Genesis 14:1-12

Ge 14:1

And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;

Amraphel was king in Babylonia where the tower of Babel was partially built.  Arioch was servant of the moon god Aku as his name implies who ruled Ellasar and dominated Ur where Abram came from.  Chedorlaomer was servant of the god Logomar which his name implies.  He was in the line of Shem.  Tidal was king of nations.  The word “nations” is goy which implies that it may have been a confederation of Hittite cities.  These four kings were located east of Babylonia and were considered robber kings. 

Ge 14:2

That these 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, which is Zoar.

This is the first mention of war in the Bible but that does not discount that there may have been wars before this though not recorded.  Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar were a five city confederacy long before the time of Abram.  These cities were located south and east of the present Dead Sea.  This was called the battle of the Vale of Siddim.  These five cities were conquered by the four robber kings.  Zoar is the city which Lot escaped to when God destroyed the other four cities or their sins.

Ge 14:3

All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

This may have been the location of where Lot had gone to water his flocks when he separated from Abram.  The vale or valley of Siddim was located on the southeast corner of the Salt or Dead Sea.

Ge 14:4

Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Chedorlaomer must have been the ruling king of all of them as they are serving him.  Do you recall that Japheth would be dwelling in the tents of Shem?  Well here we have a picture of that dwelling as the Gentile countries which descended from Japheth are now dwelling under Chedorlaomer who was of the lineage of Shem.  For twelve years the conquered cities would pay tribute and taxes to Chedorlaomer but now in the thirteenth year it seems they had enough and rebelled by refusing to pay taxes and tribute.

Ge 14:5

And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

So Chedorlaomer and the other three kings who were with him began a campaign to quell all the unrest and put down the rebellion.  Winning a war as the four kings who won over the five kings would always lead to more war.  They had defeated the Rephaims who were large people as they were descendants of people who lived in Canaan at an earlier time.  They were defeated at Ashteroth Karnaim which was named for the two-horned image of the goddess Astarte or Ishtar which was about 20 miles (32 km) east in Bashan.  Then they fought the Zuzites at Ham in Ammon and then Emims “terrors” at Shaveh Kiriathaim in Moab.

Ge 14:6

And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness.

Then they attacked the Horites who had been there since about 2400 B.C. in Mount Seir in Edom.  They had continued south as far as El-paran which was on the border of the Sinai desert.

Ge 14:7

And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.

Then they had circled back west to En-mishpat which means “the well of judgment” later it was called Kadesh which was about 70 miles (113 km) southwest of the Dead Sea.  They conquered the land which belonged to the Amalekites which extended from Beersheba to Mount Sinai and then defeated the Amorites who had dominated Palestine from about 3000 B.C. at Hazezon-tamar which means “sandy place of palms” which was on the west side of the Dead Sea.

Ge 14:8

And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

Then the five kings had heard of the onslaught of the armies of Chedorlaomer and his allies so they had set up battle lines in the valley of Siddim to make an attempt to stop Chedorlaomer and his allies.

Ge 14:9

With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

Chedorlaomer was the chief king as mentioned here whom the five kings had rebelled against.  It was these four kings who were much stronger than those five kings whom they now came to quash their rebellion.

Ge 14:10

And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

Then the five king confederacy knew that they could not be victorious over the four kings so they had fled before them.  In the area of the south end of the Dead Sea one can still see asphalt lumps floating.  Some had met their doom in these slime pits and some had fled to the mountains which lined the Dead Sea.

Ge 14:11

And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

Then they had entered the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and took all the spoils of their victory.  They would not give their tribute and taxes voluntarily, so it was taken from them by means of conquest and then they returned to their homelands.  They also ate as much of the food as they could which would have refreshed their army.

Ge 14:12

And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.