A powerful coalition of kings from Mesopotamia invaded Canaan and in the process took Lot captive. Abram retaliated with a surprise attack at night and recovered Lot and the possessions those kings had taken. Upon his return to his home Abram received a blessing from Melchizedek, king of Salem, and received an offer of reward by the king of Sodom, Bera (v. 2). Abram declined to accept the reward because he did not want to tarnish God's promised blessing of him. Abram's realization that victory and possessions come from God alone enabled him to avoid the danger of accepting gifts from the wicked and to wait for God to provide what He had promised.
A major significance of this literary unit is that it describes two more challenges to God's faithfulness and Abram's faith. So far Abram had had to contend with several barriers to God's fulfilling His promises to him. His wife was barren, he had to leave the land, his life was in danger, and his anticipated heir showed not interest in the Promised Land. Now he became involved in a war and consequently became the target of retaliation by four powerful kings.
14:1-12 The four kings (v. 1) were from the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent. They sought to dominate the land of Canaan by subjugating the five kings (v. 2) who lived there. They probably wanted to keep the trade routes between Mesopotamia and Egypt open and under their control. It is interesting that people living around Babylon initiated this first war mentioned in the Bible (v. 2).
Scholars have debated the identity of the Rephaim (vv. 5; cf. 15:20; literally "ghosts"or "spirits of the dead"). Some believe they were gods, others that they were the deified dead, and still others the promoters of fertility.450Most likely they were one of the early tribal groups that inhabited Canaan when Abram entered the land. They appear to have been very powerful, and apparently some of their neighbors regarded them as superhuman before and or after their heyday.451
The scene of the battle of the nine kings was the Valley of Siddim (vv. 3, 8). This valley probably lay in the southern "bay"of the modern Dead Sea south of the Lissan Peninsula.
14:13-16 Abram could have lost his possessions and his life by getting involved in war with the Mesopotamian kings. He also set himself up as the target for retaliation. Almost everyone in the ancient Near East practiced retaliation, and it is still a major factor in the continuing political turmoil that characterizes the Middle East to this day. People did not forgive and forget; they harbored resentment for acts committed against their ancestors or themselves for generations and took revenge when they thought they could succeed.
Why was Abram willing to take such risks? He probably thought he could win. His love for Lot may have been the primary factor. Perhaps Abram hoped that Lot had learned his lesson living in Sodom and would return to him. Unfortunately Lot had not learned his lesson but returned to Sodom soon after his release as a prisoner of war. Undoubtedly Abram also had confidence in God's promises to him (12:2-3, 7).
"We have here a prelude of the future assault of the worldly power upon the kingdom of God established in Canaan; and the importance of this event to sacred history consists in the fact, that the kings of the valley of Jordan and the surrounding country submitted to the worldly power, whilst Abram, on the contrary, with his home-born servants, smote the conquerors and rescued their booty,--a prophetic sign that in the conflict with the power of the world the seed of Abram would not only not be subdued, but would be able to rescue from destruction those who appealed to it for aid."452
Some scholars have suggested that Abram's designation as a Hebrew (v. 13) marked him as a resident alien rather than a semi-nomad. As such he took steps to take possession of the land God had promised him.453He could have been both.454Albright argued that he was a "donkeyman, donkey driver, caravaneer."455However most conservative interpreters have concluded that he was a semi-nomadic shepherd.456The term "Hebrew"is primarily an ethnic designation in the Old Testament.457Usually people other than Hebrews used it to describe this ethnic group.
The situation that Abraham faced taking his 318 men and going into battle against an alliance of five armies was similar to the one Gideon faced in leading 300 men against 135,000 Midianites (Judg. 7:6; 8:10). The lesson of both passages is similar: God is able to give a trusting and obedient minority victory over ungodly forces that are overwhelmingly superior in numbers.
This section records an important decision Abram had to make after he returned victoriously from his battle with the Mesopotamian kings.
14:17 The "valley of Shaveh"was near Jerusalem (the Salem of verse 18). It may have been the Kidron Valley immediately east of the city or some other valley not far away.
14:18 "Melchizedek"was probably a title rather than a proper name. It means "King of Righteousness."458However theophoric names were common in the ancient Near East, so his name may have meant "My king is Sedeq"or "Milku is righteous,"Sedeq and Milku presumably being the names of gods.459The names of both the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 2) are compounds of a Hebrew word translated "evil"(cf. 13:13).
Bread and wine were the royal food and drink of the day. Many writers have commented on their typical significance. Many ancient Near Easterners used them in making covenants.460Melchizedek, the first priest mentioned in the Bible, evidently gave a royal banquet in Abram's honor. In view of their characters and geographical proximity, Abram and Melchizedek may have been friends before this meeting. Melchizedek may have been Abram's king to whom the patriarch was paying an expected obligation.461
14:19 The God Melchizedek worshipped as a priest was the true God known to him as El Elyon, the possessor of heaven and earth. This title reveals the sovereign power of God. Melchizedek and Abram regarded Abram's recent victory in battle as due to the blessing of El Elyon.
14:20 People practiced tithing as an act of worship commonly in the ancient Near East at this time (cf. 28:22).462It was also a common tax.463However since Melchizedek gave Abram a priestly blessing, it is likely that Abram reciprocated by giving Melchizedek a gift with priestly connotations.464"All"probably refers to all that he took in the battle rather than all that was in Abram's possession (cf. vv. 23-24; Heb. 7:4).
14:21-24 Abram identified El Elyon with Yahweh (v. 22). His willingness to take no spoil from the battle for himself demonstrates Abram's desire that God would receive all the glory for his prosperity. He also appears not to have wanted to be indebted to the wicked king of Sodom. This man may have by his offer to Abram been setting him up for demands later (cf. 23:15).
"The gifts of the ungodly are often attached to deadly strings."465
Generally, the patriarchs believed that God would give them what He had promised without their having to take it from others.466Abram was content with what God had given him.
". . . just as in the previous episode where Abram allowed Lot the pick of the land, so here he allows the surly king of Sodom more than his due."467
"Christians are really so rich in their own inheritance that it ill becomes them to crave the possessions of others."468
This event is significant because it demonstrates Abram's trust in God to provide what He had promised, which God soon rewarded with another revelation and promise (15:1).
"Even without the explicit warning that he who disdains you I shall curse,' the narrative suggests that it is dangerous to despise those through whom God works.
"It is the demonstration of divine support for Abram that is the clearest thrust of this story. . . .
"Within Genesis, however, Melchizedek is primarily an example of a non-Jew who recognizes God's hand at work in Israel . . . They are those who have discovered that in Abram all the families of the earth find blessing."469
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews expounded the typical significance of Melchizedek and the events of this incident in Hebrews 7 (cf. Ps. 110:4).
Confidence that God will preserve and provide for His own as He has promised should encourage believers to decline worldly benefits and wait for God's blessings.
