Genesis 14:5

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 14:5

And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer ,.... Not in the fourteenth year of their rebellion against him, as Jarchi, but from their becoming vassals to him: and the kings that were with him ; those kings before mentioned: and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim ; which were in their way to Sodom, &c.; and very probably were confederates with the five kings; the Targum, and so the Septuagint, render the word "giants", as it is in Deuteronomy 2:11 ; but they were one of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 14:5

Rephaims - A people of Canaan: Genesis 15:20 . Ashteroth - A city of Basan, where Og afterwards reigned; Joshua 13:31 . Zuzims - Nowhere else spoken of, unless they were the same with the Zamzummims, Deuteronomy 2:20 , as some imagine. Emims - A people great and many in the days of Moses, and tall as the Anakim. They dwelt among the Moabites, by whom they were reputed giants; Deuteronomy 2:10 , Deuteronomy 2:11 . Shaveh Kiriathaim - Rather, as the margin, the plain... 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 14:5

And in (or during) the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote (because of actual or probable rebellion) the Rephaims . Γίγαντας ( LXX .) , a tribe of gigantic stature (from an Arabic root, to be high), the iron bed of whose last king, Og, measured nine yards in length and four in breadth ( Deuteronomy 3:11 ); forming a portion of the aboriginal inhabitants of Palestine prior to the invasion of the Canaanites, though existing as a remnant... 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

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 14:5

Genesis 14:5. In the fourteenth year After some pause and preparation, Chedorlaomer, in conjunction with his allies, set himself to reduce the revolters. The four kings laid the neighbouring countries waste, and enriched themselves with the spoil of them, Genesis 14:5-7. Upon the alarm of which, the king of Sodom and his allies went out and were routed. 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

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 14:5

Rephaim = a branch of the Nephilim. See App-25 . Superhuman beings, so called after one Rapha: as the Anakim after Anak. See Genesis 15:20 . Deuteronomy 2:11 , Deuteronomy 2:20 , Deuteronomy 2:21 ; Deuteronomy 3:11 , Deuteronomy 3:13 .Joshua 12:4 ; Joshua 13:12 ; Joshua 15:8 ; Joshua 17:15 ; Joshua 18:16 . See notes on Genesis 6:4 ; Genesis 12:6 ; Genesis 13:7 ; Genesis 14:5 ; Genesis 15:20 , Genesis 15:21 . Zuzims in Ham, same as Zam-zummim in Cuneiform writing. Compare Deuteronomy 2:20 . ... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 14:5-7

"And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emin in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their Seir, unto Elparan which is by the wilderness. And they returned and came unto Enmishpat (the same is Kadesh), and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazuzon-tamar."The initial success of these marauding kings shows how formidable their raiding party... read more

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