That I will not [take] from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that [is] thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
23. a thread a shoelatchet ] Not the most trifling thing, not even, the lace for a sandal, will Abram take. The fact that Abram has already ( Gen 14:20) given to Melchizedek a tithe of all the spoil, strictly speaking, conflicts with his refusal, in this verse, to take any share of the spoil. Probably this discrepancy is an indication that the episode of Melchizedek ( Gen 14:18-20) has been introduced from a distinct source of tradition.
lest thou shouldest say, &c.] Abram emphasizes the fact, (1) that he did not make war in order to make himself richer or stronger: (2) that he and his household are not going to be beholden to the king of Sodom and the people of the Plain. What he had done, was not for gain, but for the safety of his relative Lot. Contrast, however, Abraham’s acceptance of gifts, in Gen 12:16, Gen 20:14-16, under different cumstances.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 23. From a thread even to a shoelatchet] This was certainly a proverbial mode of expression, the full meaning of which is perhaps not known. Among the rabbinical writers chut, or chuti, signifies a fillet worn by young women to tie up their hair; taken in this sense it will give a good meaning here. As Abram had rescued both the men and women carried off by the confederate kings, and the king of Sodom had offered him all the goods, claiming only the persons, he answers by protesting against the accepting any of their property: “I have vowed unto the Lord, the proprietor of heaven and earth, that I will not receive the smallest portion of the property either of the women or men, from a girl’s fillet to a man’s shoe-tie.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That I will not take; Heb. If I shall take. Understand, God do so and so to me, which is expressed 1Sa 14:44. A defective manner of swearing used amongst the Hebrews, either to maintain the reverence of oaths, and the dread of perjury, seeing they were afraid so much as to mention the curse which they meant; or to show that they were willing to submit to any punishment which God should inflict upon them, without exception, if they violated their oaths.
Even to a shoe-latchet, i.e. any thing, though never so small or mean, lest thou shouldst claim a share with God in the honour due to him, to whose blessing alone I do and I will owe my riches. Or, lest thou shouldst say, Abram is enriched with my spoils; and however he pretended kindness and charity, yet indeed it was his covetousness that put him upon this work.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
That I will not [take] from a thread 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, the least belonging to that; or from the hair lace of the head, to the shoelatchet of the foot; that is, he would take nothing of his from head to foot: the meaning is, that he would not take that which was of the least value and importance that could be conceived of, and which is more clearly expressed by what follows:
and that I will not take anything that [is] thine; the least thing that belonged to him, or to any of his subjects, for this reason:
lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich; lest he should upbraid him with it afterwards, and say, that all his riches were owing to him; whereas God had promised to bless him, and make him rich and great, as he had begun to do, and still would more and more; and in whom his trusted, and to whom he was desirous all the glory of his greatness and riches should be ascribed.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
23. That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe – latchet. The Hebrews have an elliptical form of making oath, in which the imprecation of punishment is understood. In some places, the full expression of it occurs in the Scriptures, “The Lord do so to me and more also,” (1Sa 14:44.) Since however, it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, in order that the obligation of oaths may be the more binding, this abrupt form of speech admonishes men to reflect on what they are doing; for it is just as if they should put a restraint upon themselves, and should stop suddenly in the midst of their discourse. This indeed is most certain, that men never rashly swear, but they provoke the vengeance of God against them, and make Him their adversary.
Lest thou shouldst say. Although these words seem to denote a mind elated, and too much addicted to fame, yet since Abram is on this point commended by the Spirit, we conclude that this was a truly holy magnanimity. But an exception is added namely that he will not allow his own liberality to be injurious to his allies, nor make them subject to his laws. For this also is not the least part of virtue, to act rightly, yet in such a manner, that we do not bind others to our example, as to a rule. Let every one therefore regard what his own vocation demands, and what pertains to his own duty, in order that men may not prejudge one another according to their own will. For it is a moroseness too imperious, to wish that what we ourselves follow as right, and consonant with our duty, should be prescribed as a law to others.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
23. That I will not take Literally, If from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and if I take from all that is thine; and thou shalt not say I have enriched Abram. Observe the emotionality of Abram’s language. In the face of temptation, and in possible danger of being misunderstood by those who could scarcely appreciate his lofty standpoint, he declares his holy vow not to take to himself any of the spoils. The particle if appears prominently in the ancient formulas of swearing. The full form appears in
1Sa 3:17: “God do so to thee, and more also, if, etc . ” “There is a marked difference between Abram’s conduct to Melchizedek and his conduct to the king of Sodom . From Melchizedek he receives refreshment and treats him with honour and respect . Toward the king of Sodom he is distant and reserved . Probably the vicious lives of the inhabitants of Sodom made him careful not to lay himself under any obligation to the king, lest he should become too much associated with him and them . ” Speaker’s Commentary .
Gen 14:23. That I will not take, &c. Fully to convince them, that he acted not from mercenary views, the patriarch declares in the most solemn manner, “I have lifted up my hand to the Most High, calling him in as a witness and an avenger, if I take (for so the Hebrew runs) from a thread to a shoe-latchet,” a proverbial expression, “from a fillet that binds the head, to a thong that ties the shoes.”
REFLECTIONS.In the king of Sodom’s conference with Abram, we have,
1. His generous offer of all the spoil, except the prisoners: but Abram deserved it all. But before we take our leave of this chapter, we cannot omit considering with attention Melchizedek as a Type of the Messiah: for he is so repeatedly held forth in this view in the course of the sacred writings, that our comment on this part of Scripture would be incomplete without it. Let us then just review the narrative, and then compare. We shall first begin with what Moses relates of this extraordinary man.To whom can his name Melchizedek so properly belong as to the King who reigns in righteousness; who, righteous himself, has wrought for all his subjects a justifying righteousness by the merit of his blood, and works in all his subjects a sanctifying righteousness by the power of his Spirit?He, he is king of Salem, which is by interpretation, king of peace. Peace is the disposition for which he was renowned, who with his dying breath implored forgiveness for his bloody murderers: peace is the grand blessing he died to purchase, and lives to confer. O glorious peace, of which righteousness is the foundation, and joy in the Holy Ghost the inseparable attendant! Hail, ye subjects of his auspicious government, who call the blessings of his purchase all your own! Lo, in your princely Saviour, the great Jehovah lays aside his vindictive wrath, and becomes your loving Father; the angels no more stand aloof, but commence your ministers and guardians; the inferior creatures are turned into your faithful friends and allies; and conscience, no more an accuser, whispers peace in gentlest accents. Though “in the world you should have tribulation, yet in him you shall have peace.” O Prince of peace, extend the borders of thy peaceful kingdom far and wide; and let the wished-for period come, when the nations shall learn war no more! O let thy peace rule in our hearts, through these tumultuous scenes of life; and bring us at last to those calm regions of joy and felicity, where peace extends her dove-like wings for ever and ever!”He brought forth bread and wine,” to refresh the hungry and thirsty soldiers, when returning from the slaughter of the kings. Such is the refreshment which the true Melchizedek affords to all who are truly engaged in the spiritual warfare. He “has prepared of his goodness for the poor.” O “come unto him, and you shall never hunger; believe on him, and you shall never thirst. Eat of his bread, and drink of the wine which he has mingled.” Happy they who conquer in the holy warfare, for they “shall eat of the hidden manna; and the Lamb in the midst of the throne shall feed them.””And he was the priest of the Most High God.” an honour not usually appropriated in after-times to those who sit on thrones; for God himself was pleased to provide against the blending of these offices in the commonwealth of Israel. Witness thy fate, Uzziah, 2Ch 26:18; 2Ch 26:23. who, snatching at the censer, lost the sceptre. And shall the triple-crowned priest of Rome, who exalts himself above all that is called God, go always unpunished? But of Jesus Christ a prophet testifies, “He shall sit and rule upon his throne,” Zec 6:13 as once he was a king upon his cross,”And he blessed Abram.” So Christ, our royal Priest, was sent of God to bless the children of Abram, not with a verbal, but real benediction, in turning every one of us from our iniquity; and “men shall be blessed in him.””Consider,” in the last place, “how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abram gave the tenth of the spoils;” and, as we may say, even Levi, who received tithes from the people by the commandment of God, was tithed in the loins of his progenitor: a most convincing proof, that this Melchizedek was both a greater man than Abram, and a greater priest than Aaron. But we christians have a great High-Priest, in whose presence Abram must not glory, Levi has no pre-eminence. To our Melchizedek the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the peculiar people, do pay, not only the tenth, but all they have and are, when they present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is their reasonable service. Rom 12:1.
But the circumstances which Moses conceals are also truly worthy of our notice. In vain you ask his genealogy, his birth, his death, or the ceremonies of his consecration; for those are buried in darkness; the Holy Ghost signifying thereby, that Jesus Christ is really and truly what this mysterious king is in the history: without father,not as he was God, but man;without mother,not as he was man, but God;without descent,for having no predecessors in office, he needed not prove that he was sprung from the priestly tribe; which was an essential qualification in the Levitical priesthood:having neither beginning of days, nor end of life,for being set up from everlasting, he abideth a priest continually: for though he died, yet even in death he was a priest, and now he ever liveth to make intercession for us.What shall we say more? In the order of Aaron were many priests, who, like other mortals, resigning their breath by the stroke of death, their priestly honour was laid in the dust with them. We know whence they arose; with what carnal ordinances and ceremonies they received their inauguration; what sacrifices they offered; in what holy places they officiated; who assisted them in their various functions; and who succeeded them, when they either died, or were deposed from their office. But the Priest after the order of Melchizedek, being possessed of immortal life, and called of God without external ceremonies to his high office, himself was the Sacrifice, himself was the Altar, himself was his Tabernacle and Temple, assisted by none, nor succeeded by any. In Melchizedek, whom Moses speaks of as if he had been immortal, we have but indeed a faint shadow, and not the very image of the things themselves, which are found in Jesus Christ. But let the faintness of the resemblance remind us of the greatness of the mysteries: “For who shall declare his generation?”
Gen 14:23 That I will not [take] from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that [is] thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Ver. 23. That I will not take from a thread. ] Melchizedek, from God, had made Abram heir of all things; for, saith he, I am the priest of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, who hath sent me with this bread and wine, as by turf and twig, as by an earnest and a little for the whole, to give thee possession of both. Now, therefore, when the king of Sodom presently after offers him the goods he had taken, Abram would none; he was grown too great to accept of such an offer; God was his “exceeding great reward”. Gen 15:1 Aquila non captat muscas .
Lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich. I will not take. The blessing of Melchizedek, and the bread and wine, prepared him for this great renunciation.
That I: 1Ki 13:8, 2Ki 5:16, 2Ki 5:20, Est 9:15, Est 9:16, 2Co 11:9-11, 2Co 12:14
lest: 2Co 11:12, Heb 13:5
Reciprocal: Gen 21:23 – swear Gen 21:27 – took Gen 23:13 – I will Exo 20:17 – thy neighbour’s house 2Ki 5:26 – Is it a time 1Ch 21:24 – Nay Est 9:10 – but on the spoil Job 32:13 – Lest Psa 106:26 – lifted Pro 10:22 – it Dan 5:17 – Let
SOME ELEMENTS OF A GODLY LIFE
I will not take anything that is thine.
Gen 14:23
Looking closely at the narrative, we cannot fail to see in it some essential features and most beautiful aspects of the life of a child of God.
I. Sympathy.Abraham showed no resentment, but with utter unselfishness he at once desires and determines to set out to the rescue of Lot.
II. Decision.We generally associate godliness with the passive rather than the active virtues, but in view of Hebrews 11 we must not forget the two sides of the Christian life. In Genesis 13. Abraham is seen manifesting the passive virtues of unselfishness, humility, and willingness to yield his rights. In chapter 14, however, there is all the decision and initiative of the brave and fearless man. Courage is as real a Christian virtue as humility.
