‘And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them to Hobah which is to the left of Damascus.'
The writer is clearly greatly impressed with Abram. He ignores the assistance of his confederates (but see Genesis 14:24) and concentrates on Abram's part in the affair, partly because he is somewhat in awe of him as a ‘Habiru', and partly because he is central to the following covenant..
The word for trained men is hanakim, a rare word found also in the Egyptian execration texts (cursing rituals) calling down curses on the Hittite chieftains "and their hanakim". Later the word became obsolete but it is correctly used in this setting.
Similarly, the idea of Abraham having 318 trained servants makes good sense. Details of an inspection of private armies are recorded on a tablet dating to the third dynasty at Ur (Abraham's time). They range between 100 and 600 troops, one being made up of 301 men. Abraham's 318 trained troops fits the background. With his Ur background and the constant possible dangers to a small but wealthy family tribe such a force would be seen by him as necessary, and he has clearly trained them well.
Objections to Abram's being able to act in this way treat him as simply another shepherd but that is to ignore his unusual background. Some men are born to be leaders and fighters when needed and Abram was one of them. Together with his confederates he may well have had a thousand men under him, some of whom have been highly trained. And, as we shall see later, he possibly had more.
Abram is as aware as the critics that, in spite of his strength, he has little chance against the kings in a straight fight. They would have two or three times the number. But he knows that they are weary after a hard expedition, laden with booty, and not expecting pursuit and that he can catch them unawares, and he makes his plans accordingly. Indeed the forces of the kings may not have been keeping close together in formation. There is nothing like an easy victory to make an enemy complacent. And he may well have caught stragglers and forced them to divulge where Lot could be found, so that he knew exactly where to attack.
He reconnoitres the section of the unsuspecting army he intends to attack, and divides his trained men into effective groups, supported by the men of his confederates and possibly others. He then waits for nightfall.
The enemy are taken totally by surprise. They wake in the darkness to find themselves under attack by a grim and determined force of shadowy figures, trained men, coming in at them from different angles. They do not know the size of the force, but the enemy seem everywhere. The make up of the force is uncertain. These are not the soft dwellers of the cities, and night time and imagination does the rest. They panic.
They had been so confident of their security from attack, and so satisfied with themselves as they rested their weary bodies, that the attack, which was not only unexpected but from a completely unknown source, throws them into disarray. All kinds of possibilities grip their minds. They are soon in full flight and the panic spreads to their fellow soldiers.
It is certainly not the only time in history that such a thing has happened. And once the flight has begun their discipline is in tatters. Followed through the night by the grim, relentless demons who pursue them they flee for safety, an easy prey to the terrible slaughter by their pursuers of those who were tardy, not slowing down until they reach Damascus and the pursuit drops off. They still are not sure who has been pursuing them, and their later tales would no doubt make good reading. And so occurs Abram's victory, a scenario so daring that it takes away the breath, but is by no means impossible.
The mention of Dan may refer to a different one from the well known Dan in the Old Testament. Alternatively it may be a scribal updating of Laish, (whose name was later changed to Dan), so as to identify the site to readers.