Lives of Scripture

Eshcol was an Amorite chieftain who lived near Hebron, one of three brothers -- along with Mamre and Aner -- who were allies of Abram (Genesis 14:13). When Chedorlaomer and three confederate kings swept through the region, plundering Sodom and Gomorrah and carrying off captives, including Abram's nephew Lot, Abram mobilized 318 of his own trained men and pursued the raiders north as far as Dan and beyond Damascus, routing them by night and recovering the captives and the goods (14:14-16). Eshcol and his brothers are named as Abram's confederates in this account, allied with him in the region. Afterward, when Melchizedek king of Salem blessed Abram and Abram gave him a tenth of everything, the king of Sodom offered Abram the recovered goods for himself. Abram refused to take so much as a thread or a sandal strap, unwilling to let anyone say the king of Sodom had made him rich -- but he made one exception: "the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their share" (14:24). Eshcol's brief appearance shows a man of quiet integrity, content to receive only what was justly his, standing loyally with Abram in a dangerous rescue without seeking personal gain beyond it.