Genesis 14:8-12

The Battle of the Four Kings against Five, and the Capture of Lot. At last the victors over so many peoples attack the confederacy of five kings. In the words four kings against five the author may be suggesting that the kings from the East fought on unequal terms. But, if so, he quite misconceived the situation; really it was five trumpery kinglets against an imperial force. There is much bitumen in the district, and masses of it used to float on the surface (pp. 32f.), hence the author infers that what is now the bed of the sea was once pitted with petroleum wells. In these the two chief kings perish, the rest (? of the kings or the survivors of the slaughter) escape to the mountain. The story is far from clear, and no account of the battle itself is given. The conquerors leave with the spoil and with Lot, with other captives also, as we learn explicitly from Genesis 14:21. Lot is named because Abraham's action is entirely for his sake.