King James Version
Genesis 14
24 verses with commentary
Abram Rescues Lot
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer kin...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XIV.
INVASION OF THE JORDAN VALLEY BY CHEDOR-LAOMER, KING OF ELAM.
(1) **It came to pass.**—Connected with the settlement of Lot in the Jordan valley is one of the most remarkable episodes in the whole of the Bible, derived either from Canaanite records, or, as Mr. Sayce thinks (*Chald. Genesis, *p. 72), from those of Babylon. The latter view is made the more probable by the fact that Amraphel, th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. went on his journeys--**His progress would be by slow marches and frequent encampments as Abram had to regulate his movements by the prospect of water and pasturage.
**unto the place ... between Beth-el and Hai--**"a conspicuous hill--its topmost summit resting on the rocky slopes below, and distinguished by its olive groves--offering a natural base for the altar and a fitting shade for the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah,...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Bera king of Sodom.**—The failure of the attempt to explain the names of these five kings, and of the cities over which they ruled (with one or two exceptions), by the help of the Hebrew language makes it probable that the inhabitants of the Ciccar were either Canaanites who had come from the sea-coast, or men of some Hamite stock who had colonised this region from the east. The latter is th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. there Abram called on the name of the Lord--**He felt a strong desire to reanimate his faith and piety on the scene of his former worship: it might be to express humility and penitence for his misconduct in Egypt or thankfulness for deliverance from perils--to embrace the first opportunity on returning to Canaan of leading his family to renew allegiance to God and offer the typical sacrifices...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea....</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise fulfillment.<br><br>Cen...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **All these were joined together.**—Were united in a confederacy, and so formed a pentapolis, or group of five allied towns, like the Philistine league with its five lords (1Samuel 6:16-18).
**The vale of Siddim.**—Mr. Conder (*Tent-work, *ii. 16) says that the name *Sidd *is still given by the Arabs to the cliffs or banks of marl which run along the southern edge of the plain of Jericho; and ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled....</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise fulfillment.<br><br...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **They served.**—That *is, paid a yearly tribute, *that they might be exempt from Chedorlaomer’s marauding expeditions (see 2Kings 18:7). There must, therefore, have been envoys going from time to time to and from the Jordan valley to Shinar.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, Shaveh: or, The plain of Kiriathaim
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephai...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **The Rephaims.**—Described as an Amorite tribe (Amos 2:9) of great stature, settled in Bashan, where Moses conquered them (Joshua 13:12). We find them also on the other side of Jordan, in Mount Ephraim ( Joshua 17:15), on the western side of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16; 2Samuel 5:18; 2Samuel 5:22), and even among the Philistines (2Samuel 21:16; 2Samuel 21:18). In many of these places...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. And there was a strife--**Abraham's character appears here in a most amiable light. Having a strong sense of religion, he was afraid of doing anything that might tend to injure its character or bring discredit on its name, and he rightly judged that such unhappy effects would be produced if two persons whom nature and grace had so closely connected should come to a rupture [Ge 13:8]. Waiving ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. Elparan: or, The plain of Paran
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness....</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise fulfillment.<br><br>...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amaleki...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **They returned.**—More correctly, *they turned, *as they did not go back by the same route, but wheeled towards the north-west.
**Enmishpat.**—*The fountain of justice, *because at this spring the ancient inhabitants of the country used to meet to settle their disputes. It was also called Kadesh, probably the ’Ain Qadis described by Professor Palmer. It was a great stronghold, and both a sanc...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king ...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **They joined battle with them.**—Heb., *they set themselves in array against them. *As the five kings left their cities to do battle with the invaders “in the vale of Siddim,” it is plain, as was said in Genesis 14:3, that the vale embraces a far wider extent of country than merely the site of the five cities.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. Lot lifted up his eyes--**Travellers say that from the top of this hill, a little "to the east of Beth-el" [Ge 12:8], they can see the Jordan, the broad meadows on either bank, and the waving line of verdure which marks the course of the stream.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. Then Lot chose him all the plain--**a choice excellent from a worldly point of view, but most inexpedient for his best interests. He seems, though a good man, to have been too much under the influence of a selfish and covetous spirit: and how many, alas! imperil the good of their souls for the prospect of worldly advantage.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits ; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell the...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **The vale of Siddim was full of slimepits.**—That is, of holes whence bitumen had been excavated. Layers of this natural asphalte, well known both to the Greeks and Romans as *pia Judaica, *Judean pitch, still exist on the western side of the Dead Sea; and the places whence it had been dug out, and which are often very deep, formed dangerous impediments in the way of the defeated side.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way....</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise fulfi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed....</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise fulfillme...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-15. Lift up now thine eyes ... all the land which thou seest--**So extensive a survey of the country, in all directions, can be obtained from no other point in the neighborhood; and those plains and hills, then lying desolate before the eyes of the solitary patriarch, were to be peopled with a mighty nation "like the dust of the earth in number," as they were in Solomon's time (1Ki 4:20).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner.(1-12)
Abram rescues Lot.(13-16)
Melchizedek blesses Abram.(17-20)
Abram restores the spoil.(21-24)
**Verses 1-12**
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fru...
