Genesis 14:13-18

14:13 A fugitive ¹  came and told Abram the Hebrew. ²  Now Abram was living by the oaks ³  of Mamre the Amorite, the brother ⁴  of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty ⁵  with Abram.) ⁶  14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew ⁷  had been taken captive, he mobilized ⁸  his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders ⁹  as far as Dan. ¹⁰  14:15 Then, during the night, ¹¹  Abram ¹²  divided his forces ¹³  against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north ¹⁴  of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. ¹⁵  He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of ¹⁶  the people.

14:17 After Abram ¹⁷  returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram ¹⁸  in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). ¹⁹  14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem ²⁰  brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) ²¹ 

[14:13]  ¹ tn Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.

[14:13]  ² sn E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14-16).

[14:13]  ³ tn Or “terebinths.”

[14:13]  ⁴ tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”

[14:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.

[14:13]  ⁶ tn This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.

[14:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).

[14:14]  ⁸ tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.

[14:14]  ⁹ tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:14]  ¹⁰ sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.

[14:15]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.

[14:15]  ¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”

[14:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.

[14:16]  ¹⁵ tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:16]  ¹⁶ tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:17]  ¹⁹ sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.

[14:18]  ²⁰ sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the Lord declares that the Davidic king is a royal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.

[14:18]  ²¹ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.