Genesis 14:19 | 47
14:3 g Nu 34:3 , 12 ; Dt 3:17 ; Jos 3:16 ;
15:2 , 5
14:5 h Ge 15:20 ; Dt 2:11 , 20 i Dt 2:10
14:6 j Dt 2:12 , 22 k Dt 2:1 , 5 , 22 l Ge 21:21 ;
Nu 10:12 14:7 m 2Ch 20:2
14:8 n Ge 13:10 ; 19:17- 29 o Dt 29:23
14:10 p Ge 19:17 , 30 14:13 q ver 24 ; Ge 13:18
14:14 r Ge 15:3 s Dt 34:1 ; Jdg 18:29
14:17 t 2Sa 18:18
14:18 u Ps 110:4 ; Heb 5:6 v Ps 76:2 ;
Heb 7:2
14:19 w Heb 7:6
Val ley of Sid dim ( that is , the Dead Sea Val ley g ). 4 For twelve years they had been sub ject to Kedorlaomer , but in the thirteenth year they rebelled .
5 In the four teenth year , Ked or la o mer and the kings al lied with him went out and defeated the Reph a ites h in Ash te roth Kar naim , the Zu zites in Ham , the Emites i in Sha veh Kiriathaim 6 and the Ho rites j in the hill coun try of Seir , k as far as El Pa ran l near the des ert . 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mish pat ( that is , Ka desh ), and they con quered the whole ter ri tory of the Am a lek ites , as well as the Am o rites who were liv ing in Haz e zon Tamar . m
8 Then the king of Sodom , the king of Go mor rah , n the king of Ad mah , the king of Zeboyim o and the king of Bela ( that is , Zoar ) marched out and drew up their bat tle lines in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Kedorlaomer king of Elam , Tidal king of Goyim , Amraphel king of Shi nar and Ar i och king of El la sar — four kings against five . 10 Now the Val ley of Sid dim was full of tar pits , and when the kings of Sodom and Go mor rah fled , some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills . p 11 The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Go mor rah and all their food ; then they went away . 12 They also car ried off Abram ’ s nephew Lot and his pos ses sions , since he was liv ing in Sodom .
13 A man who had es caped came and re ported this to Abram the He brew . Now Abram was liv ing near the great trees of Mamre q the Am o rite , a brother a of Esh kol and Aner , all of whom were al lied with Abram . 14 When Abram heard that his rel a tive had been taken cap tive , he called out the 318 trained men born in his house hold r and went in pur suit as far as Dan . s 15 Dur ing the night Abram di vided his men to at tack them and he routed them , pur su ing them as far as Ho bah , north of Da mas cus . 16 He re cov ered all the goods and brought back his rel a tive Lot and his pos ses sions , to gether with the women and the other peo ple .
17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him , the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Val ley of Sha veh ( that is , the King ’ s Val ley ). t
18 Then Melchizedek u king of Sa lem v brought out bread and wine . He was priest of God Most High , 19 and he blessed Abram , w saying , a 13 Or a relative ; or an ally
tives , the kings of Sodom and Salem greet him . Abram ’ s different responses to the two kings are exceptionally important , revealing how Abram rejects the spoils of battle in order to enhance his own standing within the land of Canaan . Although his defeat of the invading kings provides Abram with an opportunity to enrich himself further , he places his future hope in God , affirming through the gift of a tithe the truthfulness of Melchizedek ’ s remarks . The events of this chapter portray Abram as worthy of royal status . 14:1 – 4 A dispute between two groups of kings results in a conflict in the Jordan Valley , where Lot is living . For 12 years the local kings have been subject to a foreign coalition composed of kings from the region of Mesopotamia and beyond . Although these kings are not known in existing extrabiblical sources , their names are typical of the territories associated with them . 14:1 Shinar . Region of southern Mesopotamia , later known as Bab ylonia ( 10:10 ; see Josh 7:21 and NIV text note ). Ellasar . Possibly northern Mesopotamia , the name “ Arioch ” having been found in ancient texts from Mari and Nuzi . Elam . Region to the east of southern Mesopotamia . Only in the early second millennium BC is there evidence of Elamite armies advancing westward into Mesopotamia and possibly onward to Canaan . Tidal . The name may be of Hittite origin . The insertion of explanatory names in vv . 1 – 8 ( e . g ., Zoar [ vv . 2,8 ] and Kadesh [ v . 7 ]) point to the antiquity of this account . 14:5 – 7 Before they arrive in the Jordan Valley , the foreign coalition defeats various tribal groups whose territories lie along the King ’ s Highway in Transjordan . After reaching the Gulf of Aqabah , they travel northward to Hazezon Tamar , known as En Gedi in 2 Chr 20:2 .
