Genesis 14:6 NIV

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 14:6

And the Horites in their Mount Seir ,.... Or the Horim who dwelt in Mount Seir, so called from Seir the Horite, who continued here till they were drove out by the sons of Esau or Edom, from whom their country was afterwards called Edom or Idumea, see Genesis 36:20 Deuteronomy 2:12 , unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness ; so far these Horites inhabited, and the four kings smote all they met with unto this place, which was either the plain or oak of Paran, near a wilderness of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 14:6

The Horites - A people that dwelt in Mount Seir, till Esau and his sons drove them thence; Deuteronomy 2:22 . El-paran - The plain or oak of Paran, which was a city in the wilderness of Paran; Genesis 21:21 . 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 14:6

And the Horites . Literally, dwelling in caves ; from char, a cave. In their mount Seir. Literally, wooded (Gesenius); hairy (Furst); rugged (Lange); probably with reference to the thick brushwood and forests that grew upon its sides. The cave men of Seir were the earlier inhabitants of the region lying between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Elam, afterwards taken possession of by the Edomites ( Deuteronomy 2:12 ; Jeremiah 49:16 ; Obadiah 1:3 , Obadiah 1:4 ). Unto El-paran I ... 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

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 14:6

Horites. Deuteronomy 2:12 . 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

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 14:1-12

The four kings (Genesis 14:1) resided in the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent. They sought to dominate the land of Canaan by subjugating five kings (Genesis 14:2) who lived there. They probably wanted to keep the trade routes between Mesopotamia and Egypt open and under their control. It is interesting that people living around Babylon initiated this first war mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 14:2).Scholars have debated the identity of the Rephaim (Genesis 14:5; cf. Genesis 15:20; literally... read more