According to what I understand after reading some of Gill's comments is the king of Sodom set up traps of tar pits, which everyone knows about oil rich mid-east the stuff oozes out of the ground everywhere, but Sodom's king, Bera fell into his own traps. Gill says that Bera is a descendant of Ham and occupied some 13 cities, including Sodom and Gomorrah. The area called the Vale of Siddim is apparently on the east coastal plain of what we now refer to as the Dead Sea.Historical English names include the
Salt Sea,
[16] Lake of Sodom[16] from the biblical account of its destruction
[15] and
Lake Asphaltites[16] from
Greek and
Latin. Because of the large volume of
ancient trade in the lake's naturally occurring free-floating
bitumen, its usual names in
ancient Greek and
Roman geography were some form of
Asphalt Lake (
Greek: Ἀσφαλτίτης or Ἀσφαλτίτις
Λίμνη,
Asphaltítēs or
Asphaltítis Límnē;
Latin:
Lacus Asphaltites) or Sea (Ἀσφαλτίτης
Θάλασσα,
Asphaltítēs Thálassa).
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son,.... The son of Haran, his elder brother, who was now, as the Jews say (x), fifty years of age:
who dwelt in Sodom, or near it, in the country adjacent to it, see
Genesis 13:12; and so being a neighbour of the men of Sodom, and a sojourner among them, he partakes of their punishment; and this was a just correction of him for choosing to dwell among such a people: and they took
his goods, and departed; as him and his family, so all his substance, his cattle, wealth, and riches of every sort, and went off with it: Eupolemus
, an Heathen writer, makes mention of this circumstance in his relation of this war, and says, that the Armenians, as he calls the four kings, baring conquered the Phoenicians, carried away captive the brother's son of Abram.
(x) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 77. 1.(
Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 17. p. 418.
Genesis 14:13
And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these
were confederate with Abram.
And there came one that escaped,.... Both the sword of the enemy and the slimepits; either one of the inhabitants of Sodom, who had an acquaintance with Lot and a friendship for him, and knew his relation to Abram; or one of Lot's family, that might escape being taken and carried captive: for not Michael the prince, so called, because when the angels fell they would have drawn him with them, but God delivered him, and therefore his name was called or "one that escaped", as the Jews (z) say; nor Og, that escaped the waters of the flood, as they also say (a), and now from this war, and was the only one left of the Rephaim, or giants, whom Amraphel slew, which they gather from
Deuteronomy 3:11; who they suppose came with the following message to Abram with an ill design, that he might go out to war with the kings, and be slain, and then he thought to marry his wife; but these are idle fancies, what is first suggested is right.
And told Abram the Hebrew; that there had been a battle of four kings with five, that the latter were beaten, among whom were the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah; and that Lot, his kinsman, who dwelt in or near Sodom, was carried captive, with all his goods. Abram is called the Hebrew, either from his passing over or coming beyond the river Euphrates, from Chaldea into Canaan; with which the Septuagint version agrees, rendering it the "passer over"; and so Jarchi says he is called, because he came beyond the river: or rather from his having lived beyond it, as such as dwelt there were called; for it can hardly be thought that he should peculiarly have this name from that single action of his passing the river, which multitudes did besides him: but rather, why should he not be called Ibri, the word here used, from the place of his birth? For, according to the Talmudists (b), Ur of the Chaldees was called , "little Ibra"; though it is more generally thought he had this name from his being a descendant of Eber, and who was not only of his sons' sons, and spoke the same language, but professed the same religion, and which was continued in his posterity, who to the latest ages were called Hebrews, and sometimes Eber,
Numbers 24:24; and which is the opinion of many Jewish writers (c), and seems most probable:
for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite; see
Genesis 13:18; it was about forty miles from Sodom, but from it to Dan, whither he pursued the four kings, and where he overtook, fought, and smote them, is by some computed one hundred and twenty four miles (d): this Mamre, from whom the plain or grove of oaks were called, was the
brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; who are particularly mentioned, because of their concern in the following expedition:
and these were confederate with Abram; or "were masters" or "authors of a covenant" (e) with him; they had entered into a league to defend one another, their persons and properties, from the insults of invaders and tyrants, or thieves and robbers: and it may be lawful to form such leagues with irreligious persons on such accounts, where there is no prohibition from God, as there was none as yet, though there afterwards was one; and the Israelites, were forbid to make covenants with the Canaanites, but that was after they were drove out of the land for their sins,
Deuteronomy 7:1; besides, it is not improbable that these men were religious men, and worshipped the same God with Abram, for such there were among the Canaanitish princes, of which Melchizedek, after spoken of, is an instance; and as yet the sin of the Amorites was not full, of which tribe or nation these men were.
And by force took them from the king Chedorlaomer of Elam descendant of Shem. Lots of intrigue here for sure. Gill posits that Abram here called the 'Hebrew' as a name attributed to him as a descendant of Eber rather than some as from 'across the river'. MY COMMENT; If Eber translates to across the river wouldn't it be a matter of language bifurcating. Gill's comment on vs. 13 here concerning 'the one who escaped', is inconclusive as to who this is.
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