It turns out, Abraham, the patriarch of monotheism, was no exception. His story isn't just about grand pronouncements from God; it's also about family drama, petty squabbles, and even a full-blown war!
We pick up the story after Abraham's sojourn in Egypt. According to Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, things get tense between Abraham and his nephew Lot. Their herdsmen start fighting. Abraham, being the responsible one, provided muzzles for his herds. Lot, not so much. When Abraham's shepherds called out Lot's shepherds for letting their flocks graze where they shouldn't, the response was… audacious. They basically said, "God promised the land to Abraham's seed, but he's barren! Lot's the heir, so we're just eating what's rightfully ours!" Ouch.
As we find in Midrash Rabbah, God wasn't thrilled about this. He clarified that yes, Abraham's seed would inherit the land, but only after the current inhabitants, the Canaanites and Perizzites, were dealt with. They still had rights! But the damage was done. The strife escalated, and Abraham, frustrated by Lot's behavior, decided they had to separate. And Lot didn’t just separate from Abraham. He separated himself from Abraham's God, choosing to settle in the infamously wicked region of Sodom. Talk about a fall from grace.
God, as you might imagine, wasn't pleased with Abraham either. Not because of the separation itself, but because Abraham wasn't striving for peace with his own family. He was also displeased that Abraham was seemingly accepting Lot as his heir. God had promised Abraham his seed would inherit the land. After the split, God reaffirmed his promise, saying Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the sand on the seashore. As the sand covers the earth, so would Abraham’s offspring be scattered. And just as the earth needs water, so would Abraham's line be blessed through the Torah, which is likened to water.
Now, this is where things get really interesting. Lot's choice to live in Sodom had serious repercussions. It set the stage for a war involving Abraham, a conflict often referred to as “The War of the Kings.” Lot moved to Sodom, a city in the well-watered Jordan valley, because its king took him in out of respect for Abraham. But the five kings of that area planned to war against Sodom (because of Lot) and then advance on Abraham. One of these kings was Amraphel, none other than Nimrod, Abraham's old enemy!
The immediate cause? A rebellion. According to Ginzberg, Chedorlaomer, one of Nimrod's generals, rebelled after the Tower of Babel debacle and became king of Elam. He subjugated the cities of the Jordan plain, making them pay tribute. After twelve years of faithfulness, they rebelled. Nimrod, seeing an opportunity, attacked Chedorlaomer but suffered a humiliating defeat. He was then forced to acknowledge Chedorlaomer's rule. Chedorlaomer then formed an alliance with other kings to crush the rebellious cities of the Jordan valley.
These kings, a massive force numbering eight hundred thousand strong, marched on the five cities, obliterating everything in their path, including the descendants of giants! They pushed through the desert to Kadesh, and then turned towards central Palestine. There, they faced the five wicked kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities of the plain – Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, and the king of Bela. According to the text, even their names were descriptive of their wickedness.
The five kings were routed in the Vale of Siddim, which would later become the Dead Sea. The surviving soldiers fled to the mountains, while the kings themselves got stuck in slime pits. Only the king of Sodom was miraculously rescued, so that he could convert the heathens to belief in God after they witnessed the miracle of Abraham's deliverance from the fiery furnace. The victors plundered Sodom, taking Lot captive. In doing so, they revealed their true target: Abraham. "We have taken the son of Abraham's brother captive," they boasted, betraying their desire to strike at Abraham.
It was the first night of Pesach (Passover), Passover, and Abraham was eating matzah, unleavened bread, when the archangel Michael, also known as Palit ("the escaped"), brought him news of Lot's capture. The angel is called “the escaped” because, according to the text, during the fall of Samael (the angel of death) and his host, Michael was nearly dragged down but escaped with God's help.
Immediately, Abraham put aside his past disagreements with Lot and focused on rescuing him. He gathered his disciples, those he had taught the true faith, who all called themselves by the name "Abraham." He gave them gold and silver, reminding them that they were fighting to save lives, not for riches. He warned anyone who feared divine punishment for their sins to stay behind. Fearing their sins, everyone except Eliezer remained behind. God then told Abraham that Eliezer would have the strength of the 318 men he had sought.
