창세기 14:23의 주석

אם מחוט ועד שרוך נעל NOT ANYTHING FROM A THREAD EVEN TO A SANDAL TIE shall I retain for myself from the spoil.

אם מחוט ועד שרוך נעל, every time the word אם occurs in Scripture and is not followed by a verb making it a conditional statement, it is used instead of the word שלא, “so that not.” Avram’s statement here means: “I have sworn an oath not to give you even a shoelace or a length of thread as I do not own any of these things. Conversely, I will also not take (accept) anything that is (was) yours.” G’d said something similar to the Jewish people after the debacle of the spies in Numbers 14,23) when He said אם יראו את הארץ, which is a way of saying that they will most certainly not get to see the land (of Israel). In verse 30 in the same chapter the words אם אתם תבאו also mean “you will certainly not come.” Similarly, Samuel I 15,6 חי ה' אם יומת, means “an oath to G’d that he will not be executed, etc.” Also, in Kings II 5,16 חי ה' אשר עמדתי לפניו אם אקח וגו', means: “As the Lord lives whom I serve, I will not accept anything.” There are many similar examples.

ולא תאמר אני העשרתי את אברם, "so that you will not be able to claim credit for enriching me." Why would it have occurred to anyone to give credit to the king of Sodom for enriching Abraham? Was it not obvious that the Lord Himself had protected Abraham all the way?

אם מחוט, “if as little as some string;” he referred to the least valuable decorative string (used as jewelry) worn by girls in their hair.

And if you offer to compensate me... Rashi knew this because it says, “And I will not take, implying that “Neither a thread nor a shoelace” is a separate point which means: I will not retain the spoils. [Then comes a new point:] “And I will not take” from your treasure house. Alternatively, Rashi is answering the question: [The spoils] were already in Avraham’s hands. Why did he say, “I will not take”? Perforce it means, “I will not take compensation from your treasure house.”

אם מחוט, “if as much as a thread;” the “thread” mentioned here is a thread used as jewelry on one’s head, as stated by our sages in Shabbat 65, the “threads worn by the young girls on their heads were made of silk, and are used to tie their hair with them.”

ואם אקח מכל אשר לך NOR ANYTHING THAT IS THINE WILL I TAKE — And if you say that you will reward me from your own treasures I will still not accept anything

ועד שרוך נעל, ”or even as insignificant an item as a shoelace;” in those days these were also decorative, used as a form of jewelry worn around the ankles. The meaning of the apparent repetition אם אקח is: “may G’d punish me if I do this.” Nachmanides views the entire sentence in the following light. Avraham considered the entire loot, now that he had tithed it, as if a gift given to G’d, something now out of bounds to him as anything which acquired terumah status is out of bounds to a commoner.

Abraham wanted it clearly understood that the whole loot was legally his, the king had in no way given up one iota of something that was legally his, even if Abraham had consented to share the loot. Abraham chose his words carefully when he said: "you shall not say 'I have made Abraham rich.'" If there had been even a semblance of truth to what the king of Sodom had suggested, Abraham would have had to say: "I do not want to become enriched by you." The very most the king would have been able to do was to claim that he had given up something of his own; such a claim would not have been legal anyways.

שרוך נעל, similar threads or laces to act as decoration when closing one’s shoes. Avram meant, I will not accept expensive or even inexpensive items.

'ולא תאמר וגו SO THAT THOU SHOULDST NOT SAY etc. — For the Holy One, blessed be He, has promised to give me riches, as it is said, (Genesis 12:2) “And I will bless thee” (see Rashi on this passage, where the blessing is explained to consist in ממון “wealth”).

ואם אקח מכל אשר לך, “neither will I keep anything which (once) belonged to you.” Avram, in order not to offend,explained to the King of Sodom that when he left his father’s home G-d had assured him that He would make him wealthy. It is therefore no more than good manners for me to decline anything which would appear as if G-d’s promise had not been sufficient for me. When he would become wealthy, he wished to give the credit for this to G-d.