14:8 – 11 Unable to repel the invading coalition , the local kings flee in disarray , leaving the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to be plundered . 14:13 Hebrew . Against the background of all the different ethnic groups mentioned in the first part of this chapter , Abram is designated a Hebrew . This is the first occurrence of this term in the Bible . It may be associated with the name Eber , first mentioned in 10:21 , from whom the Israelites are descended . Although similar sounding , the name Hebrew is not associated with the people referred to as habiru / hapiru in the el-Amarna tablets of the fourteenth century BC . 14:14 trained men . This translates a rare Hebrew word that possibly refers to those who have had some form of military training . Through a surprise attack at night , Abram ’ s relatively small force successfully routs their opponents , who flee northward toward their own territories ( v . 15 ). Dan . The name that the Israelites gave to the city of Laish after they captured it ( Judg 18:27 – 29 ). See Introduction to the Pentateuch , p . 9 . 14:17 – 24 The different responses of the kings of Salem and Sodom to Abram ’ s victory contrast a God-centered approach to life with a human-centered one . Recognizing God ’ s place in human affairs , Abram is not prepared to enhance his own status within the land of Canaan by taking what belonged to others , even when it is captured in battle . Abram distances himself from the “ winner takes all ” attitude of the king of Sodom . Abram will not use the military power available to him to take control of the land of Canaan ; rather , he waits on God to reward him ( cf . 15:1 ). Genesis condemns the misuse of violence as a perversion of humanity ’ s divinely given authority over the earth .
14:17 Valley of Shaveh . Later known as the King ’ s Valley ( 2 Sam 18:18 ), it was east of Jerusalem . 14:18 Melchizedek . This form of name was common among second-millennium BC Canaanites . Scholars debate its original meaning ; it could possibly mean “ Melek is just ,” “ Zedek is my king ,” or “ My king is just ” ( cf . Malkiel , meaning “ El is my king ,” in 46:17 ), where Melek and Zedek are divine names . By NT times , the name was understood to mean “ king of righteousness ” ( Heb 7:2 ). Although little is known of him , as a priestking of Jerusalem associated with both righteousness and peace , Melchizedek became a figure of special significance ( see Ps 110:4 ). The author of Hebrews argues that Jesus Christ is a priest belonging to the “ order of Melchizedek ” ( Heb 5:6,10 ; 6:20 ; 7:11,17 ); because Abram gives him a tithe , Melchizedek ’ s priestly order is superior to the priests associated with the tribe of Levi ( see Heb 5:5 – 10 ; 6:20 — 7:28 and notes ). Salem . A shortened form of Jerusalem ( Ps 76:2 ). “ Salem ” also resembles the Hebrew word for peace ( Heb 7:2 ). God Most High . This is one of several designations Genesis uses for God in which various attributes qualify “ El ,” the common Semitic term for God ( e . g ., ʾēl rŏʾî , “ the God who sees me ” [ 16:13 ]; ʾēl šadday , “ God Almighty ” [ 17:1 ]; ʾēl ʿôlām , “ the Eternal God ” [ 21:33 ]). 14:19 Creator of heaven and earth . Melchizedek ’ s description of God implies that God is more than simply the creator of everything . He is also its possessor , a striking affirmation in the light of the human conflict over territory in the opening part of this chapter . Rejecting God ’ s ownership of the earth lies at the heart of human sin .