Gen 14:1
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: This is the first war in the Bible. These four kings had some kind of alliance. Chedolaomer had conquered territory thirteen years before and put them under tribute.
Gen 14:2
that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar): We know the names Sodom and Gomorrah because of how famous the story of their destruction is. Also, when Abraham and Lot separated, Lot went to Sodom, which was located along the Jordan river.
Gen 14:3
All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea): This really means that they had formed a confederacy, and dwelled in the Valley of Siddim.
Gen 14:4
Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled: The confederation had been under tribute for twelve years, and they rebelled in the thirteenth year. Interesting fact is that thirteen is the number of rebellion.
Gen 14:5
In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim: This is a very interesting verse! The Rephaim were giants. Rephaim - Easton's Bible Dictionary - Bible Gateway. The Zuzim were most likely the Zamzummim, another group of giants. Zamzummims - Easton's Bible Dictionary - Bible Gateway. And the Emims were also giants! Emims - Easton's Bible Dictionary - Bible Gateway. Are these giants part of the nephilim? We don't know.
Gen 14:6
and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness: The Horites were a race of Troglodytes, that lived in caves, and were a branch of the Hivites. Were these also giants? We don't know. Gotquestions has a good article: Who were the Horites in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org. Apparently, they were founded by Seir the Horite, and then conquered by Esau so they could populate Edom.
Gen 14:7
Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar: The Amalekites are hard to pin down here. There's some relation to Esau, but that relation isn't clear. Here's a portion from another Gotquestions article:
The Amalekites were a formidable tribe of nomads living in the area south of Canaan, between Mount Seir and the Egyptian border. The Amalekites are not listed in the table of nations in Genesis 10, as they did not originate until after Esau’s time. In Numbers 24:20 Balaam refers to the Amalekites as “first among the nations,” but he most likely meant only that the Amalekites were the first ones to attack the Israelites upon their exodus from Egypt or that the Amalekites were “first” in power at that time. Genesis 36 refers to the descendants of Amalek, the son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau, as Amalekites (verses 12 and 16). So, the Amalekites were somehow related to, but distinct from, the Edomites.
Gen 14:8
And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim: The four king confederacy led by Chedorlaomer had attacked already, so in response, a five king confederacy was formed to counter.
Gen 14:9
against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five: Here's the names of the four kings that attacked.
Gen 14:10
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains: This is the same asphalt that was used as mortar for the Tower of Babel. Now, this is an unfortunate translation, and doesn't convey much. Let's look at the NASB translation: "Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country." So what we learn from other translations is that this is a hard verse to translate. The most likely thing is that the kings fled and the people fell into them. This is important because later in Gen 14:17, the king of Sodom greets Abram, after the king's defeat at the hands of Chedorlaomer. That verse makes it appear that the kings did not die.
Gen 14:11
Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way: Because we know from the NASB translation that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah died in the tar pits, we now understand why Sodom and Gomorrah were looted.
Gen 14:12
They also took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed: Lot, being enticed by the riches of Sodom, had established his home there. When Chedorlaomer looted Sodom, Lot was there, and so Lot was taken, along with his posessions. This should be a good lesson. As Christians, we should not be attracted to the worldly things. You know who is attracted to worldly things? Worldly people. Don't be surprised if a worldly Christian is attacked by wordly people, since they both are attracted to the same things.
Gen 14:13
Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram: This is the only time we see Abram engage in violence. This is the way a man should be. Dangerous, but restrained, following God, and protecting others. Terebinth trees are oak trees. Nobody has nailed down the location of Mamre.
Gen 14:14
Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan: Abram must have had a huge number of people with him. These 318 were his trained servants. Trained in war. 318 doesn't include families, animals, possessions, etc... There's no mention of how many people Mamre, Eshcol and Aner provided. The number had to be considerate because they were chasing an army. A few hundred people against tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. Remember, this same army that Abram and his confederation were chasing had just routed five tribes of giants. Seems impossible, but not with God!
Gen 14:15
He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus: It's kind of hard to see here, but Dan is right outside Damascus to the west, at the base of Mt. Hermon. The distance from Hebron to Hobah is about 160 miles. Here's an ancient map of Abraham's travels:
Gen 14:16
So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people: This small group of warriors managed to retrieve the goods and free the captives. Impossible on our own, but not with God.
Gen 14:17
And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him: We see from this verse that the kings did not die in the battle against Chedorlaomer and his confederacy.
Gen 14:18
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High: Salem is the same as Jerusalem. Melchizedek is an interesting figure. He's the "King of Peace." Salem means peace. Notice that this king brings with him the same supplies for communion that we still use today. We know nothing about where Melchizedek came from. A lot of Bible commentators believe that Melchizedek was a Christophany. Why would this mysterious person show up and bring with him the elements for communion? This would make sense if Melchizedek was Jesus.
Gen 14:19
And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth: Melchizedek blesses Abram, which means that Melchizedek was greater than Abram because the lesser is blessed by the greater. But who was greater than Abram? This is another reason why a lot of preachers believe that Melchizedek was the pre-incarnate Christ.
Gen 14:20
And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all: This really is strange. Why would Abraham give tithes to Melchizedek? Psa 110:4 puts the Levitical order under Melchizedek, in a prophecy of the Messiah. Joh 8:56-58 says that Jesus met Abraham. So we have the Levitical order being lesser than the order of Melchizedek, and Jesus saying that He met Abraham, all tied together in a Messianic prophecy. The most likely explanation is that Melchizedek was Jesus, the King of Peace.
Gen 14:21
Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself: There was a custom at that time, that if an army took away people and goods from your camp, and another people retrieved the goods and people, the group that recovered the goods and people receive the goods in payment for freeing the people. The king of Sodom adheres to this custom.
Gen 14:22
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth: Abram doesn't follow the ways of the world, and instead raises his hand to God, whose ways that Abram follows.
Gen 14:23
that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich': And the reason is that Abram doesn't want what Sodom has to offer. Abram gets everything he needs from God. Who cares about worldly stuff when you have God with you?
Gen 14:24
except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion: But Abram doesn't deny the other members of the coalition their share. The only thing Abram took was the food that his people ate.
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