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Genesis 14:9

in Genesis 14

against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five.

KJV

With 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.

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This verse in Genesis 14

Commentary

3 notes on this verse
With Chedorlaomer king of Elam,.... Who is here mentioned first, being the principal in the war, and against whom the kings of Sodom, &c. had rebelled: and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; who were his allies, confederates, and auxiliaries: four kings with five; those four last mentioned, with the other five before spoken of, that is, they fought with them; or rather four kings against five, as the Vulgate Latin and Tigurine versions, and some others.

This 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. That tar is what the builders used for mortar at Babel in chapter 11. The survivors run for the hill country, where Lot is sent in chapter 19.

This site's exposition

four kings against five

Chedorlaomer is named first, where verse 1 had named Amraphel first, and John Gill reads the order as marking him the principal in the war. Gill calls the other three his allies. He follows the Latin Vulgate in reading the count as four kings against five.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

‘BE’EROTH BE’EROTH CHEIMAR’ (FULL OF SLIME PITS). There were many pits there since they removed earth to be used as clay for building purposes.
Ramban: Spain, 1194–1270 · Ramban on Genesis 14:10:1, via Sefaria, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976

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

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • אֵ֣תwith

    ʾetH854 →929 times

  • כְּדָרְלָעֹ֜מֶרKedorlaomer

    kedarelaomerH3540 →5 times

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • עֵילָ֗םElam

    ʾeilamH5867 →28 times

  • וְתִדְעָל֙and Tidal

    vetidalH8413 →

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • גּוֹיִ֔םGoyim

    goyimH1471 →561 times

  • וְאַמְרָפֶל֙and Amraphel

    veamrafelH569 →

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • שִׁנְעָ֔רShinar

    shinarH8152 →8 times

  • וְאַרְי֖וֹךְand Arioch

    vearyokhH746 →

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אֶלָּסָ֑רEllasar

    ʾelasarH495 →

  • אַרְבָּעָ֥הfour

    ʾarbaahH702 →318 times

  • מְלָכִ֖יםkings

    melakhimH4428 →2525 times

  • אֶת־with

    ʾet-H854 →929 times

  • הַחֲמִשָּֽׁה׃the five

    hachamishahH2568 →343 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Where this verse is studied

About Genesis

The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 14 →

This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 14 →