Bereshis 14:22

22 And Avram said to the Melech Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand unto Hashem, El Elyon Creator of Shomayim v’Aretz,

Bereshis 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.

Bereshis 14:22 In-Context

20 And baruch El Elyon, Who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him ma’aser (tithe) of all.
21 And the Melech Sodom said unto Avram, Give me the nefesh and keep the possessions for thyself.
22 And Avram said to the Melech Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand unto Hashem, El Elyon Creator of Shomayim v’Aretz,
23 That I will not take from a thread even to the thong of a sandal, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Avram rich;
24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the chelek of the anashim which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their chelek.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.