Genesis 14:10

Genesis 14:10

 

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.

 

a. NLT: As it happened, the valley of the Dead Sea was filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into the tar pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

 

b. ASV: Now the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Young’s Literal Translation: And the valley of Siddim is full of bitumen-pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah flee, and fall there, and those left have fled to the mountain. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

 

d. Amplified Bible: Now the Valley of Siddim was full of slime or bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell (were overthrown) there and the remainder [of the kings] fled to the mountain. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

 

e. Septuagint: Now the salt valley consists of slime-pits. And the king of Sodom fled and the king of Gomorrah, and they fell in there: and they that were left fled to the mountain country. 

 

f. Stone Edition of the Chumash:  The Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen wells. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell into them while the rest fled to a mountain. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

 

1. “And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits;”

 

a. [And the] vale [Strong: 6010 `emeq ay'-mek; from 6009; a vale (i.e. broad depression):--dale, vale, valley (often used as a part of proper names).]

 

b. [of] Siddim [Strong: 7708 Siddiym sid-deem'; plural from the same as 7704; flats; Siddim, a valley in Palestine:--Siddim.]

 

1). At the time all this occurred it was still just a “vale”, there was no Dead Sea. The Dead Sea formed as a result of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Before the Dead Sea was formed, the area was called the vale of Siddim, and during that time, the whole plain of Jordan “was well watered everywhere,” in fact Genesis 13:10 compares the area to “the garden of the LORD”, presumably the Garden of Eden. There are no descriptions in the Scripture that I know of that mention the area, pre-destruction, as having a sea or lake there. Looking at the little bit of information that we have, I speculate that the Jordan River flowed south through the whole “plain of Jordan”, with tributaries branching off southwest and southeast and at its southernmost end was the “vale of Siddim” a very well watered area. I personally believe that the Dead Sea formed as a result of the judgment/destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, i.e., it was not there previously. The only description is a valley with many slimepits.

 

c. [was full of] slime [Strong: 2564 chemar khay-mawr' from 2560; bitumen (as rising to the surface):--slime(-pit).] [Gesenius: bitumen.] [Thorndike-Barnhart Dictionary: any one of a number of minerals that will burn, such as asphalt, petroleum, and naphtha.] See notes on Genesis 14:3.

 

d. pits [Strong: 875 'er be-ayr' from 874; a pit; especially a well:--pit, well.] 

e. [Strong: 875 'er be-ayr' from 874; a pit; especially a well:--pit, well.] 

2. “…and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there;”

 

a. [and the] kings [Strong: 4428 melek meh'-lek; from 4427; a king:--king, royal.]

 

b. [of] Sodom [Strong: 5467 Cdom sed-ome'; from an unused root meaning to scorch; burnt (i.e. volcanic or bituminous) district; Sedom, a place near the Dead Sea:-- Sodom.]

 

c. [and] Gomorrah [Strong: 6017 `Amorah am-o-raw'; from 6014; a (ruined) heap; Amorah, a place in Palestine:--Gomorrah.]

 

d. fled [Strong: 5127 nuwc noos a primitive root; to flit, i.e. vanish away (subside, escape; causatively, chase, impel, deliver):--X abate, away, be displayed, (make to) flee (away, -ing), put to flight, X hide, lift up a standard.] 

e. [and] fell [Strong: 5307 naphal naw-fal'; a primitive root; to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative):--be accepted, cast (down, self, (lots), out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell(-ing), fugitive, have (inheritance), inferior, be judged (by mistake for 6419), lay (along), (cause to) lie down, light (down), be (X hast) lost, lying, overthrow, overwhelm, perish, present(-ed, -ing), (make to) rot, slay, smite out, X surely, throw down.]

f. there [Strong: 8033 sham shawm a primitive particle (rather from the relative pronoun, 834); there (transferring to time) then; often thither, or thence:--in it, + thence, there (-in, + of, + out), + thither, + whither.]

 

1). Considering that on Abram’s return from the rescue, that Bera, the king of Sodom met Abram in the valley of Shaveh (Genesis 14:17), which is south of Bethel, it means that he eventually was able to get away or it was his successor that met Abram. It also appears that the king of Gomorrah died in this battle with perhaps the other kings of the vale of Siddim. After the rescue of Lot, only the king of Sodom went out to meet with Abram returning from the slaughter of the Mesopotamian kings.

 

3. “…and they that remained fled to the mountain.”

 

a. [and they that] remained [Strong: 7604 sha'ar shaw-ar'; a primitive root; properly, to swell up, i.e. be (causatively, make) redundant:--leave, (be) left, let, remain, remnant, reserve, the rest.]

 

b. fled [Strong: 5127 nuwc noos; a primitive root; to flit, i.e. vanish away (subside, escape; causatively, chase, impel, deliver):--X abate, away, be displayed, (make to) flee (away, -ing), put to flight, X hide, lift up a standard.]

 

c. [to the] mountain [Strong: 2022 har har; a shortened form of 2042; a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figuratively):--hill (country), mount(-ain), X promotion.]

 

1). The other three kings are not mentioned whether they survived or not. Probably, who ever did not successfully flee to the mountain were either killed or were taken captive.