Bible Strands
Genesis 14:17
After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — After Abram rescues Lot and recovers the plundered goods, the king of Sodom leaves his city to encounter him in the Valley of Shaveh. This meeting occurs immediately following the military campaign against the allied kings.
The words — The text highlights מֶֽלֶךְ־סְדֹם (Me.lekh-se.Dom), literally "king of Sodom," who performs the action לִ/קְרָאת/וֹ (li/k.ra.T/o), meaning "to meet him." These terms establish the official posture of Sodom’s ruler as he approaches the victorious Abram.
The thread — This encounter with a returning patriarch parallels the later meeting described in Hebrews 7:1, where Melchizedek, king of Salem, meets Abraham after the battle. The location itself surfaces again in 2 Samuel 18:18, where Absalom erects a pillar in the King’s Valley.
Why it lands — The passage records a political encounter where a defeated city’s ruler approaches the victor without a recorded treaty or tribute. It requires the reader to observe the narrative contrast between worldly power and the subsequent priestly blessing that follows in Genesis 14:18.
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 the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 18:18 During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.
- Proverbs 19:4 Wealth attracts many friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.
- Hebrews 7:1 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
- Judges 11:34 And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.
- 1 Samuel 18:6 As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments.
- Proverbs 14:20 The poor man is hated even by his neighbor, but many are those who love the rich.