The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are almost exclusively known by the story of their sin and subsequent destruction. There are additional stories about them.
Bera is called the king of Sodom. Sodom was a city-state, rather than a traditional kingdom. For twelve years, King Chedorlaomer of Elam had forced Sodom to serve him. Four other kings and city-states, were also under Chedorlaomer’s control. These were King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bella (that is Zoar). Allies of Chedorlaomer were King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, and King Tidal of Goiim.
The five subject kings of Chedorlaomer revolted against the four allies. In the midst of this war, two years later, the four kings conquered (“subdued”) several other peoples before a battle was pitched in the Valley of Siddim with the five kings that were rebelling against them. The five were defeated. Three kings escaped to the mountains. But the Valley of Siddim was filled with Bitumen (tar or asphalt) pits. The kings of Gomorrah and Sodom fell into these.
Note: If anyone has visited the La Brea Tar Pits in the Los Angeles area, they will understand the difficulties of the Tar Pits. Animals of all sorts were trapped in the pits, small creatures to the large mastodons. One human skeleton has also been discovered there. Once in the tar, it would have been extremely hard to extricate oneself without help from someone on solid earth, and the two kings were left behind by their escaping allies.
Bera of Sodom must have managed to get out of the tar pit because he is mentioned later.
A Jewish legend is told of Bera that his escape from the pit was miraculous. Though the legend calls Bera a villain, his miraculous escape is attributed to the purpose of converting certain of the heathen to faith in God.
The five kings took all the goods and provisions from Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 14:12 only mentions Lot as a person taken, but Bera’s later words demonstrate that many, perhaps most, of the people must have been taken captive as well. At least one man escaped the invaders. He brought word to Abram the Hebrew (later known as Abraham). The reason he came to Abram was likely because he knew Abram would have an interest in the fate of his nephew.
Abram’s allies were Mamre the Amorite, his brother Eshcol and Aner. Abram gathered his allies and all the trained men in his camp. Genesis 14:14 is unclear whether the number of 318 refers to the men in his camp, or the combined numbers of the men in his camp and those of his allies.
Abram and his fighting force pursued, attacked the invaders by night, and routed them. Then he brought back all the loot that had been taken, his nephew and the people who had been taken captive.
Bera told Abram to keep all the loot for himself, but asked for the return of his people.
Traditional interpretation tends to focus on Abraham’s refusal to keep anything for himself. (He had already given 10 percent to Mechezidek and did retain ten percent each for his allies.) This focus elevates Abraham’s pride – i.e. that he refused to recognize Bera’s right to “bestow” a reward on him. Alternately, commentators suggest it was a protest against a concern for wealth. (In the post-exilic times of Israel, the teller of the Genesis story might have been implying that Abraham was “more high-minded than his descendents.”)
Another scholar, Terence Fretheim, does call Bera’s request generous. He indicates that though commentators tend to view him negatively, the fact that he appears in company with Melchizedek (who was a faithful man) is significant. Concerning Abraham, Fretheim points out that a possibly large portion of the loot actually belonged to Abram/Abraham’s nephew, Lot. The two had already disputed over land and possessions and come to an agreement. If Abram had taken the loot, that would have been tantamount to breaking this agreement. The division of loot in wartime was an ongoing issue during Israel’s history.
Looking at it from another point of view, Bera was at this point quite helpless. He had neither goods nor army to back him up. He might have wondered whether Abram would keep the people as slaves, or otherwise take advantage of the situation. Despite his powerless condition, he still decided to ask Abram for something.
Given the reputation of Sodom, it is difficult to know what kind of man Bera was. We also do not know if he was still king by the time the city was destroyed.
But at this moment, it is notable that when Bera asked for something, he chose people over material goods.
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