Genesis 14:14 Kommentar

We have four things in the story of this chapter. I. A war with the king of Sodom and his allies (Gen 14:1-11). II. The captivity of Lot in that war (Gen 14:12). III. Abram's rescue of Lot from that captivity, with the victory he obtained over the conquerors (Gen 14:13-16). IV. Abram's return from the expedition (Gen 14:17), with an account of what passed, 1. Between him and the king of Salem (Gen 14:18-20). 2. Between him and the king of Sodom (Gen 14:21-24). So that here we have that promise to Abram in part fulfilled, that God would make his name great.

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 14 This chapter gives an account of a war that was waged, and a battle fought between four kings on one side, and five on the other, and of the occasion and issue of it, who were the first kings, and this the first battle the Scriptures speak of, Gen 14:1; Lot and his goods being taken and carried off, with those of Sodom, by the conquerors, Abram hearing of it armed his men, and pursued after them, and overtook and overcame them, and rescued Lot and his goods, with others, and returned, Gen 14:12; when he was met by the kings of Sodom and Salem, who congratulated him on his victory, Gen 14:17; and what passed between him, and those great personages, is related, Gen 14:20.

And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive,.... That is, his brother's son Lot, as in Gen 14:12; which was contrary to the law of nations; since Lot was only a sojourner, and not an inhabitant n Sodom, and therefore had no concern in the quarrel between the kings, and this justified Abram's taking up arms on his behalf: he armed his trained servants; such as were trained up by him in religious exercises, see Gen 18:19; in the affairs and business of civil life, in the care of flocks and herds, and particularly in the art of war; which was both lawful and necessary, for the preservation of his family and substance from oppressors: born in his own house; of his servants, and so were his property, and at his disposal and command; their number was three hundred and eighteen, a large number for servants, and which showed how great a man Abram was, what possessions he must have to employ so many, and yet but a small number for an army, to go forth with against four kings who had conquered five; though how many his confederates brought with them is not certain: and pursued them unto Dan; the Jerusalem Targum is, to Dan of Caesarea, meaning Caesarea of Philippi, as in the times of Christ and his apostles it was called; which at first had the name of Leshem, or Lais, and was not called Dan until the times of the judges, Jdg 18:29; wherefore, if the same place is intended here, it is so called not only by anticipation, but by a spirit of prophecy; since it had not the name of Dan even in the times of Moses, the writer of this history, unless it may be thought to be inserted by Samuel or some other inspired writer, after Moses; though there is no need to suppose either of these, seeing there might be a town or city of this name in those parts at this time, or however one of the springs of Jordan might be so called, from whence the river had its name as early, Gen 13:11; and so Josephus (f) expressly says, speaking of this expedition, that Abram fell upon them at Dan, for so, adds he, the other fountain of Jordan is called. (f) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 10. sect. 1.

“When Abraham learned of this, he counted his servants born in the house” and with 318 men won a victory and liberated his nephew. This shows that the separation had taken place in friendship, since Abraham’s love for his nephew was so great that he was willing to confront even the dangers of war on his behalf. What does it mean “he counted”? It means he “chose.” So too what Jesus said in the Gospel refers not only to the knowledge of God but also to the grace of the just: “Even the hairs on your head are all counted.” Indeed, “the Lord knows those who are his,” but those who are not his he does not deign to know. Abraham, then, counted 318 men. You should understand that it is not numerical quantity that is here expressed but the value of their election. He chose, in fact, those whom he judged worthy to belong to the number of the faithful who were to believe in the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, the letter T in Greek means “three hundred,” and the sum IH—ten plus eight—expresses the name of Jesus. So Abraham conquered in virtue of faith, not through the strength of a numerous army. And so it was that with no more than a few house servants he triumphed over those who had defeated the armies of five kings.

Consider in this case, I ask you, dearly beloved, the greatness of heart exemplified in the just man’s virtue. Trusting in the power of God, he was not cowed by the force of the enemy when he learned of the rout they had caused, first by falling upon all the tribes and prevailing against the Amalekites and all the others, and then by engaging the Sodomites, putting them to flight and seizing all their property. The reason, you see, why sacred Scripture described all this to us ahead of time, as well as all they achieved through their bravery, was that you might learn that the patriarch prevailed against them not by physical strength but through faith in God. [He] achieved all this under the protection of help from on high, not by wielding weapons and arrows and spears or by drawing bows or raising shields but with a few retainers of his own household.

(Verse 14) And he pursued them as far as Dan, to the city of the Phoenicians, which is now called Paneas. But Dan is one of the sources of the Jordan. For the other is also called Jor, which means 'stream'. Therefore, the Jordan is the name given to the two springs that, not far from each other, join to form a single stream.

When Abram heard that his brother Lot had been captured, he numbered his trained servants, three hundred and eighteen, and so on. Indeed, it is a very great miracle of divine power that Abraham, with such a small troop, inflicted such a great slaughter on the enemies, but it contains the deeper sacrament of faith in which we must overcome the spiritual battle. There were three hundred and eighteen, a number that clearly designates the victorious sign of the cross and the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, through whom this has been consecrated for the fortification of our salvation. For among the Greeks, three hundred is marked by the letter T, which is shaped like a cross. For if it had received an apex in the middle, not the figure of the cross but the very sign of the cross would be clearly seen. However, ten and eight are marked among them by Ι and Η, which are the first letters in the name of Jesus: and therefore when three hundred and eighteen are noted in Greek, it is not far from being read as the cross of Jesus. So, fittingly, Abraham overcame the enemies and freed his brother with three hundred and eighteen comrades, to mystically prefigure that the one who would recall the world from death through the passion of the cross would be born from his seed; and he himself would also, by the name of the Savior, that is, Jesus, stand out and be honored throughout the whole world: but also, that all who would pertain to salvation would achieve salvation only through this venerable sign and through his terrible name.

The war of four confederate kings against the five kings of Canaan, Gen 14:1-3. The confederate kings overrun and pillage the whole country, Gen 14:4-7. Battle between them and the kings of Canaan, Gen 14:5, Gen 14:9. The latter are defeated, and the principal part of the armies of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah slain, Gen 14:10; on which these two cities are plundered, Gen 14:11. Lot, his goods, and his family, are also taken and carried away, Gen 14:12. Abram, being informed of the disaster of his nephew, Gen 14:13, arms three hundred and eighteen of his servants, and pursues them, Gen 14:14; overtakes and routs them, and recovers Lot and his family, and their goods, Gen 14:15, Gen 14:16; is met on his return by the king of Sodom, and by Melchizedek, king of Salem, with refreshments for himself and men, Gen 14:17, Gen 14:18. Melchizedek blesses Abram, and receives from him, as priest of the most high God, the tenth of all the spoils, Gen 14:19, Gen 14:20. The king of Sodom offers to Abram all the goods he has taken from the enemy, Gen 14:21; 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, Gen 14:22, Gen 14:23; but desires that a proportion of the spoils be given to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, who had accompanied him on this expedition, Gen 14:24.

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 Gen 14:24.

WAR. (Gen. 14:1-24) 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, invaded the territories of the refractory princes, defeated them in a pitched battle where the nature of the ground favored his army (Gen 14:10), and hastened in triumph on his homeward march, with a large amount of captives and booty, though merely a stranger.

And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants--domestic slaves, such as are common in Eastern countries still and are considered and treated as members of the family. If Abram could spare three hundred and eighteen slaves and leave a sufficient number to take care of the flocks, what a large establishment he must have had.