A. M. cir. 2087.

eyes, B. C. cir. 1917.

5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, and beheld all the plain of had flocks, and herds, and tents.

6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle hand the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

8 And Abram said unto Lot, i Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

.d

Chap. xii. 8, 9. Chap. xii. 7, 8.- Le Psa. cxvi. 17. Chap. xxxvi. 7.- - Chap. xxvi. 20.- h Chap. xii. 6. i1 Cor. vi. 7.- Heb. men brethren; see chap. xi. 27, 31; Exod. ii. 13; Psa. exxxiii. 1; Acts vii. 26.- Chap. xx. 15; xxxiv. 10. m Rom. xii. 18; Heb. xii. 14; James iii. 17.

did God fulfil his promises to him, by protecting and giving him a great profusion of temporal blessings, which were to him signs and pledges of spiritual things. Verse 3. Beth-el] See chap. 8.

Verse 6. Their substance was great] As their families increased, it was necessary their flocks should increase also, as from those flocks they derived their clothing, food, and drink. Many also were offered in sacrifice to God.

They could not dwell together] 1. Because their flocks were great. 2. Because the Canaanites and the Perizzites had already occupied a considerable part of the land. 3. Because there appears to have been envy between the herdmen of Abram and Lot. To prevent disputes among them, that might have ultimately disturbed the peace of the two families, it was necessary that a separation should take place.

Verse 7. The Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.] That is, they were there at the time Abram and Lot came to fix their tents in the land. See on chap. xii. 6.

Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before, the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, P even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto a Zoar.

11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

S

t

13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and " sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

ing pure and parental affection for his nephew, he per-
mitted him to make his choice first.
Verse 10. Like the land of Egypt, as thou comest
unto Zoar.] There is an obscurity in this verse which
Houbigant has removed by the following translation :
Ea autem, priusquam Sodomam Gomorrhamque Domi-
nus delerit, erat, qua itur Segor, tota irrigua, quasi
hortus Domini, et quasi terra Ægypti. "But before
the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it was,
as thou goest to Zoar, well watered, like the garden
of the Lord, and like the land of Egypt." As para
dise was watered by the four neighbouring streams
and as Egypt was watered by the annual overflowing
of the Nile; so were the plains of the Jordan, and
all the land on the way to Zoar, well watered and fer-
tilized by the overflowing of the Jordan.

Verse 11. Then Lot chose him all the plain] A little civility or good breeding is of great importance in the concerns of life. Lot either had none, or did not profit by it. He certainly should have left the choice to the patriarch, and should have been guided by his counsel; but he took his own way, trusting to his own judgment, and guided only by the sight of his eyes: he beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was

Verse 8. For we be brethren.] We are of the same family, worship the same God in the same way, have the same promises, and look for the same end. Why then should there be strife? If it appear to be un-well watered, &c.; so he chose the land, without conavoidable from our present situation, let that situation be instantly changed, for no secular advantages can counterbalance the loss of peace.

sidering the character of the inhabitants, or what advantages or disadvantages it might afford him in spiritual things. This choice, as we shall see in the sequel, had nearly proved the ruin of his body, soul, and family.

Verse 9. Is not the whole land before thee ?] As the patriarch or head of the family, Abram, by prescriptive right, might have chosen his own portion first, Verse 13. The men of Sodom were wicked] and appointed Lot his; but intent upon peace, and feel-raim, from yra, to break in pieces, destroy, and