The battle, fought on the 15th of Nissan, the night appointed for miracles, was epic. Arrows and stones were useless against Abraham. Instead, the dust, chaff, and stubble he threw at the enemy transformed into deadly weapons. Abraham, described as tall as seventy men and requiring the food and drink of seventy men, took giant strides, each step covering four miles, until he overtook the kings and decimated their armies.
He couldn't go further, though. He reached Dan, the future site of Jeroboam's golden calves, and his strength waned. His victory was only possible because the celestial powers were on his side. The planet Jupiter lit his way, and an angel named Lailah fought for him. It was, in essence, a victory for God.
The nations acknowledged Abraham's superhuman feat, building him a throne on the battlefield. But when they tried to crown him, proclaiming him their king and god, Abraham refused. "The universe has its King, and it has its God!" he declared. He returned all the spoils, keeping only the children, whom he raised in the knowledge of God to atone for their parents' sins.
The king of Sodom, proud of his miraculous rescue from the slime pit, offered Abraham the spoils of war. Abraham refused, vowing to God that he wouldn't take even a thread or a shoelace. He would only accept what his men had eaten and the portion for those who stayed behind to guard the supplies.
Abraham's generosity became a precedent. Later, King David would follow his example, sharing spoils with those who hadn't fought, despite protests. Despite his victory, Abraham worried. He feared he had violated the prohibition against shedding blood and feared the resentment of Shem, whose descendants had perished. But God reassured him, saying he had only "extirpated thorns" and that Shem would bless him, not curse him.
And so it happened. Shem, also known as Melchizedek, king of righteousness, priest of God Most High, and king of Jerusalem, met Abraham with bread and wine. Melchizedek taught Abraham the laws of the priesthood and the Torah, blessing him as God's partner in the world. However, Melchizedek arranged the words of his blessing in an unseemly way. He named Abraham first and then God. As a punishment, he was deposed from the priesthood, and it was passed to Abraham's descendants forever.
As a reward for sanctifying God's name by refusing the spoils, Abraham's descendants received two commandments: the commandment of the tzitzit, the fringes on their garments, and the commandment of the tefillin, the phylacteries worn on the arm and forehead. These serve as a constant reminder that their ancestor refused even a thread or a shoelace. And because he wouldn't touch a shoelace of the spoils, his descendants would one day cast their shoe upon Edom, a symbolic act of conquest.
So, what do we take away from this whirlwind of a story? It's a reminder that even the most righteous figures face complex moral dilemmas, family conflicts, and the ever-present temptation of power and wealth. But it also highlights the importance of staying true to one's principles, even when it's difficult, and the enduring power of faith and generosity. It's a story not just of war and conquest, but of choosing the path of righteousness, even when the world around you is mired in slime pits and moral decay.
