Genesis 14-18: Of Kings, Wars, & Pleadings
Genesis 14
Now we come to our first military conflict in the Bible. And it is no minor one, but quite an involved event. Not one group against another, but several groups against several other groups. We see looting and taking of prisoners. We also see revenge and reward. Let's take a look.
Apparently while our hero was busy getting wealthy in Egypt and afterward resolving a difference with his nephew, kingdoms arose. Not one, but many. Cities had kings, not nations. This makes sense if we look at the history of the city-states of the Greeks among others. Greed and envy existed between them and this caused war.
The attacking kingdoms were Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, and something called "nations". The first three were clearly places, but what of the last? A king is given for all four. Was the last a king over the rest? The defending kingdoms were Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela. They went to war in Siddim, the salt sea. This is a possible reference to what we now know as the Dead Sea.
There is then a listing of some lands that were smitten of which there is no mention as being involved in the skirmish.
Verse 10 relates the outcome of the battle. The kings of Soddom and Gomorrah fled and were killed, and all of the rest fled into the mountain. The victors got the spoils of war being all of the belongings of Soddom and Gomorrah. They took Lot prisoner and confiscated all of his goods and they departed.
Now, one person who escaped sought out Abram and told him what had befallen the cities and his nephew Lot. Abram was not at all pleased and armed his servants and they went after the invading kings.
Abram's men followed their enemies to a place named Hobah, which is described as being on the left hand of Damascus. This is quite a distance from Hebron, but they made the trip and were successful. Abram and his men attacked by night and "slaughtered" their enemies. They liberated the prisoners and the goods and returned to their lands.
Verse 17 says that the king of Sodom went out to meet the people returning from the battle. 7 verses prior he had died, so this must have been a new king. But didn't it say that the people had escaped to the mountain? Was there time to name a new king?
The next verse names another king of a land known as Salem. This is a possible early mention of Jerusalem, though there is no proof of this. This king was Melchizedek, and it is written that he was the priest of the most high God. Is this an allusion to an hierarchy of Gods, with this king being the priest to the most powerful God? Considering what we have seen in previous chapters, I think that this is a distinct possibility. Surely some will say that this is simply a description of God's grandeur but I think that this is overlooking the evidence.
This Mechizedek blessed Abram and called him the possessor of heaven and earth. He then said a prayer to the most high God, and thanked God for delivering God's enemies into God's hands. He then gave tithes to all.
The King of Sodom decided that he wanted to reward Abram for his actions, and give him all of the property, but leave the people. But Abram would have none of it. He replied that he had risen his hand to the most high God, that he would not take even a thread or a shoelatchet because he did not want his wealth to be as a result of the king. He only wanted that his men be fed, and the three groups that he had brought, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre to get their share.
This concludes Chapter 14.
Conclusion
War. And the spoils always go to the victor. Unfortunately for the victor, however, revenge usually befalls them, as well. Such is the case in this chapter of Genesis.
We have a couple of interesting occurences in this chapter. There is first the issue of the reason behind the war. Was it greed? Jealousy? Conquest? We do not find an answer here. We do see that the conquerers did not want the land for they did not stay. A new king was crowned in Sodom, so it was definitely not control. The only hint we have is the taking of prisoners and goods.
Next is the issue of the king of Sodom. We see in verse 10 that he "fell" with the king of Gomorrah. This term is used regularly to describe dying. It goes on to say that the people who remained fled to the mountain. In the seventh verse after this one, there is already a new king dwelling in Sodom. There is no mention of how much time has passed, but it is curious.
The other issue that raised question with me in this chapter was the one of the "most high God". To this point in our tale we have found nothing that says that there is only one God. Quite the contrary. We have been given sufficient reason to suspect that there might be more than one. Several times God referred to himself in the first person plural... US. Now we see a priest of the "most high God". It is my opinion that this is the writing of a man who pictured a polytheistic approach to God. Not that the author believed in more than one God, but he saw the people as primitives not yet "hip" on the correct way to worship God.
Many will say that "most high God" simply refers to a elevated picture of God. I say that this is an easy out for most who refuse to look at it in more depth. Four times is this term used in this chapter. It does not appear in prior chapters, and the closest it comes in following chapters is God referring to himself as Almighty. A strong case is made for polytheistic belief.
Genesis 15
Chapter 15 of Genesis is a curious one. It has been remarked by some scholars that this combines two sources to form one chapter. Not that this is at all unusual after seeing what was done with the story of Noah and the flood. What stands out as unusual in this chapter is that it is uncertain which sources this chapter draws from.
We definitely see the J source as the divinity is referred to only as Lord God or Lord, but there also appears to be some connecting passages linked to the redactor. Let's take a look.
