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1At that time Amraphel was king of Shinar,#14:1. “Shinar”: an old name for Babylonia. and he allied himself with Arioch, king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim. 2They attacked Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (otherwise known as Zoar).
3All these in the second group#14:3. “In the second group” supplied for clarity. joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Dead Sea valley). 4They had been under the rule of Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him. 5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer invaded, along with the kings in his alliance. They defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, all the way to El-paran, near the desert. 7Then they swung back through and attacked En-mishpat (otherwise known as Kadesh) and conquered the whole country belonging to the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (otherwise known as Zoar) marched out and prepared for battle in the Valley of Siddim. 9They fought Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, Tidal, king of Goiim, Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar—four kings on one side against five on the other.
10There were many tar pits in the Valley of Siddim, and as the defeated kings of Sodom and Gomorrah ran away, some of their men#14:10. “Some of their men”: while the text seems to suggest that the kings fell into the tar pits, verse 17 makes it clear that at least the king of Sodom had not died. fell into them while the rest ran to the hills. 11The invaders took from Sodom and Gomorrah all their possessions and food and left. 12They also captured Lot, Abram's nephew, and his possessions, because he was living in Sodom. 13But one of those captured escaped and went and told Abram the Hebrew#14:13. “Abram the Hebrew”: this is the first time Abram is called a Hebrew, and may be the way he was identified by the people of the time. what had happened. Abram was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, whose brothers were Eshcol and Aner. All of them were Abram's allies.
14When Abram found out that his nephew had been captured, he called together 318 fighting men who had been born in his household and chased after them all the way to Dan. 15There he divided his men into groups and attacked at night, defeating the enemy and chasing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16Abram recovered all that had been taken, including Lot and his possessions, and also brought back the women and others who had been captured.
17When Abram returned after defeating Chedorlaomer and his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (or Valley of the King). 18Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of the Most High God. 19He blessed Abram, telling him, “May Abram be blessed by the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth. 20May the Most High God be praised, who handed your enemies over to you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek one tenth of everything.
21The king of Sodom told Abram, “Let me have the people back, and you can keep everything else for yourself.”
22But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand, making a solemn promise to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, 23that I refuse to take anything belonging to you, not a single thread or a sandal strap. Otherwise you might claim, ‘It was me who made Abram rich!’ 24I won't take anything except what my men have eaten, and the share for those who accompanied me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them have their share.”