily, you are people without any awareness [of right and wrong]!

The Qur'an does not say who those people were. It is, however, probable that they belonged to the group of Arabian tribes described in the Bible as "Amalekites", who inhabited southernmost Palestine, the adjoining regions of the Hijaz, and parts of the Sinai Peninsula.