Four kings, five kings and a revolt
Says וַיְהִי בִּימֵי (“and it was in the days of”) opens the account; BSB has “In those days.” Four kings follow, each “king of” a land: אַמְרָפֶל מֶלֶךְ־שִׁנְעָר, אַרְיוֹךְ מֶלֶךְ אֶלָּסָר, כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר מֶלֶךְ עֵילָם and וְתִדְעָל מֶלֶךְ גּוֹיִם. The last word is the common noun “nations,” and BSB keeps it as a name, “Goiim”; the Greek has “βασιλεὺς ἐθνῶν” (“king of nations”).
Says In 14:2 עָשׂוּ מִלְחָמָה (“they made war”) is waged on five kings. The written form צביים is read as “Zeboiim,” and the fifth is unnamed: וּמֶלֶךְ בֶּלַע הִיא־צֹעַר (“and the king of Bela, that is Zoar”). In 14:3 כָּל־אֵלֶּה חָבְרוּ is “all these joined together”; BSB has “The latter five came as allies.” They met אֶל־עֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים הוּא יָם הַמֶּלַח, “at the valley of Siddim, that is the Salt Sea.”
Says In 14:4 שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה עָבְדוּ אֶת־כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר is “twelve years they served Chedorlaomer,” and וּשְׁלֹשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָרָדוּ is “and thirteen year they rebelled,” a cardinal used for the ordinal; the lexicon lists it “(as ordin.) Gn 14⁴.”
Implies The kings are presented as real rulers of named lands, and the revolt as a real event that sets the campaign in motion.
Uncertain Which known rulers the four kings were, and whether the last word of 14:1 is a people or a place, are not settled by the text. No lean is taken here.
Claims
- Saysוַיְהִי בִּימֵי (“and it was in the days of”) opens the account; BSB has “In those days.” Four kings follow, each “king of” a land: אַמְרָפֶל מֶלֶךְ־שִׁנְעָר, אַרְיוֹךְ מֶלֶךְ אֶלָּסָר, כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר מֶלֶךְ עֵילָם and וְתִדְעָל מֶלֶךְ גּוֹיִם. The last word is the common noun “nations,” and BSB keeps it as a name, “Goiim”; the Greek has “βασιλεὺς ἐθνῶν” (“king of nations”).
- SaysIn 14:2 עָשׂוּ מִלְחָמָה (“they made war”) is waged on five kings. The written form צביים is read as “Zeboiim,” and the fifth is unnamed: וּמֶלֶךְ בֶּלַע הִיא־צֹעַר (“and the king of Bela, that is Zoar”). In 14:3 כָּל־אֵלֶּה חָבְרוּ is “all these joined together”; BSB has “The latter five came as allies.” They met אֶל־עֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים הוּא יָם הַמֶּלַח, “at the valley of Siddim, that is the Salt Sea.”
- SaysIn 14:4 שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה עָבְדוּ אֶת־כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר is “twelve years they served Chedorlaomer,” and וּשְׁלֹשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָרָדוּ is “and thirteen year they rebelled,” a cardinal used for the ordinal; the lexicon lists it “(as ordin.) Gn 14⁴.”
- ImpliesThe kings are presented as real rulers of named lands, and the revolt as a real event that sets the campaign in motion.
- UncertainWhich known rulers the four kings were, and whether the last word of 14:1 is a people or a place, are not settled by the text. No lean is taken here.
Citations
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 14:1–4 (WLC/OSHB; morph HC/Vqw3ms HNp HNp HC/Acfsa)
- BSB public domain Gen 14:1–4 (BSB)
- BDB CC BY 4.0 BDB 1906, p. 1025 (leaf n1048), archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft, s.v. H7969 “(as ordin.) Gn 14⁴”; checked against the printed page (scan)
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 14:1, text and apparatus. LXX: Swete, vol. 1 (1901), p. 21 (leaf n52). Checked against the printed page (scan).
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-12
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