Bereshit (Genesis) 14
While most stories about Abraham are stories involving individuals, we cannot ignore his involvement with the political and cultic powers around him. In our session about Sarah we saw his encounters with kings outside of Canaan (if Gerar, Abimelekh’s kingdom on the southern Mediterranean shore can be considered outside Canaan.) But Abraham has encounters with political powers also within Canaan. Chapter 14 seems full of kings and battles.
Part I – The Biblical Text
The story of chapter 14 is a bit confusing. The four kings listed seem to be kings of distant and powerful kingdoms of Mesopotamia. They arrive in the Levant to punish local people that had stopped paying tribute to them. But who are they after, and what are all the various kings, nations, and city-states doing in the story?
To fully appreciate the confusion that seems to reign in this chapter, let us try to identify as many as possible of the mentioned kings.
Those mentioned in v. 1 are not well known, or not known at all. What we can identify is Shinar (Babylon) and Elam (Persia). Both are located in the other end of the Mesopotamia (the Fertile Crescent).
What perspective does that give to the entire war story that will follow?
What do we learn about the relations in the area? About travel? About army movements and conquests in the greater region?
Who are the Mesopotamian kings fighting against? (v.2)
The towns of Sodom, Gomorra, and the smaller 3 towns were located at the southern part of what is today the Dead Sea. How big were they?
Let’s consider the situation:
Four Mesopotamian kings walk with their armies well over 600 miles to fight…5 small towns?!
Why did they come?
When the Mesopotamian kings arrive they battle a different group of nations that seem to be spread over a great area of the Levant (vv.5-7).
What is going on here and who is fighting whom?
Why did the kings of Sodom, Gomorra etc. get involved, and who are they fighting?
On to Abraham:
Abraham gets involved once his nephew Lot is taken captive and carried off northward.
First episode:
How does Abraham deal with the situation? What other options might he have considered?
For the first time we hear that Abraham has allies around him. How does this affect our understanding of Abraham in the land of Canaan?
You might also want to consider Abraham’s words regarding Aner Eshkol and Mamre in v.24
The manpower at Abraham’s disposal is impressive. Who might these people be? (The Hebrew term חניכיו is not clear at all.)
Second episode:
Now Abraham has returned the captured people (what might have happened to them otherwise?) and we witness 2 meetings.
Notice that the meeting with the king of Sodom and the meeting with Melchizedek king of Shalem (Salem) are intertwined. Consider what this does to our understanding of the characters involved.
Why does the King of Sodom come out to meet Abraham (v.17)?
We do not hear a word from him until later. What might that greeting have been?
At this point the story shifts to Melchizedek who has the title “priest of The Most High god”. What might that title mean and how close is Abraham to this cultic practice?
Why does Melchizedek come in to the story at this point? Is it possible that Abraham knew Malkizedek previously?
It is interesting to note that Melchizedek is both king and priest. The fusion of political and cultic power into one person exists in many different places and at different times in history. King David seems to have wanted greater involvement in as a cultic leader (see II Sam chapter 6 and there 8:18) but his dynasty does not carry any functionary role in the Temple. The “law of the king” in Deut. 17:14-20 seems to be clear as to the separate powers of the king and the priests, giving the priests some role in the supervision of the king.
Does Melchizedek bless Abraham by his own god or by the one of Abraham? Is there a difference, and if so – what is the significance?
Who gave whom a tithe of all? Where did the tithe come from? Based on your answers, what is the function of this tithe?
Now the king of Sodom returns.
Why does he resurface here?
How should we view his request of Abraham in v.22?
What is the meaning of Abraham’s statement that he will not take from the king of Sodom “from a thread to a shoestring”?
Are these 2 items somehow on 2 opposite ends? Are they near each other in size and value and we should think about it as a circle, starting from a thread and going all the way around, encompassing everything, until arriving at the shoestring.
Part II – Other Sources:
View a summary of the previous material and an introduction to the sources below:
Rashi Gen. 14:20
(ב) ויתן לו אַבְרָהָם מעשר מכל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ, לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה כֹהֵן:
(2) ויתן לו AND HE — Abraham — GAVE HIM מעשר מכל A TITHE OF EVERYTHING that he had, because he was a priest.
Pay attention to how Rashi handles the verse: He inserts the subject “Abraham”. (The words of the verse are bolded.) What did Rashi achieve by doing this?
This is a well known method for clarifying a verse where the subject is ambiguous.
What other question is Rashi answering here?
This is not simple. When you read the Radak you will see what disturbed him at this point. It is safe to assume that Rashi was aware of the problem. His answer is very brief and easily overlooked.
Radak (Kimchi) Gen. 14:20
(ג) ויתן לו מעשר מכל, המפרשים פירשו, כי אברם נתן למלכי צדק מעשר מהמקנה והרכוש אשר הציל לפי שהיה כהן לאל עליון; ואדוני אבי ז"ל פירש כי מלכי צדק נתן לאברהם בשכרו המעשר מן הדין, כי המלך סדם אמר לאברם תן לי הנפש והרכוש קח לך, ואברהם אמר אם מחוט ועד שרוך נעל, אמר מלכי צדק לאברהם מן הדין תוכל לקחת המעשר מן הכל ולא תקח דבר ממלך סדם כי שלך הוא המעשר מן הדין, כי כל מציל ממון חבירו המעשר הוא שלו על שטרח להצילו, ונכון הוא הפירוש, כי יש לתמוה לדעת המפרשים איך היה נותן אברם משל מלך סדם למלכי צדק והוא לא רצה לקחת לעצמו ויתן לאחרים, זה לא יתכן:
(3) ויתן לו מעשר מכל, according to most commentators, Avram was the subject in this verse and Malki Tzedek was the recipient. Avraham supposedly gave Malki Tzedek 10% of the cattle captured, in his capacity of being a priest of G’d. My late revered father, Rabbi Joseph Kimchi, explained that actually Malki Tzedek “gave” Avram the tithe as a legal claim. He pronounced it as Avram’s by right, seeing that the King of Sodom had had the effrontery to claim that which Avram had captured as his. In the conversation between Avram and the King, Avram had insisted that he would not accept anything for himself from the King of Sodom, not even a shoelace. What he meant was that the King was in no position to even make an offer of something that was not his. (verse 21) At that point, Malki Tzedek intervened, telling Avram (and the King) that at least 10% of the loot was Avram’s by right, as it is the right of anyone who frees property stolen or forcefully taken from its rightful owner to retain this as a kind of fee for services rendered. This interpretation is correct; if we accept the interpretation of the commentators, by what legal right Avram could give away to Malki Tzedek property that legally belonged to the King of Sodom an d had been illegally taken from him? If he did not think it was right for him to accept same, why would it be in order to give it instead to Malki Tzedek?
Whose view is Radak quoting as the correct meaning of the verse?
This person is one of Radak’s favorite sources. It gives us a glimpse of who taught him. (Yes, the extravagant title is referring to his father.)
What question was troubling Radak?
Probably the same issue that troubled Rashi above, but Radak spells it out. Considering what Abraham said to the king of Sodom, could he then have given a tithe of that property to Melchizedek?! (One gives a tithe of one’s own belongings. Now read Rashi’s ‘fix up’ verse carefully.)
How did Melchizedek “give” Abraham a tithe, and from what did he give it?
How does Radak read the verse? (Try to write it as he would have, clarifying the pronouns.) Now please go the Forum and post your Radak-inspired version of the verse.