Genesis 14:20

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 14:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “and blessed be God Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him a tenth of all.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

and blessed be God Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him a tenth of all.
Genesis 14:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 14

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
20and blessed be God Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him a tenth of all.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And blessed be the most high God, etc.] Let his name be praised, and thanks be given to him for all mercies temporal and spiritual, since all flow from him, and particularly for the mercies Abram and others through him were now made partakers of; for whoever were the instruments, God was the efficient cause, and to him all the glory was to be given: which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand; the four kings, who are called Abram’s enemies, because the enemies of God and of true religion, and because they had been injurious to a relation of his; and especially they may be so called, if their intention was, as, say the Jewish writers f997 to slay him, beginning first with Lot: and…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“he gave him tithes of all--Here is an evidence of Abram's piety, as well as of his valor; for it was to a priest or official mediator between God and him that Abram gave a tenth of the spoil--a token of his gratitude and in honor of a divine ordinance (Pro 3:9).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- Abram Rescues Lot 1. אמרפל 'amrāpel, Amraphel; related: unknown. אלריוך 'aryôk, Ariok, “leonine?” related: ארי 'arı̂y, “a lion:” a name re-appearing in the time of Daniel Daniel 2:14. אלסר 'elāsār Ellasar (related: unknown) is identified with Larsa or Larancha, the Λάρισσα Larissa or Λαράχων Larachōn of the Greeks, now Senkereh, a town of lower Babylonia, between Mugheir (Ur) and Warka (Erek) on the left bank of the Frat. כדרלעמר kedārlā‛omer, Kedorla’omer, was compared by Col. Rawlinson with Kudur-mapula or mabuk, whose name is found on the bricks of Chaldaea, and whose title is Apda martu, ravager of the west. He translates it “servant of Lagamer,” one of the national divinities…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification