Genesis 14:1-24
The Blessing of Victory for God’s People
14:1 At that time Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations
14:2 went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
14:3 These last five kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
14:4 For twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert.
14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met
14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against five.
14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, but some survivors fled to the hills.
14:11 The four victorious kings took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left.
14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions when they left, for Lot was living in Sodom.
14:13 A fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty with Abram.)
14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he mobilized his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders as far as Dan.
14:15 Then, during the night, Abram divided his forces against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of the people.
14:17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley).
14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.)
14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by the Most High God,
Creator of heaven and earth.
14:20 Worthy of praise is the Most High God,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.”
14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow
14:23 that I will take nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I who made Abram rich.’
14:24 I will take nothing except compensation for what the young men have eaten. As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
Genesis 40:1
The Cupbearer and the Baker
40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer to the king of Egypt and the royal baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.
Genesis 40:1
The Cupbearer and the Baker
40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer to the king of Egypt and the royal baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.
Genesis 26:1-19
Isaac and Abimelech
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle down in the land that I will point out to you.
26:3 Stay in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will fulfill the solemn promise I made to your father Abraham.
26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.
26:5 All this will come to pass because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.”
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? One of the men might easily have had sexual relations with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”
26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, because the Lord blessed him.
26:13 The man became wealthy. His influence continued to grow until he became very prominent.
26:14 He had so many sheep and cattle and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.
26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, for you have become much more powerful than we are.”
26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley.
26:18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham died. Isaac gave these wells the same names his father had given them.
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing water there,