Genesis 14:20
in Genesis 14and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and blessed be God Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him a tenth of all.
KJV
And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
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This verse in Genesis 14
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd 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.
This site's exposition
Blessed be Abram by God Most High
on Genesis 14:19-20
The blessing runs both ways, over Abram first and then back to God Most High, the Creator of heaven and earth. Abram answers with a tithe, a tenth of everything, and it is the first tithe in Scripture, given centuries before any law asked for one. Hebrews 7:7 presses the order, that the lesser is blessed by the greater. Jacob vows the same tenth at Bethel.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
(3.) We ought to give thanks for others' mercies as for our own, triumphing with those that triumph. (4.) Jesus Christ, our great high priest, is the Mediator both of our prayers and praises, and not only offers up ours, but his own for us. What was done to him: Abram gave him tithes of all, that is, of the spoils, Heb. vii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
on Genesis 14:18-20
What a splendid type is Abram, in the narrative before us, of our Lord Jesus Christ! Let us read this story of Abram in connection with our Savior and see how full of meaning it is. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the abundance of His love, had taken us to be His brothers. But we, through our sin, had gone into the land of Sodom and Jesus Christ dwelt alone in His safety and His happiness, enjoying the Presence of God. The hosts of our enemies, with terrible force and cruel fury, carried us away captives.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָרוּךְ֙ | uvarukh | and [be] blessed | H1288 → | 330 times |
| אֵ֣ל | ʾel | God | H410 → | 241 times |
| עֶלְי֔וֹן | elyon | Most High | H5945 → | 53 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מִגֵּ֥ן | migen | he has delivered | H4042 → | |
| צָרֶ֖יךָ | tzareikha | opponents your | H6862 → | |
| בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ | beyadekha | in hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וַיִּתֶּן־ | vaiyiten- | and he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| מַעֲשֵׂ֖ר | maaser | a tenth | H4643 → | |
| מִכֹּֽל׃ | mikol | from everything | H3605 → | 5413 times |
וּבָרוּךְ֙and [be] blessed
uvarukhH1288 →330 times
אֵ֣לGod
ʾelH410 →241 times
עֶלְי֔וֹןMost High
elyonH5945 →53 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
מִגֵּ֥ןhe has delivered
migenH4042 →
צָרֶ֖יךָopponents your
tzareikhaH6862 →
בְּיָדֶ֑ךָin hand your
beyadekhaH3027 →1618 times
וַיִּתֶּן־and he gave
vaiyiten-H5414 →2011 times
ל֥וֹto <the> him
lo
מַעֲשֵׂ֖רa tenth
maaserH4643 →
מִכֹּֽל׃from everything
mikolH3605 →5413 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Malachi 3:10Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 9:6–8
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Proverbs 3:9–10
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest;
- Psalms 37:3
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Deuteronomy 28:12
The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow…
- 2 Corinthians 9:6–8
Through
Genesis 28:22And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
it leads to
- Genesis 35:7
There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother.
- Deuteronomy 14:22–23
You must be sure to set aside a tenth of all the produce brought forth each year from your fields.
- Leviticus 27:30–33
Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
- Genesis 35:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 589: “Jesus Meeting His Warriors” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.