John Calvin Commentary Genesis 14:21

"And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself." — Genesis 14:21 (ASV)

And the king of Sodom said. Moses, having incidentally interrupted the course of his narrative concerning the king of Sodom with the mention of the king of Salem, now returns to it. He says that the king of Sodom came to meet Abram, not only to congratulate him, but also to give him a fitting reward.

He therefore gives him the whole spoil, except the men, as if he were saying, ‘It is a great thing that I have recovered the men; let all the rest be given to you as a reward for this benefit.’ Thus, to have shown himself grateful to man would truly have been worthy of commendation; had he not been ungrateful to God, from whose severity and clemency he remained equally unimproved.

It was even possible that this man, when poor and deprived of all his goods, might, with a servile affectation of modesty, try to gain Abram’s favor by asking to have nothing but the captives and the empty city for himself. Certainly, we will later see that the men of Sodom were unmindful of the benefit received when they proudly and contemptuously vexed righteous Lot.