Genesis 14:5

5. came Chedorlaomer] The king of Elam was strong enough to deal vigorously with the rebellion in his western dependencies. This and the two following verses describe the punitive expedition, with which Chedorlaomer and his vassal kings crushed the rebellion. Whether the kings led their forces in person, we are not able to say for certain. The description leaves it to be inferred. The Oriental style of chronicle identified successful generals with the name of the king who sent them on their campaign.

The march of the punitive expedition must have been across the Euphrates at Carchemish, and then southward past Damascus. It overthrew the Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, and Horites who, apparently, were peoples on the east side of Jordan, involved in the rebellion. The southernmost point of the march was reached at the head of the Gulf of Akabah. As it commanded an important trade route, it may have formed the chief objective of the march. Returning from that point, the expedition struck at the Amalekites in the wilderness to the south of Palestine, and then attacked the joint forces of the five cities of the Plain and overthrew them in the valley of Siddim.

the Rephaim] or “sons of the Rapha.” The name given to the aborigines of Canaan, giant survivors of whom are mentioned in 2Sa_21:16-22. The name is specially applied, in Deu_3:11, to Og, the king of Bashan, whose territory corresponded with the country spoken of in this verse.

Ashteroth-karnaim] Generally identified with Tell-‘Ashtara, in the plateau of Bashan, about 20 miles east of the sea of Galilee. Karnaim means “the two horns”; and the full name will therefore probably mean “the two-horned Astarte,” who, as the Goddess of the Moon, was represented with two horns. “Astarte of horns was that immemorial fortress and sanctuary which lay out upon the great plateau of Bashan towards Damascus; so obvious and cardinal a site that it appears in the sacred history both in the earliest recorded campaign in Abraham’s time and in one of the latest under the Maccabees. Gen_14:5; 1Ma_5:26; 1Ma_5:43” (G. Adam Smith, The Twelve Prophets, vol. i. p. 176.)

the Zuzim] Possibly the same as “the Zamzummim,” mentioned in Deu_2:20 as the aborigines who were dispossessed by the Ammonites.

in Ham] Ham has been conjecturally identified with the old name of the Ammonite capital, mentioned in 2Sa_12:26, Rabbath Ammon.

the Emim] Mentioned in Deu_2:10 as the name of the aborigines, “a people great and many and tall, as the Anakim,” dispossessed by the Moabites. The name means probably “the terrible ones.”

in Shaveh-kiriathaim] or the plain of Kiriathaim. In Num_32:37 and Jos_13:19 Kiriathaim is a town in Reuben: in Jer_48:23 in Moab. It is generally identified with Kureyat, about 10 miles east of the Dead Sea and north of the river Arnon.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 14:5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that [were] with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

Ver. 5. Chedorlaomer.] King of Persia; he was commander in chief; and upon his sword might have been written, as was upon Agamemnon’s, ουτος μεν φοβος εστιν ανθρωπων, this is the common terror. {a}

{a} Pausan.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 14:5. In the fourteenth year — After some pause and preparation, Chedorlaomer, in conjunction with his allies, set himself to reduce the revolters. The four kings laid the neighbouring countries waste, and enriched themselves with the spoil of them, Gen 14:5-7. Upon the alarm of which, the king of Sodom and his allies went out and were routed.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14:5-8 The invaders came down the King’s Highway on the east side of the Jordan Valley to the Gulf of Aqaba, then circled back to the valley of the Dead Sea.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, plain.

Or, giants.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 5. Rephaims] A people of Canaan: Ge 15:20.

Ashteroth] A city of Basan, where Og afterwards reigned; Jos 13:31.

Zuzims] Nowhere else spoken of, unless they were the same with the Zamzummims, De 2:20, as some imagine.

Emims] A people great and many in the days of Moses, and tall as the Anakim. They dwelt among the Moabites, by whom they were reputed giants; De 2:10-11.

Shaveh Kiriathaim] Rather, as the margin, the plain of Kiriathaim, which was a city afterwards belonging to Sihon king of Heshbon; Jos 13:19.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(5) The Rephaims.—Described as an Amorite tribe (Amo_2:9) of great stature, settled in Bashan, where Moses conquered them (Jos_13:12). We find them also on the other side of Jordan, in Mount Ephraim ( Jos_17:15), on the western side of Jerusalem (Jos_15:8; Jos_18:16; 2Sa_5:18; 2Sa_5:22), and even among the Philistines (2Sa_21:16; 2Sa_21:18). In many of these places the word is wrongly translated giants. From this wide dispersion of them we may safely conclude that they belonged to the earlier settlers in the land and that only their rulers, like Og (Jos_9:10), were Amorites.

Ashteroth Karnaim.—The two-horned Astarte, the Phœnician Venus, identified by the Rephaim with the moon. Her worship had, no doubt, been introduced by the Amorites. This city was the capital of Og (Deu_1:4), and is called Be-Eshtera, “the house of Astarte,” in Jos_21:27. Its remains have been found at Tell-Ashtereh, in the Hauran, about two leagues from the ancient Edrei.