רעים

Verse 18. Abram removed his tent] Continued to travel and pitch in different places, till at last he fixed his tent in the plain, or by the oak, of Mamre, see chap. xii. 6, which is in Hebron; i. e., the district in which Mamre was situated was called Hebron. Mamre was an Amorite then living, with whom Abram made a league, chap. xiv. 13; and the oak probably went by his name, because he was the possessor of the ground. Hebron is called Kirjath-arba, chap. xxiii. 2; but it is very likely that Hebron was its primitive name, and that it had the above appellation from being the residence of four gigantic or powerful Anakim, for Kirjath-arba literally signifies the city of the four; see the note on chap. xxiii. 2

afflict; meaning persons who broke the established therefore the first is its proper meaning, the latter its order of things, destroyed and confounded the distinc-accommodated meaning. See the note on chap. xvii. tions between right and wrong, and who afflicted and 7; xxi. 33. tormented both themselves and others. And sinners, O'NUN chattaim, from Non chata, to miss the mark, to step wrong, to miscarry; the same as duaprave in Greek, from a, negative, and paрπтw, to hit a mark; so a sinner is one who is ever aiming at happiness and constantly missing his mark; because, being wicked-radically evil within, every affection and passion depraved and out of order, he seeks for happiness where it never can be found, in worldly honours and possessions, and in sensual gratifications, the end of which is disappointment, affliction, vexation, and ruin, Such were the companions Lot must have in the fruitful land he had chosen. This, however, amounts to no more than the common character, of sinful man; but the people of Sodom were exceedingly sinful and wicked before, or against, the Lord-they were sinners of no common character; they excelled in unrighteousness, and soon filled up the measure of their iniquities. See chap. xix.

Verse 14. The Lord said unto Abram] It is very likely that the angel of the covenant appeared to Abram in open day, when he could take a distinct view of the length and the breadth of this good land. The revelation made chap. xv. 5, was evidently made in the night; for then he was called to number the stars, which could not be seen but in the night season: here he is called on to number the dust of the earth, ver. 16, which could not be seen but in the day-light.

Verse 15. To thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.] This land was given to Abram, that it might lineally and legally descend to his posterity; and though Abram himself cannot be said to have possessed it, Acts vii. 5, yet it was the gift of God to him in behalf of his seed; and this was always the design of God, not that Abram himself should possess it, but that his posterity should, till the manifestation of Christ in the flesh. And this is chiefly what is to be understood by the words for ever, by ad olam, to the end of the present dispensation, and the commencement of the new. y olam means either ETERNITY, which implies the termination of all time or duration, such as is measured by the celestial luminaries; or a hidden, unknown period, such as includes a completion or final termination of a particular era, dispensation, &c.; VOL. I. ( 8 )

Built there an altar unto the Lord.] On which he offered sacrifice, as the word na mizbach, from zabach, to slay, imports.

THE increase of riches in the family of Abram must, in the opinion of many, be a source of felicity to them. If earthly possessions could produce happiness, it must be granted that they had now a considerable share of it in their power. But happiness must have its seat in the mind, and, like that, be of a spiritual nature; consequently earthly goods cannot give it; so far are they from either producing or procuring it, that they always engender care and anxiety, and often strifes and contentions. The peace of this amiable family had nearly been destroyed by the largeness of their possessions. To prevent the most serious misunderstandings, Abram and his nephew were obliged to separate. He who has much in general wishes to have more, for the eye is not satisfied with seeing. Lot, for the better accommodation of his flocks and family, chooses the most fertile district in that country, and even sacrifices reverence and filial affection at the shrine of worldly advantage; but the issue proved that a pleasant worldly prospect may not be the most advantageous, even to our secular affairs. Abram prospered greatly in the comparatively barren part of the land, while Lot lost all his possessions, and nearly the lives of himself and family, in that land which appeared to him like the garden of the Lord, like a second paradise. Rich and fertile countries have generally luxurious, effeminate, and profligate inhabit

97

Chedorlaomer and his allies

out shame.

