Or, When Kings Can’t Hold Their Own
Scripture: Genesis 14:1-16
Date: April 24, 2016
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Here is a one of a kind account in Genesis. The word “king” occurs twenty-eight times in this chapter and, for the first time in the Bible, the word “war” is used. Moses wields the language of ambition, international conflict, invasion, military campaigns, political allies, and spoils.
Here’s the basic plot: five kings from the Dead Sea region revolt against four eastern tyrants (so called “Mesopotamian overlords” in the ESVSB) who suppress the revolt through an imposing rout and plunder everyone’s possessions on their way. Lot is also taken and Abram goes to bring him back.
At the end of the chapter we encounter the mystery-man, the priest-king Melchizedek. The entire chapter belongs together, but there is too much in verses 17-24 to be able to cover them well and the events leading to Abram’s interaction with the King of Sodom and the King of Salem.
That’s an overview, but why is this account here at all? It is history about the promised land, especially in terms of the conflict in it and over it. It is insight into Lot’s entanglement with the people of Sodom and the consequences that brings. It’s also about the development of God’s chosen man; Abram appears to be a different man than two chapters ago. But there is a very specific point that this event exhibits, a point built on verses 1-16 and proven in verses 17-24.
The rebel forces say, “Stick it.”
In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. (Genesis 14:1–4)
This is a war story and Moses records the places and players. The parenthetical identifications with modern names (five verses in the chapter: 2, 3, 7, 8 and also 17) suggest that Moses was updating an existing record.
There are two coalitions.
Four kings of an eastern alliance are listed in alphabetical order, though Chedorlaomer was obviously the top dog (see the summary in verse 4, they had served Chedorlaomer ). Speaking of whom, Chedorlaomer comes from Elam, part of modern day Iran, and possibly connected with the Scythians (Wenham). Amraphel came from Shinar, identified in Genesis (10:10, 11:2, 9) with Babylon and part of modern day Iraq. Arioch and Tidal (from Ellasar and Goiim respectively) are probably from the area of modern day Turkey. This is Mesopotamia, later known as the Babylonian Kingdom, and always known as trouble.
According to verse 1 and the first part of verse 2, at some previous point in the past, four kings made war against five kings and made them subjects.
Five (western) small-town kings near Salt Sea (so called because the saline content is 10 times more than the oceans (Waltke), now called the Dead Sea) are listed next in the second part of verse 2. Bera from Sodom, Birsha from Gomorrah, Shinab and Shemeber and the unnamed king of Bela.
For Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer , meaning that they served as subjects, they were under his rule. That almost always included a required tribute (a payment made periodically by one ruler to another as a sign of dependence), and probably also whatever else Chedorlaomer demanded.
Twelve years is a long time and a lot of tax money spent, so in the thirteenth year they rebelled , if nothing else, aiming to stick it to the man. These boys got together in the Valley of Siddim for a convention, joined forces (verse 3) forming their own Freedom Coalition. In some cases, not paying your bills is a declaration of war. Before Troy, before the Peloponnesian, before the Punic, this is the first time in history that nations go to war.
The overlords say in return, “Oh, really?”
Even though the ESV doesn’t start a new paragraph here, a whole year has passed between verses 4 and 5.
In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness. Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar. (Genesis 14:5–7)
The four guys from the northeast are about to teach a lesson to the five guys from the southwest. It took them a year (from the rebellion on the thirteenth year to now in the fourteenth year ) to get ready and then, holy cow.
This is a proverbial trail of destruction. It looks like they followed the “King’s Highway” (see Numbers 20:17; 21:22), a road that runs through the Jordan Valley on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, often used by caravans and armies. The suppression is over the top, and side to side, and all the way to the bottom. The overlords “defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness. Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar” (Genesis 14:5–7).
The hill country (of Seir, where the Edomites later lived (up in difficult to access caves) didn’t bother them. They covered the territory to the border of the wilderness , because, after all, who was living beyond there to pick on? They defeated (verse 5) everyone everywhere they went. It’s an impressive resume of wreckage. This is how you suppress a revolt. Perhaps the people in these regions were easy targets, scattered, small in number, and unorganized. More likely, that’s how powerful the Eastern horde was.
The overlords now say, “Resistance is futile.”
Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. (Genesis 14:8–9)
The four bullies finally get to the guys they’re after: the original trouble-making five. The rest of the region simply got in the way; verses 5-7 are collateral damage.
The five kings of the rebel coalition finally got their pants on, went out and they joined in battle (verse 8), four kings against five (verse 9), the five on their home turf. Commentator Phillips imagines the kings sitting in the war room, looking at a map, wondering whether or not they stood a chance. They had at least a few advantages. The enemy was a long way from their home with the supply line. The enemy was laden with weeks worth of plunder. The enemy’s kings, though perhaps not troops, were outnumbered. They were fighting not only in their homeland, but for their homeland. They knew the terrain.
