Genesis 14
14
War of the Kings
1In the days of the [Eastern] kings Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim, 2they [invaded the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea, and] made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela #14:2 One of the many facts supporting the antiquity of Genesis is that many of the original names of places mentioned were so old that Moses had to add an explanation in order to identify these ancient names, so that the Israelites returning from Egypt could recognize them. Chapter 14 alone contains six such explanatory notes (Gen 14:2, 3, 7, 8, 15, 17).(that is, Zoar). 3All of these [kings] joined together [as allies] in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Sea of Salt). 4Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer [the most powerful king in the invading confederacy], but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the [three] kings who were with him attacked and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in their mountainous country of Seir, as far as El-paran, which is on the border of the wilderness. 7Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar. 8Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they joined together for battle with the invading kings in the Valley of Siddim, 9against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar (bitumen) pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them. But the remainder [of the kings] who survived fled to the hill country. 11Then the victors took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply and provisions and left. 12And they also took [captive] Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and left, for he was living in Sodom.
13Then a survivor who had escaped [from the invading forces on the other side of the Jordan] came and told Abram the #14:13 This ethnic designation means “descended from Eber” or, more probably, “one who crosses (a border).”Hebrew. Now he was living by the terebinths (oaks) of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner—they were allies of Abram. 14When Abram heard that his nephew [Lot] had been captured, he armed and led out his trained men, born in his own house, [numbering] three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far [north] as Dan. 15He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and attacked and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, and also the women, and the people.
Abram and Melchizedek
17Then after Abram’s return from the defeat (slaughter) of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18#14:18 Heb king of righteousness.Melchizedek king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine [for them]; he was the priest of #14:18 Heb El Elyon and so throughout the chapter. The supreme Ruler of all the universe; His dominion is all encompassing and everlasting.God Most High. 19And Melchizedek blessed Abram and said,
“Blessed (joyful, favored) be Abram by God Most High,
Creator and Possessor of heaven and earth;
20And blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High,
Who has given your enemies into your hand.”
And Abram gave him a tenth of all [the treasure he had taken in battle]. [Heb 7:1-10] 21The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods (spoils of battle) for yourself.” 22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand and sworn an oath to the Lord God Most High, the Creator and Possessor of heaven and earth, 23that I would not take anything that is yours, from a thread to a sandal strap, so you could not say, ‘I [the King of Sodom] have made Abram rich.’ 24I will take nothing except what my young men have eaten, and the share of the spoils belonging to the men [my allies] who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share of the spoils.”
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Genesis 14
14
Soldiers grabbed Lot and his family and took them away
1-9This story is about the people in the flat country, and it started before Lot went to live near the town called Sodom. There were 5 tribes in that flat country at that time, and each tribe had a leader. These were the 5 tribes and their leaders,
– A tribe called Sodom, and their leader was called Bera.
– A tribe called Gomorrah, and their leader was called Birsha.
– A tribe called Admah, and their leader was Shinab.
– A tribe called the Zebo mob, and their leader was Shemeber.
– A tribe called Zoar. They are also called Bela.
There were another 4 tribes in the country to the east. These were those 4 tribes and their leaders,
– A tribe called Elam, and their leader was Kedorlayomer.
– A tribe called Babylonia, and their leader was called Amrafel.
– A tribe called Ellasar, and their leader was called Ariok.
– A tribe called the Goy mob, and their leader was Tidal.
And Kedorlayomer was the boss over those 4 tribes in the east. Those 4 tribes sent their soldiers to fight the other 5 tribes, and the 4 tribes from the east won. So Kedorlayomer became the boss over the other 5 tribes too.
Those 5 tribes let him be their boss for 12 years. Then the next year, their leaders told Kedorlayomer that they didn’t want him to be their boss any more. Kedorlayomer got really angry, and the next year, he got soldiers from the 4 tribes in the east, and they went to fight those 5 tribes.