III. Capability.Abrahams strategy and skill show that he was a man of parts. There is no necessary connection between godliness and incapacity. The Christian man should neither be a coward nor an incapable. The Spirit of God who equipped Bezaleel is able to give inventiveness, and intellectual and executive ability.
IV. The Explanation of these Elements.It is all summed up in faith in God. By faith Abraham was enabled to feel and show this sympathy, for the simple reason that God was all in all to him, and he could in the true sense afford to be tender-hearted and unselfish. By faith Abraham possessed and manifested decision, because he was in constant touch with the Source of all power, and was strong in his God to attempt and do great things. By faith Abraham was enabled to cultivate and reveal his capacity as a man of affairs because God is the God of all grace, and provides grace sufficient to all His servants for every emergency, and even when the believers life commences with only a partial capability in certain directions, it is wonderful how grace can cultivate this faculty and enable the man to do wonders for God. Faith thus purifies and instructs the mind, softens and stirs the heart, and strengthens and controls the will. This is the victory our faith.
Rev. W. H. Griffith-Thomas, d.d.
Illustration
His conception of Jehovah was of immense assistance to Abraham in the hour of trial. I have lift up my hand, he said, to God Most High, the Possessor of Heaven and Earth. What bribe could tempt a man who had all things in God? If the Possessor of Heaven and Earth is yours, and you are His, you are well provided. You do not need the water that the beasts would cough at, when you have a river flowing past your feet. This is the best way to meet the attractions of the world: get so much of the opposite from God, that you have no taste for the shams and shows of time.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2. Abram’s refusal; with the reasons for it. (1.) His oath before he went to battle. Swearing is a solemn act of religion: it is an appeal to the Most High God, who seeth and avengeth. Learn hence, Whenever we swear, we must perform, though it be to our own injury: and it must be in a lawful matter, for the glory of God and the good of our neighbour. (2.) He feared lest any reproach should be cast on his faith or his charity. He would not have it suggested, that he either desired or needed to be enriched from this spoil. Observe, A Christian will avoid the things, though lawful, from which the adversary might take occasion to speak reproachfully. Again, Faith will ever lead a man to look down upon this world as a very little thing. (3.) He excepts the food of his soldiers, and the share of his allies. This was both reasonable and right: for we have no authority to exact from others the same restraints we impose upon ourselves.
The patriarch Abram had, with his little army, surprised and defeated the forces of the confederate kings who had plundered Sodom, and who, among other prisoners, had carried away captive his kinsman Lot, who, living in that wicked city, was now a very singular blessing to his sinful fellow-citizens, being the occasion of their rescue from the invaders of their country. As he returned from the slaughter, he was met by the king of Sodom, with another king of a very different character: his name was Melchizedek, which, though an excellent one, signifying king of righteousness, was not unsuitable to his real character, and is a proper admonition to all other kings for what they should be distinguished. The name of his city was Salem: whether it was that Salem where JEHOVAH afterwards had his tabernacle, or another place of the same name, is not absolutely determined. However, we are assured, that upon this occasion he brought forth bread and wine to refresh the patriarch’s men, fatigued with toil. But the most extraordinary circumstance of all is, that though living in that wicked country, he was priest of the Most High God, and vested with regal dignity. When most around him were sunk in superstition and idolatry, this illustrious Gentile retained the knowledge of the true God, and thought it no disparagement of his kingly honour to officiate in the solemn rites of his holy worship. The hospitable monarch was a no less religious priest. As in the former capacity, he brought forth bread and wine; so in the latter he blessed the renowned patriarch, and received from him tithes of all. Thus far the sacred history. But from what parents he descended, when he was born, or when he died, who were his predecessors, or who succeeded him, are questions we are not permitted to resolve. And even the silence of the Scripture is expressive! “For he was made like unto the Son of God,” both in what Moses relates concerning him, and in what he conceals from the curious inquirer. Let us carefully observe these two heads of resemblance, and we shall easily understand, how David in spirit says of the Messiah, “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek,” Psa 110:4.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary