GEN812 If Genesis 14 does not preserve a record of a battle of Abram or provide a guide to how wars were really fought at some point in history of ancient Israel, this text does record how its author pictures a battle of Abram, and that image is filled with informative significance for understanding the history of ideas of war in Israelite culture. The patriarch is portrayed as socially equivalent to the warrior kings around him, but a leader who undertakes war only for defensive purposes to right an injustice, and who does not seek to profit from the battle.  The author who creates such an image of Abram would presumably believe10 in the use of military power for moral purposes. This already says a great deal. NIDITCH 12