“Long before Sparta’s 300, there was Abraham’s 318.” So starts an article by Christopher Eames, posted online on November 30, 2020, in which he is discussing the validity of the Biblical story in Genesis 14 in which Abraham (then Abram) took 318 fighting men with him to secure the release of his nephew Lot from an amassed army of thousands (or, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands – the Bible doesn’t say how large the army was) of soldiers fighting on behalf of the four strongest kingdoms at that time in the Ancient Near East. Many people dismiss this story as pure fiction but there is some archaeological support for it, as well as historical examples of such surprising victories of small armies over large ones. Taking a small sample of what Eames has written we read his writing the following:
‘It’s one of the most fascinating and gripping stories in the book of Genesis. It’s also the earliest account of warfare in the Bible. In Genesis 14, four powerful eastern kings ally against an inferior force of five Levantine kings. The smaller city-states are easily defeated, and the people captured, including the nephew of Abram (later named Abraham). What happens next is so astounding, most people reject the tale as fiction. The patriarch Abram rallies 318 of his servants and vanquishes the Mesopotamian juggernaut. The captives, including his relatives, are freed, and Abram returns to Canaan with tremendous fanfare. Many scientists and academics question this story…but these bold claims simply are not true. A broad body of evidence supports the history recorded throughout the book of Genesis, and specifically, the true “World War I” in Genesis 14.
According to the biblical account, the Jordan Valley was subject to Chedorlaomer, king of Elam. His vassal territory included five small kingdoms, namely Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar (Genesis 14:2-3). The local monarchs of these kingdoms were “servants” to the Elamite king and paid him regular tribute. One of the key characters in Genesis 14 is Abram’s nephew Lot, who had recently moved to the land of Sodom. In the 13th year of their oppression, the five valley kings rebelled against their Elamite oppressor. In response, Chedorlaomer formed a coalition with three other regional powers and marched on the Jordan Valley, determined to beat the rebels into submission. Genesis 14 lists the names of both sides of this conflict. The aggressors, led by Chedorlaomer, included Amraphel, king of Shinar; Arioch, king of Ellasar; and Tidal, “king of Goiim.” The Jordan Valley alliance included Bera, king of Sodom; Birsha, king of Gomorrah; Shinab, king of Admah; Shemeber, king of Zeboiim; and an unnamed king of Bela, or Zoar.
Biblical chronology places the events of Genesis 14 sometime during the start of the second millennium B.C., around the 19th century. Historians debate about the precise dating and chronology of the remains relating to this event. They also debate the exact identity of the kings listed in Genesis 14, but their names and nationalities match known polities during this general time period.
Chedorlaomer’s Elamite empire, situated in what is now southwest Iran, was a well-known, well-established entity during this period. And the name Chedorlaomer is a recognized Elamite name, Kudur-Lagomer. “Shinar” is the biblical name for Sumer (pronounced Shumer), the Mesopotamian kingdom of the Sumerians. (This kingdom is regarded as the “earliest-known civilization,” a description confirmed in Genesis 11:1-2.) Sumer included the famous city of Babylon. The Sumerian kingdom eventually became known as the Babylonian Empire. The name of the leader of the Sumerians, Amraphel, is notably Semitic.
The kingdom Ellasar most likely represents the Mesopotamian kingdom of Larsa, which emerged as a power player for a short window during the early second millennium. Arioch, king of Ellasar, was a name common in north Mesopotamia. Arioch may be positively identified as the final king of Larsa, Rim-Sin i, whose Semitic name is Eri-aku.
Finally, there is “Tidal, king of Goiim.” The polity here is ambiguous (the Hebrew Goiim meaning “nations” or “peoples”), but Tidal is a recognized Hittite name, Tudhalia. Several Hittite rulers bore this name. The Hittite empire was based in modern-day Turkey and was comprised of numerous tribes and peoples, thus befitting the name “king of nations” or “peoples.”
As for the five kings in the Jordan Valley, they are not mentioned in historical or archaeological records; these were small city-states, not large empires like those that bore down on them. However, the city-state of Sodom has been identified by archaeologists as Tall el-Hammam. The city-state of Gomorrah is believed to be one of the many unexcavated ancient settlements near Sodom. The exact location of Admah is uncertain, but there is an apparent mention of this city in the Ebla Tablets (dating a few centuries before this war). Zeboiim is also unknown. The twin-named city-state Bela-Zoar has been identified as the archaeological site Zoara in southern Jordan.
