Gen 14:1 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar [Babylon, Iraq] Arioch king of Ellasar [Assyria?] Chedorlaomer king of Elam [Persia, Iran], and Tidal king of Goiim [Hittites? Turkey?]

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Gen 141 And it came about in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar Babylon, Iraq Arioch
king of Ellasar Assyria? Chedorlaomer king
of Elam Persia, Iran, and Tidal king of
Goiim Hittites? Turkey?
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Gen 141 And it came about in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar Babylon, Iraq Arioch
king of Ellasar Assyria? Chedorlaomer king
of Elam Persia, Iran, and Tidal king of
Goiim Hittites? Turkey?
v. 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom,
and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of
Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king
of Bela (that is, Zoar).
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The first Gulf War involving Persians, Iraq,
Iran, as far down as the Gulf of Aqaba
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Possible locations of Cities of the Plain in
Genesis 142
Dead Sea
Bible and Spade, Summer 1999, p. 67-80
Bab edh-Dhra
Sodom
Discovered by archaeology in 1924 by William
Foxwell Albright
Valley of Siddim
Numeira
Gomorrah
Discovered by archaeology in 1973
Zoar
Safi
Feifa
Khanazir
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Scholars have puzzled over Genesis 14 for
generations. Some even said it was mythological
that is, until W. F. Albright researched it and
found that it is very much authentic. Albright
found that the names mentioned are authentic
place names and personal names and the language
throughout is very archaic ancient, from the
time period. He concluded that it records an
actual historical event during the days of
Abraham. -- Bible and Spade (1974) Volume 3/1, p.
10.
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Archaeology overturns the critics

• Critics once scoffed that there wasnt writing
  yet in the time of Moses to write Genesis but
  17,000 tablets with writing have been found
  since 1974 dated to 2500 BC well before time of
  Abram!
• Gen. 142 refers to the 5 cities of the Plain
  (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, Zoar), verified
  by Ebla archives, one scholar claimed even in
  same order
• Many names of people and places in Genesis were
  found in Ebla (ex Salem in Gen 1418, etc.)
• Another text from different area dated to 1900
  B.C. confirms Ashteroth (v. 5) around the time of
  Abram
• Some critics questioned whether Hebrew (in v.
  13) was a term used that early in history, but
  later archaeology has found texts using the word
  Hebirew as early as 1750 B.C., close to the time
  of Abraham.

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Archaeological Study Bible, p. 23-25 These
cities were not mythical places but historical
sites, and there is evidence of their destruction
precisely as the Bible describes We know
Zoars location from the Medeba map, a mosaic
map on the floor of a church in Madaba, Jordan,
depicting the Holy Land during the sixth
century the name Arioch v. 1 is rendered in
18th15th century BC texts discovered at Mari
and Nuzi in Mesopotamia Contemporary records
of the time of Abram trace similar Mesopotamian
confederations that formed
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Beni Hasan Tomb Painting

• Painting dated to 1900 B.C. shows people from
  Canaan and the weapons they might have used in
  warfare (Gen 14)
• ex Axes, spears,
• bow arrow, etc.

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Genesis 143 All these cities of v. 2 came as
allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt
Sea) or Dead Sea
Many believe the valley of Siddim and cities in
v. 2 are now under the southern Dead Sea
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Read Genesis 144-5
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Places in Genesis 145
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Places in Genesis 146-8
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Below is valley near Salt Sea (Dead Sea) today
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Southern Dead Sea (Holman Bible Atlas)
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Dead Sea western cliffs to south from En Gedi
Dead Sea western cliffs to south from En Gedi
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Read Genesis 148-9
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Dead Sea
Genesis 141011 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. Then they
took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all
their food supply, and departed.
Valley of Siddim
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Dead Sea mud terraced shoreline
Dead Sea mud terraced shoreline
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That the southern end of the Dead Sea is a
source of bitumen tar or black asphalt-type
susbtance is a well established fact. The
historians Diodoros, Strabo, Josephus, and
Tacitus wrote of large masses of asphalt coming
to the surface of the water in the sector of the
Dead Sea below the Lisan. Similar phenomena have
been observed in modern times as well. -- Bible
and Spade (1974) Volume 3/3, p. 79.
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Traditional site of Oak of Abram (Gen. 1413)
in Mamre, as of 1847
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Read Genesis 1412-13
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• The Hebrew text about Abrams alliance at the
  end of v. 13 means they had a covenantal
  relationship with him. Indeed, in those days even
  to live there temporarily required a treaty.
  This, in turn, shows Abrams strength, materially
  (in wealth) and physically (in manpower), for
  certain inhabitants of the Land to make this
  treaty with him. But this treaty also required
  the other three covenantal parties to join him in
  battle, and they now honored this treaty and did
  so. These may also have been Abrams converts in
  the worship of Jehovah. see Genesis 123
• Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel's Bible
  Commentary The Book of Genesis, 1st ed. (San
  Antonio, TX Ariel Ministries, 2008), 265.

