Elam

Elam is the powerful eastern kingdom whose king Chedorlaomer leads a coalition of four kings against the cities of the plain - the conflict that draws Abraham into his first military engagement to rescue Lot. Jasher 16 provides extended tactical detail of the campaign, the capture of Lot, and Abraham's nighttime pursuit with 318 men. Elam represents the great eastern empires whose reach extends into Canaan, establishing the geopolitical tensions that form the backdrop of patriarchal life. Within the broader geographical and theological framework of these three ancient texts, Elam serves as more than a mere physical location - it functions as a site where divine purpose intersects with human history. The pseudepigraphal traditions preserved in Enoch, Jubilees, and Jasher provide perspectives on this place that illuminate its spiritual significance beyond what other ancient sources record. Each visit, encounter, or event that occurs here contributes to the larger pattern of covenant geography that these texts trace from the primordial garden through the patriarchal wanderings to the settlement of the promised land.

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The Book of Jasher 16

Key Chapters

The Book of Jasher 16 Four Kings with Eight Hundred Thousand Men War against Sodom and the Cities of the Plain, and destroy and plunder their people. Abram, Hearing that Lo... 9 min read

Key Passages

War of the Kings

The Book of Jasher 16:1-15

At that time Chedorlaomer king of Elam sent to all the neighboring kings, to Nimrod, king of Shinar who was then under h...

A¹t that time Chedorlaomer king of Elam sent to all the neighboring kings, to Nimrod, king of Shinar who was then under his power, and to Tidal, king of Goyim, and to Arioch, king of Elasar, with whom he made a covenant, saying, Come up to me and assist me, that we may smite all the towns of Sodom and its inhabitants, for they have rebelled against me these thirteen years.

² And these four kings went up with all their camps, about eight hundred thousand men, and they went as they were, and smote every man they found in their road. ³ And the five kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, Bera king of Sodom, Bersha king of Gomorrah, and Bela king of Zoar, went out to meet them, and they all joined together in the valley of Siddim. ⁴ And these nine kings made war in the valley of Siddim; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were smitten before the kings of Elam. ⁵ And the valley of Siddim was full of lime pits and the kings of Elam pursued the kings of Sodom, and the kings of Sodom with their camps fled and fell into the lime pits, and all that remained went to the mountain for safety, and the five kings of Elam came after them and pursued them to the gates of Sodom, and they took all that there was in Sodom. ⁶ And they plundered all the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they also took Lot, Abram's brother's son, and his property, and they seized all the goods of the cities of Sodom, and they went away; and Unic, Abram's servant, who was in the battle, saw this, and told Abram all that the kings had done to the cities of Sodom, and that Lot was taken captive by them. ⁷ And Abram heard this, and he rose up with about three hundred and eighteen men that were with him, and he that night pursued these kings and smote them, and they all fell before Abram and his men, and there was none remaining but the four kings who fled, and they went each his own road. ⁸ And Abram recovered all the property of Sodom, and he also recovered Lot and his property, his wives and little ones and all belonging to him, so that Lot lacked nothing. ⁹ And when he returned from smiting these kings, he and his men passed the valley of Siddim where the kings had made war together. ¹⁰ And Bera king of Sodom, and the rest of his men that were with him, went out from the lime pits into which they had fallen, to meet Abram and his men. ¹¹ And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, the same was Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech. ¹² And Adonizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he had brought from the spoil of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a priest before God. ¹³ And all the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah who were there, with their servants, approached Abram and begged of him to return them their servants whom he had made captive, and to take unto himself all the property. ¹⁴ And Abram answered the kings of Sodom, saying, As the Lord liveth who created heaven and earth, and who redeemed my soul from all affliction, and who delivered me this day from my enemies, and gave them into my hand, I will not take anything belonging to you, that you may not boast tomorrow, saying, Abram became rich from our property that he saved. ¹⁵ For the Lord my God in whom I trust said unto me, Thou shalt lack nothing, for I will bless thee in all the works of thy hands.

Did You Know?

Chedorlaomer of Elam dominated the cities of the plain for twelve years before the rebellion.

Abraham's 318 trained men defeat a coalition of four kings in a nighttime ambush.

The victory establishes Abraham as a legitimate military force in Canaan.

Melchizedek blesses Abraham immediately after this battle.

Abraham refuses all spoils from the king of Sodom after the victory.