The War of the Kings

Critics of Scripture have always been eager to introduce doubt regarding the accuracy of the Bible more so than any other work of antiquity. 

Moreover, “they have systematically refused to accept its historicity at any point unless there is a large amount of external support evidence. Instead of assuming it to be true until proved false, almost invariably they assume it to be false until the incoming evidence compels them to change their minds.”1 Many critics in past decades rejected entirely the historicity of several kings mentioned in Scripture—such as Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius—yet current archaeological and historical discoveries have verified the biblical references as reliable. Consequently, one should have more skepticism regarding those who question the geographical and historical accuracy of the Bible as opposed to doubting the sacred Text.

Henry Morris noted how significant it is “that the names of over 40 different kings of various countries, mentioned at various time in the Old Testament, have also been found in contemporary documents and inscriptions outside of the Old Testament, always consistently with the times and places associated with them in the Bible. By comparison with gross errors in such matters known to exist in other ancient histories, it becomes obvious that the writers of the Bible narratives not only were contemporaries of the people and events so named, but that they were extremely careful in what they wrote, and furthermore, all those who later copied and transmitted their writings were also extremely careful.”2 The account of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of the earliest biblical accounts to be regarded as myth, allegedly invented for Scripture to communicate moral truths. The problem with such reasoning is that Scripture consistently refers to the account as historical. Numerous prophecies in the Old Testament refer to Sodom in comparison to other calamities and judgments (Deut 29:23; 32:32; Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; 13:19; Jer 23:14; 49:18; 50:40; Lam 4:6; Amos 4:11; Zeph 2:9). Biblically and fundamentally, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were continually remembered in the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles (Matt 10:15; Luke 17:29; 2 Pet 2:6; Jude 7).

In addition to Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (or Zoar), Sodom and Gomorrah are listed among the cities of the plain (Gen 14:2). Genesis 14:3 provides the location of these five cities as “the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea, [which is another name for the Dead Sea]).” The location of the cities seems to be north of the Dead Sea, opposite Bethel and Ai, with Tell el-Hammam as the best candidate by far. A southern site is the most improbable location for Sodom and Gomorrah, because all the biblical details indicate otherwise.

Some evidence of a fiery destruction can be identified in the area south of the Dead Sea, yet the same is true of Tell el-Hammam in the north. Bitumen (tar pits) has been mined in every area surrounding the Dead Sea (v. 10). Furthermore, it seems probable that life in the southern area ceased no later than 2300 BC, which is, of course, earlier than the biblical date of Abraham (ca. 2165-1990 BC). Bab edh-Dhra in the south, for instance, is an estimated 12 acres, while evidence of life at Tell el-Hammam in the north is supported by the approximate 100 acres of various towns and villages in close proximity to the site. Lot obviously would have chosen Tell el-Hammam, for he “saw all the valley [Heb. kikkar, “plain” or “round”] of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere” (13:10; cf. Deut 34:3), as opposed to settling in the area of Bab edh-Dhra, with its dried and shallow Lisan Peninsula.

Genesis 14 records the unusual account of war between four kings beyond the Levant and five city-states on the northeastern side of the Dead Sea. The people living in Canaan were similar to humanity in general during the time of Abraham; they sought conquest and supremacy. No longer wanting to be under the dominion of Chedorlaomer, a confederation of five kings rebelled (v. 4). They had been subject to Chedorlaomer for twelve years, “but the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him” punished the five kings for their rebellion (vv. 4-5). 

Not only did Chedorlaomer and his allies punish the rebels, but also he attacked several other cities to the east, quite possibly because they had withdrawn from his dominion. Abraham and his forces ultimately defeated the four kings, because they had taken Lot captive and all his possessions (vv. 12-16). Critics of Scripture rejected the account of Abraham’s victory, claiming there was no evidence supporting it. Continuing archaeological research in the Holy Land, however, has produced evidence substantiating the biblical account with all its precise details.

