창세기 14:3 주석

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.

All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim,.... Or "of fields", or "ploughed lands" (b), a fruitful vale abounding with corn; or of gardens or paradises, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, being full of gardens and orchards, and was as the garden of the Lord, even as Eden, see Gen 13:10; though Aben Ezra thinks it had its name from the slime or bitumen, of which there was great plenty in it, see Gen 14:10. Now the above five kings, as they all dwelt in the plain, they entered into a confederacy, met together, and joined their forces in this vale, to oppose the four kings that were come to make war with them, as being an advantageous place, as they judged, perhaps on more accounts than one; and here they stayed to receive the enemy, and give him battle, see Gen 14:8, which is the salt sea; afterwards so called, not at this time, for then it would not have been fit for armies to be drawn up in battle array in it; but it was so called in the times of Moses, and after this fine vale was turned into a bituminous lake, and had its name from the saltness of the waters of the lake, or from the city Melach, or city of salt, which was near it, Jos 15:62. (b) "valle amaenissimorum agrorum", Munster; "in planitie agrorum", Fagius; so Jarchi; "in valle occationum", Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 937. "dicta ab agris occatis", Schmidt.

(Chapter 14, Verse 3) And the king of Bale, which is Segor. All these agreed in the valley of Salsam, which is the Dead Sea. Bale in the Hebrew language is called κατάποσις, which means swallowing. Therefore, the Hebrews report that in another place in the Scriptures it is called Salisa, and again it is said to be μόσχον τριετίζουσαν, which means a three-year-old calf, because it was indeed swallowed up by the third movement of the earth (1 Samuel 9:4; Isaiah 15:5). And from that time, since Sodom and Gomorrah, Adama and Seboim were destroyed by divine fire, it is called that little one. Indeed, Segor is transferred to a small place called Zoara in the Syriac language. The Valley of Salt, as it is written in this same book, in which there were previously pits of bitumen, after the wrath of God and the rain of sulfur, was turned into the Dead Sea, which is called by the Greeks λίμνη Ἀσφαλτῖτις, that is, the lake of bitumen.

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.

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.