Genesis 14:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 14:2
That 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.
to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
war
מִלְחָמָ֗הmil.cha.Mah
H4421
a battle (i.e. the engagement) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
with
אֶת'et-
H854
properly · preposition
Bera
בֶּ֙רַע֙be.ra'
H1298
Bera · proper noun, a man's name
king
מֶ֣לֶךְMe.lekh
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Sodom
סְדֹ֔םse.Dom
H5467
Sedom · proper noun, a place name
Birsha
בִּרְשַׁ֖עbir.Sha'
H1306
Birsha · proper noun, a man's name
king
מֶ֣לֶךְMe.lekh
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Gomorrah
עֲמֹרָ֑ה'a.mo.Rah
H6017
Amorah · proper noun, a place name
Shinab
שִׁנְאָ֣בshin.'Av
H8134
Shinab · proper noun, a man's name
king
מֶ֣לֶךְMe.lekh
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Admah
אַדְמָ֗ה'ad.Mah
H126
Admah · proper noun, a place name
Shemeber
וְשֶׁמְאֵ֙בֶר֙ve.shem.'E.ver
H8038
Shemeber · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
king
מֶ֣לֶךְMe.lekh
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Zeboiim
צְבוֹיִ֔םtze.vo.Yim
H6636
Tseboim or Tsebijim · proper noun, a place name
king
וּמֶ֥לֶךְu.Me.lekh
H4428
a king · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
Bela
בֶּ֖לַעBe.la'
H1106
Bela · proper noun, a place name
is
הִיאhi'-
H1931
he (she or it) · personal pronoun, 3rd person feminine singular
Zoar
צֹֽעַרTzo.'ar
H6820
Tsoar · proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Go…
Deuteronomy 29:23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like t…
Genesis 10:19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and…
Isaiah 1:9-10 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Hosea 11:8 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine he…
Genesis 19:20-30 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall l…
Deuteronomy 34:3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
1 Samuel 13:18 And another company turned the way to Beth-horon: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim t…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 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 persons, but either officers under them, or rather the heads and leaders of some colonies which came out of those great nations, and settled themselves near Sodom, but retained the names of the countries f…
These made war with Bera, etc. - It appears, from Gen 14:4, that these five Canaanitish kings had been subdued by Chedorlaomer, and were obliged to pay him tribute; and that, having been enslaved by him twelve years, wishing to recover their liberty, they revolted in the thirteenth; in consequence of which Chedorlaomer, the following year, summoned to his assistance three of his vassals, invaded Canaan, fought with and discomfited the kings of the Pentapolis or five cities - Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboiim, Zoar, and Admab, which were situated in the fruitful plain of Siddim, having previously overrun the whole land.
John Gill on Genesis 14:2
That these made war with Bera king of Sodom,.... A city in the plain of Jordan, which with the four following made the Pentapolis, or five cities of the plain. Strabo (y) says, in this place formerly were thirteen cities, the metropolis of which was Sodom, and which yet had remaining a compass of sixty furlongs; according to Dr. Lightfoot (z), it should be placed in the southern extremity of the lake Asphaltites, whereas it is usually set in the maps in the northern bounds of it:
and with Birsha king of Gomorrah; another city in the plain of Jordan, called by Solinus (a) Gomorrum:
Shinab king of Admah; a third city situated in the same plain:
and Shemeber king of Zeboiim; a fourth city of…
Admah — Earth, one of the five cities of the vale of Siddim (Gen. 10:19). It was destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah (19:24; Deut. 29:23). It is supposed by some to be the same as the Adam of Josh. 3:16,…
Amraphel — King of Shinar, southern Chaldea, one of the confederates of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, in a war against Sodom and cities of the plain (Gen. 14:1, 4). It is now found that Amraphel (or Ammirapaltu)…
Bela — A thing swallowed. (1.) A city on the shore of the Dead Sea, not far from Sodom, called also Zoar. It was the only one of the five cities that was spared at Lot’s intercession (Gen. 19:20, 23). It is…
Bera — Gift, or son of evil, king of Sodom at the time of the invasion of the four kings under Chedorlaomer (Gen. 14:2, 8, 17, 21).
Birsha — Son of wickedness, a king of Gomorrah whom Abraham succoured in the invasion of Chedorlaomer (Gen. 14:2).
