Bible Strands
Genesis 14:1
In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator introduces a historical moment just before listing the coalition of valley kings who will wage war in the following verse. This chronological marker places the reader at the outset of a geopolitical conflict.
The words — The Hebrew phrase בִּ/ימֵי֙ (bi./Mei) literally means "in [the] days of," establishing a specific historical timeframe. The term מֶֽלֶךְ (Me.lekh) appears repeatedly to denote royal authority over the named territories.
The thread — The text connects to Genesis 10:10, which traces the kingdom's origins in Shinar, and Genesis 10:22, which lists Elam among Shem’s descendants. Genesis 11:2 records people finding a plain in Shinar and settling there, establishing the region's early habitation.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that biblical history operates within defined political boundaries and royal lineages. It asks the reader to track how named territories and rulers function as the stage for subsequent covenantal events.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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 nations;
Cross-references
- Genesis 10:10 His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
- Genesis 10:22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
- Genesis 11:2 And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
- Isaiah 37:12 Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?
- Isaiah 11:11 On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isaiah 21:2 A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
- Isaiah 22:6 Elam takes up a quiver, with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovers the shield.
- Jeremiah 25:25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media;
- Jeremiah 49:34 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
- Ezekiel 32:24 Elam is there with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who once spread their terror in the land of the living. They bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit.