Genesis 14:1-24 • An even bigger war
- Steve Schott
- Jul 31
- 7 min read
► Last time, we saw how a humbled Abram calmly settled contention between his and Lot's herdsmen in regards to the crowded conditions they were living in. Giving Lot the first choice at where he and his entourage would go, Lot "10lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere...(Gen 13:10-11)" and "11...chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan...", eventually settling in the town of Sodom, a choice that will plague Lot for the rest of his life.
► Today we are going to see, for lack of a better term, World War 1, at least in a Biblical, Old Testament sense. Abram, and to a certain degree Lot, are key players.
► Side note: I'm so glad I'm WRITING about this passage rather than SPEAKING about it. I'd hate to have to try to pronounce all these names!!!
Genesis 14:1-24 → 1And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
► So first, let's divide up the teams...
► The Salt Sea being the Dead Sea, and the valley of Siddim being the large area immediately to the south of the sea.
► "All these" is referring to the local kings, just to be clear.
► This makes us aware of the subservient situation between the groups of kings, and the fact that they decided enough is enough.
5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. 7Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
► On their way from the east to Canaan, these 4 kings from the east also defeated all 6 of these groups of people, the first 4 while they were heading south, and the last 2 after they had turned back north toward the valley of Siddim.
1 - the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim
2 - the Zuzim in Ham
3 - the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim
4 - the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran
5 - En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites
6 - the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar
► I'm thinking the local kings would be somewhat concerned that they've bitten off more than they can chew!
8And 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 the valley of Siddim, 9against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
► Scared though they may be, they still showed up for the fight.
10Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. 11Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. 12They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.
► Standing there, watching the enemy approach, they do the only sensible thing - THEY RUN!! The rule of thumb when fleeing an enemy is to watch where you're going, which they did not. At least the 2 kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into tar pits. Everyone else was watching and ended up in the hills. Maybe the tar acted like camouflage, because they are not taken captive. BUT, the enemy kings take EVERYTHING from Sodom and Gomorrah, even Lot and all his people and stuff.
13Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram. 14When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
► In verse 13, at the arrival of the "fugitive" literally referring to someone who had escaped from the fleeing kings of the east, Abram is referred to as "the Hebrew". There are a few interpretations of this word but of the2 that stand out, and I would say either or both of them hold true.
• 1st is that "Hebrew" means son of Eber, which Abram would be. Eber being the great, great, grandson of Noah, and the great, great, great, great, grandfather of Abram. Who, by the way, is still alive at this time in history!
• 2nd is that "Hebrew" means something to the effect of "that guy from over there" or "the traveler/sojourner".
► We're told that Abram is not only still living at the Oaks of Mamre, but that he's allies with some Amorites. I'm not sure how many of them there are, but we'll see in a bit that they tag along with Abram when he heads out with his 318 servants to save Lot.
► It says that they encountered the eastern kings at Dan, which would have been about 120 miles north. Several days of walking/marching in order to get there. And several more to get back.
15He 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 Damascus. 16He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.
► Abram's company defeated the aggressors, and chased them farther north, in the process reclaiming all of the people and goods which had been plundered.
17Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
► The king of Sodom, having survived his time in the tar pits, meets Abram in the Jordan river valley, near the north end of the Dead Sea.
18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. 19He blessed him and said,
► Melchizedek is a mystery man, as he's never before been mentioned in the Scripture. He's mentioned once in Psalm 110:4, and 8 times in Hebrews. His name means "king of righteousness". Noted as the "king of Salem", which is another name for Jerusalem, he is also called a "priest of God Most High", which is unusual, to be called both a king and a priest.
► Abram gave a "tenth", also known as a tithe, to Melchizedek, in response to the blessing of God he received from Melchizedek.
21The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” 22Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, 23that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”
► The king of Sodom tries to give all the possessions Abram recovered as recompense for his actions. Abram responds saying that he won't take anything, based on an oath he swore to God. At this time, Abram is very concerned that there is no way that anyone could attribute any of his wealth as having come from Sodom. It's almost like a precursor to the judgement that will be coming soon. He says that the only thing he'll accept for himself is the food already consumed by his men, and that the Amorites that went with him should have their share if they wanted it.
► The changes in Abram's life keep moving him towards being a righteous man, based on his new behavior, but since we know Abram's history, we understand that he will fail again, several times. But we'll find out in the next chapter, the basis for being righteous, the basis for being saved, is NOT how we behave, but who our God is. We can't save ourselves, but He will guide us and correct us when we stumble, but our salvation is based on our trusting in who and what He is, and what He will do for us.
Photo • 2/17/2025 - Overlooking Badwater Basin from Dante's View in Death Valley National Park, CA
“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995
by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org”
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