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| 1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel the king of Shinar, Arioch the king of El-lasar, Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, |
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| 2 that they made war with Bera the king of Sodom, and with Birsha the king of Gomorrah, Shinab the king of Admah, and Shemeber the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. |
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| 3 All these were joined in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. |
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| 4 Twelve years had they served Chedorlaomer; and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. |
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| 5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kirjathaim, |
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| 6 and the Horites on their mount Seir, to El-Paran, which is by the wilderness. |
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| 7 And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt at Hazazon-Tamar. |
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| 8 And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went out, and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim, |
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| 9 with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, and Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar--four kings with the five. |
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| 10 And the vale of Siddim was full of pits of asphalt. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there: and they that remained fled to the mountain. |
Full of slime pits – Bitumen, sulphur and salt, used in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. R1618:6
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| 11 And they took all the property of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and departed. |
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| 12 And they took Lot and his property, Abram's brother's son, and departed. For he dwelt in Sodom. |
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| 13 And one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. And these were Abram's allies. |
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| 14 And Abram heard that his brother was taken captive; and he led out his trained servants, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them as far as Dan. |
Taken captive – One of the earliest illustrations of slavery in the Bible. SM157:2
318 – Implying a general household of at least 1000 persons. R2846:5
Therefore the armies of the five kings were not large. HG362:1
And pursued them – The fact that with this small army Abram could conquer the combined armies of several kings disproves the contentions of the Higher Critics that the cities and armies of that day were large. R3944:2
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| 15 And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is to the left of Damascus. |
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| 16 And he brought back all the property, and brought again his brother Lot and his property, and the women also, and the people. |
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| 17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after he had returned from smiting Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, into the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's valley. |
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| 18 And Melchisedec king of Salem brought out bread and wine. And he was priest of the Most High *God. |
Melchizedek – Representing our Lord as a glorified priest. Q484:5, Q485:T
Type of The Christ glorified. SM136:1, SM600:1; F72
Possibly the builder of the Great Pyramid. C322; PD25/36
King of Salem – Signifies King of Peace, Prince of the Most High God. SM136:1; Q484:5
Bread and wine – Abraham partook of the symbolic bread and wine in conjunction with Melchizedec's blessing. SM136:1
The priest – He did not offer sacrifices; but was a type of the glorified priest. Q484:5
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| 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High *God, possessor of heavens and earth. |
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| 20 And blessed be the Most High *God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him the tenth of all. |
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| 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the souls, and take the property for thyself. |
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| 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the Most High *God, possessor of heavens and earth, |
Unto the LORD – Unto Jehovah. E67
The most high God – "He is to be feared above all gods." (1 Chron. 16:25) E67
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| 23 if from a thread even to a sandal-thong, yes, if of all that is thine, I take anything ...; that thou mayest not say, I have made Abram rich; |
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| 24 save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men that went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion. |
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