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Genesis 14

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1 And it was, in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Nations,

2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboim, and with the king of Bela; this is Zoar.

3 All these came·​·together to the valley of Siddim—this is the Salt Sea.

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they revolted.

5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kirjathaim;

6 and the Horites in their Mount Seir, even·​·to El-paran which is by the wilderness.

7 And they returned, and came to En-mishpat—this is Kadesh—and smote all the field of the Amalekites, and also the Amorite that dwelt in Ḥazezon-Tamar.

8 And there went·​·out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, this is Zoar; and they set· the battle ·in·​·array with them in the valley of Siddim;

9 with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

10 And the valley of Siddim had wells, wells of tar`; and the king of Sodom and of Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they who were·​·left fled to the mountain.

11 And they took all the acquisition of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went.

12 And they took Lot, the son of the brother of Abram, and his acquisition, and went; and he was dwelling in Sodom.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew*; and he was abiding in the oak·​·groves of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner; and they were masters* of the covenant of Abram.

14 And Abram heard that his brother was taken·​·captive; and he made·​·ready* his dedicated* men that were born of his house, eighteen and three hundred, and pursued them even·​·to Dan.

15 And he parted himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them even·​·to Hobah, which is on the left of Damascus.

16 And he returned all the acquisition, and also returned Lot his brother and his acquisition, and also the women and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went·​·out to meet him, after his return from smiting Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, to the valley of Shaveh, it is the valley of the king.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem* brought·​·out bread and wine, and he was priest to God Most·​·High.

19 And he blessed him, and said, blessed be Abram to God Most·​·High, Possessor of the heavens and the earth.

20 And blessed be God Most·​·High, who has delivered thine adversaries into thy hand. And he gave to him tithes of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give to me the soul, and take the acquisition to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted·​·high my hand to Jehovah God Most·​·high, Possessor of the heavens and the earth;

23 that from a thread and even·​·to the lace of a shoe, I will not take anything that is thine; lest thou shouldest say, I have enriched Abram.

24 Besides only that which the lads have eaten, and the part of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their part.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Sacred Scripture # 101

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101. Before the Word That We Have in the World Today, There Was a Word That Has Been Lost

BEFORE the Word was given to the Israelite nation through Moses and the prophets, people were familiar with sacrificial worship, and there was prophecy at Jehovah’s command. We can tell this from what it says in the books of Moses.

As for their familiarity with sacrificial worship, we read that the children of Israel were commanded to overthrow the altars of the nations, shatter their statues, and cut down their groves (Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5; 12:3). We also read that at Acacia Grove Israel began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab; they summoned people to sacrifices to their gods and the people feasted and bowed down to their gods and especially became attached to the Baal of Peor; and Jehovah became angry with Israel because of this (Numbers 25:1-3). And Balaam, who was from Syria, had altars built and sacrificed cattle and sheep (Numbers 22:40; 23:1-2, 14, 29-30).

[2] As for there also being prophecy at Jehovah’s command, this we can tell from the prophecies of Balaam (Numbers 23:7-10, 18-24; 24:3-9, 16-24). In fact, he prophesied about the Lord, saying that a star would rise out of Jacob and a scepter out of Israel (Numbers 24:17). As for his prophesying at Jehovah’s command, see Numbers 22:13, 18; 23:3, 5, 8, 16, 26; 24:1, 13.

This shows that the nations had divine worship that resembled the worship instituted by Moses for the Israelite nation.

[3] We get a glimpse of the fact that this was the case even before the time of Abram from what it says in Moses (Deuteronomy 32:7-8). It is clearer, though, in the case of Melchizedek, King of Salem, who brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth of everything he owned (Genesis 14:18-20). Melchizedek represented the Lord, for he is referred to as “a priest to God the Highest” (Genesis 14:18) and it says of the Lord in David, “You are a priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek” (Psalms 110:4). That was why Melchizedek brought out the bread and the wine as holy elements of the church, just as they are in the sacrament of the Holy Supper. It is also why Melchizedek blessed Abram and why Abram gave him a tenth of everything he owned.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.