Genesis 14–15

Footnotes

1. 1 The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayéhi) followed by “in the days of.”
2. 2 Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.
3. 3 Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. “Goyim”; , “Goiim”).
4. 4 Heb “made war.” Went to war. The conflict here reflects international warfare in the Early and Middle Bronze periods. The countries operated with overlords and vassals. Kings ruled over city states, or sometimes a number of city states (i.e., nations). Due to their treaties, when one went to war, those confederate with him joined him in battle. It appears here that it is Kedorlaomer’s war, because the western city states have rebelled against him (meaning they did not send products as tribute to keep him from invading them).
5. 5 On the geographical background of vv. 1–2 see J. P. Harland, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 1:41–75; and D. N. Freedman, “The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the Cities of the Plain,” 41 (1978): 143–64.
6. 6 Heb “all these,” referring only to the last five kings named. The referent has been specified as “these last five kings” in the translation for clarity.
7. 7 The Hebrew verb used here means “to join together; to unite; to be allied.” It stresses close associations, especially of friendships, marriages, or treaties.
8. 8 The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
9. 9 The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.
10. 10 This is another adverbial accusative of time.
11. 11 The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east—to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats—that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.
12. 12 The Hebrew verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to attack, to strike, to smite.” In this context it appears that the strike was successful, and so a translation of “defeated” is preferable.
13. 13 The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.
14. 14 Heb “they returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh).” The two verbs together form a verbal hendiadys, the first serving as the adverb: “they returned and came” means “they came again.” Most English translations do not treat this as a hendiadys, but translate “they turned back” or something similar. Since in the context, however, “came again to” does not simply refer to travel but an assault against the place, the present translation expresses this as “attacked … again.”
15. 15 Heb “against.”
16. 16 Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in .
17. 17 The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
18. 18 Heb “Now the Valley of Siddim [was] pits, pits of tar.” This parenthetical disjunctive clause emphasizes the abundance of tar pits in the area through repetition of the noun “pits.” The word for “tar” (or “bitumen”) occurs earlier in the story of the building of the tower in Babylon (see Gen 11:3).
19. 19 Or “they were defeated there.” After a verb of motion the Hebrew particle שָׁם (sham) with the directional heh (שָׁמָּה, shammah) can mean “into it, therein” ( 1027 שָׁם).
20. 20 Heb “the rest.”
21. 21 The reference to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah must mean the kings along with their armies. Most of them were defeated in the valley, but some of them escaped to the hills.
22. 22 Heb “they”; the referent (the four victorious kings, see v. 9) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
23. 23 Heb “Lot the son of his brother.”
24. 24 Heb “and.”
25. 25 Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26. 26 This disjunctive clause is circumstantial/causal, explaining that Lot was captured because he was living in Sodom at the time.
27. 27 Heb “the fugitive.” The article carries a generic force or indicates that this fugitive is definite in the mind of the speaker.
28. 28 E. A. Speiser (Genesis [], ) suggests that part of this chapter came from an outside source since it refers to Abram the Hebrew. That is not impossible, given that the narrator likely utilized traditions and genealogies that had been collected and transmitted over the years. The meaning of the word “Hebrew” has proved elusive. It may be related to the verb “to cross over,” perhaps meaning “immigrant.” Or it might be derived from the name of Abram’s ancestor Eber (see Gen 11:14–16).
29. 29 Or “terebinths.”
30. 30 Or “a brother”; or “a relative”; or perhaps “an ally.”
31. 31 Heb “possessors of a treaty with.” Since it is likely that the qualifying statement refers to all three (Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner) the words “all these” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.
32. 32 This parenthetical disjunctive clause explains how Abram came to be living in their territory, but it also explains why they must go to war with Abram.
33. 33 Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).
34. 34 The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The has “mustered” (cf. ). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [], ) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.
35. 35 The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
36. 36 The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.
37. 37 The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
38. 38 Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
39. 39 Heb “he divided himself … he and his servants.”
40. 40 Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
41. 41 The word “stolen” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
42. 42 The phrase “the rest of “has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
43. 43 Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
44. 44 Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
45. 45 The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
46. 46 Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the Lord declares that the Davidic king is a royal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.
47. 47 The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king. It is his royal priestly status that makes Melchizedek a type of Christ: He was identified with Jerusalem, superior to the ancestor of Israel, and both a king and a priest. Unlike the normal Canaanites, this man served “God Most High” (אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, ’el ’elyon)—one sovereign God, who was the creator of all the universe. Abram had in him a spiritual brother.
48. 48 The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
49. 49 Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. ). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”
50. 50 The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
51. 51 Heb “blessed be.” For God to be “blessed” means that is praised. His reputation is enriched in the world as his name is praised.
