Genesis 14:8
in Genesis 14Then 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 Valley of Siddim
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And 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 set the battle in array against them in the vale of Siddim;
KJV
And 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;
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This verse in Genesis 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
marched out and arrayed themselves for battle
on Genesis 14:8-10
Five kings march out to fight, and the ground beats them, a valley full of tar pits. Men of Sodom and Gomorrah fall in as they flee, and that tar is what the builders used for mortar at Babel in chapter 11. The survivors run for the hill country.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let us not idly pass these words by, dearly beloved, or consider the account to be of no value. It was of set purpose that sacred Scripture recounted everything to us with precision so that we should learn the might of these barbarians and the degree of valor they displayed and with how much ferocity they involved themselves in war so as to clash even with the giants—that is, men powerful in bodily stature—and put to flight all the peoples dwelling there. You see, just as a swollen torrent sweeps away everything in its path and destroys it, in the same way the barbarians fell on these peoples and destroyed them completely with the result that they put to flight the rulers of the Amalekites and all the others. But perhaps someone may say, "What good is it for me to know about the might of the barbarians?" It was not idly or to no purpose that Scripture mixed these matters in with its account. Nor is it without point that we are now bringing it to your attention and directing you in turn to recall their valor. Rather, our purpose is that from the ensuing instruction you may learn the extraordinary degree of God's power and also the patriarch's virtue.
We have seen now the prog-ress of the noble mind, which, finding itself in perilous deviation from the path of virtue, immediately arose to search for the reward of wisdom, the inheritance of justice. The readings that follow will show how harmful are the vices connected with frivolity. For those four kings who defeated the five kings and took captive the whole cavalry of the Sodomites captured Lot the son of Abraham's brother as well and went on their way. The five kings are our five bodily senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And they drew up in battle array against them in the wooded valley. Instead of the wooded valley, in Hebrew it has in the Valley of Siddim, which signifies pleasant and wooded places.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And there went out the king of Sodom,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Bela, the same is Zoar - That is, it was called Zoar after the destruction of Sodom, etc., mentioned in Genesis 19.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצֵ֨א | vaiyetze' | and he went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| סְדֹ֜ם | sedom | Sodom | H5467 → | 39 times |
| וּמֶ֣לֶךְ | umelekh | and [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| עֲמֹרָ֗ה | ʾamorah | Gomorrah | H6017 → | 19 times |
| וּמֶ֤לֶךְ | umelekh | and [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַדְמָה֙ | ʾadmah | Admah | H126 → | 5 times |
| וּמֶ֣לֶךְ | umelekh | and [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 |
| הִוא־ | hi'- | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| צֹ֑עַר | tzoar | [is] Zoar | H6820 → | 10 times |
| וַיַּֽעַרְכ֤וּ | vaiyaarkhu | and they deployed | H6186 → | |
| אִתָּם֙ | ʾitam | with them | H854 → | 929 times |
| מִלְחָמָ֔ה | milchamah | battle | H4421 → | |
| בְּעֵ֖מֶק | beemek | in [the] valley of | H6010 → | 69 times |
| הַשִּׂדִּֽים׃ | hasidim | <the> Siddim | H7708 → | 3 times |
וַיֵּצֵ֨אand he went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
סְדֹ֜םSodom
sedomH5467 →39 times
וּמֶ֣לֶךְand [the] king of
umelekhH4428 →2525 times
עֲמֹרָ֗הGomorrah
ʾamorahH6017 →19 times
וּמֶ֤לֶךְand [the] king of
umelekhH4428 →2525 times
אַדְמָה֙Admah
ʾadmahH126 →5 times
וּמֶ֣לֶךְand [the] king of
umelekhH4428 →2525 times
צְבוֹיִ֔םZeboiim
tzevoyimH6636 →5 times
וּמֶ֥לֶךְand [the] king of
umelekhH4428 →2525 times
בֶּ֖לַעBela
bela'H1106 →14 times
הִוא־that
hi'-H1931 →1879 times
צֹ֑עַר[is] Zoar
tzoarH6820 →10 times
וַיַּֽעַרְכ֤וּand they deployed
vaiyaarkhuH6186 →
אִתָּם֙with them
ʾitamH854 →929 times
מִלְחָמָ֔הbattle
milchamahH4421 →
בְּעֵ֖מֶקin [the] valley of
beemekH6010 →69 times
הַשִּׂדִּֽים׃<the> Siddim
hasidimH7708 →3 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 19:22Hurry! Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you reach it.” That is why the town was called Zoar.
it leads to
- Genesis 14:2
went 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).
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 13:10
And 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…
- Deuteronomy 9:14
Leave Me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. Then I will make you into a nation mightier and greater than they are.”
- Genesis 32:25–28
When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled.
- Genesis 14:2
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 2:8–10
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.
- Deuteronomy 34:3
Through
Genesis 14:10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country.
it leads to
- Genesis 19:30
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains—for he was afraid to stay in Zoar—where they lived in a cave.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 19:30
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; Ambrose of Milan, On Abraham; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 35.9; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.