And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night - [Hebrew, wayeechaaleeq (H2505), Niphal, was divided: construc. praeg., he divided himself; i:e., his forces, and made an attack upon them under covert of the darkness]. Josephus says that, 'having marched hastily, Abram on the fifth night came upon the camp of the enemy before they could arm themselves: he killed some as they were in their beds, before they could suspect any harm; and others, who were so drunk that they could not fight, yet were able to run away' ('Antiquities,' b. 1: 10, sec. 1).
He divided himself ... by night. This war between the petty princes of ancient Canaan is exactly the same as the frays and skirmishes between Arab chiefs in the present day. When a defeated party resolve to pursue the enemy, they wait until these are fast asleep; then, since they have no idea of posting sentinels, they rush upon them from different directions, strike down the tent poles-if there is any fight at all, it is the fray of a tumultuous mob-a panic commonly ensues, and the whole contest is ended with little or no loss on either side.
And pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus - i:e., on the north. Damascus was a very ancient city. From the beauty and natural advantages of its situation, it would, as Porter says, be among the first selected for settled habitation in eastern Syria, and it had evidently risen into importance and celebrity when it was mentioned as a mark to determine the position of another place. At Damascus, as has been already stated, commenced the great roads which formed the media of communication between Syria and the north; and hence, the fugitives from Abram directed their flight there. There are preserved in it many local traditions concerning Abram; and 'in a small village called Burzeh, one hour north of the city, there is a sacred wely, called by the name of the patriarch, and held in high veneration by the Muslims, since it is believed that here the patriarch worshipped when he turned back from the pursuit of the kings who had plundered Sodom and carried away Lot' (Porter's 'Damascus,' vol. 1:, p. 82).