A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

“The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He has executed and until He has performed the intent of His thought; in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly” Jeremiah 23:20

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.

— ‘Get thee out from thy father’s house, and from thy country, and from thy kindred,’ was the command to Abram, and to most others called;

— and Lot with him; Lot accompanied him into Egypt, because he comes with him out of it; into the south; that is, into the Negev;

² And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. — and Abram was very rich; he was rich; in cattle, in silver, and in gold; cattle are mentioned first, as being the principal part of the riches of men in those days, such as sheep and oxen;

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 Ai, — he went on to Beth-el; because there he had formerly had an altar, and although the altar had fallen down,

— between Bethel and Ai, or Hai; afterwards called Mount Ephraim, and was four miles from Jerusalem on the north; see Genesis 12:8.

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. — unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first; when he first came to that place, and before he went down to Egypt;

⁵ And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. — Lot; he, too, had possibly received presents in Egypt, for we find him rivalling his uncle in wealth;

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. — both arises from a large increase of riches, that relations and friends are obliged to part; what one would think would make them more comfortable together, is the cause and occasion of their separation;

⁷ And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle; and the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelled then in the land. — and there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle; not between the two masters, but between their servants;

⁸ And Abram said unto Lot, “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren. — for we be brethren, that is, both by nature near kinsmen, as the word brother is oft used, and in the faith and religion too, amongst whom contentions are very indecent and scandalous.

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.” — the Targum of Jonathan says, “if thou wilt go to the north, I will go to the south, or if thou wilt go to the south, I will go to the north:’

¹⁰ And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah), even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as thou comest unto Zoar. — all the plain of Jordan; a great plain so called, because there the pleasant river Jordan divided itself into divers little streams or rivulets;

¹¹ Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves the one from the other. — and Lot journeyed east; and that part of the land on which Sodom and Gomorrah stood, were to the east of Bethel;

¹² Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. — Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan; in that part of the land where the family of the Canaanites had their abode;

¹³ But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. — the men of Sodom were wicked; exceeding great sinners, guilty of the most notorious crimes, and addicted to the most scandalous and unnatural lusts; and these they committed openly and publicly in the sight of God;

¹⁴ And the Lord said unto Abram after 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. — on top of Mount Ephraim: all the land which thou seest; so extensive a survey of the country, in all directions,

— northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; all point in the neighborhood; and those plains and hills, then lying desolate before the eyes of the solitary patriarch, were to be peopled with a mighty nation “like the dust of the earth in number”

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. — and to thy seed for ever; the meaning is, that he gave it to his posterity to be enjoyed; in the days of Solomon, and as they will be in the latter day;

¹⁷ Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee.” — Arise, walk through the land; enter and take possession, for thy posterity; survey the land, and it will appear better than upon a distant prospect;

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. — the city Hebron was called Mamre; an ancient city built seven years before Zoan or Tanis in Egypt, Numbers 13:22.

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, — and it came to pass, in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar; or Babylon, as Onkelos, says, where Nimrod began his kingdom,

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. — the cities Sodom and Gomorrah were well established by then; even after the confusion of tongues and that they had dispersed;

³ All these were joined together in the Vale of Siddim, which is the Salt Sea. — the Salt Sea; as afterwards so called, not at this time, but the Dead Sea, being 1300 feet below the level of the Mediterranean; for then it would not have been fit for armies to be drawn up in battle array in it;

⁴ Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. — they served; that is, paid a yearly tribute in those days;

⁵ And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, — in the fourteenth year; after some pause and preparation, Chedorlaomer, in conjunction with his allies, set himself to punish the revolters;

⁶ and the Horites in their Mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. — the Horites were the aboriginal inhabitants of Mount Seir, where they dwelt in caves; such as are still to be seen in Petra and other places around; they were centuries later absorbed into the Edomites.

⁷ And they returned and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites, who dwelt in Hazezontamar. — flashing forward, the country of the Amalekites; they were later inhabited by the prosterity of Esau;

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, — five kings came out and joined battle with the four in the dale of Siddim;

⁹ against Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and against Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar — four kings against five.

¹⁰ And the Vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell there, and those who remained fled to the mountain. — the five initiated the fight against the four but the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits, hence the four prevailed against the five;

¹¹ And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their victuals, and went their way. — and they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah; they entered these cities and pillaged them, and carried off everything valuable in them;

¹² And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods and departed. — the victors plundered the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and carried off Lot, who dwelt in Sodom, and all his possessions, along with the rest of the captives, probably taking the route through the valley of the Jordan up to Damascus;

¹³ And there came one who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt on the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with Abram. — the plain of Mamre; these were confederate with Abram; probably there was also a league for mutual defence between him and them.

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. — and when Abram heard that his brother; regard Lot as his brother’s son, or at the same time his brother-in-law; or just brother;

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. — Hobah, on the left of Damascus, was over 200 miles toward the north from Hebron;

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. — he brought back all the goods which the victorious kings had taken from the princes and people mentioned earlier;

¹⁷ And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (which is the King’s Dale) after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and of the kings who were with him. — the king of Sodom, who had fled, came down from the mountain whither he had escaped, came down to meet Abram;

¹⁸ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the Most High God. — and Melchizedek king of Salem; both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem say, this is Shem, the son of Noah;

— though it is highly probable Shem was living at this time, yet it is not easy to account for it why his name should be changed, or that he should reign in a country in the possession of his brother’s son; or that he should meet Abram, and congratulate him on the slaughter of one of his own descendants;

— some have thought him to be more than a mere man, even the Son of God himself, but he is manifestly distinguished from him in Hebrews 7:

“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham, who was returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him.

To him also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, Melchizedek first being by interpretation “king of righteousness,” and after that also king of Salem, which means “king of peace.”

Without father, without mother and without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, he abideth a priest continually.” Hebrews 7:1-3

¹⁹ And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth; — and Melchizedek blessed Abram, which was one part of his office as a priest; and said, blessed be Abram of the most high God;

²⁰ and blessed be the Most High God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.” And he gave him tithes of all. — and he gave him tithes of all; not Melchizedek to Abram, but Abram to Melchizedek, and these tithes were given not out of the goods that were recovered;

²¹ And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for thyself.” — Grive me the persons; to this day it is the custom among the people there, that, if a camp be plundered, his own subjects that had been taken and carried away by the four kings, anyone who recovers the booty gives up only the persons, and takes the rest for himself.

²² And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord, the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth, — I have lifted up my hand; this is a serious matter with Abram, either before, or then and there, he made an oath before God, that he would not touch the property of Sodom.

²³ that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe strap, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say,‘I have made Abram rich’” — even to a shoelatchet; that is, from a thread used in sewing garments to, a shoelatchet, or the string which fastens the shoes to the foot,

²⁴ except only that which the young men have eaten and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” — the young men have eaten; his three hundred and eighteen trained servants, and those of his confederates;

— who having recovered the victuals taken away from the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, had eaten of it for their refreshment, as it was but just and right.

~ by Joel on July 18, 2024.

Posted in Books of Moses