What appears to be a medieval painting of this event
The place where I downloaded it from called it, "The Trafficking of Sarah."
Genesis
12:14 ¶ And it came to pass, that, when
Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very
fair. 15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw
her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s
house. 16 And he entreated Abram well
for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and
maidservants, and she asses, and camels. 17
And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of
Sarai Abram’s wife. 18 And Pharaoh
called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst
thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 19
Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to
wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him:
and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
Pharaoh’s
princes saw Sarai as something worthy of the Pharaoh and perhaps were too
afraid of his wrath to steal her for themselves but thought to use her as a way
of gaining his favor. Abram, thought of as her brother, was treated very well
and made wealthier for his supposed sister being part of the Pharaoh’s harem.
Racists who insist that Ham and all of his descendants are black also insist
that verse 14 says that Sarai was attractive to the Pharaoh because she was white
skinned and, of course, the assumption is that darker skinned men always prefer
“white” women. This is not only not true but ignores the context of verse 11
and fair to look upon means she was attractive, desirable. I’ve already
explained the myth of the so-called curse on Ham previously.
Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men
that they were fair;
and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Esther 1:11 To bring Vashti the queen before the king
with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.
But, you will believe what justifies your bigotry and prejudice
and will force the Bible to justify your social beliefs, taking the
non-believers’ and the skeptics’ eyes off of the gospel of Christ and onto your
inconsistencies, hypocrisies, and moral weakness.
Whatever
the case, God plagued Pharaoh and his house for this action, thereby saving
Sarai from suffering the humiliation, the unfinished murder of being forced
sexually against one’s will. Pharaoh makes himself out to be a just man who is
done wrong by Abram although we know by Abram’s repeat of this behavior and
Isaac’s copying of it that the chance of Abram being eliminated was likely,
regardless of this heathen’s protestations of his innocence. Still, he sent
Abram and Sarai away with all of their possessions. The plagues put a fear in
Pharaoh that would have served a later Pharaoh well if he had heeded them.
Genesis,
chapter 13
Genesis 13:1 ¶
And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had,
and Lot with him, into the south. 2 And
Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journeys from the south
even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning,
between Bethel and Hai; 4 Unto the place
of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on
the name of the LORD.
Like
the Hebrews in the Exodus, Abram leaves Egypt being given much goods by the
Egyptians, only Abram gets his from the Pharaoh’s hand while the Hebrews
received theirs from all their neighbors (Exodus 11:2). Abram, now a very
wealthy man, returned to the place where he had built an altar to God and
called upon His name in 12:8. We, too, in a time of great deliverance, should
return to where we first called on God for help, at least in our minds, to get
straightened out from the false self-confidence that often comes when we escape
something bad ‘by the skin of our teeth.’ Here, Abram, at the place where he
built the altar, calls on God again. This whole episode brings to mind that
even when we are not praying, not acting out of concern for God’s will but for
our own self-preservation, that God is directing the reality of our lives and
manipulating events and people to push us toward the end He has set for us. I
recommend stopping at this point to read Psalm 139 and contemplate God’s
sovereignty over the affairs of men, even heathens like the Pharaoh. Abram and
Sarai escaped Egypt by God’s will and not Abram’s dishonesty and cleverness or
the Pharaoh’s self-glorying protestations of being morally offended. God used
Pharaoh’s power to save them from harm for His purpose.
Psalm
105:15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed,
and do my prophets no harm.
Genesis
13:5 ¶ And Lot also, which went with
Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6
And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together:
for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of
Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the
Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 8
And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me
and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate
thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go
to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
13:10
¶ And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld
all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of
Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11 Then
Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they
separated themselves the one from the other. 12
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of
the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners
before the LORD exceedingly.
Abram
and Lot were too wealthy to share the land. There was constant conflict. So,
Lot made the fateful decision to pitch his
tent toward Sodom as many modern-day Christians have done in leaving their
home and family to go reside in a city where there were “more opportunities.” I
am sure many a sermon has been started with the question, “have you pitched
your tent toward Sodom?”
Genesis
13:13 has 13 words in it. Interesting, isn’t it? Thirteen is the number of
rebellion, some commentators of the Bible say.
Sodom
represented all that was standing in opposition to God in the ancient world and
was a symbol of wickedness.