Yet the home team didn’t last too long. It doesn’t seem like the Five counted the cost of their refusal to pay tribute, let alone the cost of meeting the Four face to face in battle (cf. Luke 14:31-32).
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen (tar) pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. (verse 10)
The battle ended so quickly that the battle itself isn’t even mentioned. “Charge! … Retreat!” The Four make quick work of the Rebel Forces.
The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled , and presumably their troops on retreat, running away like school girls. Apparently, the king of Sodom was not one of the bitumen/tar/asphalt pit victims, since he shows up in verse 17. To say that some fell into [the] pits is interesting. We’d normally think that trained soldiers in their homeland would know about these pits. That’s led some (such as Calvin) to conclude that they threw themselves into the pits rather than face the sword of the enemy; soldiers often chose suicide rather than captivity or torture. A couple other commentators suggest that the falling was more like hiding. Those that didn’t die in the tar pits fled to the hill country with their skirts between their legs.
So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. (verse 11)
This is known under various terms: pillage, loot, ravage. Veni, vidi, vici. They got what they came for and went their way . This was a rout. The repetition of and went on their way (verses 11 and 12) is deliberate; no one could stop them. The systematic beatdown over such a large geographical extent with virtually no resistance proved their total mastery.
They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way. (verse 12)
The war story gets personal. On their way out of town, the four northern kings abduct Lot, the son of Abram’s brother…and his possessions . Last we knew Lot moved toward Sodom, now he’s dwelling there. Everything up to verse 12 is background for this.
Search, rescue, and recover. Abram says, “I’m coming.”
Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. (verse 13)
The one who had escaped is a fugitive, and he comes with a report. Abram is the Hebrew , a descendent of Eber, the last ancestor in the line of Shem before the earth was divided (10:21-25).
Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner were three brothers, and brothers in arms with Abram. They were allies , bound by treaty. This was good for them more than Abram, at least from the Genesis 12:3 viewpoint.
When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. (verse 14)
Think Abram might have asked, “Who’s Lot?” Wouldn’t we prolly think more like: “Oh, sad.” Or, “You get what you ask for.” Or maybe more spiritual, “I’ll pray for him.” Or, probably a very reasonable question, “Why should I put myself on the line for him? I’ve got family and responsibilities here at home to take care of.”
Even once Abram decided to do something, why not write a letter? Send some camels? Negotiate and offer a payment from his great wealth in return for Lot’s life?
Instead, Abram wastes no time . Led forth is from a Hebrew word that means “emptied out.” We might say, he went “all out,” or he “unsheathed” the troops, or he opened a can of whoop-behind. He got everybody he could. It could be translated “muster,” to mobilize an army.
Abram engages in a war that wasn’t his. He doesn’t run back down to Egypt. He is not the same coward who threw his wife under the bus to protect his own behind just two scenes earlier. This also gives evidence that his offer to Lot in the previous chapter was not passive. He takes initiative, responsibility, and makes sacrifices to get his nephew. This is man’s work.
We might suppose Abram thought this was important in order to defend the land, or that it would have economic impact on his assets (herds). But remember that the four tyrants were on their way back home already; they had already went on their way , twice! Abram has to go to get them. He’s not defending his land; he’s defending his nephew.
Abram, living among allies, takes his trained men , those prepared to fight, who were born in his house and, therefore, loyal to him.
And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. (verse 15)
It is approximately 125 miles from Mamre to Dan. It is approximately 50 more miles from Dan to Damascus.
How long did it take the tyrants to plunder the region? How many weeks, or months? And Abram takes them in one night? Five kings couldn’t fend them off four kings who ravaged six tribes, but one man and his household can? That is a rout.
Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people. (verse 16)
Nothing was lost; he brought back all the possessions and brought back his kinsman . Abram was wealthy in Ur, more wealthy on his way out of Egypt, so prosperous that he and Lot separated, and now he holds in his possession the wealth of and power over every people group around the Dead Sea. His victory put him in a position to dominate.
The rescue was a bigger, more significant rout than that of the four kings.
Preserving peace with bickering herdsmen is one thing, this is actual life-risking, on the line war.
Normally, in a military story like this, the victory against great forces and recovery would be the climax. But in Moses’ version, something is still missing. We’ll see that in verses 17-24.
The ESV Study Bible summarizes the point of the account.
Although Abram can compete militarily against powerful kings, he rejects the use of power to achieve God’s purpose. Thus he does not use force to take control of the land of Canaan. (ESVSB, 74)
Abram could have said, “Anyone else want to go against me?” Abram was willing to fight for God’s sake but not to take by force for himself what God had promised. Abram routed the tyrants, but he would not become one by overpowering the people in the promised land.