Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 14:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The king of Sodom asks Abram to return the recovered people and offers him the goods. The proposal brings the conflict over victory into a negotiation about persons and property, which Abram answers in the next verses.
Read It With
- Genesis 14:17–24
Read verses 21–24 together. Verse 21 states the proposal; verses 22–23 explain Abram's oath-shaped refusal of personal profit; and verse 24 protects consumed food and the allies' shares.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Only after Melchizedek's blessing, praise, and the tenth does the king of Sodom state his proposal. That sequence keeps the negotiation over people and goods under the theological interpretation just given.
Read Genesis 14:21–24 together
Why these verses belong together: Sodom's proposal, Abram's oath and refusal, the stated concern about enrichment, and the exceptions for food and allies form one diplomatic response.
Verse 21. 21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Verse 22. 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
Verse 23. 23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Verse 24. 24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
The king's request does not establish that he morally owned the recovered people or had an unquestionable right to every recovered good.
Abram's recovery does not make the people his property to trade.
What Remains True
People have greater moral dignity than property, and an ancient claim over captives must be reported without being converted into approval of owning human beings.
How It Can Shape Life
- In negotiations after harm, distinguish people from assets, protect survivors' agency and safety, and refuse arrangements that use vulnerable people as bargaining property.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 14:17–24 — Abram Meets Two KingsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
The king's legal claims under the scene's ancient customs and the precise ownership history of every item are not narrated in enough detail to reconstruct with certainty.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, narrative sequence, blessing, tithe, offer, oath, refusal, ally provision, and canonical reception.
Exact location: Genesis 14:17–24 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 12:1–3; 13:2; 14:1–16; 15:1; Psalm 76:2; Psalm 110:4; and Hebrews 5–7
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Meeting clauses, Melchizedek's titles, blessing formulas, qoneh, delivered, tenth pronouns, persons and goods, oath gesture, elliptical refusal, smallest-item idiom, and ally portions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 14:17–24
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: King's Valley, Salem, priestly identification, qoneh alternatives, divine praise, delivered wordplay, tenth antecedents, instantaneous or prior oath discussion, elliptical oath, and verse 24 exception.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 14:17–24 and translator notes 53–71
Open NET Genesis 14 ↗