This chapter gets right to it. Verse 1 say that the word of the Lord came to Abram and spoke to him saying that he was Abram's shield and Abram's reward.
Abram was not satisfied with this for he asked the Lord, "What will you give me, seeing I go childless?" Abram was quite upset that he would have no heir from his loins and would have to leave everything to his servant's son.
The Lord reassures Abram that he would produce offspring, and to emphasize this he told Abram to count the stars and if he was able to, that would match the number of Abram's seed.
The Lord said that it was he that had brought Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees into this land for Abram to inherit. Abram, wanting proof, asked the Lord how he would know that he had inherited it. The Lord told Abram to bring forth some livestock for a sacrafice. Abram did so and sacrificed a heifer, a goat and a ram but did not kill a couple of birds he had also brought.
Verse 12 is odd. We are told in verse 5 that Abram looked upon the stars to see how many his seed would be. In this verse we are told that the sun is going down but there is no break between these two verses to indicate that a day has passed. This is a good sign that these were two seperate stories pieced together.
In verse 13 the Lord tells Abram that his offspring would be slaves in a foreign land and they would serve there for 400 years.
In Verse 14, the Lord reassures Abram that they would be released after the Lord judged the people of this land, and Abram's offspring would emerge with "great substance".
The next verse is odd for it relates that Abram shall live to an old age and go to his fathers in peace. This verse seems to be mentioning that Abram will die. This seems to have been squeezed between the previous verse and the following verse which gets back to the subject made mention in verse 14. Verse 16 says that the seed of Abram will return in the fourth generation to the land upon which Abram now stood, for they would not be finished with their iniquity.
Verse 17 seems to be relating to the sacrifice again for it says that a fire went up between the pieces. Again, this verse looks out of place.
In verse 18, the Lord makes yet another covenant with Abram giving him the land between the river of Egypt and the river Euphrates.
The last three verses of this chapter list groups of people but not what they do or why they are being mentioned. It can be guessed that the redactor was listing people who lived in this land. This concludes chapter 15.
Conclusion
Confusing to say the least. Let's see what we can make of this pieced together chapter.
The first thing that jumps out at me about this chapter is the term "word of the Lord" used in verses 1 and 4. Many people view the Bible as being the "inspired word of God". Clearly this is not what the author meant by this term for he was in the process of writing this work. All we can surmise is that this was used to describe God in some form that could be communicated with.
The next thing that jumps out at me is the issue of the stars in the sky before the sun goes down. I feel comfortable in assuming that this can be explained away by the idea that two stories were cut and pasted together to give the appearance of one continuous narrative.
This is also demonstrated in God's prediction of the imminent period of slavery that Abram's seed would have to endure. We are told that they would serve 400 years as slaves, and a verse later that Abram would die at a very old age. Then that the people would return to this land four generations after their liberation. Are we to assume that Abram would live all of this time?
I think it is easy to see that a poor job of editing was done in this chapter. The editor would have done well to move a few verses around. I would have suggested this:
If you take verse 15 (about Abram dying) and put it after verse 5 (where the Lord tells Abram that he will have children) it looks like the Lord saying that not only will Abram have children, but also wrap up Abram's life nicely. This would also accomplish the clarifying of why it was put between verses 14 and 16 which seem to flow into each other on their own.
I would also have suggested taking verse 17 (about the fire between the pieces of the sacrifice) and put it with the sacrifice story right after verse 11 or 12.
I would have also given a reason for why 9 groups of people were mentioned at the end of this chapter. As it stands, they seem to be an attachment that does not belong.
The last thing that I want to point out about this chapter is the proclomation in verse 18 where the Lord gives the land between the Nile (the river of Egypt) and the Euphrates. Both the Jews and the Arabs claim this land as being theirs by a promise from God. This verse here is that promise. Abram becomes Abraham and bears Ishmael, the son who would be the claim to Abraham of the Arabs, and later, Isaac, the claim to Abraham by the Jews. We see the roots of this conflict right here.
Genesis 16
Abram gets his first offspring. It is not by his wife Sarai, however, but by her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar. Sarai, feeling that she was incapable of producing children for Abram, suggests an alternative. The results of this decision did not turn out as well as could have been hoped for. Let's take a look.
Sarai bore Abram no children to Abram, but had a handmaid from Egypt named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram that the Lord restrained her from having children, and suggested to him that he go into Hagar that Sarai might obtain children from her.
Sarai brought Hagar to Abram so she could be his wife, and he went in unto Hagar and she conceived.
For some reason, the fact that Hagar conceived made her hate Sarai, and view her with didain. This upset Sarai greatly and she complained to Abram.
Abram was compassionate towards Sarai and told her to resolve the issue in any way that she saw fit. Sarai dealt with Hagar harshly and Hagar fled away from her mistress.
