Abraham’s Family · c. 2085 BC
Chapter 2
Abram and the Kings
Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.
For parents
This chapter tells of a war between kings in which many are killed, and how Abram and his men strike down the four kings at night to rescue Lot (Genesis 14:10, 14–17). It is told without detail.
In those days four kings went to war: Amraphel king of , Arioch king of Ellasar, king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim. They made war on five kings: the kings of , , Admah and Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, also called . These five joined forces in the Valley of Siddim, which is also called the .
The five kings had been ruled by Chedorlaomer for twelve years. In the thirteenth year they turned against him. The next year, Chedorlaomer came with the kings on his side and defeated one people after another: the Rephaim, the Zuzim, the Emim, and the Horites in their mountains, as far as the edge of the wilderness. Then they turned back to En Mishpat, also called , and defeated the whole country of the Amalekites, and the who lived in Hazazon Tamar.
Then the five kings marched out: the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela. They lined up for battle in the Valley of Siddim against Chedorlaomer and the three kings with him, four kings against five. The valley was full of tar pits. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah ran away, and some fell there. The rest escaped to the hills.
The four kings took all the goods and all the food of Sodom and Gomorrah and went on their way. They also took , ’s nephew, who was living in Sodom, along with everything he owned.
A man who had escaped came and told Abram what had happened. Abram was living by the oaks of . Mamre was an Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and of Aner, and these men were Abram’s allies.
When Abram heard that his nephew was a prisoner, he led out 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and they chased the four kings all the way to . In the night Abram split up his men and attacked. He beat the enemy and chased them to Hobah, north of . Abram brought back all the goods. He also brought back his nephew Lot and Lot’s goods, and the women and the other people too.
Abram came back from striking down Chedorlaomer and the kings with him. The king of Sodom went out to the Valley of Shaveh, also called the King’s Valley, to meet him.
Then , the king of , brought out bread and wine. He served as a priest of . He blessed Abram with these words: “May God Most High, owner of heaven and earth, bless Abram. And blessed be God Most High, who put your enemies into your hands.” Abram gave him one tenth of it all.
The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, and take the goods for yourself.”
But Abram answered the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the , God Most High, owner of heaven and earth, and promised him that I will not take anything that is yours, not a thread and not a sandal strap. That way you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I won’t take anything from you except the food my young men have eaten. But Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, the men who went with me, should have their share. Let them take it.”
After all this, the Lord’s word came to Abram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield and your very great reward.”
Abram said, “Lord God, what will you give me? I have no children, and the one who will inherit everything I own is .” Abram went on, “Look, you have given me no children, so a servant born in my household will inherit everything I have.”
Then the Lord’s word came to Abram: “This man will not be your heir. Your heir will be your very own son.” The Lord took Abram outside. “Look up at the sky,” he said, “and count the stars, if you can count them.” Then he told Abram, “Your will be like that.”
Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted it as for him.
The Lord said to Abram, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of to give you this land to be your own.”
“Lord God,” Abram asked, “how will I know that it will be mine?”
The Lord said to him, “Bring me a young cow, a female goat and a ram, each three years old, and a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all of them. He cut each animal in two and laid the halves across from each other. He left the birds whole. Birds of prey came down on the dead animals, and Abram chased them away.
As the sun was setting, Abram sank into a deep sleep. Terror and a great darkness came over him.
Then the Lord told Abram, “You can be sure of this: your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs. They will have to work for the people there, and those people will treat them harshly for 400 years. But I will judge the nation they work for, and afterward your offspring will come out with great wealth. As for you, you will join your ancestors in peace. You will be buried at a good old age. Your offspring will come back here in the fourth generation, because the Amorites’ wrongdoing is not yet complete.”
After the sun went down and it was dark, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between the pieces of the animals.
That day the Lord made a with Abram. “I have given this land to your offspring,” he said, “from the river of to the great river, the .” Then he listed the ten peoples whose land it was, among them the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Jebusites.