King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 11 notes
1And 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;
2That 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.
3All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
4Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5And 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,
6And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness.
7And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.
8And 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;
9With 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.
10And 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.
11And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
12And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
In one swoop he lost everything. That was the nature 🏞 of wars.
A time of massive wealth 🧐 transfer. Lot, thinking he was wise, was now proven foolish.
13And 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.
Alliances, always important in such dangerous times of attacks and raids. Abraham had his own small personal army.
14And 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.
Abraham was very generous in helping his nephew Lot. 🧘♂️ That may well mean there was no animosity for Lot when he left or Abraham being his uncle was just forgiving and generous.
15And 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.
I don't get this. How can 300 trained soldiers rout 4 kings?
Either the soldiers were about three thousand, which is entirely possible 🙆, though that does still not change 💱 the odds of defeat much.
It could well be the 300 were highly trained and skilled, like the US marines ⛵. Or 🥇 most likely Jehovah helped them mightily.
16And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
17And 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.
This goes to show that though Abraham did not call himself king, he was one and strong enough to overpower 4 kings.
Again this goes to show the heritage of the Israelites.
They go to battle with Jehovah Sabaoth who is able to bring victory with many or few men.
Abraham was not up to four nations but he defeated them in war through tact, strategy and the help of the spirit.
18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Was it tithes of all his wealth or of what he had gotten through this conquest?
Abraham gave tithes of all that he had, I believe this was in reference to all that he had gained from the battle not of all that he had gained his entire lifetime.
I may be wrong but that is the understanding the text gives.
21And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Genesis 14:20
Looking at the context, here it means that Abraham paid tithes of the bounty. Obviously, he was returning from battle.
I wonder, did ABRAHAM pay tithes again after this, and also did he pay tithes of all his other properties and to whom?
22And 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,
What is the covenant name of God doing here?
I thought by his name "I AM" he was not known to them.
That goes to further illustrate the author was one who knew the 'I am'.
23That 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:
24Save 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.
Okay so the others took their portion. It was Abraham's personal decision to not take anything from the king 👑 of Sodom. He detested thinking that the depraved king of a depraved city 🏙 would brag that he made Abram rich.
Okay so what was their portion, was it ten percent or some agreed portion in ancient times for loot after a war is won?