GENESIS.

ants; so it was in this case. The inhabitants of Sodom were sinners, and exceedingly wicked, and their profligacy was of that kind which luxury produces; they fed themselves without fear, and they acted withLot however was, through the mercy of God, preserved from this contagion: he retained his religion; and this supported his soul and saved his life, when his goods and his wife perished. Let us learn from this to be jealous over our own wills and wishes; to distrust flattering prospects, and seek and secure a heavenly inheritance. "Man wants but little; nor that little long." A man's life-the comfort and - happiness of it-does not consist in the multitude of the things he possesses. "One house, one day's food, and one suit of raiment," says the Arabic proverb, "are sufficient for thee; and if thou die before noon, thou hast one half too much." The example of Abram, in constantly erecting an altar wherever he settled, is

invade and pillage the Canaanites.

worthy of serious regard; he knew the path of duty was the way of safety, and that, if he acknowledged God in all his ways, he might expect him to direct all his steps: he felt his dependence on God, he invoked him through a Mediator, and offered sacrifices in faith of the coming Saviour; he found blessedness in this work-it was not an empty service; he rejoiced to see the day of Christ-he saw it, and was glad. See on chap. xii. 8. Reader, has God an altar in thy house? Dost thou sacrifice to him? Dost thou offer up daily by faith, in behalf of thy soul and the souls of thy family, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world? No man cometh unto the Father but by me, said Christ; this was true, not only from the incarnation, but from the foundation of the world. And to this another truth, not less comfortable, may be added: Whosoever cometh unto me I will in nowise cast out.

CHAPTER XIV.

The war of four confederate kings against the five kings of Canaan, 1–3. The confederate kings overrun and pillage the whole country, 4–7. Battle between them and the kings of Canaan, 8, 9. The latter are defeated, and the principal part of the armies of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah slain, 10; on which these two cities are plundered, 11. Lot, his goods, and his family, are also taken and carried away, 12. Abram, being informed of the disaster of his nephew, 13, arms three hundred and eighteen of his servants, and pursues them, 14; overtakes and routs them, and recovers Lot, and his family, and their goods, 15, 16; is met on his return by the king of Sodom, and by Melchizedek, king of Salem, with refreshments for himself and men, 17, 18. Melchizedek blesses Abram, and receives from him, as priest of the most high God, the tenth of all the spoils, 19, 20. The king of Sodom offers to Abram all the goods he has taken from the enemy, 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, 22, 23; but desires that a proportion of the spoils be given to Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, who had accompanied him on this expedition, 24.

NOTES ON CHAP. XIV. Verse 1. In the days of Amraphel] Who this king was is not known; and yet, from the manner in which he is spoken of in the text, it would seem that he was a person well known, even when Moses wrote this account. But the Vulgate gives a different turn to the place, by rendering the passage thus: Factum est in illo tempore, ut Amraphel, &c. "It came to pass in that time that Amraphel, &c." The Chaldee Targum of Onkelos makes Amraphel king of Babylon, others make him king of Assyria; some make him the same as Nimrod, and others, one of his descend

Chedorlaomer king of Elam] Dr. Shuckford thinks that this was the same as Ninyas, the son of Ninus and Semiramis; and some think him to be the same with Keeumras, son of Doolaved, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah; and that Elam means Persia; see chap. x. 22. The Persian historians unanimously allow that Keeumras, whose name bears some affinity to Chedorlaomer, was the first king of the Peeshdadian dynasty.

Tidal king of nations] [] goyim, different peoples or clans. Probably some adventurous person, whose subjects were composed of refugees from dif

ferent countries.

Verse 2. These made war with Bera, &c.] It appears, from ver. 4, that these five Canaanitish kings had been subdued by Chedorlaomer, and were obliged ( 8 )

A. M. cir. 2091. 5 And on the fourteenth year with Tidal king of nations, and A. M. eir. 2091. came Chedorlaomer, and the kings Amraphel king of Shinar, and that were with him, and smote the Rephaims Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. hin Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in 10 And the vale of Siddim was full of Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiria-P slime-pits; and the kings of Sodom and thaim, Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

8 And there went out the king of Sodom,
and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of
Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king
of Bela, (the same is Zoar,) and they joined
battle with them in the vale of Siddim;
9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and were confederate with Abram.

13 And there came one that had escaped,
and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt
in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of
Eshcol, and brother of Aner:
V and these

Abram attacks and routs the four

B. C. cir. 1913.

heard also brought again his brother A. M. cir. 2091. taken Lot, and his goods, and the trained servants, women also, and the people.

