Genesis 14:1-24

The Blessing of Victory for God’s People

14:1 At that time ¹  Amraphel king of Shinar, ²  Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations ³  14:2 went to war ⁴  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). ⁵  14:3 These last five kings ⁶  joined forces ⁷  in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). ⁸  14:4 For twelve years ⁹  they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year ¹⁰  they rebelled. ¹¹  14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated ¹²  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. ¹³  14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, ¹⁶  Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against ¹⁷  five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. ¹⁸  When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, ¹⁹  but some survivors ²⁰  fled to the hills. ²¹  14:11 The four victorious kings ²²  took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew ²³  Lot and his possessions when ²⁴  they left, for Lot ²⁵  was living in Sodom. ²⁶ 

14:13 A fugitive ²⁷  came and told Abram the Hebrew. ²⁸  Now Abram was living by the oaks ²⁹  of Mamre the Amorite, the brother ³⁰  of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty ³¹  with Abram.) ³²  14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew ³³  had been taken captive, he mobilized ³⁴  his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders ³⁵  as far as Dan. ³⁶  14:15 Then, during the night, ³⁷  Abram ³⁸  divided his forces ³⁹  against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north ⁴⁰  of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. ⁴¹  He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of ⁴²  the people.

14:17 After Abram ⁴³  returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram ⁴⁴  in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). ⁴⁵  14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem ⁴⁶  brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) ⁴⁷  14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by ⁴⁸  the Most High God,

Creator ⁴⁹  of heaven and earth. ⁵⁰ 

14:20 Worthy of praise is ⁵¹  the Most High God,

who delivered ⁵²  your enemies into your hand.”

Abram gave Melchizedek ⁵³  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 ⁵⁴  to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow ⁵⁵  14:23 that I will take nothing ⁵⁶  belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I ⁵⁷  who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing ⁵⁸  except compensation for what the young men have eaten. ⁵⁹  As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”

Genesis 12:7

12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants ⁶⁰  I will give this land.” So Abram ⁶¹  built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 12:12

12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. ⁶² 

Genesis 12:18

12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this ⁶³  you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?

Isaiah 64:5

64:5 You assist ⁶⁴  those who delight in doing what is right, ⁶⁵ 

who observe your commandments. ⁶⁶ 

Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.

How then can we be saved? ⁶⁷ 

Isaiah 66:10-14

66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem

and rejoice with her, all you who love her!

Share in her great joy,

all you who have mourned over her!

66:11 For ⁶⁸  you will nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished; ⁶⁹ 

you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts. ⁷⁰ 

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. ⁷¹ 

You will nurse from her breast ⁷²  and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

66:13 As a mother consoles a child, ⁷³ 

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy, ⁷⁴ 

and you will be revived. ⁷⁵ 

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies. ⁷⁶ 

Habakkuk 3:18

3:18 I will rejoice because of ⁷⁷  the Lord;

I will be happy because of the God who delivers me!

Romans 5:11

5:11 Not ⁷⁸  only this, but we also rejoice ⁷⁹  in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

Romans 5:2

5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice ⁸⁰  in the hope of God’s glory.

Colossians 1:24

1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

Philippians 4:4

4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!

[14:1]  ¹ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”

[14:1]  ² sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.

[14:1]  ³ tn Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. NEB “Goyim”; NIV, NRSV “Goiim”).

[14:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “made war.”

[14:2]  ⁵ sn On the geographical background of vv. 1-2 see J. P. Harland, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 1:41-75; and D. N. Freedman, “The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the Cities of the Plain,” BA 41 (1978): 143-64.

[14:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “all these,” referring only to the last five kings named. The referent has been specified as “these last five kings” in the translation for clarity.

[14:3]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to join together; to unite; to be allied.” It stresses close associations, especially of friendships, marriages, or treaties.

[14:3]  ⁸ sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.

[14:4]  ⁹ tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.

[14:4]  ¹⁰ tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.

[14:4]  ¹¹ sn The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east – to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats – that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.

[14:5]  ¹² tn The Hebrew verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to attack, to strike, to smite.” In this context it appears that the strike was successful, and so a translation of “defeated” is preferable.

[14:6]  ¹³ sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.

[14:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh).” The two verbs together form a verbal hendiadys, the first serving as the adverb: “they returned and came” means “they came again.” Most English translations do not treat this as a hendiadys, but translate “they turned back” or something similar. Since in the context, however, “came again to” does not simply refer to travel but an assault against the place, the present translation expresses this as “attacked…again.”

[14:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “against.”

[14:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.

[14:9]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[14:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.”

[14:10]  ¹⁹ tn Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” (BDB 1027 s.v. שָׁם).

[14:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the rest.”

[14:10]  ²¹ sn The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.

[14:11]  ²² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:12]  ²³ tn Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”

[14:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and.”

[14:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:12]  ²⁶ tn This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.

[14:13]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn Or “terebinths.”

[14:13]  ³⁰ tn Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”

[14:13]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:14]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.

[14:15]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”

[14:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.

[14:16]  ⁴¹ tn The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:16]  ⁴² tn The phrase “the rest of “ has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:17]  ⁴³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:17]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:17]  ⁴⁵ sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.

[14:18]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.

[14:19]  ⁴⁸ tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.

[14:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”

[14:19]  ⁵⁰ tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.

[14:20]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “blessed be.” For God to be “blessed” means that is praised. His reputation is enriched in the world as his name is praised.

[14:20]  ⁵² sn Who delivered. The Hebrew verb מִגֵּן (miggen, “delivered”) foreshadows the statement by God to Abram in Gen 15:1, “I am your shield” (מָגֵן, magen). Melchizedek provided a theological interpretation of Abram’s military victory.

[14:20]  ⁵³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:22]  ⁵⁴ tn Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”

[14:22]  ⁵⁵ tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:23]  ⁵⁶ tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the Lord deal with me] if I take,” meaning, “I will surely not take.” The positive oath would add the negative adverb and be the reverse: “[God will deal with me] if I do not take,” meaning, “I certainly will.”

[14:23]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.

[14:24]  ⁵⁸ tn The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[14:24]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”

[12:7]  ⁶⁰ tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[12:7]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:12]  ⁶² tn The Piel of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) means “to keep alive, to preserve alive,” and in some places “to make alive.” See D. Marcus, “The Verb ‘to Live’ in Ugaritic,” JSS 17 (1972): 76-82.

[12:18]  ⁶³ tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[64:5]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”

[64:5]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”

[64:5]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”

[64:5]  ⁶⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).

[66:11]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “in order that”; ASV, NRSV “that.”

[66:11]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “you will suck and be satisfied, from her comforting breast.”

[66:11]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “you will slurp and refresh yourselves from her heavy breast.”

[66:12]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”

[66:12]  ⁷² tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).

[66:13]  ⁷³ tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”

[66:14]  ⁷⁴ tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”

[66:14]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”

[66:14]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”

[3:18]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “in.”

[5:11]  ⁷⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:11]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “exult, boast.”

[5:2]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “exult, boast.”