Genesis 14:7-8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 14:1-12

We have here an account of the first war that ever we read of in scripture, which (though the wars of the nations make the greatest figure in history) we should not have had the history of if Abram and Lot had not been concerned in it. Now, concerning this war, we may observe, I. The parties engaged in it. The invaders were four kings, two of them no less than kings of Shinar and Elam (that is, Chaldea and Persia), yet probably not the sovereign princes of those great kingdoms in their own... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 14:7

And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh ,.... Pursuing their victories as far as Elparan by the wilderness, they had passed by the country of the Amalekites; wherefore they "returned", or came back to fall upon them, and they came to a place called Enmishpat, or the "fountain of judgment"; which was not its future name, as Jarchi thinks, because there Moses and Aaron were to be judged concerning the business of that fountain, even the waters of Meribah, with which agrees... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 14:8

And there went out the king of Sodom ,.... With his armed men to meet the four kings, and give them battle, being so near him, and in so much danger from them, that if they could not stand their ground, they might flee to the mountains, and not perish in the city: and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the King of Zeboiim ; whose names are before given, Genesis 14:2 , and the king of Bela, the same is Zoar : as in Genesis 14:2 , and they joined battle with them... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 14:7

En-mishpat - The well of judgment; probably so called from the judgment pronounced by God on Moses and Aaron for their rebellion at that place; Numbers 20:1-10 . Amalekites - So called afterwards, from Amalek, son of Esau; Genesis 36:12 . Hazezon-tamar - Called, in the Chaldee, Engaddi; a city in the land of Canaan, which fell to the lot of Judah; Joshua 15:62 . See also 2 Chronicles 20:2 . It appears, from Song of Solomon 1:14 , to have been a very fruitful place. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 14:8

Bela, the same is Zoar - That is, it was called Zoar after the destruction of Sodom, etc., mentioned in Genesis 19. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 14:1-24

The kingdom of God in its relation to the contending powers of this world. I. GOD 'S JUDGMENTS ARE ALREADY BEGINNING TO FALL . War is made by confederate kings or princes against the people of the wicked cities of the plain, who by their propinquity would naturally be leagued together, but by their common rebellion against Chedorlaomer were involved in a common danger. Notice the indication of the future judgment given in the course of the narrative—"the vale of Siddim was full... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 14:7

And they returned —from the oak of Paran, the southernmost point reached by the invaders— and came to En-mishpat —the Well of Judgment, regarded as a prolepsis by those who derive the name from the judgment pronounced on Moses and Aaron ( À Lapide); but more probably the ancient designation of the town, which was so styled because the townsmen and villagers settled their disputes at the well in its neighborhood (Kalisch)— which is Kadesh , of which ( Numbers 20:14 ) the exact site... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 14:8-9

And there went out (to resist the onslaught of the victorious Asiatics) 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 ); ( i.e. the five revolted monarchs of the Pentapolis) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim ( vide Genesis 14:3 ); 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... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 14:1-24

- Abram Rescues Lot1. אמרפל 'amrāpel, Amraphel; related: unknown. אלריוך 'aryôk, Ariok, “leonine?” related: ארי 'arı̂y, “a lion:” a name re-appearing in the time of Daniel Daniel 2:14. אלסר 'elāsār Ellasar (related: unknown) is identified with Larsa or Larancha, the Λάρισσα Larissa or Λαράχων Larachōn of the Greeks, now Senkereh, a town of lower Babylonia, between Mugheir (Ur) and Warka (Erek) on the left bank of the Frat. כדרלעמר kedārlā‛omer, Kedorla’omer, was compared by Col.... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 14:1-24

Click image for full-size versionAbram meets Melchizedek (14:1-24)Lot’s selfish choice brought him unexpected trouble. In the Dead Sea region where Lot lived, a group of city-states rebelled against their Mesopotamian overlords and brought war upon themselves. Lot was captured and his possessions plundered (14:1-12). Abram was in no danger but he was concerned for Lot. With a fighting force of over three hundred from his large household, along with others from neighbouring households, he... read more

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