On his return from Egypt Abraham's relations to his own family were disturbed by annoying circumstances. Strife developed between the herdmen of his cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle. Abraham furnished his herds with muzzles, but Lot made no such provision, and when the shepherds that pastured Abraham's flocks took Lot's shepherds to task on account of the omission, the latter replied: "It is known of a surety that God said unto Abraham, 'To thy seed will I give the land.' But Abraham is a sterile mule. Never will he have children. On the morrow he will die, and Lot will be his heir. Thus the flocks of Lot are but consuming what belongs to them or their master." But God spoke: "Verily, I said unto Abraham I would give the land unto his seed, but only after the seven nations shall have been destroyed from out of the land. To-day the Canaanites are therein, and the Perizzites. They still have the right of habitation." Now, when the strife extended from the servants to the masters, and Abraham vainly called his nephew Lot to account for his unbecoming behavior, Abraham decided he would have to part from his kinsman, though he should have to compel Lot thereto by force. Lot thereupon separated himself not from Abraham alone, but from the God of Abraham also, and he betook himself to a district in which immorality and sin reigned supreme, wherefore punishment overtook him, for his own flesh seduced him later unto sin. God was displeased with Abraham for not living in peace and harmony with his own kindred, as he lived with all the world beside. On the other hand, God also took it in ill part that Abraham was accepting Lot tacitly as his heir, though He had promised him, in clear, unmistakable words, "To thy seed will I give the land." After Abraham had separated himself from Lot, he received the assurance again that Canaan should once belong to his seed, which God would multiply as the sand which is upon the sea-shore. As the sand fills the whole earth, so the offspring of Abraham would be scattered over the whole earth, from end to end; and as the earth is blessed only when it is moistened with water, so his offspring would be blessed through the Torah, which is likened unto water; and as the earth endures longer than metal, so his offspring would endure forever, while the heathen would vanish; and as the earth is trodden upon, so his offspring would be trodden upon by the four kingdoms. The departure of Lot had a serious consequence, for the war waged by Abraham against the four kings is intimately connected with it. Lot desired to settle in the well-watered circle of the Jordan, but the only city of the plain that would receive him was Sodom, the king of which admitted the nephew of Abraham out of consideration for the latter. The five impious kings planned first to make war upon Sodom on account of Lot and then advance upon Abraham. For one of the five, Amraphel, was none other than Nimrod, Abraham's enemy from of old. The immediate occasion for the war was this: Chedorlaomer, one of Nimrod's generals, rebelled against him after the builders of the tower were dispersed, and he set himself up as king of Elam. Then he subjugated the Hamitic tribes living in the five cities of the plain of the Jordan, and made them tributary. For twelve years they were faithful to their sovereign ruler Chedorlaomer, but then they refused to pay the tribute, and they persisted in their insubordination for thirteen years. Making the most of Chedorlaomer's embarrassment, Nimrod led a host of seven thousand warriors against his former general. In the battle fought between Elam and Shinar, Nimrod suffered a disastrous defeat, he lost six hundred of his army, and among the slain was the king's son Mardon. Humiliated and abased, he returned to his country, and he was forced to acknowledge the suzerainty of Chedorlaomer, who now proceeded to form an alliance with Arioch king of Ellasar, and Tidal, the king of several nations, the purpose of which was to crush the cities of the circle of the Jordan. The united forces of these kings, numbering eight hundred thousand, marched upon the five cities, subduing whatever they encountered in their course, and annihilating the descendants of the giants. Fortified places, unwalled cities, and flat, open country, all fell in their hands. They pushed on through the desert as far as the spring issuing from the rock at Kadesh, the spot appointed by God as the place of pronouncing judgment against Moses and Aaron on account of the waters of strife. Thence they turned toward the central portion of Palestine, the country of dates, where they encountered the five godless kings, Bera, the villain, king of Sodom; Birsha, the sinner, king of Gomorrah; Shinab, the father-hater, king of Admah; Shemeber, the voluptuary, king of Zeboiim; and the king of Bela, the city that devours its inhabitants. The five were routed in the fruitful Vale of Siddim, the canals of which later formed the Dead Sea. They that remained of the rank and file fled to the mountains, but the kings fell into the slime pits and stuck there. Only the king of Sodom was rescued, miraculously, for the purpose that he might convert those heathen to faith in God that had not believed in the wonderful deliverance of Abraham from the fiery furnace. The victors despoiled Sodom of all its goods and victuals, and took Lot, boasting, "We have taken the son of Abraham's brother captive," so betraying the real object of their undertaking; their innermost desire was to strike at Abraham. It was on the first evening of the Passover, and Abraham was eating of the unleavened bread, when the archangel Michael brought him the report of Lot's captivity. This angel bears another name besides, Palit, the escaped, because when God threw Samael and his host from their holy place in heaven, the rebellious leader held on to Michael and tried to drag him along downward, and Michael escaped falling from heaven only through the help of God. When the report of his nephew's evil state reached Abraham, he straightway dismissed all thought of his dissensions with Lot from his mind, and only considered ways and means of deliverance. He convoked his disciples to whom he had taught the true faith, and who all called themselves by the name Abraham. He gave them gold and silver, saying at the same time: "Know that we go to war for the purpose of saving human lives. Therefore, do ye not direct your eyes upon money, here lie gold and silver before you." Furthermore he admonished them in these words: "We are preparing to go to war. Let none join us who hath committed a trespass, and fears that Divine punishment will descend upon him." Alarmed by his warning, not one would obey his call to arms, they were fearful on account of their sins. Eliezer alone remained with him, wherefore God spake, and said: "All forsook thee save only Eliezer. Verily, I shall invest him with the strength of the three hundred and eighteen men whose aid thou didst seek in vain." The battle fought with the mighty hosts of the kings, from which Abraham emerged victorious, happened on the fifteenth of Nisan, the night appointed for miraculous deeds. The arrows and stones hurled at him effected naught, but the dust of the ground, the chaff, and the stubble which he threw at the enemy were transformed into death-dealing javelins and swords. Abraham, as tall as seventy men set on end, and requiring as much food and drink as seventy men, marched forward with giant strides, each of his steps measuring four miles, until he overtook the kings, and annihilated their troops. Further he could not go, for he had reached Dan, where Jeroboam would once raise the golden calves, and on this ominous spot Abraham's strength diminished. His victory was possible only because the celestial powers espoused his side. The planet Jupiter made the night bright for him, and an angel, Lailah by name, fought for him. In a true sense, it was a victory of God. All the nations acknowledged his more than human achievement, and they fashioned a throne for Abraham, and erected it on the field of battle. When they attempted to seat him upon it, amid exclamations of "Thou art our king! Thou art our prince! Thou art our god!" Abraham warded them off, and said, "The universe has its King, and it has its God!" He declined all honors, and returned his property unto each man. Only the little children he kept by himself. He reared them in the knowledge of God, and later they atoned for the disgrace of their parents. Somewhat arrogantly the king of Sodom set out to meet Abraham. He was proud that a great miracle, his rescue from the slime pit, had been performed for him, too. He made Abraham the proposition that he keep the despoiled goods for himself. But Abraham refused them, and said: "I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, God Most High, who hath created the world for the sake of the pious, that I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is thine. I have no right upon any goods taken as spoils, save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who tarried by the stuff, though they went not down to the battle itself." The example of Abraham in giving a share in the spoils even unto the men not concerned directly in the battle, was followed later by David, who heeded not the protest of the wicked men and the base fellows with him, that the watchers who staid by the stuff were not entitled to share alike with the warriors that had gone down to the battle. In spite of his great success, Abraham nevertheless was concerned about the issue of the war. He feared that the prohibition against shedding the blood of man had been transgressed, and he also dreaded the resentment of Shem, whose descendants had perished in the encounter. But God reassured him, and said: "Be not afraid! Thou hast but extirpated the thorns, and as to Shem, he will bless thee rather than curse thee." So it was. When Abraham returned from the war, Shem, or, as he is sometimes called, Melchizedek, the king of righteousness, priest of God Most High, and king of Jerusalem, came forth to meet him with bread and wine. And this high priest instructed Abraham in the laws of the priesthood and in the Torah, and to prove his friendship for him he blessed him, and called him the partner of God in the possession of the world, seeing that through him the Name of God had first been made known among men. But Melchizedek arranged the words of his blessing in an unseemly way. He named Abraham first and then God. As a punishment, he was deposed by God from the priestly dignity, and instead it was passed over to Abraham, with whose descendants it remained forever. As a reward for the sanctification of the Holy Name, which Abraham had brought about when he refused to keep aught of the goods taken in battle, his descendants received two commands, the command of the threads in the borders of their garments, and the command of the latchets to be bound upon their hands and to be used as frontlets between their eyes. Thus they commemorate that their ancestor refused to take so much as a thread or a latchet. And because he would not touch a shoe-latchet of the spoils, his descendants cast their shoe upon Edom.