But as Genesis 14 reveals, these five Jordan Valley city-states were not the only ones to bear the brunt of invasion. Genesis 14:5-7 record that, as the four kings invaded the Levant, various tribes were assaulted en masse, including the Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, Horites, Amalekites and western Amorites. Verse 7 indicates that King Chedorlaomer and his allies zig-zagged through the Levant, effecting maximum destruction. Various peoples were attacked in specific cities. Others were slaughtered throughout their entire country (such as the Horites and the Amalekites).
Finally, the Jordan Valley kings emerged in what must have seemed a futile defense. The battle was staged in the “vale of Siddim—the same is the Salt Sea” (verse 3). Unsurprisingly, the five valley kings were defeated, with the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fleeing and bogging down in “slime pits” that filled the valley. Others fled to the mountains. The victorious Chedorlaomer pillaged Sodom and Gomorrah and departed with an abundance of goods and captives (verses 10-11).
Abram’s nephew Lot was among King Chedorlaomer’s captives (Genesis 14:12). When Abram heard news of Lot’s capture, he immediately leapt into action. “And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew—now he dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre the Amorite …. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan” (verses 13-14; “Dan” here is an anachronistic term, added later by one of the Bible’s early editors; it refers to the furthest northern point of ancient Israel, the location to which the tribe of Dan later migrated).
Moving swiftly with his small force, Abram soon caught up with the massive foreign armies. At Dan, Abram divided his men into smaller squads and, under cover of darkness, attacked Chedorlaomer’s forces using guerrilla warfare tactics. “And [Abram] divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus” (verse 15).
At this point, King Chedorlaomer’s armies were just about to exit the Levant. Tidal’s army would have been about to make the shorter journey north into Anatolia, while the three remaining armies would turn eastward toward Mesopotamia to return their territories. But their effort to return home as victors never materialized. Verse 17 records the total defeat of King Chedorlaomer and his allies.
According to Genesis 14, the captives were freed, together with the ransacked goods. A triumphant Abram returned home where he was greeted by the representatives of many grateful peoples, including the king of Sodom and, most notably, “Melchizedek king of Salem … priest of God the Most High” (verse 18).’
After reviewing the known history of the Ancient Near East, Eames continues, with the following words, ‘The geopolitical scene, then, fits well with the biblical account…Crucially, though, there is no evidence against the Genesis 14 “battle of nations”—only a burgeoning body of evidence for it…Don’t be intimidated by scholarship. Sometimes the conclusions of the “educated” critics may feel like the armies of empires bearing down. But they are no match for a strong faith among even the smallest of armies—like that led by the “father of the faithful,” the patriarch Abraham.
Genesis 14 says that Abram’s army was comprised of only 319 men (including himself). Abram at this time was around 80 years old. Is it really possible that he could defeat four powerful armies? Clearly, God gave Abram this victory. But the matter of divine intervention aside, history shows that winning such a lopsided battle is possible. Recall the famous Battle of Thermopylae (484 B.C.), where 300 Spartans defended the narrow pass from anywhere between 100,000 and 2.6 million Persian troops. (The Spartans were supported by 6,000 backup troops—but these played a more minor role.)
There are numerous examples of severely lopsided, yet victorious battles. In the Battle of Lacolle Mills in 1814, 80 British soldiers held back 4,000 American troops. In the Battle of Blood River in South Africa in 1838, 464 Boers were attacked by 15,000 Zulus. The defense was successful, with only three Boers wounded—compared to 3,000 dead Zulus. In the Capture of Belgrade during World War II (1941), only seven German soldiers captured the entire city, which was defended by thousands of troops. In the Battle of Longewala in 1971, 150 Indian troops successfully defeated an advancing Pakistani force of 4,000 soldiers and 40 tanks. Only two Indians were killed.
Was Abram’s rout, with only 319 men, impossible? Historical precedent resoundingly says no. Tactically, Abram and his small, nimble force had advantages. The large size of the enemy’s armies (at least tens of thousands of soldiers) would have constituted an unwieldy force. Logistically, it would have been difficult to navigate the unfamiliar terrain. Further, Josephus, the first-century historian, records that King Chedorlaomer’s men were drunk and glutted on the spoils. Abram’s men were familiar with the territory and operated under darkness. (They may also have taken advantage of a separation of Tidal’s troops northward to Turkey.) All that would be required of Abram was to cause chaos and the targeted killing of the military leadership. Further, the king of Sodom was still alive—he may have been able to capitalize on the chaos and join Abram with any of his remaining men in fighting free.
There is room for endless speculation. Whatever the answer, the Genesis 14 account is not only entirely reasonable, it is supported by archaeological and historical evidence.’
