Genesis 14:19
in Genesis 14and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth:
KJV
And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
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This verse in Genesis 14
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd he blessed him - This was a part of the priest’s office, to bless in the name of the Lord, for ever. See the form of this blessing, Num 6:23-26; and for the meaning of the word to bless, see Gen 2:3 (note).
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. Abram answers with a tithe, 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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
He not only blessed him but also praised God. In the words "blessed be Abraham by God the most high, who created heaven and earth," he also highlighted to us God's power as distinguished from his creatures. If he in fact is God, Creator of heaven and earth, those worshiped by human beings would not be gods; Scripture says, remember, "Let those gods perish who did not make heaven and earth." The text reads, "Blessed be God, who delivered your enemies into your hands." Notice, I ask you, how he not only celebrates the just man but also acknowledges God's assistance. After all, without grace from above he could not have prevailed over the might of those besetting him. "Who delivered your enemies," the text says, namely, he it is who caused everything, he it is who rendered the strong powerless, he it is who brought down the armed hordes through those unarmed. From that source is the grace coming forth that provides you with such power.
The Medieval Church1 voice
But Melchizedek, king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine (for he was priest of the most high God), blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram by the most high God, creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be the most high God, by whose …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Observe the titles he here gives to God, which are very glorious. (1.) The most high God, which bespeaks his absolute perfections in himself and his sovereign dominion over all the creatures; he is King of kings. Note, It will greatly help both our faith and our reverence in prayer to eye God as the most high God, and to call him so.
And he blessed him,....
Note, the vows we have made when we are in pursuit of a mercy must be carefully and conscientiously kept when we have obtained the mercy, though they were made against our interest.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
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. We were violently borne away, with all the goods which we possessed, into a land of forgetful-ness and captivity forever. Christ, who had lost nothing by this, nevertheless being a "brother born for adversity," pursued our haughty foes. He overtook them. He struck them with His mighty hand—He took their spoil and returned with crimsoned vesture, leading captivity captive. He restored that which He took not away. I think, as I see Abram returning from the slaughter of the four kings, I see in him a picture of a greater than Abram, returning "from Edom, with dyed garments from Boz-rah, traveling in the greatness of His strength" who answers to my inquiry of who is he? "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." Abram was that righteous man raised in the East, to whom God gave his enemies as driven stubble to his bow. And so the Lord Jesus has driven our enemies like chaff over to the wind, for they fled at the Presence of Jehovah Jesus, and by the valor of the atoning Lamb they have been utterly broken in pieces forever. Let that thought dwell with you—it may furnish you with matter for meditation at your leisure. We shall this morning rather consider Abram as the type and picture of all the faithful. He was the father of the faithful. And in his history you have condensed—as I think— history of all faithful men.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֖הוּ | vayvarekhehu | and he blessed him | H1288 → | 330 times |
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בָּר֤וּךְ | barukh | [be] blessed | H1288 → | 330 times |
| אַבְרָם֙ | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| לְאֵ֣ל | leel | by God | H410 → | 241 times |
| עֶלְי֔וֹן | elyon | Most High | H5945 → | 53 times |
| קֹנֵ֖ה | koneh | [the] creator of | H7069 → | 84 times |
| שָׁמַ֥יִם | shamayim | heaven | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וָאָֽרֶץ׃ | vaaretz | and earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֖הוּand he blessed him
vayvarekhehuH1288 →330 times
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
בָּר֤וּךְ[be] blessed
barukhH1288 →330 times
אַבְרָם֙Abram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
לְאֵ֣לby God
leelH410 →241 times
עֶלְי֔וֹןMost High
elyonH5945 →53 times
קֹנֵ֖ה[the] creator of
konehH7069 →84 times
שָׁמַ֥יִםheaven
shamayimH8064 →421 times
וָאָֽרֶץ׃and earth
vaaretzH776 →2504 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
Psalms 24:1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
it leads to
- Psalms 89:11
The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.
- 1 Corinthians 10:26
for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom,…
- Job 41:11
Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 10:14
Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.
- Psalms 89:11
Through
Ruth 3:10Then Boaz said, “May the LORD bless you, my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before, because you have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.
it leads to
- Ruth 2:20
Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He…
- 1 Corinthians 13:4–5
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
- Ruth 2:4
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied.
- Ruth 2:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies14
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 589: “Jesus Meeting His Warriors” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 35.17; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.