1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king aof Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of bElam, and Tidal king of nations,
2that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of aAdmah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, bZoar).
3 All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim a(that is, the Salt Sea).
4 Twelve years athey served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked athe Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, bthe Zuzim in Ham, cthe Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
6aand the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness.
7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt ain Hazezon Tamar.
8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim
9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
10 Now the Valley of Siddim wasfullofaasphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled bto the mountains.
11 Then they took aall the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.
12 They also took Lot, Abram’s abrother’s son bwho dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the aHebrew, for bhe dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; cand they were allies with Abram.
14 Now awhen Abram heard that bhis brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were cborn in his own house, and went in pursuit das far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants aattacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16 So he abrought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
17 And the king of Sodom awent out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is,bthe King’s Valley), cafter his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.
Abram and Melchizedek
18 Then aMelchizedek king of Salem brought out bbread and wine; he wascthe priest of dGod Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said: a“Blessed be Abram of God Most High, bPossessor of heaven and earth;
20 And ablessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he bgave him a tithe of all.
21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the1 persons, and take the goods for yourself.”
22 But Abram asaid to the king of Sodom, “I bhave raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, cthe Possessor of heaven and earth,
23 that aI willtake nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—
24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
We have here an account of the first war that ever we read of in scripture, in which we may observe. [1.] 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, but rather the heads of some colonies which came out thence, and settled themselves near Sodom, but retained the names of the countries from which they had their original. The invaded were the kings of five cities that lay near together in the plain of Jordan, Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar. [2.] The occasion of this war was, the revolt of the five kings from under the government of Chedorlaomer.
Other John Wesley's Notes entries containing Genesis 14:1:
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