On the way to that fight, Kedorlayomer’s soldiers had other fights with some other tribes, and they won all those fights. They beat the Refa tribe at a place called Ashteroth-Karnayim, and they beat the Zuz tribe at a place called Ham, and they beat the Em tribe at a place called Shaveh-Kiriathayim, and they beat the Hor tribe in the hill country called Edom. They chased the Hor soldiers all the way to a place called El-Paran, near the desert. Then Kedorlayomer and the soldiers from the east, they all went back to a place called En-Mishpat. Another name for that place is Kadesh. Then Kedorlayomer and his mob fought the Amalek tribe and beat them, and took control of their country. Then they fought the Amor tribe in Hazazon-Tamar country, and beat them too.
While Kedorlayomer and his mob were fighting those other people, the 5 tribes that didn’t want Kedorlayomer to be their boss, they went to the valley called Sidim. (Today there is salt water in that valley, and we call it the Dead Sea.) The soldiers of those 5 tribes got ready there to fight against Kedorlayomer and his 4 tribes from the east.
So when Kedorlayomer and his mob got to that Sidim valley there was a big fight. 10Kedorlayomer and his mob won that fight. They beat those 5 tribes, and their soldiers all ran away. In that flat country there were lots of holes in the ground that were full of sticky black stuff, called tar. So when the soldiers from the 5 tribes ran away, some of them fell into those holes. But the rest of them ran up into the hills.
11So Kedorlayomer and his soldiers went to Sodom and Gomorrah, and they grabbed all the people that lived there. And they took everything the people owned, even their food, and then they started to go back to their own country. 12At that time, Abram’s nephew, Lot, lived in Sodom, so the soldiers grabbed Lot too, and his family, and all their things. Those soldiers took all of Lot’s mob away with them.
Abram saved Lot and his family
13-14A man got away from Kedorlayomer and his mob, and he went and told Abram that they got Lot. At that time, Abram was living near the big trees that belonged to a man called Mamreh. Abram was a good friend of Mamreh, and also of Mamreh’s 2 brothers. Their names were Eskol and Aner. Mamreh and his brothers belonged to the Amor tribe, and Abram belonged to the Hebrew tribe, but they all looked after each other.
Abram had 318 men that knew how to fight. They worked for Abram all their lives, and Abram really trusted them. So Abram got those men, and Mamreh, Eskol and Aner got their fighting men, and they all went to fight Kedorlayomer and his soldiers. They followed them, and they found them at a place to the north, called Dan. 15Then, in the night time, Abram split up all the fighting men into groups, and they attacked Kedorlayomer and his soldiers. Abram and his men won that fight, and they chased those other soldiers all the way to a place called Hobah, north of Damascus town. 16That’s how Abram’s mob saved Lot, and all the women, and the other people from the towns called Sodom and Gomorrah, and they got all their things too. Then they all started to go back south.
Abram met Melkizedek
17After Abram’s mob beat Kedorlayomer and his mob, and while they were going back south on their way home, the leader of Sodom went out to meet Abram in the valley called Shaveh. Another name for that place is the valley that belongs to the leader.
18There was a town in that country called Salem, and the boss over that town was called Melkizedek. He was also a leader of God’s ceremonies. He worked for God, the one that is more powerful than any other god. Well, Melkizedek also went out to meet Abram and his men, and he gave them some bread and some wine. 19Then Melkizedek prayed for Abram. He said,
“God, you are more powerful than any other god.
You are the one that made heaven and earth.
I’m asking you to be really good to Abram.
20I want everyone to say that you are great, and more powerful than any other god.
You are the one that helped Abram fight with his enemies and win.”
Then Abram got all the things he got after the fight, the things that used to belong to the Sodom and Gomorrah mob, and he split those things up into 10 groups. And he gave one of those groups of things to Melkizedek.#Hebrews 7:1-10
21Then the leader of Sodom said to Abram, “I only want my people back. You can keep those other things.”
22But Abram said, “I made a strong promise to my God, the one that is more powerful than any other god, and the one that made heaven and earth. 23I promised that I will not take anything that belongs to you. I will not even take a bit of string, or anything that belongs to you. You see, I don’t want you to tell everyone that you gave me a lot of things and made me rich. 24No. The only thing that I will keep is the food that I ate and the food that my fighting men ate. And these men, Mamreh, and Aner, and Eskol, and their fighting men, they helped me save your people and your things too, so you can give them some of those things.”
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