52. 52 Who delivered. The Hebrew verb מִגֵּן (miggen, “delivered”) foreshadows the statement by God to Abram in Gen 15:1, “I am your shield” (מָגֵן, magen). Melchizedek provided a theological interpretation of Abram’s military victory.
53. 53 Heb “him”; the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
54. 54 Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”
55. 55 The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
56. 56 The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “… if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the Lord deal with me] if I take,” meaning, “I will surely not take.” The positive oath would add the negative adverb and be the reverse: “[God will deal with me] if I do not take,” meaning, “I certainly will.”
57. 57 The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.
58. 58 The words “I will take nothing” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
59. 59 Heb “except only what the young men have eaten.”
60. 1 The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.
61. 2 Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh méod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10–11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. , ), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2). Abram has just rejected all the spoils of war, and the Lord promises to reward him in great abundance. In walking by faith and living with integrity he cannot lose.
62. 3 The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master, Lord”). Since the tetragrammaton (YHWH) usually is pointed with the vowels for the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “master”) to avoid pronouncing the divine name, that would lead in this place to a repetition of אֲדֹנָי. So the tetragrammaton is here pointed with the vowels for the word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God”) instead. That would produce the reading of the Hebrew as “Master, God” in the Jewish textual tradition. But the presence of “Master” before the holy name is rather compelling evidence that the original would have been “Master, Lord,” which is rendered here “sovereign Lord.”
63. 4 The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
64. 5 Heb “I am going.”
65. 6 Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.” For the custom of designating a member of the household as heir, see C. H. Gordon, “Biblical Customs and the Nuzu Tablets,” Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 2:21–33.
66. 7 The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
67. 8 The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2–3,” 72 (1953): 49–50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” 200 (1970): 31–32.
68. 9 Heb “And Abram said.”
69. 10 The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since …”), and וְהִנֵּה (véhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look …”).
70. 11 Heb “is inheriting me.”
71. 12 The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.
72. 13 The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the Lord does not mention him by name is significant; often in ancient times the use of the name would bring legitimacy to inheritance and adoption cases.
73. 14 Heb “inherit you.”
74. 15 The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
75. 16 Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
76. 17 The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
77. 18 Heb “will inherit you.”
78. 19 Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
79. 20 The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50–98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.
80. 21 Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
81. 22 Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him—[namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” 42 (1980): .
82. 23 Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsédaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12–13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance ( 2:962). This episode is basic to the NT teaching of Paul on justification (Romans 4). Paul weaves this passage and Psalm 32 together, for both use this word. Paul explains that for the one who believes in the Lord, like Abram, God credits him with righteousness but does not credit his sins against him because he is forgiven. Justification does not mean that the believer is righteous; it means that God credits him with righteousness, so that in the records of heaven (as it were) he is declared righteous. See M. G. Kline, “Abram’s Amen,” 31 (1968): .
83. 24 Heb “And he said.”
84. 25 I am the Lord. The Lord initiates the covenant-making ceremony with a declaration of who he is and what he has done for Abram. The same form appears at the beginning of the covenant made at Sinai (see Exod 20:1).
85. 26 The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium b.c.
86. 27 Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
87. 28 Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
88. 29 See note on the phrase “sovereign Lord” in .
89. 30 Or “how.”
90. 31 Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
91. 32 Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
92. 33 Heb “in the middle.”
93. 34 Heb “to meet its neighbor.” For discussion of this ritual see G. F. Hasel, “The Meaning of the Animal Rite in Genesis 15,” 19 (1981): 61–78.
94. 35 Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
95. 36 Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
96. 37 The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
97. 38 The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
98. 39 Heb “in a land not theirs.”
99. 40 Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
100. 41 The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
101. 42 The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
102. 43 You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
103. 44 Heb “in a good old age.”
104. 45 The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
105. 46 Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
106. 47 Heb “is not yet complete.” The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit. The justice of God is apparent. He will wait until the Amorites are fully deserving of judgment before he annihilates them and gives the land to Israel.
107. 48 A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [], ).
108. 49 Heb “these pieces.”
109. 50 Heb “cut a covenant.”
110. 51 The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”). To your descendants I give this land. The Lord here unconditionally promises that Abram’s descendants will possess the land, but he does not yet ratify his earlier promises to give Abram a multitude of descendants and eternal possession of the land. The fulfillment of those aspects of the promise remain conditional (see Gen 17:1–8) and are ratified after Abraham offers up his son Isaac (see Gen 22:1–19). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35–54.
111. 52 The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
112. 53 The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
113. 54 Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.