And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness.
Fourteen years before the events of the verse, Chedorlaomer king of Elam had invaded Canaan and made it tributary to him, and the verse falls in his return with four allied kings to force the country back into submission after its revolt. The verse marks a stage in that march of Chedorlaomer and his allies against the revolting Canaanite princes, as they struck the Horites in Mount Seir as far as El-paran by the wilderness. Five kings of Canaan met the invaders in the vale of Siddim and were completely overthrown, with many cut to pieces and the rest fleeing to the mountains. The victors then plundered the cities of the plain and carried away spoil and captives, including Lot and his family, which led Abraham to pursue them and rescue the captives.
The conflict to which the verse belongs ends in Abraham rescuing the captives from the Elamites by defeating a much stronger force. That victory drew attention to the true faith. Abraham's courage and unselfish treatment of the prisoners and spoil showed the people of Sodom the superiority of the religion he honored.
Fourteen years before the events of the verse, Chedorlaomer king of Elam had invaded Canaan and made it tributary to him, and the verse falls in his return with four allied kings to force the country back into submission after its revolt. The verse marks a stage in that march of Chedorlaomer and his allies against the revolting Canaanite princes, as they struck the Horites in Mount Seir as far as El-paran by the wilderness. Five kings of Canaan met the invaders in the vale of Siddim and were completely overthrown, with many cut to pieces and the rest fleeing to the mountains. The victors then plundered the cities of the plain and carried away spoil and captives, including Lot and his family, which led Abraham to pursue them and rescue the captives.
The conflict to which the verse belongs ends in Abraham rescuing the captives from the Elamites by defeating a much stronger force. That victory drew attention to the true faith. Abraham's courage and unselfish treatment of the prisoners and spoil showed the people of Sodom the superiority of the religion he honored.