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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Gen', 14, 'all');">Gen 14</a> - Abram Rescues Lot and Meets Melchizedek</h2>
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<p>A. Abram rescues Lot from the confederacy of kings.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Gen', 14, '1-10');">1-10</a>) <span>The</span> four kings of the cities in the region of Sodom and Gomorrah rebel against the confederation of five kings of nations ruling over them.</p>
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<p class="c2">And it came to pass in the days of <span>Amraphel</span> king of <span>Shinar</span>, <span>Arioch</span> king of <span>Ellasar</span>, <span>Chedorlaomer</span> king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, that they made war with <span>Bera</span> king of Sodom, <span>Birsha</span> king of Gomorrah, <span>Shinab</span> king of <span>Admah</span>, <span>Shemeber</span> king of <span>Zeboiim</span>, and the king of <span>Bela</span> (that is, <span>Zoar</span>). All these joined together in the Valley of <span>Siddim</span> (that is, the Salt Sea). Twelve years they served <span>Chedorlaomer</span>, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year <span>Chedorlaomer</span> and the kings that were with him came and attacked the <span>Rephaim</span> in <span>Ashteroth</span> <span>Karnaim</span>, the <span>Zuzim</span> in Ham, the <span>Emim</span> in <span>Shaveh</span> <span>Kiriathaim</span>, and the <span>Horites</span> in their mountain of <span>Seir</span>, as far as El <span>Paran</span>, which is by the wilderness. Then they turned back and came to En <span>Mishpat</span> (that is, <span>Kadesh</span>), and attacked all the country of the <span>Amalekites</span>, and also the Amorites who dwelt in <span>Hazezon</span> Tamar. And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of <span>Admah</span>, the king of <span>Zeboiim</span>, and the king of <span>Bela</span> (that is, <span>Zoar</span>) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of <span>Siddim</span> against <span>Chedorlaomer</span> king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, <span>Amraphel</span> king of <span>Shinar</span>, and <span>Arioch</span> king of <span>Ellasar</span>; four kings against five. Now the Valley of <span>Siddim</span> was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <span><b><span class="c3">Chedorlaomer</span></b></span><b><span class="c3"> and the kings that were with him came and attacked</span></b>: Archaeologist Nelson <span>Glueck</span> documents the destruction left by these kings: “I found that every village in their path had been plundered and left in ruins, and the countryside was laid waste. The population had been wiped out or led away into captivity. For hundreds of years thereafter, the entire area was like an abandoned cemetery, hideously unkempt, with all its monuments shattered and strewn in pieces on the ground.”</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Now the Valley of <span>Siddim</span> was full of asphalt pits</span></b>: The Hebrew here is a good example of how the language uses repetition to show emphasis. “The Hebrew way of saying <i>full of bitumen pits</i> is: <i>pits, pits of bitumen</i>. Repetition expresses abundance, plenitude, etc.” (<span>Leupold</span>)</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Gen', 14, '11-12');">11-12</a>) In the course of their attack, the five kings take Lot and all his possessions.</p>
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<p class="c2">Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">They also took Lot</span></b>: Now, the confederacy of five kings has involved Abram. Because Abram is a man of honor, he will fight for his nephew.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And his goods</span></b>: Since Lot was living among the wicked people of Sodom, we are not surprised he is taken captive also. “Those believers who conform to the world must expect to suffer for it.” (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Gen', 14, '13-14');">13-14</a>) Abram hears of Lot’s captivity and marshals an army.</p>
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<p class="c2">Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the <span>terebinth</span> trees of <span>Mamre</span> the Amorite, brother of <span>Eshcol</span> and brother of <span>Aner</span>; and they were allies with Abram. Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Abraham the Hebrew</span></b>: This is the first use of <b><span class="c3">Hebrew</span></b> in the Bible. “The word Hebrew comes from a root that means <i>passed over.</i> The Septuagint translates it <i>the passenger</i>.” (<span>Barnhouse</span>)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">He armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants</span></b>: We see the great wealth of Abram; any man who can assemble 318 servants capable of fighting must be very rich.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Trained servants</span></b>: Abram was a man who walked in faith, yet he was also a prudent man. Abram kept his own personal army, and he apparently kept them trained and ready to defend his interests.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Went in pursuit as far as Dan</span></b>: Abram’s army pursues the confederacy of five kings far a long distance to the north. The city of Dan is all the way up at the northern border of Israel.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Gen', 14, '15-17');">15-17</a>) Abram leads his army to victory over the five kings.</p>
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<p class="c2">He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as <span>Hobah</span>, which is north of Damascus. So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of <span>Shaveh</span> (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of <span>Chedorlaomer</span> and the kings who were with him.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">He divided his forces against them by night</span></b>: Abram had military wisdom. Using the clever tactic of a night attack with his army split into two groups, he succeeds in rescuing Lot and recovering all the booty seized by the confederacy of the five kings.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Also brought back his brother Lot and his goods</span></b>: Unfortunately, Lot will move right back to where he was in Sodom. He refuses this warning from God, and he will eventually lose everything when Sodom and Gomorrah are judged.</p>
