The war of the kings
The chapter opens in the days of four kings (BSB “In those days”): Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim (Hebrew “nations”; BSB keeps the name). They make war on five kings of the plain. After a revolt the four strike the peoples of 14:5–7 and meet the five in the Valley of Siddim, “full of tar pits.” BSB supplies “some men” and plural “kings” at 14:10. The victors take Lot, “the son of Abram’s brother,” “dwelling in Sodom” (BSB “nephew,” “living”). 14:12 continues 13:12–13, which is pointed to, not taken up again. The persons and the campaign are real. Calvin writes, “The history related in this chapter is chiefly worthy of remembrance, for three reasons”, though the list of kings is “derided by profane men as fabulous”. Keil finds “There is no ground whatever for regarding the four kings” as Assyrian generals. Driver holds that “the outline of the narrative may still be historical”. He takes Amraphel as “a corrupt representation of Ḥammurabi”, and Arioch as “In all probability Eriaku (or Riaku), king of Larsa”, though “most Assyriologists prefer to read Rim-Sin”. Skinner holds that “it is quite clear that the names are not invented”, “but everything else belongs to the region of conjecture”, and that the rout by 318 men is “generally admitted to be incredible”. Driver says that “it is taken from some independent source”; source questions are pointed once to Reading Genesis 2:4–25 alongside Genesis 1: from Josephus and Philo to Keil, Driver and Skinner. No ruling is given on identifications, dates, or sources.
Claims
- SaysFour kings from the east make war on five kings of the plain; after a revolt they strike the peoples of 14:5–7, defeat the five in the Valley of Siddim, and carry off Lot, who is dwelling in Sodom; BSB differs from the Hebrew at “In those days,” Goiim, the allies, the tar pits, and Lot’s description.
- ImpliesThe persons and the campaign are real; 14:12 continues 13:12–13, which is pointed to and not taken up again.
- UncertainIdentifications and dates remain open; Driver’s outline-may-be-historical view and his Amraphel and Arioch identifications, Skinner’s doubts, Calvin’s history, and Keil’s rejection of the generals reading are attributed; Driver’s independent-source view is pointed once to the two-accounts note; no ruling is given.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 14:1–12
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 14:1–12 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 14:1–24, vol. 1, pp. 21–23 (oldtestamentingr01swetuoft, viewer leaves n52–n54), as recorded in the Greek language notes of this chapter
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain p. 379 (leaf n388)
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain p. 380 (leaf n389)
- Keil–Delitzsch, Pentateuch 1 public domain p. 201 (leaf n204)
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain p. 172 (leaf n273)
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain p. 156 (leaf n257)
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain p. 156 (leaf n257)
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain p. 156 (leaf n257)
- Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain p. 273 (leaf n374)
- Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain p. 275 (leaf n376)
- Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain p. 273 (leaf n374)
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain p. 155 (leaf n256)
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-12
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