14 And when Abram that w his brother was captive, he armed his

z born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them a unto Dan.

15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and b smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

C

went out to

17 And the king of Sodom meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine and he was 1 the priest

16 And he brought back all the goods, and of the most high God.

h

from Eber or Heber, son of Salah; sée chap. xi. 15.
But why he should get a name from Heber, rather
than from his own father, or some other of his pro-
genitors, no person has yet been able to discover.females also, were recovered.
We may, therefore, safely conclude that he bears the
appellation of Hebrew or Ibrite from the above cir-
cumstance, and not from one of his progenitors, of
whom we know nothing but the name, and who pre-
ceded Abram not less than six generations; and during
the whole of that time till the time marked here, none
of his descendants were ever called Hebrews; this is
a demonstration that Abram was not called the Hebrew
from Heber; see chap. xi. 15–27.

female captives. However, Abram had disposed his
attack so judiciously, and so promptly executed his
measures, that not only all the baggage, but all the

These were confederate with Abram.] It seems that a kind of convention was made between Abram and the three brothers, Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner, who were probably all chieftains in the vicinity of Abram's dwelling all petty princes, similar to the nine kings before mentioned.

Verse 14. He armed his trained servants] These amounted to three hundred and eighteen in number and how many were in the divisions of Mamre, Esheol, and Aner, we know not; but they and their men certainly accompanied him in this expedition. See

ver. 24.

It

Verse 15. And he divided himself against them] required both considerable courage and address in Abram to lead him to attack the victorious armies of these four kings with so small a number of troops, and on this occasion both his skill and his courage are exercised. His affection for Lot appears to have been his chief motive; he cheerfully risks his life for that nephew who had lately chosen the best part of the land, and left his uncle to live as he might, on what he did not think worthy his own acceptance. But it is the property of a great and generous mind, not only to forgive, but to forget offences; and at all times to repay evil with good.

Verse 17. The king of Sodom went out to meet him] This could not have been Bera, mentioned ver. 2, for it seems pretty evident, from ver. 10, that both he and Birsha, king of Gomorrah, were slain at the bitumenpits in the vale of Siddim; but another person in the mean time might have succeeded to the government.

Verse 18. And Melchizedek, king of Salem] A thousand idle stories have been told about this man, and a thousand idle conjectures spent on the subject of his short history given here and in Heb. vii. At present it is only necessary to state that he appears to have been as real a personage as Bera, Birsha, or Shinab, though we have no more of his genealogy than we have of theirs.

Brought forth bread and wine] Certainly to refresh Abram and his men, exhausted with the late battle and fatigues of the journey; not in the way of sacrifice, &c.; this is an idle conjecture.

He was the priest of the most high God.] He had preserved in his family and among his subjects the worship of the true God, and the primitive patriarchal institutions; by these the father of every family was both king and priest; so Melchizedek, being a worshipper of the true God, was priest among the people, as well as king over them.

Melchizedek is called here king of Salem, and the most judicious interpreters allow that by Salem Jerusalem is meant. That it bore this name anciently is evident from Psa. lxxvi. 1, 2 : “In Judah is God known; his name is great in Israel. In SALEM also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion." From the use made of this part of the sacred history by David, Psa. cx. 4, and by St. Paul, Heb. vii. 1-10, we learn that there was something very mysterious, and at the same Verse 16. And he brought back-the women also] time typical, in the person, name, office, residence, and This is brought in by the sacred historian with peculiar government of this Canaanitish prince. 1. In his interest and tenderness. All who read the account person he was a representative and type of Christ; see must be in pain for the fate of wives and daughters the scriptures above referred to. 2. His name shp fallen into the hands of a ferocious, licentious, and pry malki tsedek, signifies my righteous king, or king victorious soldiery. Other spoils the routed confede-of righteousness. This name he probably had from rates might have left behind; and yet on their swift the pure and righteous administration of his governasses, camels, and dromedaries, have carried off the ment; and this is one of the characters of our blessed