Hagar fled to a fountain in the wilderness where "the angel of the Lord" found her. The angel asked her what the problem was and she replied that she was fleeing from Sarai.
The angel told Hagar to return to her mistress and submit herself to Sarai's hands. The angel told Hagar that he would multiply her seed that it could not be numbered. He told her that she would bear this child and he would be named Ishmael. He said that Ishmael would be a wild man violent with all.
Hagar called the name of the Lord that spoke to her. She returned to Abram and bore him a son and his name was Ishmael. He was born when Abram was 86 years old. This concludes chapter 16.
Conclusion
A short chapter, but it shows that Abram was so great in the eyes of God, that he could do no wrong. We see that he was able to take to him more than one wife, and "know" her. And was he punished? No. He was given offspring.
Sarai thought that she was barren and could not conceive for Abram so she made a great sacrifice for her husband and gave to him another woman. She was certainly not rewarded for this sacrifice but even punished! She then had to deal with Hagar despising her, as well!
Sarai was not a soft woman it seems, for she dealt with her handmaid harshly enough to drive Hagar out.
Verses 7 through 10 makes mention of an "angel of the Lord". Three consecutive chapters referring to God by three different terms. 14 - most high God. 15 - word of the Lord. 16 - angel of the Lord. These are linked to the same author as well.... the J source. Is there an underlying meaning here? I am unsure.
The resolution of this chapter is that Hagar returned to Abram and had his child. He was 86 when Ishmael was born.
Abram has been rewarded for dishonesty, and now infidelity. What more will the lord allow him to get away with? We shall see.
Genesis 17
Circumcision. This chapter is yet another covenant between God and Abraham. This, however, is the famous one about circumcision at eight days old. Also in this chapter is God telling Abram that he would produce yet another son, and his name would be changed to Abraham for through him great nations would grow. Let's take a look.
The chapter starts with God inviting Abram to to walk before him and be perfect. He tells Abram that he will make a covenant with him and will multiply him 'exceedingly'. At this Abram falls on his face.
God says to Abram that he will make a covenant with him and all of his offspring, and tells Abram that he would be a father of many nations. Because of this, God tells him that he will no longer use the name Abram, but will now be known as Abraham. Abraham is a distortion of the Hebrew Avraham, which means, "father of the nation". God tells Abraham that nations and kings will come from him.
Then God tells Abraham about the covenant. It is this: That Abraham and his seed would have all of the land of Canaan forever, and that God would be their God. As a sign of this covenant, every child shall be circumcised.
God goes on to tell Abraham that all male children at the age of eight days would be circumcised of their foreskin, whether it be a child born in the house or a child bought with money. All male children who were not circumcised would have their soul cut off from his people for he had broken the covenant.
God tells Abraham that his wife would no longer be called Sarai but would now be called Sarah. God says that this is because she would be the mother of nations, though her name does not have the same significance as Abraham's does.
In verse 16 god tells Abraham that he will bless Sarah with a child, but we see that in the following verse that Abraham finds this humorous enough to fall on his face and laugh at God. It was enough for Abraham to ask himself if a child would really be born to him at 100 years old, and Sarah at 90 years old.
Abraham says something odd in verse 18. He says to God, "O, that Ishmael might live before thee!" Did God consider Ishmael as being dead? Did Abraham believe this to be the case?
In verse 19 God tells Abraham that indeed Sarah would bear a child and they would call his name Isaac, and it would be with him that God would establish this covenant.
God goes on to say that he has heard Abraham about Ishmael, and that he would bless him and also make him multiply greatly. He says that Ishmael would beget 12 princes, and would also make of him a great nation.
Hearing what he had, Abraham went to his home and took Ishmael and all of the males in his house and circumcised them all that day. Every male, whether born in the house or purchased with money, was circumcised that day. This concludes chapter 17.
Conclusion
A pretty simple chapter really with not much to disect. We can see that a covenant was given and that a sign would be required of all males that this covenant existed. Two things leap out at me about this chapter as being curious.
The first is in verse one where God tells Abram to walk before him and be perfect. We have seen from previous chapters that Abram is far from perfect. We have seen him lie, and cheat. We have seen him be unfaithful to his wife and have a child by another woman. God clearly was not pleased by this, at least at one point, for we can see Abram (Abraham) beseeching God to recognize Ishmael, the result of this iniquity.
Why the author pictured God making a pact with such a man of low morals is beyond me. This is not the first such man that God made a covenant with. If we remember, Noah wan't such a great guy, either.
The second thing that jumped out at me is admittedly less curious. It is the issue of the name changes. The author naming Abram is fairly understandable. His wife being Sarai was also understandable.
