Abraham, Part 4: Establishment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Journey to Canaan | Part 3: Settlement

Once Abram had settled in the land of Canaan, the next step in God’s covenant with him was to establish him there–to make him a force to be reckoned with. Genesis 14 is where he does that.

The first part of the chapter (Ge 14.1-16) shows God establishing Abram as a military presence–though his family is not a country, has no army, and, so far as we know, has no combat experience. In the area of the Dead Sea were five Canaanite “cities of the plain”: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela / Zoar (Ge 14.2). Four eastern kings established dominance over these cities (Ge 14.1), which almost certainly meant forcing them to pay tribute. The names of these kings are not known from secular historical records, but their regions are: Shinar is in northern Mesopotamia; Ellasar is in southern Mesopotamia; Elam is east of Mesopotamia, part of modern Iran; Goiim could be a place name or simply a reference to “Gentiles.” (Tidal is a Hittite name.)

After twelve years of paying tribute, the Canaanite cities refused to continue (Ge 14.4), and the eastern kings came looking to put a stop to their rebellion (Ge 14.5).

Apparently these kings planned a larger invasion, establishing control over the surrounding area and thus increasing their tribute revenue (Ge 14.5-7). As this invasion advanced, the five cities set out to repel it (Ge 14.8-9).

There are a lot of place names in these few verses. In summary, the eastern kings invaded through modern Jordan, crossed south of the Dead Sea, and then proceeded west, to Kadesh Barnea on the western side of the Sinai Peninsula (Ge 14.5-7). The “Valley of Siddim” is said to be full of tar pits (Ge 14.10). The south end of the Dead Sea covers a region with such tar; the Greeks and Romans later called the region “Asphaltites.”

As we might expect, the eastern kings overwhelmed the five “kings”–effectively mayors–of the cities of the plain and plundered their cities (Ge 14.10-11). In theory, Abram didn’t have a dog in this fight, so to speak, until they looted Sodom, where his nephew Lot was living (Ge 14.12).

Once Abram heard of this personal disaster (Ge 14.13), he was going to act. Almost certainly motivated by God’s gift of the land as well as by his family connection, Abram teamed up with regional “confederates” (Ge 14.13) as well as his 318 “trained servants” (Ge 14.14)–a number nowhere near enough to take on such an invading force under ordinary circumstances–and chased the invaders from the south end of Canaan (Kadesh Barnea) to the north end (Dan, which would have been called Laish [Judg 18.29] at the time)(Ge 14.14).

Now Abram had standing in the land; the neighboring regions were going to recognize his power and treat him with respect.

The second part of the chapter (Ge 14.17-24) gives us several more pieces of information to give further meaning to Abram’s victory.

We read that the king of Sodom, certainly out of gratitude for Abram’s help, met Abram “in the valley of Shaveh” (Ge 14.17). Nobody knows where this was, but since Melchizedek, “king of Salem [Jerusalem]” (Ge 14.18), was right there, it may be a valley near that city (the Kidron?).

This Melchizedek (“my king is righteous”) has considerable importance in the biblical record. He was a “priest of the Most High God.” (This is the first use of the name “El Elyon” in the Scripture.) Now, this man was clearly Canaanite, probably Jebusite. How did he become a priest of the true God? We’re not told. (There’s a theory, based on Hebrews 7.3, that he was the preincarnate Christ. I’m quite sure that he was not.)

But he was a true priest–of an order superior to Levi’s (He 7.4-11)–and he apparently introduced the patriarch to this new name for God and blessed him in the name of that God (Ge 14.19-20).

It was after that–providentially–that the king of Sodom offered Abram a hefty reward for his exploits (Ge 14.21). In light of his earlier oath, and probably in light of the much greater blessing bestowed by Melchizedek, Abram turned it down (Ge 14.22-24).

Abram had once taken money from Pharaoh. Now he was beyond that.

And he had assurance from God, by experience, confirmed by a priest, that his God would give him the land, by force if necessary. He knew, as do we, that it was not his military skill that had given him the victory.

Next time, a new stage, and a new focus: The Covenant.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash