Genesis 14:1
in Genesis 14In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,
KJV
And 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;
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This verse in Genesis 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
- Abram Rescues Lot 1. אמרפל 'amrāpel, Amraphel; related: unknown. אלריוך 'aryôk, Ariok, “leonine?” related: ארי 'arı̂y, “a lion:” a name re-appearing in the time of Daniel Dan 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. Rawlinson with Kudur-mapula or mabuk, whose name is found on the bricks of Chaldaea, and whose title is Apda martu, ravager of the west.
This site's exposition
Amraphel king of Shinar
on Genesis 14:1-2
The first war in Scripture starts here, and this is the first verse that calls a man a king. It begins in Shinar, the plain where Babel was built and where Nimrod began to reign. Four kings come west against five.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Now it came to pass in those days that Amraphel, king of Shinar, Ariok, king of Pontus, Chodorlahomor, king of the Elamites, and Thadat, king of the nations, made war against Bera, king of Sodom, and against Birsha, king of Gomorrah, and the rest.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it came to pass, in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar,.... Or Babylon, as Onkelos, where Nimrod began his kingdom, Gen 10:
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
And it came to pass--This chapter presents Abram in the unexpected character of a warrior. The occasion was this: The king of Sodom and the kings of the adjoining cities, after having been tributaries for twelve years to the king of Elam, combined to throw off his yoke.
In the days of Amraphel - Who this king was is not known; and yet, from the manner in which he is spoken of in the text, it would seem that he was a person well known, even when Moses wrote this account. But the Vulgate gives a different turn to the place, by rendering the passage thus: Factum est in illo tempore, ut Amraphel, etc. “It came to pass in that time that Amraphel, etc.” The Chaldee Targum of Onkelos makes Amraphel king of Babylon, others make him king of Assyria; some make him the same as Nimrod, and others, one of his descendants. Arioch king of Ellasar - Some think Syria is meant; but conjecture is endless where facts cannot be ascertained. Chedorlaomer king of Elam - Dr. Shuckford thinks that this was the same as Ninyas, the son of Ninus and Semiramis; and some think him to be the same with Keeumras, son of Doolaved, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah; and that Elam means Persia; see Gen 10:22. The Persian historians unanimously allow that Keeumras, whose name bears some affinity to Chedorlaomer, was the first king of the Peeshdadian dynasty. Tidal king of nations - גוים goyim, different peoples or clans. Probably some adventurous person, whose subjects were composed of refugees from different countries.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
This event happened to Abraham in order to teach us that four kingdoms will arise to rule the world. In the end, his [Abraham’s] children will prevail over them, and they will all fall into their hands. Then they will return all their captives and their wealth.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בִּימֵי֙ | bimei | in [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אַמְרָפֶ֣ל | ʾamrafel | Amraphel | H569 → | |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שִׁנְעָ֔ר | shinar | Shinar | H8152 → | 8 times |
| אַרְי֖וֹךְ | ʾaryokh | Arioch | H746 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֶלָּסָ֑ר | ʾelasar | Ellasar | H495 → | |
| כְּדָרְלָעֹ֙מֶר֙ | kedarelaomer | Kedorlaomer | H3540 → | 5 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| עֵילָ֔ם | ʾeilam | Elam | H5867 → | 28 times |
| וְתִדְעָ֖ל | vetidal | and Tidal | H8413 → | |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| גּוֹיִֽם׃ | goyim | Goyim | H1471 → | 561 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בִּימֵי֙in [the] days of
bimeiH3117 →2304 times
אַמְרָפֶ֣לAmraphel
ʾamrafelH569 →
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
שִׁנְעָ֔רShinar
shinarH8152 →8 times
אַרְי֖וֹךְArioch
ʾaryokhH746 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אֶלָּסָ֑רEllasar
ʾelasarH495 →
כְּדָרְלָעֹ֙מֶר֙Kedorlaomer
kedarelaomerH3540 →5 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
עֵילָ֔םElam
ʾeilamH5867 →28 times
וְתִדְעָ֖לand Tidal
vetidalH8413 →
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
גּוֹיִֽם׃Goyim
goyimH1471 →561 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 11:2And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
it leads to
- Isaiah 11:11
On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 1:2
And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house…
- Genesis 10:10
His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
- Isaiah 11:11
Through
Genesis 10:10His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
it leads to
- Genesis 11:9
That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
- Genesis 11:2
And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
- Genesis 11:9
Through
Isaiah 11:11On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and…
it leads to
- Zechariah 10:8–12
I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were.
- Micah 7:12
On that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
- Hosea 3:4–5
For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.
- Zechariah 10:8–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).