Ezekiel
16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of
thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her
and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and
needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed
abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
Cattle
does not necessarily mean beef cows, as in our modern speech. The Bible defines
cattle as livestock of all kinds.
Exodus
9:3 Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon
thy cattle which is in the field,
upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the
sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.
Cattle is
often used to refer to sheep.
Genesis
30:40 And Jacob did separate the lambs,
and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in
the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not
unto Laban’s cattle.
When
we picture Israel, Jordan, and Syria today we picture an arid, desert landscape
with little greenery and lots of rocks. But, keep in mind that the earth has
been constantly drying out since the Flood of Noah and things were different
during the times of Genesis than they are now. One source noted that, “Land-use studies
throughout the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Mid-East show the
prevalence of crops and forests, which were suited to cooler, wetter climates
in the period before 1000 B.C.”
Genesis
13:14 ¶ And the LORD said unto Abram,
after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from
the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to
thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the
earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed
also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through
the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto
thee. 18 Then Abram removed his tent,
and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there
an altar unto the LORD.
Abram
is the physical progenitor of the Jewish people, the Arab, and others as well
as the spiritual ancestor of all Christians and he and his seed were promised a dwelling place on earth.
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee
will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
God
states that eventually Abram’s descendants will be innumerable and not able to
be counted. The question asks itself whether or not this is referring to only
Abram’s seed by the promise of descendants through a barren Sarai or does this
include any and all of his descendants, his seed?
This
is a physical promise of physical territory, land. This is a grant, a promise,
and a covenant of land given to the descendants of a man who has pleased his
Creator. This will become an important issue in a few chapters, one we must
sort out to understand God’s future plans. The Bible leaves no question who
receives this physical promise.
Genesis 25:5 And
Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
However,
before we get into a shouting match about whose land is whose let us also
consider that Paul said this promise was from God through Abraham to Christ who
will return to claim it all at the end of human-centered history.
Galatians
3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And
to thy seed, which is Christ.
So, we have two
applications to this passage; a physical, literal one where the land grant is
made through Abraham to Isaac and his descendants, the Jews. It was a promise
to them specifically as it narrowed down in time, and a spiritual application
to the Jewish and Christian Messiah to come who would then claim and rule the
earth from that territory.
Again,
Abram builds an altar to the Lord.
Genesis 14:1¶ And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of
Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab
king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is
Zoar. 3 All these were joined
together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. 4 Twelve years they served
Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 And in the fourteenth year
came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the
Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh
Kiriathaim, 6 And the Horites in their
mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. 7 And they returned, and came
to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the
Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar. 8 And there went out the king
of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of
Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined
battle with them in the vale of Siddim; 9 With Chedorlaomer the king
of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and
Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. 10 And the vale of Siddim was
full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell
there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11 And they took all the goods
of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. 12 And they took Lot, Abram's
brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Amraphel was a king of Shinar, which, remember, is
the plain of Mesopotamia where Babel/Babylon was built. In the 1800’s scholars
identified him with Hammurabi, a famous Babylonian king, noted for a legal code
that archaeologists found. Jewish Rabbinic sources from the Middle Ages
identify him with Nimrod. Some modern scholars have elected even another
candidate. However, we only know from the Bible that he was allied with the
other kings mentioned in their assistance of the king of Elam in retaining his
power over the cities of Canaan which rebelled, interestingly enough, in the
thirteenth year of their submission. Here is one example, as I mentioned
earlier, of a period where Egypt did not exercise suzerainty over Canaan.
Arioch was thought a century ago to be a king who
reigned contemporaneously with Hammurabi, over the Sumerian city, Larsa. Chedorlaomer,
listed as the king of Elam here who ruled over Canaanite cities and is here,
with his allies attempting to reestablish control. Tidal, king of nations, as
he must reign over multiple people groups, is listed as another ally. These
kings over small but growing empires are trying to bring back under authority
kings over cities that would have been no more militarily mighty than the
modern mayor of small town could hope to be, if that mayor had armed citizens
to fight for him. It wouldn’t have taken a very large and expensive expedition
to teach these people a lesson.
While others were disunited and weak the kings of
Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar) joined together to oppose this
conquering force. The battle was joined and the rebellious kings and their
forces fled with the kings leading Sodom and Gomorrah’s forces falling in
battle. So, Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities, were plundered and along with their
goods, Lot and his possessions, possibly his family, too, were taken.
