Genesis 14:22

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I make a promise to the Lord, the God Most High, who made heaven and earth.

Genesis 14:22 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 14:22

And Abram said to the king of Sodom
In reply to his request:

I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord;
which was both a gesture of praying and of swearing, and both may be intended here; when he set out on his expedition, it is very probable he prayed to God for success, and swore that if he prospered him, that he would receive no profit or advantage from it to himself; or now in the presence of Melchizedek he lift up his hands and swore that he would take none of the goods he had recovered to his own line; and in this form of praying or swearing, he makes use of the same epithets of God Melchizedek had just used:

the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth:
having his heart struck with those just and glorious representations of God, and awed with a sense of such a glorious Being, and being forward to learn and retain everything that tended to make for the glory of God.

Genesis 14:22 In-Context

20 And we praise God Most High, who has helped you to defeat your enemies." Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had brought back from the battle.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "You may keep all these things for yourself. Just give me my people who were captured."
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I make a promise to the Lord, the God Most High, who made heaven and earth.
23 I promise that I will not keep anything that is yours. I will not keep even a thread or a sandal strap so that you cannot say, 'I made Abram rich.'
24 I will keep nothing but the food my young men have eaten. But give Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre their share of what we won, because they went with me into battle."
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.