Genesis 14

Abram Rescues Lot

1In the days that Amraphel was king of Shinar, # Ge 10:10 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim, 2they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, # Ge 10:19 and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). # Ge 13:10 3All these were joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea). # Nu 34:12; Dt 3:17 4For twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaites # Ge 15:20 in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, # Dt 2:12, 22 as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. # Ge 21:21 7Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and conquered all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who lived in Hazezon Tamar. # 2Ch 20:2

8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out, and they joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim # Ge 13:10; 19:20 9against Kedorlaomer, the king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell in them, and the rest fled to the hill country. # Ge 19:17, 30 11Then they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and departed. # Ge 14:16, 21 12They also took Lot, # Ge 11:27; 12:5 Abram’s brother’s son, who lived in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

13Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, # Ge 13:18 brother of Eshkol and Aner, and these were allies with Abram. # Ge 14:24 14When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants born in his own house, # Ge 15:3 and pursued them as far as Dan. # Jdg 18:29 15During the night he divided his men to attack them and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16He brought back all the possessions, along with his relative Lot and his possessions, and also the women and the people. # 1Sa 30:8

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

17After his return from the defeat of Kedorlaomer and the kings who had joined with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). # 2Sa 18:18

18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was the priest of God Most High. # Ps 110:4; Heb 5:6, 10 19And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

Creator # 14:19 Or Possessor. of heaven and earth; # Mt 11:25

20and blessed be God Most High,

who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” # Ge 24:27

Then Abram gave him one-tenth of everything. # Ge 28:22

21The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the goods for yourself.”

22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, # Ex 6:8; Da 12:7 23that I will take nothing that is yours, # 2Ki 5:16; Est 9:15–16 not a thread or a sandal strap; lest you say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24I will accept only that which my men have eaten and the portion that belongs to the men who went with me, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. Let them take their portion.”

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Genesis 14: MEV

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Genesis 14

Abram Rescues Lot

1During the reign of Amraphel # 14:1 Amraphel most likely means “speaker of dark secrets.” Some Assyriologists and scholars identify him as the famous King Hammurabi of Babylon. king of Babylon, # 14:1 Or “Shinar,” which means “country of two rivers.” he allied with three other kings: Arioch # 14:1 Arioch means “fierce lion.” king of Ellasar, # 14:1 Or “Larsa,” a city-state of lower Chaldea. It was the center of the cult of the sun-god Utu. It is recognized as modern Tell Senkereh in Iraq. Ellasar means “God is chastener.” Kedorlaomer # 14:1 Kedorlaomar means “the servant of the goddess Lagamar [no mercy].” king of Elam, # 14:1 Elam means “hidden” and was an ancient pre-Iranian kingdom in Persia. Susa was its principal city. and Tidal # 14:1 Tidal means “great son.” He was a chief (king) of various nomadic tribes in Mesopotamia. king of Goyim. # 14:1 Goyim was likely a country east of the Tigris in the lowlands of Mesopotamia called Gutium. Goyim is also the Hebrew word for “nations” or “peoples.” 2These four kings went to war against five kings: Bera # 14:2 Bera means “with evil.” king of Sodom, # 14:2 Sodom means “burning.” Birsha # 14:2 Birsha means “with wickedness.” king of Gomorrah, # 14:2 Gomorrah means “submersion.” Shinab # 14:2 Although some believe Shinab means “splendor of the father,” the Midrash (Ber. Rab. 42) explains Shinab as sho’-ebh mammon, “one who draws money [wherever he can].” king of Admah, # 14:2 Admah means “earth fortress.” Shemeber # 14:2 Shemeber likely means “known for being strong.” king of Zeboiim, # 14:2 Zeboiim means “gathering of troops” or “gazelles [beautiful ones]” and is recognized as modern Tsvoyim. and the king of Bela, # 14:2 Bela means “destruction.” which is Zoar. # 14:2 Zoar means “insignificant” or “small.” 3-4Kedorlaomer had oppressed these five kings for twelve years until they rebelled against him in the thirteenth year. They all became regional allies in the valley of Siddim, # 14:3–4 Siddim means “division” or “demons.” which is now the Dead Sea.

5In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer went to war with his allied kings. They defeated the Rephaites # 14:5 Or “giants.” See Deut. 3:11. The Hebrew word Rephaim also means “shades [ghosts]” or “spirits of the dead.” See Ps. 88:10; Isa. 26:14, 19. in Ashteroth-karnaim, # 14:5 Ashteroth was a Canaanite goddess of fertility and coupled with karnaim means “goddess of two horns.” Ashteroth-karnaim was the likely capital city of Og, king of Bashan, east of Lake Galilee. the Zuzites # 14:5 Or “Zuzim.” Zuzites means “roving creatures.” in Ham, # 14:5 The city of Ham may be the ancient name of the Ammonite capital Rabboth-Ammon. the Emites # 14:5 Or “Emim.” Emites means “terrors.” Emites is the Moabite name of a people of giants who once occupied Moab. See Deut. 2:10–11. in Shavah-kiriathaim, # 14:5 Shavah-kiriathaim means “the plain of the two cities.” 6and the Horites # 14:6 Horites means “cave dwellers.” Mt. Hor is the location where the first high priest, Aaron, was buried. Mt. Hor is near Petra in Jordan. See Num. 20:22–28. in the hill country of Seir, # 14:6 Seir means “hairy” or “shaggy” and refers to the mountainous area south of the Dead Sea located in Edom. as far as El Paran # 14:6 El Paran means “beautiful oaks.” near the desert. # 14:6 The invasion route began east of the Jordan, moved southward, and returned northward toward the Dead Sea, conquering as they went, finally defeating the five kings. 7Then they turned back and attacked En-mishpat # 14:7 En-mishpat means “the spring of decision” or “spring of judgment.” Kadesh means “sacred.” En-mishpat is identified as modern ‘Ayn Qadeis, fifty miles south of Beersheba. (that is, Kadesh) and subdued all the country of the Amalekites # 14:7 Amalekites means “warlike” or “valley dwellers.” and the Amorites # 14:7 Amorites means “sayers” or “mountain dwellers.” who lived in Hazazon-tamar. # 14:7 Hazazon-tamar means “dividing the date palm” and is identified in 2 Chron. 20:2 as En-gedi, a town on the western shore of the Dead Sea. The tribes mentioned in vv. 5–7 were likely some of the “giants” that were in the land. See Deut. 2:10–11, 20–21; 3:11–13; Josh. 12:4; 13:12; 15:8.

