Genesis 14:24

Summary

Abram declines any portion of the spoils for himself, stating that his exclusion applies only to what his young men have already eaten. He then affirms that Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre — the men who accompanied him — are entitled to their own share of the plunder.

Key words

• bil'aDay ("apart from" + "me", H1107 + H9030) — a construct form with pronominal suffix meaning "except for me/apart from me," setting up Abram's personal exclusion from the following clause.
• 'a.khe.Lu ("they have eaten", H0398) — qal perfect, marking a completed action: the young men's eating is treated as already finished, distinct from the ongoing negotiation over spoils.
• Che.lek ("share of", H2506A) — masculine singular construct noun, linking directly to ha'anaShim ("the men") to form "the share of the men," introducing the second group whose portion is discussed.
• hal.Khu ("they went", H1980G) — qal perfect describing the men's accompaniment as a completed past action, distinguishing them by their prior participation.
• yik.Chu ("let them take", H3947G) — qal imperfect, expressing an action not yet completed or a permitted/future action, appropriate for granting the named men their portion going forward.

What the text says

The verse divides into two grammatical units joined by rak ("only", H7535) and ve ("and", H9002). The first unit, governed by bil'aDay ("apart from me", H1107+H9030), restricts the exclusion Abram claims: it applies only (rak) to what "the young men" (hanne'aRim, H9009+H5288) have already eaten — marked by the qal perfect 'akheLu ("they have eaten", H0398), a completed and closed matter. The second unit shifts to veChelek ha'anaShim ("and the share of the men," H2506A+H9009+H0582), introducing a separate category — the men who "went with me" ('itTi, H0854+H9030), also in the qal perfect halKhu (H1980G), again marking their accompaniment as an accomplished fact.

The three names — 'aNer (H6063G), 'eshKol (H0812G), and mamRe' (H4471G) — are appositional to "the men," identifying them explicitly. The clause closes with the independent pronoun hem ("they", H1992) placed before the verb yikChu ("let them take", H3947G), a qal imperfect that grammatically opens the action toward the future or permission, contrasting with the closed, perfect-tense eating of the young men. The final word chelKam ("their share", H2506A+H9028) repeats the construct noun Chelek from earlier, now with a third-person plural suffix, tying the men's entitlement back to the same noun used for the general "share" mentioned before.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew lists the three names in the order 'aNer, 'eshKol, mamRe' (Aner, Eshcol, Mamre). The LXX (Swete) renders them as Ἐσχώλ, Αὐνάν, Μαμβρῆ (Eschol, Aunan, Mambre), reordering the first two names relative to the Hebrew sequence. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew order: Aner, Escol, Mambre.