I’m imagining a rather meek king who realizes he has lost everything and is trying to find some way to get back in control. This was truly a miracle directed by the hand of God. The incredible part is that 318 men and Abram were able to defeat four kings. It seems that this was the main purpose of this mission. We do not know the exact details of the battle other than the fact that Abram and his servants seem to have won not only the battle, but have repossessed all the possessions and people who were taken by the five kings. Abram along with his servants attack them and pursued them. They catch up to the four kings, and Abram divides his forces by night. We also learn that Abram has three hundred and eighteen trained servants who are essentially soldiers.Ībram sends these servants in pursuit of Lot. Secondly, these allies are Amorites, a people group who would become the enemies of the people of God. He does have some power and seems to be quite well-off, but he is not the king of any nation. This news Abram hears about the capture of his nephew sets off some intriguing events. This does show that the genealogies presented earlier were of some special significance not only to those particular families, but others identified Abram ad his descendants as Hebrews as well. For some reason, of the long line of descendants, Eber is the one Abram’s descendants are identified with. Turn back to chapter 11 and check out verse 16. What does it mean? It refers to descendants of Eber. This is the first mention of Hebrew in the Bible. Someone escapes the devastation and tells Abram “the Hebrew”.

Unfortunately, Lot and his his goods were also taken. The four kings took possession of all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and then began making their way home. The five kings banded together but were defeated. The next year, Chedorlaomer and his allies attack in retribution for failure to pay the tribute. These kings who rebelled were Bera (king of Sodom), Birsha (Gomorrah), Shinab, Semeber, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar). They were vassals for twelve years, but rebelled on the thirteenth refusing to pay their tribute. There were four kings, Amraphel, Arioch, Chedorlaomer, and Tidal who joined together to make war on five kings who had rebelled against Chedorlaomer. That is exactly what happens in chapter 14.

Failure to pay this tribute was equivalent to rebellion and usually resulted in military action. These vassals would be required to pay tribute in exchange for protection and to remain in control of their own lands. In the Ancient Near East, there would often be city-states that would be vassals of some other greater city-state. The faith that Abram displays shows that he is a true worshiper of the Lord. This is an incredibly interesting chapter.

The war of five kings