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.
Here we have the four ruling Mesopotamian kings coming down to meet the five rebellious kings of the Jordanian plain, in the battle of the Valley of Siddim. The valley of Siddim is the valley in which the Dead Sea resides and by the text, the battle most likely occurred on the southwest side of the Dead Sea.
And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
Soon after the battle began, it was obvious that the Jordanian kings were overmatched. The Mesopotamian kings outsmarted the ring leaders of the rebellion and cause the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah to retreat into the slimepits of the area, while the others were allow to flee to the mountains. This was a great feat since this was the home turf of the Jordanians.
And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
As spoils of war and their rightful reward, the Kings of Mesopotamia, took the riches and the food stores of Sodom and Gomorrah. I also believe that if they took only what was rightfully theirs, we probably wouldn't have heard anything about this battle. However....
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
As spoils of war and their rightful reward, the Kings of Mesopotamia, took the riches and the food stores of Sodom and Gomorrah. I also believe that if they took only what was rightfully theirs, we probably wouldn't have heard anything about this battle. However....
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
... they took Lot, the nephew of Abram. In the next blog entry, we will discuss how this is a great example of "You Don't mess with the Big Dog on the Block."
