Avraham and the King of Sodom: No Partnership Here

We read in Parashat Lekh-Lekha of Avraham’s successful attack against the armies of the four eastern powers that had plundered the region of Sedom, taking the residents – including his nephew, Lot – captive.  Avraham defeated the forces of the four kings, rescuing the captives from Sedom and the surrounding cities, along with their property.  After the battle, we are told, the king of Sedom met Avraham for a victory celebration, in which he began “negotiations,” expecting Avraham to demand at least a large share of the people and property that he had liberated.  The king offered Avraham the retrieved property and asked that he be allowed to keep the people as his subjects.  Avraham, however, declared on oath that he would not take anything from the property of Sedom, “so that you don’t say, ‘I made Avraham wealthy’” (14:23).

            We might wonder why Avraham was concerned about such a claim being made by the king of Sedom.  Why did it matter to him if the king took credit for his wealth?

            Rashi, citing from the Midrash Tanchuma, explains, “For the Almighty promised me that He would make me wealthy.” Meaning, if the king of Sedom took credit for Avraham’s fortune, people would deny that it was God who provided Avraham with his wealth.  Chizkuni similarly writes, “When I left my homeland, the Almighty promised to make me wealthy.  It is preferable for me not to take anything of yours, so that when I become wealthy I will attribute the wealth to He who grants wealth and stature.”

            One might, however, question why Avraham’s acceptance of spoils from Sedom would undermine the recognition of God as the source of his wealth.  After all, Avraham was exceedingly wealthy well before he embarked on this military campaign.  And besides, Avraham had defeated the armies of four large nations with a group of 318 men.  This was clearly a miraculous victory, and it would thus be evident that the property Avraham received as a result of this battle was given to him through the Almighty’s supernatural intervention.

            We might therefore suggest that Avraham declined the king’s offer for a different reason – to avoid appearing as his partner or ally.  Lot’s capture at the hands of the four eastern powers placed Avraham in a difficult predicament.  He felt obligated to do what he could to rescue his captured nephew, but this required him to fight on the side of Sedom and the surrounding kingdoms, which were renowned for their corruption and immorality.  In order to save Lot, Avraham had to save the city that represented the antithesis of everything he taught and stood for.  We can easily imagine Avraham’s cynical detractors ridiculing his involvement in this war, saying, “So, Avraham is really on Sedom’s side.  So much for his preaching about loving kindness!”  Avraham had to put his reputation and hopes of disseminating ethical monotheism on the line for the sake of Lot.  Indeed, Rav Yehuda Amital zt”l once suggested that Malkitzedek, the king of Jerusalem at the time, came to celebrate with Avraham in order to express support and approval.  Avraham’s decision to join the war was a controversial one, and Malkitzedek, the “priest to the Supreme God” (14:18), came to congratulate Avraham and give his official endorsement to his unpopular move.

            For this reason, perhaps, Avraham needed to avoid giving the appearance that he received wealth from the king of Sedom. The problem lay not in the wealth itself, but rather in the implication that he and Sedom collaborated in the war effort as allies. Avraham had to keep a formal distance from the king of Sedom even as he fought on his side.  Therefore, even though he endured the rigors and trauma of warfare together with the king, he refused to share in the benefits ultimately reaped by this campaign, in order to make it clear that he had not entered into any kind of formal partnership with the wicked kingdom of Sedom.