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 chap. x. 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] ╡ywg 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 Genesis xiv. 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: chap. xv. 20.

Ashteroth] A city of Basan, where Og afterwards reigned; Joshua xiii. 31.

Zuzims] Nowhere else spoken of, unless they were the same with the Zamzummims, Deut. ii. 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; Deut. ii. 10, 11.

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

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

El-paran] The plain or oak of Paran, which was a city in the wilderness of Paran; chap. xxi. 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; Num. xx. 1-10.

Amalekites] So called afterwards, from Amalek, son of Esau; chap. xxxvi. 12.

Hazezon-tamar.] Called, in the Chaldee, Engaddi; a city in the land of Canaan, which fell to the lot of Judah; Josh. xv. 62. See also 2 Chron. xx. 2. It appears, from Canticles So i. 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 chap. 19.

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 trab trab 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 note on "chap. x. 21". It is very likely that Abram had this appellation from his coming from beyond the river Euphrates to enter Canaan; for yrb[h haibri, which we render the Hebrew, comes from rb[ 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 chap. xi. 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 chap. xi. 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 ver. 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 offenses; 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.

Verse 17. The king of Sodom went out to meet him] This could not have been Bera, mentioned ver. 2, for it seems pretty evident, from ver. 10, that both he and Birsha, king of Gomorrah, were slain at the bitumen-pits in the vale of Siddim; but another person in the meantime might have succeeded to the government.

Verse 18. And Melchizedek, king of Salem] A thousand idle stories have been told about this man, and a thousand idle conjectures spent on the subject of his short history given here and in Heb. vii. At present it is only necessary to state that he appears to have been as real a personage as Bera, Birsha, or Shinab, though we have no more of his genealogy than we have of theirs.

Brought forth bread and wine] Certainly to refresh Abram and his men, exhausted with the late battle and fatigues of the journey; not in the way of sacrifice, &c.; this is an idle conjecture.

He was the priest of the most high God.] He had preserved in his family and among his subjects the worship of the true God, and the primitive patriarchal institutions; by these the father of every family was both king and priest, so Melchizedek, being a worshipper of the true God, was priest among the people, as well as king over them.

Melchizedek is called here king of Salem, and the most judicious interpreters allow that by Salem, Jerusalem is meant. That it bore this name anciently is evident from Psa. lxxvi. 1, 2: "In Judah is God known; his name is great in Israel. In SALEM also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion." From the use made of this part of the sacred history by David, Psa. cx. 4, and by St. Paul, Heb. vii. 1- 10, we learn that there was something very mysterious, and at the same time typical, in the person, name, office, residence, and government of this Cannanitish prince.1. In his person he was a representative and type of Christ; see the scriptures above referred to. 2. His name, qdx yklm malki tsedek, signifies my righteous king, or king of righteousness. This name he probably had from the pure and righteous administration of his government; and this is one of the characters of our blessed Lord, a character which can be applied to him only, as he alone is essentially righteous, and the only Potentate; but a holy man, such as Melchizedek, might bear this name as his type or representative. 3. Office; he was a priest of the most high God. The word hk cohen, which signifies both prince and priest, because the patriarchs sustained this double office, has both its root and proper signification in the Arabic; kahana signifies to approach, draw near, have intimate access to; and from hence to officiate as priest before God, and thus have intimate access to the Divine presence: and by means of the sacrifices which he offered he received counsel and information relative to what was yet to take place, and hence another acceptation of the word, to foretell, predict future events, unfold hidden things or mysteries; so the lips of the priests preserved knowledge, and they were often the interpreters of the will of God to the people. Thus we find that Melchizedek, being a priest of the most high God, represented Christ in his sacerdotal character, the word priest being understood as before explained. 4. His residence; he was king of Salem. ╡lì shalam signifies to make whole, complete, or perfect; and hence it means peace, which implies the making whole the breaches made in the political and domestic union of kingdoms, states, families, &c., making an end of discord, and establishing friendship. Christ is called the Prince of peace, because, by his incarnation, sacrifice, and mediation, he procures and establishes peace between God and man; heals the breaches and dissensions between heaven and earth, reconciling both; and produces glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will among men.His residence is peace and quietness and assurance for ever, in every believing upright heart. He governs as the Prince and Priest of the most high God, ruling in righteousness, mighty to save; and he ever lives to make intercession for, and save to the uttermost all who come unto the Father by him. See the notes on Heb. vii.

Verse 19. And he blessed him] This was a part of the priest's office, to bless in the name of the Lord, for ever. See the form of this blessing, Num. vi. 23-26; and for the meaning of the word to bless, see chap. ii. 3.

Verse 20. And he gave him tithes] A tenth part of all the spoils he had taken from the confederate kings. These Abram gave as a tribute to the most high God, who, being the possessor of heaven and earth, dispenses all spiritual and temporal favours, and demands the gratitude, and submissive, loving obedience, of all his subjects. Almost all nations of the earth have agreed in giving a tenth part of their property to be employed in religious uses. The tithes were afterwards granted to the Levites for the use of the sanctuary, and the maintenance of themselves and their families, as they had no other inheritance in Israel.

Verse 22. I have lift up mine hand] The primitive mode of appealing to God, and calling him to witness a particular transaction; this no doubt generally obtained among the faithful till circumcision, the sign of the covenant, was established. After this, in swearing, the hand was often placed on the circumcised part; see chap. xxiv. 2, 9.

Verse 23. From a thread even to a shoelatchet] This was certainly a proverbial mode of expression, the full meaning of which is perhaps not known. Among the rabbinical writers fwj chut, or yfwj chuti, signifies a fillet worn by young women to tie up their hair; taken in this sense it will give a good meaning here. As Abram had rescued both the men and women carried off by the confederate kings, and the king of Sodom had offered him all the goods, claiming only the persons, he answers by protesting against the accepting any of their property: "I have vowed unto the Lord, the proprietor of heaven and earth, that I will not receive the smallest portion of the property either of the women or men, from a girl's fillet to a man's shoe-tie."

Verse 24. Save only that which the young men have eaten] His own servants had partaken of the victuals which the confederate kings had carried away; see ver. 11. This was unavoidable, and this is all he claims; but as he had no right to prescribe the same liberal conduct to his assistants, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, he left them to claim the share that by right of conquest belonged to them of the recaptured booty. Whether they were as generous as Abram we are not told.