Read full commentary →And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre t...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **One that had escaped.**—Heb., *the escaped; *not any one in particular, but the fugitives generally. As Sodom lay at the north-western end of the Dead Sea, the region where Abram was dwelling would be their natural place of refuge.
**Abram the Hebrew.**—That is, *the immigrant *(from beyond the Euphrates), but also his patronymic from Eber, who in like manner had crossed the Tigris. It was,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-15. Lift up now thine eyes ... all the land which thou seest--**So extensive a survey of the country, in all directions, can be obtained from no other point in the neighborhood; and those plains and hills, then lying desolate before the eyes of the solitary patriarch, were to be peopled with a mighty nation "like the dust of the earth in number," as they were in Solomon's time (1Ki 4:20).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-16**
Abram takes this opportunity to give a real proof of his being truly friendly to Lot. We ought to be ready to succour those in distress, especially relations and friends. And though others may have been wanting in their duty to us, yet we must not neglect our duty to them. Abram rescued the captives. As we have opportunity, we must do good to all.
And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen , and pursued them unto Dan. armed: or, led forth trained: or, instructed
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his ...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Abram . . . armed . . . —**Heb., *led forth, *or literally, *let them loose, let them pour forth, *the verb indicating both their number and also their haste. The word for *trained *comes from the same root as the name Enoch, for which see note on Genesis 4:17. As Abram’s cattle would often be exposed to danger from the Amalekites, who throughout the Biblical history appear as a race of inv...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-16**
Abram takes this opportunity to give a real proof of his being truly friendly to Lot. We ought to be ready to succour those in distress, especially relations and friends. And though others may have been wanting in their duty to us, yet we must not neglect our duty to them. Abram rescued the captives. As we have opportunity, we must do good to all.
And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Hobah **. . . **on the left hand of Damascus.**—That is, *to the north, *as the Hebrews looked eastward in defining the quarters of the heaven. The victory had thus been followed up with great energy, the pursuit having lasted, according to Josephus, the whole of the next day and night after that on which the attack was made. At Hobah the mountains cease, and the great plain of Damascus beg...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-16**
Abram takes this opportunity to give a real proof of his being truly friendly to Lot. We ought to be ready to succour those in distress, especially relations and friends. And though others may have been wanting in their duty to us, yet we must not neglect our duty to them. Abram rescued the captives. As we have opportunity, we must do good to all.
And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the wo...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. the plain of Mamre ... built ... an altar--**the renewal of the promise was acknowledged by Abram by a fresh tribute of devout gratitude.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-16**
Abram takes this opportunity to give a real proof of his being truly friendly to Lot. We ought to be ready to succour those in distress, especially relations and friends. And though others may have been wanting in their duty to us, yet we must not neglect our duty to them. Abram rescued the captives. As we have opportunity, we must do good to all.
Melchizedek Blesses Abram
And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and ...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **The slaughter.**—Heb., *the smiting, *that is, the defeat of Chedorlaomer.
**The valley of** **Shaven.**—That is, the valley of the plain (see on Genesis 14:5). It was the place where Absalom erected his pillar (2Samuel 18:18), and lay on the northern side of Jerusalem, probably where the Kedron valley widens out. Its other name, “the king’s dale,” may have been given it from this meeting o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-20**
Melchizedek is spoken of as a king of Salem, supposed to be the place afterwards called Jerusalem, and it is generally thought that he was only a man. The words of the apostle, He 7:3, state only, that the sacred history has said nothing of his ancestors. The silence of the Scriptures on this, is to raise our thoughts to Him, whose generation cannot be declared. Bread and wine...