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<p>B. Abram and Melchizedek.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Gen', 14, '18-20');">18-20</a>) Abram meets Melchizedek.</p>
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<p class="c2">Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>a</span>. <b><span class="c3">Then Melchizedek</span></b>: We have no idea of where Melchizedek came from, how he came to be in Canaan, how he came to be a worshipper and priest of the true God, and how Abram came to know about him. We only know he was there.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Melchizedek king of Salem</span></b>: The name <b><span class="c3">Melchizedek</span></b> means “king of righteousness.” He is the <b><span class="c3">king of Salem</span></b>, and Salem is the original <b><span class="c3">Jeru<i>salem</i></span></b>, and Melchizedek is <b><span class="c3">the priest of God Most High</span></b>. He is a worshipper and priest of the true God, ruling over Jerusalem even in those ancient times.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. One thing making Melchizedek unique is he is both a king and a priest. History shows how dangerous it is to combine religious and civic authority. God forbade the kings of Israel to be priests and the priests to be kings (In <a onclick="return mV('2Ch', 26, '16-23');">2Ch 26:16-26</a>, King <span>Uzziah</span> tried to do the work of priest, and God struck him with leprosy), but here is an exception.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. And Melchizedek is the <b><span class="c3">priest of God Most High</span></b>. <i>El <span>Elyon</span></i> means “Highest God,” like saying “Supreme Being.” We should never settle for a “higher power”; we should serve the <i>Highest Power</i>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Brought out bread and wine</span></b>: Melchizedek served Abram <b><span class="c3">bread and wine</span></b>. Perhaps he even served them in a manner looking forward to our redeeming sacrifice, as the bread and wine of Passover and the <span>Lord’s table</span> look at our redeeming sacrifice, Jesus Christ.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">He was the priest of God Most High</span></b>: Melchizedek, as priest, did two things. He <b><span class="c3">blessed</span></b> Abram and he <b><span class="c3">blessed</span></b> God. Melchizedek shows a priest must connect with both God and man and has a ministry to both God and man.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Though Melchizedek seems like an obscure figure, he figures to be a very important Old Testament person. <a onclick="return mV('Psa', 110, 4);">Psa 110:4</a> says the priesthood of the Messiah is <span>a priesthood</span> according to the order of Melchizedek, as opposed to being of the order of Aaron. <span>Hebrews chapters 5 through 7 makes</span> a great deal of this idea.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <a onclick="return mV('Hbr', 7, 3);">Hbr 7:3</a> describes Melchizedek as <i>without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually</i>. Because of this passage, some have thought Melchizedek is actually a pre-Bethlehem appearance of Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Others have suggested he is Seth, Noah’s son, or Job, or an angel; or even some have fancifully speculated Melchizedek is an outer-space visitor, an “<span>unfallen</span> Adam” from another planet, sent to observe the progress of God’s work of redemption for this fallen race.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. “The question cannot be said to be settled completely . . . otherwise, the identity of Melchizedek would have been agreed on by Bible scholars long ago.” (Morris) But we can, at the very least, say he was a remarkable type or picture of Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">And he gave him a tithe of all</span></b>: Abram gave unto the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, through Melchizedek, a <b><span class="c3">tithe of all</span></b>. This refers to one tenth of his <i>assets</i>, not his <i>income</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. It is almost as if Abram and Melchizedek worked to see who could bless the other more. Melchizedek blessed Abram out of his resources, and Abram blessed Melchizedek out of his resources. This is a great attitude for us to have in the body of Christ.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Gen', 14, '21-24');">21-24</a>) Abram refuses the booty from the battle.</p>
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<p class="c2">Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for <span>yourself</span>.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’; except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: <span>Aner</span>, <span>Eshcol</span>, and <span>Mamre</span>; let them take their portion.”</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Take the goods for yourself</span></b>: As seemed proper, the king of Sodom wanted to reward Abram for all he did in recovering what was taken by the confederation of five kings, and he offered Abram a tremendous amount of booty.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">I will take nothing</span></b>: Yet, Abram will not take it - because of a vow he has made to <b><span class="c3">God Most High</span></b> - a phrase he uses after hearing Melchizedek use this particular title for God (<a onclick="return mV('Gen', 14, 19);">Gen 14:19</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Lest you should say, “I have made Abram rich”</span></b>: Abram refused the spoil because he would let no man say <span>a man</span> had made Abram rich. Abram demanded all the <span>credit go</span> to God and God alone.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. When we are willing to pursue human measures of success in the flesh through worldly, fleshly methods, how can we really say God has given success, if it should come? How much better to let God raise you up, so He gets the glory, and so you <i>know</i> it was His work.</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>d</span>. <b><span class="c3">Let them take their portion</span></b>: However, at the same time, Abram does not impose his scruples on his Amorite allies (<a onclick="return mV('Gen', 14, 13);">Gen 14:13</a>). They are entitled to as much of the spoil as is appropriate.</p>
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