Who were Abram’s allies in the battle? a) Mamre, Eshkol, and Aner c) Melchizedek, Arioch, and Tidal d) The king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is a) Mamre, Eshkol, and Aner.
In the biblical story of Abram (later known as Abraham), Abram had three allies during the battle against the kings who captured his nephew Lot. These allies were Mamre, Eshkol, and Aner. The battle takes place in Genesis 14, where Abram learns that Lot has been taken captive during a conflict between several kings of the region. In response, Abram musters an army of 318 trained men from his household and joins forces with these three allies to rescue Lot.
Mamre, Eshkol, and Aner were Amorite allies who had made an agreement with Abram and provided him with military support. Abram, with the help of his allies, successfully pursued the captors, defeated them, and rescued Lot. This alliance shows the strategic importance of mutual support and loyalty in the ancient world, especially when dealing with larger, more powerful coalitions.
The other options, b) Melchizedek, Arioch, and Tidal and c) The king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, are not Abram’s allies in this battle. Melchizedek, the king of Salem, does bless Abram after the victory but was not part of his military alliance. Similarly, while the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were involved in the earlier conflict, they did not assist Abram in this military campaign. In fact, after Abram’s victory, the king of Sodom offered him goods, but Abram declined the offer, stating that he did not want anyone to claim that they had made him rich.
Thus, the correct allies of Abram in this specific battle were Mamre, Eshkol, and Aner.