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Abrams pursuit of the eastern kings and rescue
of Lot
Dan
Shechem
Ai

Read Genesis 1414-16
Hebron
Beer-sheba


Sodom and Gommorah?
25

• Archaeology has found in Dan (v. 14) a
  4000-year-old mud-brick gate from the very
  timeframe when Abram travelled through

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Note the descendants of Abram come through some
of the same areas after Exodus that the kings
defeated in Gen 14
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Gen 141 And it came about in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar Babylon, Iraq, Arioch
king of Ellasar Assyria? Chedorlaomer king
of Elam Persia, Iran, and Tidal king of
Goiim Hittites? Turkey?
Note Shinar is in Genesis 112 the place where
men united in rebellion against God at the Tower
of Babel. In Genesis 141 there is another
alliance of sinful men to build a kingdom and
make a name for themselves (see Genesis 114)
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Gen 141 And it came about in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar Babylon, Iraq, Arioch
king of Ellasar Assyria? Chedorlaomer king
of Elam Persia, Iran, and Tidal king of
Goiim Hittites? Turkey?
But God calls Abram from Iraq (Ur) and promises
He will make Abrams name great and all nations
will be blessed in Abram (Genesis 121-3)
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Gen 141 And it came about in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar Babylon, Iraq, Arioch
king of Ellasar Assyria? Chedorlaomer king
of Elam Persia, Iran, and Tidal king of
Goiim Hittites? Turkey?
Daniel 4 suggests another notable man from
Babylon is saved. Psalm 874 indicates others
from this land also came to know God, who says
Among those who know me I mention Rahab and
Babylon. (Psalm 874 ESV)
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Gen 141 And it came about in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar Babylon, Iraq, Arioch
king of Ellasar Assyria? Chedorlaomer king
of Elam Persia, Iran, and Tidal king of
Goiim Hittites? Turkey?
Gods grace comes to Assyria later by the prophet
Jonah and Nineveh repents. An even bigger mass
salvation in Assyria seems prophesied in Isa
1924-25 where Assyria will be with Israel a
blessing in the midst of the earth whom the
Lord of hosts has blessed saying, Blessed is
Assyria, the work of my hands, and Israel my
inheritance.
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Gen 141 And it came about in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar Babylon, Iraq, Arioch
king of Ellasar Assyria? Chedorlaomer king
of Elam Persia, Iran, and Tidal king of
Goiim Hittites? Turkey?
In Matthew 2, Magi from the East come to the
promised land, but this time coming to worship
Jesus the newborn King. Some think they came from
the area of Babylon or Elam. Wherever they came
from it is a fulfillment of Abrams promise in
Gen. 123, including formerly enemy nations (see
Gal. 3)
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Gen 141 And it came about in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar Babylon, Iraq, Arioch
king of Ellasar Assyria? Chedorlaomer king
of Elam Persia, Iran, and Tidal king of
Goiim Hittites? Turkey?
Some converts to Abrams faith from Elam and
other Persians/Arabs are among those saved in
Acts 29-11 when they hear the gospel from
descendants of Abraham on the day of Pentecost,
in fulfillment of Genesis 123 (see also Gal.
38-29)
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Gen 141 And it came about in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar Babylon, Iraq, Arioch
king of Ellasar Assyria? Chedorlaomer king
of Elam Persia, Iran, and Tidal king of
Goiim Hittites? Turkey?
A number of Goiim (Gentiles) come to faith and
join Israel in the time of David. A notable
faithful godly soldier of Davids is Uriah the
Hittite, who demonstrates truer godliness than
David (2 Samuel 10-11)
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Genesis 14 and Jesus family tree

• Matthews gospel introduces Jesus as son of
  Abraham (11) and ends with the same phrase all
  nations (2819) as Abrahams promise in Genesis
  123
• The genealogy of Jesus then includes many people
  from nations in Gen 14
• Abraham (Matt 12) was from Ur in Babylon (part
  of land mentioned in Gen 141)
• Isaac (Matt 12) married from Syria (Gen 2520),
  where Damascus is (Gen 1415)
• Jacob (Matt 12) married someone from Haran (Gen
  29), modern Turkey (Gen 141)
• Tamar and Rahab are both Canaanites (Mt 13, 5),
  the land where Abram is dwelling in, Gen 14
• Ruth is a Moabite (Matt 15) from the land the
  kings pass through in Genesis 14
• The wife of Uriah the Hittite (Mt 16, people
  group in Gen 141?)

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Damascus
By faith Abraham let us run the race fixing
our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of
faith (Heb 118, 122)

• Genesis 1415 describes Abram the Hebrew on a
  road to Damascus pursuing Lot to rescue him
• Acts 9 describes a later Hebrew of Hebrews, a
  descendant of Abraham also on a road to Damascus,
  when Jesus, the Son of Abraham, comes and pursues
  Saul and rescues him!