John Calvin Commentary Genesis 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 Goiim," — Genesis 14:1 (ASV)

And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel. The history related in this chapter is chiefly worthy of remembrance for three reasons:

1. Lot, with a gentle reproof, urged the men of Sodom to repentance; they had, however, become altogether unteachable and desperately perverse in their wickedness.

2. God, out of compassion for him, raised up Abram as his avenger and liberator to rescue him, when a captive, from the hand of the enemy. In this act, the incredible goodness and benevolence of God towards His own people is made clear, since for the sake of one man, He preserves for a time many who were completely unworthy.

3. Abram was divinely honored with a significant victory and was blessed by the mouth of Melchizedek, in whose person, as appears from other passages of Scripture, the kingdom and priesthood of Christ was foreshadowed.

But Lot was beaten with these afflictions because, having been lured and deceived by the richness of the soil, he had mixed himself with unholy and wicked men.

Regarding the sum of the history, it is a horrible picture both of the greed and pride of man.

The human race still had their three ancestors, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, living among them; by the very sight of whom they were reminded that they all originated from one family and one ark. Moreover, the memory of their common origin was a sacred pledge of brotherly bond, which should have bound them to assist each other by mutual support.

Nevertheless, ambition so prevailed that they attacked one another on all sides with sword and armor, and each attempted to subdue the rest. Therefore, while we see today princes raging furiously and shaking the earth to the utmost of their power, let us remember that this evil is ancient, since the lust of dominion has in all ages been too widespread among men.

Let us, however, also remark that no fault is worse than that arrogance, which many consider a most heroic quality. The ambition of Chedorlaomer was the torch of the whole war, for he, inflamed with the desire of triumphing, drew three others into a hostile alliance. And pride compelled the men of Sodom and their allies to take up arms to shake off the yoke.

That Moses, however, records the names of so many kings while Shem was still living (although derided by irreligious men as mythical) will not appear absurd if we only reflect that this great increase of the human race was a remarkable miracle of God. For when the Lord said to Noah himself and to his sons, Increase and multiply, He intended to raise them to the hope of a much greater restoration than would have taken place in the ordinary course of nature.

This blessing is indeed perpetual and will flourish until the end of the world, but it was necessary that its extraordinary effectiveness should then appear, so that these earliest ancestors might know that a new world had been divinely enclosed within the ark. Poets portray Deucalion and his wife as having sown the human race after the flood by throwing stones behind them. But it necessarily followed that the wretched minds of men would be deceived by such trivial things when they departed from the pure truth of God; and Satan has used this deception for the purpose of discrediting the truthfulness of God’s miracles.

For since the memory of the flood and the unusual increase of a new world could not be quickly erased, he spread clouds and smoke, introducing childish notions so that what had before been considered certain truth might now be seen as a myth. It is, however, to be observed that all are called kings by Moses who held the leading position in any town or in any significant gathering of men.

It is asked whether those kings who followed Chedorlaomer lived at a great distance because Tidal is called the king of nations. There are those who imagine that he reigned over different nations far and wide, as if he were a king of kings. The ancient interpreter places Arioch in Pontus, which is most absurd.

I rather think the true reason for the name was that he had a band composed of deserters and wanderers who, having left their own country, had gathered to him. Therefore, since they were not one body—natives of his own country—but gathered together from a mixed crowd, he was properly called king of nations.

In saying that the battle was fought in the valley of Siddim, or in the open plain, which, when Moses wrote, had become the Salt Sea, it is not to be doubted that the Dead Sea, or the lake Asphaltites, is meant. For he knew whom he was appointed to instruct, and therefore he always adapted his words to the simple understanding of the people; and this is his common custom regarding the names of places, as I have previously suggested.

Before, however, the battle was fought, Moses declares that the inhabitants of the region were partially beaten. It is probable that all had been scattered because they had no leader under whose leadership they might fight, until five kings advanced to meet them with a disciplined army. Now, though Chedorlaomer had made so many people subject to tribute to him by tyranny rather than by lawful authority, and on that account his ambition is to be condemned, yet his subjects are justly punished for having rashly rebelled. For although liberty is by no means to be despised, yet the subjection once imposed upon us cannot, without implied rebellion against God, be thrown off, because every power is ordained by God (Romans 13:1), although at its beginning it may have flowed from the lust of dominion. Therefore some of the rebels are slaughtered like cattle; and others, though they have put on armor and are prepared to resist, are yet driven to flight; thus, unhappily for all concerned, ends the stubborn refusal to pay tribute. And such narratives should be noted so that we may learn from them that all who try to create anarchy fight against God.