What happensPermalink
Lot is kidnapped during the war of nine kings, and Abram mounts an armed rescue. They encounter Melchizedek, the priest-king of Jerusalem, who blesses him, and Abram gives him a tithe.
Why it mattersPermalink
As the patriarch, Abram goes to war to rescue his kinsman; his single family does what four kings could not. The author of Hebrews later uses Abram’s encounter with Melchizedek to prove Jesus’s superiority to the Aaronic priests.
Key versePermalink
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)