Genesis 14:21
in Genesis 14The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but take the goods for yourself.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
KJV
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
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This verse in Genesis 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseGive me the souls, and take thou the substance - So the Hebrew reads it. Here he fairly begs the persons, but as freely bestows the goods on Abram. Gratitude teaches us to recompense to the utmost of our power those that have undergone fatigues, or been at expence for our service.
This site's exposition
Give me the people
on Genesis 14:21-22
The king of Sodom offers a trade, the people back and the goods kept. Abram answers with an oath sworn by lifting his hand, the oldest form of oath in the book, and he swears by the title he had just heard from Melchizedek, God Most High. To it he joins the covenant name, the LORD.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
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 …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Rich countries are a desirable prey, and idle luxurious countries are an easy prey, to growing greatness. The Sodomites were the posterity of Canaan whom Noah had pronounced a servant to Shem, from whom Elam descended; thus soon did that prophecy begin to e fulfilled.
): 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. Where a right is dubious and divided, it is wisdom to compound the matter by mutual concessions rather than to contend.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
In all our prayers we must praise God, and join hallelujahs with all our hosannas. These are the spiritual sacrifices we must offer up daily, and upon particular occasions. God as the most high God must have the glory of all our victories.
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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" [Ge 14:22, 23].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| סְדֹ֖ם | sedom | Sodom | H5467 → | 39 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַבְרָ֑ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| תֶּן־ | ten- | give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִ֣י | li | to <the> me | ||
| הַנֶּ֔פֶשׁ | hanefesh | the person[s] | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְהָרְכֻ֖שׁ | veharekhush | and the possession[s] | H7399 → | 28 times |
| קַֽח־ | kach- | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לָֽךְ׃ | lakh | for <the> yourself |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
סְדֹ֖םSodom
sedomH5467 →39 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַבְרָ֑םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
תֶּן־give
ten-H5414 →2011 times
לִ֣יto <the> me
li
הַנֶּ֔פֶשׁthe person[s]
hanefeshH5315 →754 times
וְהָרְכֻ֖שׁand the possession[s]
veharekhushH7399 →28 times
קַֽח־take
kach-H3947 →966 times
לָֽךְ׃for <the> yourself
lakh
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
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; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.