The Zuzim.—Called in Deu_2:20 Zamzummim, where they are identified with the Rephaim, of which stock they were an inferior branch. Their capital, Ham, has been identified with Hameitât, about six miles to the east of the lower part of the Dead Sea (Tristram, Land of Moab, p. 117).

The Emims.—Of these also we read in Deu_2:10-11 : “The Emim . . . also were accounted Rephaim, as the Anakim.”

In Shaveh Kiriathaim.—More probably, in the plain of Kiriathaim. This city, given to the tribe of Reuben (Num_32:37), was, upon the decay of the Israelites upon the east of Jordan, re-occupied by the Moabites (Jer_48:1), who had taken it from the Emim.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer,.... Not in the fourteenth year of their rebellion against him, as Jarchi, but from their becoming vassals to him:

and the kings that were with him; those kings before mentioned:

and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim; which were in their way to Sodom, &c. and very probably were confederates with the five kings; the Targum, and so the Septuagint, render the word "giants", as it is in Deu 2:11; but they were one of the nations or tribes of the Canaanites, Gen 15:20; and had their name either from the Hebrew word which signifies to be healthful and robust, as those people might be, or from Rephas, the Remphan of Stephen, Act 7:43; called Chiun, Amo 5:26; and with Cronus or Ham the father of Canaan, as Bishop Cumberland (c) observes; and these dwelt in Ashteroth Karnaim, which was a place in Bashan, Deu 1:4; it is about six miles, as Eusebius (d) says, from Adraa or Edrei, and in the Apocrypha:"Then Maccabeus marched forth to Carnion, and to the temple of Atargatis, and there he slew five and twenty thousand persons.'' (2 Maccabees 12:26)mention is made of a place called Carnion, where was a temple of Atergates, a Phoenician deity, as Ashteroth or Astarte, was; and this city here had its first name from Astarte the wife of Cronus or Ham, and whose name may be preserved in Carnaim, as Bishop Cumberland thinks; though as Astarte is said by Sanchoniatho (e) to put on her head the mark of her sovereignty, a bull's head, that is, with its horns, this might be another of her names retained in this city; and it is certain that she was a Phoenician goddess, called the goddess of the Zidonians, Kg1 11:5; and Sanchoniatho relates (f), that the Phoenicians say, that Astarte is she, who among the Greeks is called Aphrodite or Venus; and Astarte is called by Lucian (g) the Phoenician Venus, and by Cicero (h) the Syrian Venus; and if she was the same with Diana or the moon, as some think, she might have the name of Carnaim from its two horns, as the word signifies: our English poet (i) seems to have this in his thoughts, when he speaks of Astoreth as the goddess of the Phoenicians: however the in habitants of this place who belonged to the Canaanites were first attacked by the four kings and routed, though not utterly destroyed, because we hear of them afterwards, as well as they that follow:

and the Zuzims in Ham; or Hemtha, as Onkelos and Jonathan render it, a place so called from Ham the father of Canaan, and was somewhere in the land of Canaan or near it, and near the former place; for it can hardly be thought the land of Egypt, sometimes called the land of Ham, is meant; these Zuzim are supposed by Jarchi to the same with the Zamzummim in Deu 2:20; the word is by Onkelos and Jonathan rendered strong and mighty ones, as also by the Septuagint, mighty nations:

and the Enims in Shaveh Kiriathaim: a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim, and were accounted giants as they, and who in later times were by the Moabites called Emim, Deu 2:10; and therefore Moses gives them the same name here, which they had from the dread and terror they injected into men, and so the word in all the three Targums is rendered terrible ones; and these dwelt in Kiriathaim, a city in the tribe of Reuben, taken from Sihon, king of the Amorites, and which seems to be situated in a plain, see Jos 13:19.

(c) Sanchoniatho's Phoenician History, p. 220, 221. (d) Apud Reland. Palest. illustrata, tom. 2. p. 5. 98. (e) Sanchoniatho's Phoenician History, p. 35. (f) Ibid. p. 36. (g) De Dea Syria. (h) De Natura Deorum, l. 3. (i) ------------with these in troop Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians call'd Astarte queen of heav'n, with crescent horns. --Milton's Paradise Lost, B. 1. l. 437, 438, 439.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Raphaim, Zuzim, and Emim, were all of the gigantic race, robbers, like the Arabs. (Du Hamel) --- These dwelt in the land of Basan, or of giants, Deuteronomy iii. 13.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The kings that were with him, i.e. confederate with him for the recovery of his right, expecting the same assistance from him upon the like occasion.

The Rephaims, a fierce and warlike people of Canaan. See Gen 15:20. Or the giants, as this word is taken Deu 2:11.

Ashteroth Karnaim, a place in Basan called Ashteroth, Deu 1:4; Jos 9:10; 13:31. It is surnamed Carnaim, q.d.

Two-horned, like a half moon, either from the situation and form of the place, or from the goddess Diana, or the moon, which usually was painted with two horns, whom they worshipped.

The Emims, a people in Canaan of giant-like stature, Deu 2:10-11.

