And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were allies with Abram.
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George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
The Hebrew, or traveller who came from beyond the Euphrates, (Calmet) or who dwelt beyond the Jordan, with reference to the five kings. (Diodorus)
How was it that the patriarch had no knowledge that such forces of war were on the rampage? Perhaps he chanced to be at a great distance from the conflict and for that reason knew nothing of it. “Now, someone came and told Abraham the traveler,” the text says, to remind us that he got the news on his return from Chaldea. You see, because he had his camp across the Euphrates, consequently he was described also as traveler. Right from the outset his parents gave him this name, suggesting to him ahead of time his movement from there. In other words, he was also called Abram because he would one day cross the Euphrates and enter Palestine. Notice how his parents, all unaware, and unbelievers to boot, gave the child the name under the influence of God’s inventive wisdom, as was also the case when Lamech gave Noah his name. This, after all, is a characteristic of God’s loving kindness, oftentimes to foretell—even through unbelievers—of events due to happen a long time later. So, the text say...
