Genesis 14:2
in Genesis 14went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that they 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 (the same is Zoar).
KJV
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.
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This verse in Genesis 14
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThese 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.
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 Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָשׂ֣וּ | ʾasu | they made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִלְחָמָ֗ה | milchamah | war | H4421 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| בֶּ֙רַע֙ | bera' | Bera | H1298 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| סְדֹ֔ם | sedom | Sodom | H5467 → | 39 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and with | H854 → | 929 times |
| בִּרְשַׁ֖ע | birsha' | Birsha | H1306 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| עֲמֹרָ֑ה | ʾamorah | Gomorrah | H6017 → | 19 times |
| שִׁנְאָ֣ב׀ | shinav | Shinab | H8134 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַדְמָ֗ה | ʾadmah | Admah | H126 → | 5 times |
| וְשֶׁמְאֵ֙בֶר֙ | veshemever | and Shemeber | H8038 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| צְבוֹיִ֔ם | tzevoyim | Zeboiim | H6636 → | 5 times |
| וּמֶ֥לֶךְ | umelekh | and [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בֶּ֖לַע | bela' | Bela | H1106 → | 14 times |
| הִיא־ | hi'- | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| צֹֽעַר׃ | tzoar | [is] Zoar | H6820 → | 10 times |
עָשׂ֣וּthey made
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
מִלְחָמָ֗הwar
milchamahH4421 →
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
בֶּ֙רַע֙Bera
bera'H1298 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
סְדֹ֔םSodom
sedomH5467 →39 times
וְאֶת־and with
veetH854 →929 times
בִּרְשַׁ֖עBirsha
birsha'H1306 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
עֲמֹרָ֑הGomorrah
ʾamorahH6017 →19 times
שִׁנְאָ֣ב׀Shinab
shinavH8134 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אַדְמָ֗הAdmah
ʾadmahH126 →5 times
וְשֶׁמְאֵ֙בֶר֙and Shemeber
veshemeverH8038 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
צְבוֹיִ֔םZeboiim
tzevoyimH6636 →5 times
וּמֶ֥לֶךְand [the] king of
umelekhH4428 →2525 times
בֶּ֖לַעBela
bela'H1106 →14 times
הִיא־that
hi'-H1931 →1879 times
צֹֽעַר׃[is] Zoar
tzoarH6820 →10 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 13:10And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 34:3
the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho (the City of Palms) all the way to Zoar.
- Isaiah 51:3
For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness…
- Genesis 14:8
Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the…
- Deuteronomy 34:3
Through
Hosea 11:8How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:20
Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares…
- Hosea 6:4
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
- Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you…
- Deuteronomy 32:36
For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
- Jeremiah 31:20
Through
Deuteronomy 29:23All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the…
it leads to
- Genesis 19:24–25
Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 19:24–25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).