Genesis 14:21

And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
king	מֶֽלֶךְ Me.lekh-	H4428	a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Sodom	סְדֹ֖ם se.Dom	H5467	Sedom · proper noun, a place name
said	וַיֹּ֥אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Abram	אַבְרָ֑ם 'av.Ram	H87	Abram · proper noun, a man's name
Give	תֶּן ten-	H5414	to give · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
persons	הַנֶּ֔פֶשׁ ha.Ne.fesh	H5315	properly · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
take	קַֽח kach-	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
goods	וְהָרְכֻ֖שׁ ve.ha.re.Khush	H7399	property (as gathered) · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 14:21–end

We have here an account of what passed between Abram and the king of Sodom, who succeeded him that fell in the battle (Gen 14:10), and thought himself obliged to do this honour to Abram, in return for the good services he had done him. Here is, I. The king of Sodom's grateful offer to Abram (Gen 14:21): Give me the soul, and take thou the substance; so the Hebrew reads it. Here he fairly begs the persons, but as freely bestows the goods on Abram. Note, 1. Where a right is dubious and divided, it is wisdom to compound the matter by mutual concessions rather than to contend. The king of Sodom had an original right both to the persons and to the goods, and it would bear a debate whether Abram's…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 14:21

the king of Sodom said . . . Give me the persons--According to the war customs still existing among the Arab tribes, Abram might have retained the recovered goods, and his right was acknowledged by the king of Sodom. But with honest pride, and a generosity unknown in that part of the world, he replied with strong phraseology common to the East, "I have lifted up mine hand" [that is, I have sworn] unto the Lord that I will not take from a thread even to a sandal-thong, and that that I will not take any thing that [is] thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich" [Gen 14:22-23]. Next: Genesis Chapter 15

Adam Clarke on Genesis 14:20

And he gave him tithes - A tenth part of all the spoils he had taken from the confederate kings. These Abram gave as a tribute to the most high God, who, being the possessor of heaven and earth, dispenses all spiritual and temporal favors, and demands the gratitude, and submissive, loving obedience, of all his subjects. Almost all nations of the earth have agreed in giving a tenth part of their property to be employed in religious uses. The tithes were afterwards granted to the Levites for the use of the sanctuary, and the maintenance of themselves and their families, as they had no other inheritance in Israel.

John Gill on Genesis 14:21

The Church Fathers

But the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself." But he replied to him, "I raise my hand to the Lord, God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'" It should be noted carefully and drawn as an example of moral life, that Abraham, who, truly compassionate towards his neighbors in need, had exposed himself to danger to free Lot, and as a devout man to God gave tithes to the priest by whom he was blessed; he, as a despiser of money, refused to accept anything from the spoils he had taken, even when offered by the king he had defeated. As a lover of justice, he did not neglect to distribute their share to the soldiers who had fought with him. Rightly, such a conscience, in order to reach the peak of virtues more swiftly, is always elevated by new benefits of divine grace. Hence, after these things had rightfully passed, he immediately became a recipient of the gift of a heavenly oracle and divine blessing, which should be better considered and examined by the reading of the following book.
— Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron)

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Amraphel — King of Shinar, southern Chaldea, one of the confederates of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, in a war against Sodom and cities of the plain (Gen. 14:1, 4). It is now found that Amraphel (or Ammirapaltu)…
Bera — Gift, or son of evil, king of Sodom at the time of the invasion of the four kings under Chedorlaomer (Gen. 14:2, 8, 17, 21).
Lot — (Heb. goral, a “pebble”), a small stone used in casting lots (Num. 33:54; Jonah 1:7). The lot was always resorted to by the Hebrews with strictest reference to the interposition of God, and as a…
Abraham · General references — General references
Liberality · .King of — .King of
Rulers · .Abraham — .Abraham
Unselfishness · .King of — .King of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 14:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 14:21–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 14:21

Adam Clarke on Genesis 14:20

John Gill on Genesis 14:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 14:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 14:21–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 14:21

Adam Clarke on Genesis 14:20

John Gill on Genesis 14:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 14:21

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 14:17–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 14:21-24

Rashi on Genesis 14:21