Gen 14:1-16 | Clarke | e4.org | CHAPTER XIV The war of four confederate kings against the five kings of Canaan , 1-3. The confederate kings overrun and pillage the whole country , 4-7. Battle between them and the kings of Canaan , 5, 9. The latter are defeated, and the principal part of the armies of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah slain , 10; on which these two cities are plundered , 11. Lot, his goods, and his family, are also taken and carried away , 12. Abram, being informed of the disaster of his nephew , 13, arms three hundred and eighteen of his servants, and pursues them , 14; overtakes and routs them, and recovers Lot and his family , and their goods , 15, 16; is met on his return by the king of Sodom, and by Melchizedek, king of Salem, with refreshments for himself and men , 17, 18. Melchizedek blesses Abram, and receives from him, as priest of the most high God, the tenth of all the spoils , 19, 20. The king of Sodom offers to Abram all the goods he has taken from the enemy , 21; which Abram positively refuses, having vowed to God to receive no recompense for a victory of which he knew God to be the sole author , 22, 23; but desires that a proportion of the spoils be given to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, who had accompanied him on this expedition , 24. NOTES ON CHAP. XIV Verse 1. In the days of Amraphel ] Who this king was is not known; and yet, from the manner in which he is spoken of in the text, it would seem that he was a person well known, even when Moses wrote this account. But the Vulgate gives a different turn to the place, by rendering the passage thus: Factum est in illo tempore, ut Amraphel , &c. "It came to pass in that time that Amraphel, &c." The Chaldee Targum of Onkelos makes Amraphel king of Babylon, others make him king of Assyria; some make him the same as Nimrod, and others, one of his descendants. Arioch king of Ellasar ] Some think Syria is meant; but conjecture is endless where facts cannot be ascertained. Chedorlaomer king of Elam ] Dr. Shuckford thinks that this was the same as Ninyas , the son of Ninus and Semiramis ; and some think him to be the same with Keeumras , son of Doolaved, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah; and that Elam means Persia; see . The Persian historians unanimously allow that Keeumras , whose name bears some affinity to Chedorlaomer , was the first king of the Peeshdadian dynasty. Tidal king of nations ] goyim , different peoples or clans. Probably some adventurous person, whose subjects were composed of refugees from different countries.

‏ Genesis 14:1-16

CHAPTER XIV

The war of four confederate kings against the five kings of Canaan, 1-3.

The confederate kings overrun and pillage the whole country, 4-7.

Battle between them and the kings of Canaan, 5, 9.

The latter are defeated, and the principal part of the armies of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah slain, 10;

on which these two cities are plundered, 11.

Lot, his goods, and his family, are also taken and carried away, 12.

Abram, being informed of the disaster of his nephew, 13,

arms three hundred and eighteen of his servants, and pursues them, 14;

overtakes and routs them, and recovers Lot and his family,

and their goods, 15, 16;

is met on his return by the king of Sodom, and by Melchizedek, king of Salem, with refreshments for himself and men, 17, 18.

Melchizedek blesses Abram, and receives from him, as priest of the most high God, the tenth of all the spoils, 19, 20.

The king of Sodom offers to Abram all the goods he has taken from the enemy, 21;

which Abram positively refuses, having vowed to God to receive no recompense for a victory of which he knew God to be the sole author, 22, 23;

but desires that a proportion of the spoils be given to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, who had accompanied him on this expedition, 24.

NOTES ON CHAP. XIV

Verse 1. In the days of Amraphel] Who this king was is not known; and yet, from the manner in which he is spoken of in the text, it would seem that he was a person well known, even when Moses wrote this account. But the Vulgate gives a different turn to the place, by rendering the passage thus: Factum est in illo tempore, ut Amraphel, &c. "It came to pass in that time that Amraphel, &c." The Chaldee Targum of Onkelos makes Amraphel king of Babylon, others make him king of Assyria; some make him the same as Nimrod, and others, one of his descendants.

Arioch king of Ellasar] Some think Syria is meant; but conjecture is endless where facts cannot be ascertained.

Chedorlaomer king of Elam] Dr. Shuckford thinks that this was the same as Ninyas, the son of Ninus and Semiramis; and some think him to be the same with Keeumras, son of Doolaved, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah; and that Elam means Persia; see Ge 10:22. The Persian historians unanimously allow that Keeumras, whose name bears some affinity to Chedorlaomer, was the first king of the Peeshdadian dynasty.

Tidal king of nations] goyim, different peoples or clans. Probably some adventurous person, whose subjects were composed of refugees from different countries.

Verse 2. These made war with Bera, &c.] It appears, from Ge 14:4, that these five Canaanitish kings had been subdued by Chedorlaomer, and were obliged to pay him tribute; and that, having been enslaved by him twelve years, wishing to recover their liberty, they revolted in the thirteenth; in consequence of which Chedorlaomer, the following year, summoned to his assistance three of his vassals, invaded Canaan, fought with and discomfited the kings of the Pentapolis or five cities-Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboiim, Zoar, and Admab, which were situated in the fruitful plain of Siddim, having previously overrun the whole land.

Verse 5. Rephaims] A people of Canaan: Ge 15:20.

Ashteroth] A city of Basan, where Og afterwards reigned; Jos 13:31.

Zuzims] Nowhere else spoken of, unless they were the same with the Zamzummims, De 2:20, as some imagine.

Emims] A people great and many in the days of Moses, and tall as the Anakim. They dwelt among the Moabites, by whom they were reputed giants; De 2:10, 11.

Shaveh Kiriathaim] Rather, as the margin, the plain of Kiriathaim, which was a city afterwards belonging to Sihon king of Heshbon; Jos 13:19.

Verse 6. The Horites] A people that dwelt in Mount Seir, till Esau and his sons drove them thence; De 2:22.

El-paran] The plain or oak of Paran, which was a city in the wilderness of Paran; Ge 21:21.

Verse 7. En-mishpat] The well of judgment; probably so called from the judgment pronounced by God on Moses and Aaron for their rebellion at that place; Nu 20:1-10.

Amalekites] So called afterwards, from Amalek, son of Esau; Ge 36:12.

Hazezon-tamar.] Called, in the Chaldee, Engaddi; a city in the land of Canaan, which fell to the lot of Judah; Jos 15:62. See also 2Ch 20:2. It appears, from Canticles So 1:14, to have been a very fruitful place.

Verse 8. Bela, the same is Zoar] That is, it was called Zoar after the destruction of Sodom, &c., mentioned in Ge 19:24, 25.

Verse 10. Slime-pits] Places where asphaltus or bitumen sprang out of the ground; this substance abounded in that country.

Fell there] It either signifies they were defeated on this spot, and many of them slain, or that multitudes of them had perished in the bitumen-pits which abounded there; that the place was full of pits we learn from the Hebrew, which reads here beeroth beeroth, pits, pits, i.e., multitudes of pits. A bad place to maintain a fight on, or to be obliged to run through in order to escape.

Verse 11. They took all the goods, &c.] This was a predatory war, such as the Arabs carry on to the present day; they pillage a city, town, or caravan; and then escape with the booty to the wilderness, where it would ever be unsafe, and often impossible, to pursue them.

Verse 12. They took Lot, &c.] The people, being exceedingly wicked, had provoked God to afflict them by means of those marauding kings; and Lot also suffered, being found in company with the workers of iniquity. Every child remembers the fable of the Geese and Cranes; the former, being found feeding where the latter were destroying the grain, were all taken in the same net. Let him that readeth understand.

Verse 13. Abram the Hebrew] See Clarke on Ge 10:21. It is very likely that Abram had this appellation from his coming from beyond the river Euphrates to enter Canaan; for haibri, which we render the Hebrew, comes from abar, to pass over, or come from beyond. It is supposed by many that he got this name from Eber or Heber, son of Salah; see Ge 11:15. But why he should get a name from Heber, rather than from his own father, or some other of his progenitors, no person has yet been able to discover. We may, therefore, safely conclude that he bears the appellation of Hebrew or Ibrite from the above circumstance, and not from one of his progenitors, of whom we know nothing but the name, and who preceded Abram not less than six generations; and during the whole of that time till the time marked here, none of his descendants were ever called Hebrews; this is a demonstration that Abram was not called the Hebrew from Heber; see Ge 11:15-27.

These were confederate with Abram.] It seems that a kind of convention was made between Abram and the three brothers, Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner, who were probably all chieftains in the vicinity of Abram's dwelling: all petty princes, similar to the nine kings before mentioned.

Verse 14. He armed his trained servants] These amounted to three hundred and eighteen in number: and how many were in the divisions of Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner, we know not; but they and their men certainly accompanied him in this expedition. See Ge 14:24.

Verse 15. And he divided himself against them] It required both considerable courage and address in Abram to lead him to attack the victorious armies of these four kings with so small a number of troops, and on this occasion both his skill and his courage are exercised. His affection for Lot appears to have been his chief motive; he cheerfully risks his life for that nephew who had lately chosen the best part of the land, and left his uncle to live as he might, on what he did not think worthy his own acceptance. But it is the property of a great and generous mind, not only to forgive, but to forget offences; and at all times to repay evil with good.

Verse 16. And he brought back-the women also] This is brought in by the sacred historian with peculiar interest and tenderness. All who read the account must be in pain for the fate of wives and daughters fallen into the hands of a ferocious, licentious, and victorious soldiery. Other spoils the routed confederates might have left behind; and yet on their swift asses, camels, and dromedaries, have carried off the female captives. However, Abram had disposed his attack so judiciously, and so promptly executed his measures, that not only all the baggage, but all the females also, were recovered.