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Genesis 14

KJV · Chapter 14/50

1And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;

2That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

3All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

4Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

6And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El–paran, which is by the wilderness.

7And they returned, and came to En–mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon–tamar.

8And there went out 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;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

9With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

10And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

11And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

12And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

13And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

14And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

15And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

17And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.

18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

21And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

22And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

23That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Four kings defeat a coalition of five kings and carry Lot away captive; Abram organizes his servants, rescues Lot, and is blessed by the mysterious priest-king Melchizedek.

Explanation

This chapter shows Abram in an unexpected role: a courageous military leader who risks his own safety to rescue his nephew Lot, even after they had parted ways amicably. This reveals a loyal character willing to act, not just passively wait for God's promises. The most striking moment, however, is the encounter with Melchizedek, king of Salem (later Jerusalem) and 'priest of the Most High God,' who blesses Abram and receives tithes from him — an enigmatic figure with no recorded genealogy, who appears and disappears from the text. Abram also shows integrity by refusing rewards from the king of Sodom, so that no one could say they had made him rich, preferring that his prosperity come from God alone. The lesson is about family loyalty, practical courage, and financial integrity.

Fun facts

  • Melchizedek is mentioned again in Psalm 110:4 and extensively in Hebrews 5-7, where he is used as a prophetic figure of Christ — a priest-king with no recorded lineage, pointing to an eternal priesthood different from the Levitical one.
  • Abram's act of giving a tithe (a tenth part) to Melchizedek (v. 20) is the first mention of tithing in the entire Bible, serving as a historical reference point for the practice that would later be formalized in the Law of Moses.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Genesis 14:1This war involves kings from cities in Mesopotamia, such as Shinar and Elam, attacking kings of smaller cities near the Dead Sea, including Sodom. The names all belong to small, now-unknown kingdoms; what matters for the story is that Lot, Abram’s nephew, lives in one of these cities and ends up taken prisoner in the conflict.
  2. Genesis 14:2Lists the five kings of the cities in the Dead Sea region, including Sodom and Gomorrah, who will be attacked by the coalition of kings from the previous verse.
  3. Genesis 14:3All the kings involved gather in the vale of Siddim, identified by the text as the region where the Dead Sea would later be.
  4. Genesis 14:4Explains the reason for the war: the five kings of the region had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but rebelled in the thirteenth—it’s this rebellion he comes to crush.
  5. Genesis 14:5Chedorlaomer and his allies advance, defeating several ancient peoples along the way, even before reaching the rebel kings—showing the scope of his military campaign.
  6. Genesis 14:6The campaign continues on to the region of Seir and the edge of the wilderness, defeating still more peoples—the text details the route to show the military strength Abram will face further on.
  7. Genesis 14:7The invaders circle back and also attack the Amalekites and the Amorites, expanding the conquered territory even further before the final clash with the five kings.
  8. Genesis 14:8Finally the five rebel kings, including the king of Sodom, go out to face the invaders in battle in the vale of Siddim.
  9. Genesis 14:9Sums up the clash as four kings against five—the invading coalition led by Chedorlaomer against the kings of the cities of the Dead Sea region.
  10. Genesis 14:10The valley had tar pits, a natural trap: the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fall into them while fleeing, and the rest of the army flees to the mountains.
  11. Genesis 14:11The victors plunder Sodom and Gomorrah, carrying off all the goods and provisions of the defeated cities.
  12. Genesis 14:12Among the prisoners taken is Lot, Abram’s nephew, who lived in Sodom—it’s this capture that will drive the rescue mission told through the rest of the chapter.
  13. Genesis 14:13A survivor escapes and warns Abram about what happened to Lot—the text takes the chance to mention Abram’s allies in the region, Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner.
  14. Genesis 14:14Those “born in his own house” were men raised on Abram’s own property, essentially a private militia trained to defend the family’s holdings—318 of them in all, a remarkably specific number that shows Abram was no poor nomad, but a rich and powerful clan chief.
  15. Genesis 14:15Abram splits his men and launches a surprise attack by night, chasing the enemy as far as Hobah, north of Damascus—a victory won through strategy, not just brute force.
  16. Genesis 14:16Abram recovers everything that had been plundered, including Lot, the women, and the rest of the captured people—the rescue is complete, not partial.
  17. Genesis 14:17Returning from the victory, Abram is met by the king of Sodom in the king’s valley—the setting that sets up the encounter with Melchizedek, told in the next verse.
  18. Genesis 14:18Melchizedek appears out of nowhere, with no genealogy or explanation, as king of Salem—likely the future Jerusalem—and at the same time priest, an unusual combination, since king and priest were normally separate roles. He brings out “bread and wine” to receive Abram, a gesture of hospitality and recognition between the leaders of different peoples.
  19. Genesis 14:19Melchizedek blesses Abram in the name of “the most high God,” calling Him “possessor of heaven and earth”—a title that credits Abram’s victory to this God.
  20. Genesis 14:20Abram gives Melchizedek “tithes of all,” that is, a tenth of what he had won in the war—this happens well before any law about tithing appears anywhere else in the Bible. It was more a gesture of honor to the priest of a most high God than the fulfillment of some already-existing formal rule.
  21. Genesis 14:21The king of Sodom proposes a simple deal: Abram keeps the recovered goods, but returns the rescued people—an offer Abram refuses in the verses that follow.
  22. Genesis 14:22Abram refuses the deal, swearing by the same “most high God” mentioned by Melchizedek, making clear that he doesn’t want to owe anything to the king of Sodom.
  23. Genesis 14:23Abram swears that he won’t keep even “a shoelatchet” of what belonged to the king of Sodom—an exaggerated expression meaning he wouldn’t accept absolutely anything, not even the most insignificant item. He didn’t want anyone later saying he’d grown rich off the king of Sodom, so he returns everything he had taken in the war.
  24. Genesis 14:24Abram makes just one exception to what he returns: what his own soldiers had already eaten, and the share owed to his allies Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, who had also fought in the battle.

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