Genesis 14–15

Abram Rescues Lot

At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar,^a Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer^b king of Elam^c and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim,^d and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).^e All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim^f (that is, the Dead Sea Valley^g). For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer,^h but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomerⁱ and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites^j in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites^k in Shaveh Kiriathaim and the Horites^l in the hill country of Seir,^m as far as El Paranⁿ near the desert. Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh),^o and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites,^p as well as the Amorites^q who were living in Hazezon Tamar.^r

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah,^s the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim^t and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)^u marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim^v against Kedorlaomer^w king of Elam,^x Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim^y was full of tar^z pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah^a fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.^b The four kings seized all the goods^c of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot^d and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew.^e Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre^f the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol^g and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative^h had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trainedⁱ men born in his household^j and went in pursuit as far as Dan.^k During the night Abram divided his men^l to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.^m He recoveredⁿ all the goods^o and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer^p and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom^q came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).^r

Then Melchizedek^s king of Salem^t brought out bread^u and wine.^v He was priest of God Most High,^w and he blessed Abram,^x saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,^y

Creator of heaven and earth.^z

And praise be to God Most High,^a

who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.^b

The king of Sodom^c said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods^d for yourself.”

But Abram said to the king of Sodom,^e “With raised hand^f I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High,^g Creator of heaven and earth,^h that I will accept nothing belonging to you,ⁱ not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre.^j Let them have their share.”

God’s Covenant With Abram

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram^a in a vision:^b

“Do not be afraid,^c Abram.

I am your shield,^d

your very great reward.^e”

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^f what can you give me since I remain childless^g and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?^h” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servantⁱ in my household^j will be my heir.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.^k” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars^l—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”^m

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.ⁿ

He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out^o of Ur of the Chaldeans^p to give you this land to take possession of it.”^q

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^r how can I know^s that I will gain possession of it?”^t

So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer,^u a goat and a ram, each three years old,^v along with a dove and a young pigeon.^w”

Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other;^x the birds, however, he did not cut in half.^y Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,^z but Abram drove them away.

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,^a and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years^b your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved^c and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out^d with great possessions.^e You, however, will go to your ancestors^f in peace and be buried at a good old age.^g In the fourth generation^h your descendants will come back here,ⁱ for the sin of the Amorites^j has not yet reached its full measure.”

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch^k appeared and passed between the pieces.^l On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram^m and said, “To your descendants I give this land,ⁿ from the Wadi of Egypt^o to the great river, the Euphrates^p— the land of the Kenites,^q Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites,^r Perizzites,^s Rephaites,^t Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”^u