Genesis 14 Footnotes

14:1-2 Skeptical scholars in earlier generations doubted the historical existence of the kings in these verses. Although these kings of ancient city-states cannot be identified (Amraphel is no longer identified as the famous King Hammurabi), their names are recognized as authentic ancient names that were native to the regions named in these verses.

14:3,8,10 The “Siddim Valley” was apparently the name of the land now covered by the Dead Sea, one of the world’s richest areas in mineral content (perhaps reflected by the presence of “many asphalt pits,” v. 10). How the valley came to be filled with water is not known, though it appears that the flow of the Jordan River out of the south end of the valley was blocked, damming the river. The upheaval related to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah may have caused this.