Read full commentary →And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high G...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Melchizedek king of Salem.**—There is a Salem near Scythopolis in the tribe of Ephraim, near to which John baptised (John 3:23, where it is called *Salim*)*, *and Jerome mentions that some local ruins there were said to be the remains of Melchizedek’s palace. But such traditions are of little value, and we may eel certain that the place was really Jerusalem (Psalm 76:2); for it lay on Abram...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 14 Ge 14:1-24. War.
**1. And it came to pass--**This chapter presents Abram in the unexpected character of a warrior. The occasion was this: The king of Sodom and the kings of the adjoining cities, after having been tributaries for twelve years to the king of Elam, combined to throw off his yoke. To chastise their rebellion, as he deemed it, Chedorlaomer, with the aid of three allies, inv...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-20**
Melchizedek is spoken of as a king of Salem, supposed to be the place afterwards called Jerusalem, and it is generally thought that he was only a man. The words of the apostle, He 7:3, state only, that the sacred history has said nothing of his ancestors. The silence of the Scriptures on this, is to raise our thoughts to Him, whose generation cannot be declared. Bread and wine...
Read full commentary →And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Possessor.**—Literally, *creator, *or *framer. *It is a poetical word, as are also those for “delivered” and “enemies.” The form of the blessing, moreover, is poetical, as it is arranged in parallel clauses.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-20**
Melchizedek is spoken of as a king of Salem, supposed to be the place afterwards called Jerusalem, and it is generally thought that he was only a man. The words of the apostle, He 7:3, state only, that the sacred history has said nothing of his ancestors. The silence of the Scriptures on this, is to raise our thoughts to Him, whose generation cannot be declared. Bread and wine...
Read full commentary →And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him ...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **He gave him tithes.**—Abram thus consecrated the war by a thank-offering to God, Who had given him the victory. But he also, by paying tithes, acknowledged the priesthood of Melchizedek, and that the God Whom he served was the true God. See Hebrews 7:4-11.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-20**
Melchizedek is spoken of as a king of Salem, supposed to be the place afterwards called Jerusalem, and it is generally thought that he was only a man. The words of the apostle, He 7:3, state only, that the sacred history has said nothing of his ancestors. The silence of the Scriptures on this, is to raise our thoughts to Him, whose generation cannot be declared. Bread and wine...
Read full commentary →And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. persons: Heb. souls
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself....</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise fulfillme...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Grive me the persons.**—To this day it is the rule among the Arabs that, if a camp be plundered, anyone who recovers the booty gives up only the persons, and takes the rest for himself. But Abram, with noble generosity, will accept nothing. The “lifting up of the hand” to give solemnity to an oath is mentioned here for the first time.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
Observe the king of Sodom's grateful offer to Abram, Give me the souls, and take thou the substance. Gratitude teaches us to recompense to the utmost of our power, those that have undergone fatigues, run hazards, and been at expense for our service and benefit. Abram generously refused this offer. He accompanies his refusal with a good reason, Lest thou shouldest say, I have m...
Read full commentary →And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the ...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
Observe the king of Sodom's grateful offer to Abram, Give me the souls, and take thou the substance. Gratitude teaches us to recompense to the utmost of our power, those that have undergone fatigues, run hazards, and been at expense for our service and benefit. Abram generously refused this offer. He accompanies his refusal with a good reason, Lest thou shouldest say, I have m...
Read full commentary →That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet , and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
Observe the king of Sodom's grateful offer to Abram, Give me the souls, and take thou the substance. Gratitude teaches us to recompense to the utmost of our power, those that have undergone fatigues, run hazards, and been at expense for our service and benefit. Abram generously refused this offer. He accompanies his refusal with a good reason, Lest thou shouldest say, I have m...
Read full commentary →Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, ...</strong> This passage is part of the Abrahamic narratives which shift from universal human history to God's particular covenant people. The Abraham cycle (Genesis 12-25) demonstrates God's sovereign election, covenant faithfulness, and the development of faith through testing and promise...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **The young men . . . the men which went with me.**—The former are Abram’s 318 servants, and they are to take only their food. The latter are the Amorites, and they are to have their fair share of the spoil.
We must notice in Abram’s policy that, while Lot had joined himself to the Canaanites, he stood aloof, ready to help on fit occasion, but even so maintaining his independence, and refusin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
Observe the king of Sodom's grateful offer to Abram, Give me the souls, and take thou the substance. Gratitude teaches us to recompense to the utmost of our power, those that have undergone fatigues, run hazards, and been at expense for our service and benefit. Abram generously refused this offer. He accompanies his refusal with a good reason, Lest thou shouldest say, I have m...
Read full commentary →