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Genesis 14

Abram rescues Lot, receives Melchizedek’s blessing, and refuses wealth that would let Sodom’s king claim credit for his prosperity.

Four kings defeat five rebel kings, plunder Sodom and Gomorrah, and carry away Lot with his possessions. When Abram hears that his nephew has been captured, he leads 318 trained household men in pursuit and brings back the captives and goods. Two kings meet him on his return. Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, blesses him. The king of Sodom offers him the recovered goods, which Abram refuses while preserving his allies’ share.

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1In the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar; Arioch, king of Ellasar; Chedorlaomer, king of Elam; and Tidal, king of Goiim,
2they made war with Bera, king of Sodom; Birsha, king of Gomorrah; Shinab, king of Admah; Shemeber, king of Zeboiim; and the king of Bela (also called Zoar).
3All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (also called the Salt Sea).
5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and struck the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
6and the Horites in their Mount Seir, to El Paran, which is by the wilderness.
7They returned, and came to En Mishpat (also called Kadesh), and struck all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that lived in Hazazon Tamar.
8The king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar) went out; and they set the battle in array against them in the valley of Siddim
10Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and some fell there. Those who remained fled to the hills.
11They took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way.
12They took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
13One who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. At that time, he lived by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. They were allies of Abram.
14When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his three hundred eighteen trained men, born in his house, and pursued as far as Dan.
15He divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
16He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot and his goods, and the women also, and the other people.
17The king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
18Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High.
19He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth.
20Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of all.
22Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to the LORD, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
23that I will not take a thread nor a sandal strap nor anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’
24I will accept nothing from you except that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their portion.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Genesis 14:18Melchizedek enters the account as both king and priest, bringing bread and wine after Abram’s rescue of the captives.
Genesis 14:19Melchizedek’s blessing places Abram under God Most High, whose rule extends over heaven and earth.
Genesis 14:22Abram identifies YHWH as God Most High and grounds his refusal of Sodom’s goods in an oath.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm takes up Melchizedek’s priesthood in its declaration of an enduring priest appointed by God, sharing the figure introduced here as king of Salem. Hebrews develops that connection to Jesus’ priesthood, examining Melchizedek’s blessing of Abram and Abram’s gift of a tenth.

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After reading the whole chapter

What do Melchizedek’s blessing and Abram’s oath reveal about who deserves credit for the rescue?

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What stands out in Abram’s refusal of the goods alongside his protection of his allies’ share?

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Questions people ask about Genesis 14

Who is Melchizedek in Genesis 14?

Melchizedek is the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High. He brings bread and wine, blesses Abram, and praises God for delivering Abram’s enemies into his hand. Abram gives him a tenth of all. Genesis 14 supplies no account of Melchizedek’s ancestry or how he became a priest.

Why did Abram refuse the king of Sodom’s goods?

Abram says he has sworn to YHWH that he will take nothing belonging to Sodom’s king, so the king cannot claim to have made him rich. His refusal includes even a thread or sandal strap. He makes exceptions for food already eaten and the shares due to his allies.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).