8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar), marched out in battle formation in the valley of Siddim. 9There they faced off against Kedorlaomer, king of Elam; Tidal, king of Goyim; Amraphel, king of Babylon; # 14:9 Or “Shinar,” a name for ancient Babylon. and Arioch, king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their armies retreated from the battle and fled, some of them fell into the tar pits, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11The four victorious kings captured all the possessions and all the food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 12They captured Lot, Abram’s nephew who had been living in Sodom, and took him and all his possessions.

13One who escaped came to Abram the Hebrew and told him what had happened to Lot. Abram was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre had two brothers, Eshcol # 14:13 Eshcol means “cluster.” and Aner, who were allied by treaty with Abram. 14When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been taken captive by the four kings, he mobilized all the men in his camp, # 14:14 These were not only warriors but also disciples (Hb. hanikh, “trained ones”) of Abram. It was God who supernaturally won this battle, for Abram was facing numerous fierce tribal warriors. Abram realized that the battle would be won with God’s help. Abram was a noble man, for he could have easily left Lot, who chose to live in Sodom, in the hands of his captors. 318 in all who had been born and trained in his own household, and he pursued the invaders as far north as Dan. 15Then, during the night, Abram strategically divided his forces and defeated them. His forces attacked them and routed them as far as Hobah, # 14:15 Hobah means “hiding place.” north of Damascus. 16He recovered all the stolen possessions and brought back his nephew Lot, together with the women and all the prisoners.

Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

17After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram at the valley of the Shaveh # 14:17 Shaveh means “level” or “equal [equalize].” (known as the King’s Valley). # 14:17 The King’s Valley later became known as the Kidron Valley. But the events of this chapter happened in the King’s Valley—the low place where we meet the King. 18And Melchizedek, # 14:18 There are varying viewpoints on the identity of Melchizedek; some scholars view Melchizedek as merely a type or picture of Christ or a Canaanite royal priest. Others believe that he was a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ as both a priest of the Most High God and the King of Salem (peace). He appeared out of nowhere, with no genealogy or pedigree other than being a king-priest. Two Dead Sea scrolls dating back to at least the first century BC found in Cave 11 at Qumran (11Q13, 11QMelch), state that Melchizedek was a divine being, and was given the Hebrew title Elohim. According to this text, Melchizedek proclaimed the Day of Atonement as a day coming when one will atone for the sins of the people and will be their supernatural deliverer and their judge (see Wise, Abegg, Cook [1996]. The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation). See also footnote on Ps. 110:4; Heb. 4:14–15; 5:6, 10; 6:19–20; 7:1–21. In John 8:56, Jesus said that “Abraham . . . foresaw me coming and was filled with delight!” Abraham saw the day of Jesus as Melchizedek came out to meet him with bread and wine. who was both a priest of the Most High God and the king of Salem, # 14:18 Salem is the name of ancient Jerusalem. See Ps. 76:2. Melchizedek was a priest on behalf of whom? Not the Jews, for Abram was yet to have a son. Rather, it was on behalf of the gentiles. God established a priesthood over the gentiles before he brought forth a priesthood over the Jews. Melchizedek was a gentile king over a gentile city. Gentiles have been in the heart of God from the beginning. brought out to Abram bread and wine. # 14:18 Bread and wine is the substance of the Lord’s Table. Melchizedek brought a Communion service to Abram. 19He spoke over him a special blessing, saying,

“Blessed is Abram by God Most High, # 14:19 Or “El Elyon.”

Creator # 14:19 Or “Possessor.” of heaven and earth.

20And blessed be God Most High,

whose power delivered your enemies into your hands!” # 14:20 Abram was not a warrior; he was a prophet. Yet with God’s power behind him, he became a conqueror and won a battle against great odds. Only God gets the glory with every victory we experience.

Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all he possessed. # 14:20 See Heb. 7:4–10. 21Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Just give me the people you rescued; keep all the spoils for yourself.” 22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, and I pledged a solemn oath to the Possessor of heaven and earth 23that I would keep nothing for myself that belongs to you, not even a thread of a garment or sandal strap. That way, you will never be able to say, ‘I was the one that made Abram rich.’ # 14:23 Abram resisted the temptation for acquiring wealth apart from a relationship with God. He wanted God to be his boast and his true wealth. See Jer. 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:31; 10:13. 24I will take nothing except what my young men have eaten, and the share of those who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”

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