Gomorrah — Submersion, one of the five cities of the plain of Siddim (q.v.) which were destroyed by fire (Gen. 10:19; 13:10; 19:24, 28). These cities probably stood close together, and were near the northern…
Lot — (Heb. goral, a “pebble”), a small stone used in casting lots (Num. 33:54; Jonah 1:7). The lot was always resorted to by the Hebrews with strictest reference to the interposition of God, and as a…
Shemeber — Soaring on high, the king of Zeboiim, who joined with the other kings in casting off the yoke of Chedorlaomer. After having been reconquered by him, he was rescued by Abraham (Gen. 14:2).
Shinab — Cooling, the king of Adamah, in the valley of Siddim, who with his confederates was conquered by Chedorlaomer (Gen. 14:2).
Sodom — Burning; the walled, a city in the vale of Siddim (Gen. 13:10; 14:1-16). The wickedness of its inhabitants brought down upon it fire from heaven, by which it was destroyed (18:16-33; 19:1-29; Deut.…
Tidal — (in the LXX. called “Thorgal”), styled the “king of nations” (Gen. 14:1-9). Mentioned as Tudkhula on Arioch’s brick (see facing page 139). Goyyim, translated “nations,” is the country called Gutium,…
John Calvin on Genesis 14:1-9
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel. The history related in this chapter is chiefly worthy of remembrance, for three reasons: first, because Lot, with a gentle reproof, exhorted the men of Sodom to repentance; they had, however, become altogether unteachable, and desperately perverse in their wickedness. But Lot was beaten with these scourges, because, having been allured and deceived by the richness of the soil, he had mixed himself with unholy and wicked men. Secondly, because God, out of compassion to him, raised up Abram as his avenger and liberator, to rescue him, when a captive, from the hand of the enemy; in which act the incredible goodness and benevolence of God towards his…
The war, which furnished Abram with an opportunity, while in the promised land of which as yet he could not really call a single rood his own, to prove himself a valiant warrior, and not only to smite the existing chiefs of the imperial power of Asia, but to bring back to the kings of Canaan the booty that had been carried off, is circumstantially described, not so much in the interests of secular history as on account of its significance in relation to the kingdom of God. It is of importance, however, as a simple historical fact, to see that in the statement in Gen 14:1, the king of Shinar occupies the first place, although the king of Edom, Chedorlaomer, not only took the lead in the exped…
In this skirmish typical of ancient politics, powerful kings formed a coalition to subjugate smaller vassal states.
14:1-2 Archaeology has not identified these kings, but similar names from antiquity corroborate the report’s accuracy. The Mesopotamian kings were confederates under a suzerain, apparently Amraphel, who is mentioned first.
14:1 Tidal apparently ruled a number of city-states (Goiim, literally nations).
Rashi on Genesis 14:2
ברע BERA —Evil (רע) towards God and evil towards mankind (Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 8).
ברשע BIRSHA — Because he rose by means of wickedness (רָשַׁע) (Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 8)).
שנאב SHINAB — He hated (שנא) his Father (אב) in heaven (Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 8)).
שמאבר SHEMEBER — He set his wings (שם אבר) to fly, flapping them to rebel against the Holy One, blessed be He (Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 8)).
בלע BELA is the name of this king’s city (but the king’s own name is not mentioned here).
Zeboim — Gazelles or roes. (1.) One of the “five cities of the plain” of Sodom, generally coupled with Admah (Gen. 10:19; 14:2; Deut. 29:23; Hos. 11:8). It had a king of its own (Shemeber), and was therefore…
Zoar — Small, a town on the east or south-east of the Dead Sea, to which Lot and his daughters fled from Sodom (Gen. 19:22, 23). It was originally called Bela (14:2, 8). It is referred to by the prophets…
Admah · A city in the vale of Siddim — A city in the vale of Siddim
Armies · Antiquity of — Antiquity of
Bela · 1. A city al — 1. A city al
Bera · King of — King of
Birsha · A king of Gomorrah — A king of Gomorrah
Chedorlaomer · King of Elam — King of Elam
Confederacies · .Of kings — .Of kings
Gomorrah · Its king — Its king
Lot · .Taken — .Taken
Shemeber · King of Zeboim — King of Zeboim
Shinab · King of Admah — King of Admah
Sodom · of Chedorlaomer — of Chedorlaomer
War · Antiquity of — Antiquity of
Zeboim · .One of the cities in the Valley of Siddim — .One of the cities in the Valley of Siddim
Zoar · King of, fought against Chedorlaomer — King of, fought against Chedorlaomer
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