Remember, the king of an ancient city was also its
high priest. I want to add another point here that will be significant in the
next passage. Diarchy, where two kings ruled at the same time, was known in the
ancient world, the most famous of which was the city-state of Sparta in Greece.
It is possible that this condition existed in at least some city-states of the
Ancient Near East because a second king of Sodom is mentioned in the next
passage, in addition to the one that fell in battle. It is likely then that one
king was a religious figure and one went to war and held administrative
functions as is what happened early in Rome.
Warfare
against a city included warfare against its gods and its religion. Nothing was
spared. But, these kings are more intent on reestablishing authority than on
complete destruction. There are two worlds fighting here, the world of empires
and control over different peoples versus the world of petty kings/priests over
a specific location, what we would today consider to be nothing more than a
small town with walls, a religion and gods of its own with family gods as well.
Genesis 14:13¶ And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he
dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of
Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. 14 And when Abram heard that
his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in
his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. 15 And he divided himself
against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them
unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the
goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women
also, and the people.
The first mention of Hebrew is here, which Strong’s dictionary said means, “one from
beyond,” indicating Abram’s status as an immigrant from outside of Canaan.
Other scholars have tried to link an ancient word for brigand or robbers,
fringe desert dwellers on the borders of society, the hapiru or habiru, with
the Hebrew but that idea is argued
against by many scholars today.
Abram, an
influential and wealthy man, maybe not only had his armed servants to call on
but allies among the inhabitants of the land, his confederates. Confederate is defined in the following verse as
allies agreeing in a cause. Notice that the phrase after the colon defines the
phrase before it and vice versa throughout the Bible.
Psalm 83:5
For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate
against thee:
Referring to Lot as Abram’s brother simply means that Lot and Abram were alike, closely
related, of the same kind. Notice in the following verse from earlier in Genesis
how brother is used even more
expansively, not just referring to another son of one’s mother.
Genesis 9:5 And surely your blood of your lives will I
require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man;
at the hand of every man’s brother
will I require the life of man.
And here, see how brother is used
to link people alike in habit.
Proverbs 18:9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
It is also used as a definition of one’s neighbour, which we spell neighbor, in the following verse. Think
of the sentiment expressed by some throughout history that, “all men are
brothers.”
Jeremiah 23:35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered?
and, What hath the LORD spoken?
This surprise attack at night against a relatively
small invading expedition made by 318 armed and trained servants and Abram’s
confederates among the locals whose number we do not know although only three
are mentioned, perhaps eager for revenge against a foreign conqueror’s
coalition, was successful. The invaders were bloated with the spoils of various
cities they had robbed and probably filled with the pride of success at how
little this expedition had cost them, until now, perhaps even drunk and
celebrating. Although we know that nothing happens without God’s permissive
will or His directive will so He was involved in that He permitted Abram to win
this is not specifically the kind of supernatural deliverance of Gideon with
tactics directed by God, but a simple shock attack against an unsuspecting and
arrogant force in the middle of the night.
This presents a very important point about reality
that is the subject of the Book of Job. All that happens is a manifestation of
God’s will, even when men commit horrible evil which He permits for a reason we
may never know in this life and which in its brutality and seeming randomness
makes no sense to us, but there are times when God’s involvement is obvious and
apparent, as in Gideon. But, all victory or defeat, whether of good guys or
bad, points to His will, either by permission or direction. It is up to us to
understand that we may never know why in this life and that we are to trust
Him, as He has everything under control and knows what He is doing. We must
fight evil, as Abram has done, but not be mistaken in thinking that the outcome
is in our hands or that it will even by necessity because we are fighting for
God be a good outcome. Many preachers make the mistake of thinking that if they
do something in God’s name He must bless it because of their intention. This is
not true. God will bless what He will bless if it is to His purpose but you do
not determine that.
We assume we will know the “whys” when we stand
before Christ but how ashamed we will be if we do find out that our lack of
faith was an impediment to great blessings in this life we can only imagine. I
can picture that our works will be sorted out. What was done for our flesh or
out of fear of man or desire for approval of man even though we said it was for
God and what was done out of faith in God or desire for His approval will be
treated differently I suspect regardless of whether the outcomes were worldly
success or martyrdom.
Daniel Snell, Life in the Ancient Near East (New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997), 68.
