Genesis 14:1-16

War of the Kings

1 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of ¹Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ²Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,

2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ³Admah, and Shemeber king of ⁴Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ⁵Zoar ).

3 All these came as allies to ⁶the valley of Siddim (that is, ⁷the Salt Sea ).

4 Twelve * years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth * year they rebelled.

5 In the fourteenth * year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the ⁸Rephaim in ⁹Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in ¹⁰Shaveh-kiriathaim,

6 and the ¹¹Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as ¹²El-paran, which is by the wilderness.

7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ¹³Kadesh ), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in ¹⁴Hazazon-tamar.

8 And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar ) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in ¹⁵the valley of Siddim,

9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar -four kings against five.

10 Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and ¹⁶the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the ¹⁷hill country.

11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed.

12 They also took Lot, ¹⁸Abram's nephew *, and his possessions and departed, ¹⁹for he was living in Sodom.

13 Then a fugitive came and told Abram the ²⁰Hebrew. Now he was living by the ²¹oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were ²²allies * with Abram.

14 When Abram heard that ²³his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, ²⁴born in his house, three hundred and eighteen *, and went in pursuit as far as ²⁵Dan.

15 ²⁶He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of ²⁷Damascus.

16 He ²⁸brought back all the goods, and also brought back ²⁹his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

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Genesis 14:1-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 14

This chapter gives an account of a war that was waged, and a battle fought between four kings on one side, and five on the other, and of the occasion and issue of it, who were the first kings, and this the first battle the Scriptures speak of, Ge 14:1-11; Lot and his goods being taken and carried off, with those of Sodom, by the conquerors, Abram hearing of it armed his men, and pursued after them, and overtook and overcame them, and rescued Lot and his goods, with others, and returned, Ge 14:12-16; when he was met by the kings of Sodom and Salem, who congratulated him on his victory, Ge 14:17-19; and what passed between him, and those great personages, is related, Ge 14:20-24.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 29

1. Genesis 10:10; Genesis 11:2
2. Genesis 10:22; Isaiah 11:11; Daniel 8:2
3. Genesis 10:19
4. Deuteronomy 29:23
5. Genesis 13:10; Genesis 19:22
6. Genesis 14:8, 10
7. Numbers 34:12; Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 3:16
8. Deuteronomy 3:11, 13
9. Deuteronomy 1:4; Joshua 9:10
10. Numbers 32:37
11. Genesis 36:20; Deuteronomy 2:12, 22
12. Genesis 21:21; Numbers 10:12
13. Numbers 13:26
14. 2 Chronicles 20:2
15. Genesis 14:3
16. Gen 14:17, 21, 22
17. Genesis 19:17
18. Genesis 11:27
19. Genesis 13:12
20. Genesis 40:15; Exodus 3:18
21. Genesis 13:18; Genesis 14:24
22. Genesis 21:27, 32
23. Genesis 14:12
24. Genesis 12:5; Genesis 15:3; Genesis 17:27; Ecclesiastes 2:7
25. Deuteronomy 34:1; Judges 18:29; 1 Kings 15:20
26. Judges 7:16
27. Genesis 15:2
28. 1 Sam 30:8, 18, 19
29. Genesis 14:12, 14

Footnotes 17

[a]. Or "nations"
[b]. Lit "joined together"
[c]. Lit "smote"
[d]. Or "the plain of Kiriathaim"
[e]. Lit "smote"
[f]. Or "nations"
[g]. Lit "there"
[h]. Lit "the"
[i]. Lit "abiding"
[j]. Or "terebinths"
[k]. Lit "possessors of the covenant"
[l]. Lit "brother"
[m]. Or "mustered"
[n]. Lit "himself"
[o]. Lit "smote"
[p]. Lit "on the left"
[q]. Lit "brother"