Dr. Nelson Glueck (1900-71), eminent and pioneering biblical archaeologist and president of Hebrew Union College until his death, referred to the “savage incursion [of Gen 14] in the time of Abraham” as an “early version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”3 He reported: “Centuries earlier, another civilization of high achievement had flourished between the twenty-first and nineteenth centuries B.C. till it was savagely liquidated by the Kings of the East. According to Biblical statements, which have been borne out by archaeological evidence, they gutted every city and village at the end of that period from Ashtaroth-Karnaim in southern Syria through all of Transjordan and the Negev to Kadesh(-barnea) in Sinai (Genesis 14:1-7).”4 Speaking further of the Genesis 14 rebellion and the brutal annihilation of it, Glueck wrote: “I found that every village in their path had been plundered and left in ruins, and the countryside laid waste. The population had been wiped out or led away into captivity. For hundreds of years thereafter, the entire area was like an abandoned cemetery, hideously unkempt, with all its monuments shattered and strewn in pieces on the ground.”5

“Dr. Glueck, though not himself a believer in biblical inerrancy, systematically explored the land of Israel for archaeological records, and found the Bible to be amazingly reliable at all points. Often he used it successfully to lead him to new discoveries, sometimes of significant economic value to the developing Israeli nation.”6 Proving or disproving the Bible is not the role of archaeology. “Those people are essentially of little faith who seek through archaeological corroboration of historical source materials in the Bible to validate its religious teachings and spiritual insights.”7 He explained the relationship between archaeology and biblical descriptions as follows: “The purpose of the Biblical historian and archaeologist is, however, not to ‘prove’ the correctness of the Bible. It is primarily a theological document, which can never be ‘proved,’ because it is based on belief in God, whose Being can be scientifically suggested but never scientifically demonstrated.”8

Archaeology does not prove the biblical account, yet never has it disproved Scripture. Glueck continued to explain the historical accuracy of the Old Testament: “As a matter of fact, however, it may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries. They form tesserae in the vast mosaic of the Bible’s almost incredibly correct historical memory.”9

Archaeological discoveries in the Middle East certainly have confirmed the accuracy and reliability of the Bible. Archaeology does substantiate “the historicity of the biblical record and makes evidence available of the culture and practice of a community within a specific historical period. Archaeological evidence cannot prove doctrinal truth. For instance, archaeologists may agree concerning the historical accuracy of the Bible, yet still not believe in the infallibility of Scripture [such as Glueck]. If archaeologists discover an event recorded in the Bible as a supernatural event, it does not necessarily follow that such would be attributed to an omnipotent God (precisely because historical events cannot be tested by the scientific method). When the Bible claims that certain events occurred as the action of an omnipotent God, then Christians needs to exercise caution concerning what can be substantiated and what archaeology is unable to prove.”10

Response
The biblical account of the war of the kings is obviously a component of the greater issue of the historicity of the patriarchs and the times in which they lived. A confederacy of kings plundered the land promised to Abram, and Lot was taken captive in the military campaign. A fugitive came to Abraham and told him of the invasion and the captivity of Lot. Abraham “led out his trained men” (14:14) and, together with his forces, pursued and defeated the northern kings by means of an ambush strategy, which allowed him to recover “all the goods ...  and his relative Lot with his possessions” (v. 16). God granted Abraham the victory as an outworking of His covenant promises (12:1-3). Moreover, those who blessed Abram shared in the divine victory (14:18-20). The blessing of God meant that Abram was not to be enriched by any other (vv. 22-23).

The account reminds the Christian of Christ’s spoils “when He ascended on high, [and] He led captive a host of captives” (Eph 4:8). Jesus ascended to the throne of His Father, after which He gave gifts to His followers through the Holy Spirit, whom He sent on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Jesus came to earth to become a man. As the God-Man, He ascended to the throne of His Father, from which He fills the entire universe with His rule (Eph 4:9-10; cf. Col 1:18). Whether the gift is one or more, they are all to be used for the glory of God.
(1393)

ENDNOTES
1 Henry M. Morris with Henry M. Morris III, Many Infallible Proofs, rev. and exp. ed. (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 1996) 55.
2 Ibid. 55-56.
3 Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert (New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1959) 71-72.
4 Ibid. 11.
5 Ibid. 73.
6 Morris, Many Infallible Proofs, 56.
7 Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, 31.
8 Ibid. 30-31.
9 Ibid. 31.
10 Ron J. Bigalke Jr., “Biblical Archaeology,” in The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization, 4 vols., ed. George Thomas Kurian (United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011) 1:249.

Midnight Call - 07/2024