Genesis 14:1-16

2007.Feb.25 19:21

War

Read Genesis 14:1-16 | Full Chapter

And now for the first war in the Bible (I think–I at least can’t think of a previous one). I don’t understand what’s going on very well, and the abundance of names of uncertain pronounciation is not encouraging. Nevertheless, here’s my best shot of a summary:

King Chedorlaomer and his three allies have ruled over five kingdoms, including Sodom and Gomorrah, for twelve years. In year thirteenth year, the five subservient kings rebel in some shape or form. A year later, Chedorlaomer and his allies launch what appears to be a widespread campaign against everybody except the aforementioned rebellious kingdoms (assuming that this passage is in chronological order). Now, beginning verse 8, the Sodom/Gomorrah alliance battles Chedorlaomer. The battles ends in disorganized retreat, at least by the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah (not sure about the others), and Chedorlaomer’s armies pillage those two cities, capturing, among other things, our dear beloved Lot.

At this time Abram the Hebrew was living near the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram’s friends. Someone who had escaped from the battle told Abram that his nephew Lot had been taken away. Three hundred eighteen of Abram’s servants were fighting men, so he took them and followed the enemy as far north as the city of Dan.
(Genesis 14:13-14, CEV)

Alright, so Abram’s nephew is captured, emphasising that Lot’s choice of location may have lacked wisdom. When Abram hears the news, he is quick to pursue Chedder-king’s army (I’m sick of pasting that guy’s name). Verses 15 and 16 show Abram and his 318 troops defeating “the enemy”, and rescuing Lot’s family and possessions. Phew.

Abram once again shows himself wise (unlike, in my opinion, in the “Case of the Pharoah and Sister/Wife”), as he did when he recommended to Lot that they split up. The wisdom I am speaking of is that he either recruited or trained servants to be ready to fight in battle. There’s certainly no evidence of Lot being so prepared. Now, I’m not advocating personal armies, but in Abram’s situation, this makes sense. After all, he appears to basically be the king of a nomadic tribe. Lot, in a similar position, does not seem to have taken precaution. Then again, this is a lot of reading between the lines, and may very well be inaccurate.

Abram also appears (again, reading between lines) to be operating in faith. There is no recording of hesitation on Abram’s part. Lot is family, and Abram pursues his captors. This could be pure machoism or the mesopotamian equivalent, but I’d like to think that by this point, Abram, recipient of Jehovah’s continual blessings, is trusting God for victory.

That’s a lot of interpretation, and I’m not altogether certain on the sequence of events, but at least it’s a bit clearer to me, now. Oh, one more thing, Lot has put himself under the authority of those (the king of Sodom, et al) who are, well, failing. The king of Sodom is under the rule of another kingdom, rebels, and gets flattened. Lot might have taken a different tact, continuing to seek his uncle’s wisdom and assistance, rather than placing himself under King Bera of Sodom.