Lloyd Graham points out in his book, Myths and Deceptions of the Bible, that Abram, also Abraham is nothing more than the Hindu Brama. Change the letters around to form one from the other. He suggests that adding the h signifies giving life to the myth. Like Brama, Abram also got an h. So did Sarai. Brama became Brahma.
Mr. Graham brings this into more clarity by explaining that Brahma was also known by another name, Ishvara, and how Ishvara had a wife named Shri. He points out that in Hebrew the vowels are taken out of words turning Sarai into Sri, which is Shri without the life.
At the very least, these similarities are interesting. It is my belief that this shows an author who drew on other sources for his material, and changed just enough to make it uniquely his own. A theme we will see much more of in the collection of fables known as the New Testament.
Genesis 18
This chapter is really a transition chapter. It does not have much substance but talks about things to come. It talks about Sarah having a child in the future. It talks about God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. The most interesting thing found in this chapter is Abraham's ability to haggle with God. Let's take a look.
The chapter opens with Abraham sitting in the doorway to his tent in the heat of the day, and the Lord appearing to him. Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw some men, who we are to suppose are angels. He ran out to meet them and fell on the ground and begged the Lord to not pass away from him.
He says to the angels that he will fetch food and water for them that they may eat and be cleaned. They agreed to stay and told him to do so.
Abraham told Sarah to make some bread and told a servant to prepare a calf. It was done and Abraham served the angels under a tree.
The angels told Abraham that Sarah would have a son. Sarah overheard this and laughed to herself, for we see in verse 11 that Sarah had ceased to be in the manner of a woman. Menstruation.
The Lord heard Sarah laughing and asked Abraham why she did. He asked Abraham if anything was too difficult for the Lord. He told Abraham that he would return at the 'time of life' and Sarah shall have a son.
Sarah, being afraid, denied laughing but the Lord said to her that she had. Apparently Sarah was not sure of the Lord's powers.
After eating and resting, the angels rose and looked towards Sodom. Abraham walked them in that direction for a bit.
Verses 17-19 are interesting. It appears to be the Lord talking to himself, wondering if he should reveal his plans for destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. He knows that Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and that he will raise his children as he was commanded.
Apparently the Lord decided to reveal his plans to Abraham for the next few verses are the Lord telling Abraham that the sin of these cities is great. He gives Abraham the idea that he will destroy these cities.
Abraham is concerned for he asks the Lord if he will destroy the righteous with the wicked. He then asks if there are 50 righteous in the city will he destroy it. The Lord says that he will not destroy it if he finds 50.
Abraham then begins to bargain and haggle with the Lord. He asks the Lord if there was only 45 righteous would he still destroy it. The Lord says that he will spare it for 45. Abraham says 40, the Lord says OK. Abraham says 30, the Lord says OK. Abraham says 20, the Lord says OK. Abraham says 10, the Lord says OK.
Towards the end of their bargaining, Abraham must have known that he was pushing his luck for he said, " Oh, let the lord not be angry and I will speak but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there."
The chapter ends with Abraham and the Lord agreeing that Sodom and Gomorrah would not be destroyed if ten righteous could be found. Not ten righteous men, but ten righteous. No specification is given whether they be men, women, children or a combination.
Conclusion
So the stage is set with this chapter. While nothing is resolved, we do see a few interesting things.
The first is how angels are referred to with the word 'men'. Surely these were angels being talked about in the beginning of this chapter. They spoke for the Lord, and received a treatment from Abraham befitting an envoy of God. But why were they referred to as men? This becomes even more interesting if we look back at the beginning of chapter 6, written from the same source, calling angels the sons of God. Remember this was why God felt the earth should be destroyed.
Angels have now been referred to as the sons of God, and as men. Are we to do a little math her... angels = sons of God = men? What the author was implying may be lost.
An interesting thing that may have escaped the eye of the redactor here is the change of who was supposed to be talking in verses 9 and 10. In verse 9 it is clear that it is the angels talking to Abraham, and Abraham responding to them. Verse 10 has a singular voice saying that he will return to Sarah when the time is right. Surely we are to assume that it is the Lord who would return and not an angel, but it does not say that the Lord is now doing the speaking.
The next thing that seems interesting to me is the reasoning for why Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed. We are told in verse 20 that their cry is great and their sin very grievous but nothing more is said to describe what their crime against God was. We will see more of this in the next chapter, but I felt it important to point out that the decision was already made that their sin was great.
The last thing that I found interesting was Abraham being able to bargain with the Lord. Not that the Lord should be rigid and inflexible, but a God who has been painted as being all-powerful and all-knowing would have known that Abraham would bring forth this argument and simply tell Abraham that there were not ten righteous in these cities and tell them that they are to be destroyed.
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