Shaveh Kiriathaim; Kiriathaim is a noted city in Gilead, and Shaveh may be either the ancient name of that city, or the present name of the country adjoining and belonging to it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. Smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim — The word Rephaim is in the Hebrew plural, and designates an ancient people of gigantic stature, of whom Og, king of Bashan, is spoken of as the last remnant.

Deu_3:11. Of their origin the Bible is silent. Their chief seat was at Ashteroth Karnaim, or Ashteroth of the two horns, so called, probably, from the worship of the two-horned Astarte, the Syrian Venus and moon-goddess. See note and cuts on Jdg_2:13. Some identify this place with the Ashtaroth near Edrei, where Og dwelt, (Deu_1:4,) which is generally identified with the modern Tel-Ashtereh, some 25 miles east of the Sea of Galilee. Others locate it at the modern Es-Sanamein, about half way between Tell-Ashtereh and Damascus. After this defeat these Rephaim seem to have settled in other parts of Canaan, and the “valley of Rephaim” south-west of Jerusalem probably derived its name from them. We find traces of them in the time of David. 2Sa_21:18; 2Sa_21:20; 2Sa_21:22. The Zuzim were probably the same as the Zamzummim of Deu_2:20, a people akin to the Rephaim, and described as “great, and many, and tall.” Ham, where they dwelt, is probably represented in the modern Amman, east of the Jordan, better known as Rabbath-Ammon, the capital city of the Ammonites. The Emim are represented in Deu_2:10-11, as the ancient occupants of the land of Moab, and also “a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim.” Shaveh Kiriathaim, or the “plain of the two cities,” is probably the same as Kirjathaim, allotted to the Reubenites. Num_32:37; Jos_13:19. The name still lingers in the extensive ruins of Kureiyat, east of the Dead Sea, and about three miles southeast of Mt. Attarus.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And in (or during) the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote (because of actual or probable rebellion) the Rephaims. Gigantav (LXX.), a tribe of gigantic stature (from an Arabic root, to be high), the iron bed of whose last king, Og, measured nine yards in length and four in breadth; (Deu_3:11) forming a portion of the aboriginal inhabitants of Palestine prior to the invasion of the Canaanites, though existing as a remnant as late as the conquest. (Gen_2:20 Gen_3:11, Gen_3:13) In Ashteroth Karnaim. Literally, Ashteroth of the Two Horns; so called either from its situation between two horn-shaped hills (Jewish interpreters), or because of the horned cattle with which it abounded (Hillery), or in honor of the goddess Ashtaroth, Astarte, or Venus, whose image was such as to suggest the idea of a horned figure (A Lapide, Gesenius, Kalisch); identified by some with the capital of Og (Keil), but by others distinguished from it (Wetstein); of uncertain site, though claimed to sin-rive in the ruins of Tell Ashtereh, near the ancient Edrei (Ritter); in those of Afineh, eight miles from Buzrah (Porter); in the modern village Mesarib (Burckhardt); or in El Kurnem or Ophein in Ledsha (Robinson). And the Zuzims. Probably the Zamzummims between the Arnon and the Jabbok. (Deu_2:20) In Ham. "Possibly the ancient name of Rabba of the Ammonites, (Deu_3:11) the remains being still preserved in the ruins of Amman" (Keil). And the Emims. Fearful and terrible men, the primitive inhabitants of Moab; (Deu_2:10, Deu_2:11) called also Rephaims, as being of colossal stature. In Shaveh Kiriathaim. Literally, the plain of Kiriatkaim, or the plain of the two cities, situated in the district afterwards assigned to Reuben; (Num_32:37) identified with Coraiatha, the modern Koerriath or Kereyat, ten miles west of Medebah (Eusebias, Jerome, Kalisch), which, however, rather corresponds with Kerioth, in Jer_48:24 (Keil).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the fourteenth year - After some pause and preparation, Chedorlaomer, in conjunction with his allies, set himself to reduce the revolters. See note at "ver. 1" (For [1.], [2.]) [3.] The progress of the war. The four kings laid the neighbouring countries waste, and enriched themselves with the spoil of them, ver. 5, 6, 7. Upon the alarm of which, the king of Sodom and his allies went out and were routed.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ובארבע עשרה שנה AND IN THE FOURTEENTH YEAR of their rebellion

בא כדרלעמר CHEDORLAOMER CAME — Because the matter concerned him mostly, “he bore the heavier side of the beam" (Genesis Rabbah 42:6).

והמלכים AND THE KINGS [THAT WERE WITH HIM] — These are the other three kings.

הזוזים These are the Zamzumim (see Deuteronomy 2:10 and Deuteronomy 2:20).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ובארבעה עשר.. את רפאים בעשתרות קרנים, they defeated the giants who lived at that place. The place עשתרות קרנים was so named seeing it was situated between two mountains, so that the word קרנים, “horns,” describes the way in which these mountains protruded from the earth’s surface. Our sages in Sukkah 2 already mentioned that all the places mentioned in these verses are not far from Sodom and Gomorrah. Perhaps the inhabitants had supported the insubordination of Sodom and satellites and that is why they were attacked.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.