Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 14:10 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 10. 10And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The Valley of Siddim is full of bitumen or tar pits. As Sodom and Gomorrah's forces retreat, they fall or are defeated there, while survivors flee to the hills. The terrain matters, but the wording does not prove both kings died in the pits.
Read It With
- Genesis 14:1–16
Read verses 8–11 and continue to verse 17. The battle begins in verses 8–9, verse 10 describes defeat and flight, verse 11 records plunder, and the later king-of-Sodom appearance prevents a confident claim that both kings died.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The battle lineup of verses 8–9 now produces defeat. The bituminous terrain and survivors' flight explain how the cities become exposed to the plunder in verses 11–12.
Read Genesis 14:8–10 together
Why these verses belong together: The battle deployment, four-against-five restatement, difficult terrain, defeat, and flight form one battle movement.
Verse 8. 8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;
Verse 9. 9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
Verse 10. 10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
Follow the Context
- Four eastern kings are named opposite five kings of the Jordan cities, and the local coalition gathers in the Valley of Siddim, identified with the Salt Sea region (14:1–3).
- The five local kings had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, rebelled in the thirteenth, and face a punitive campaign in the fourteenth (14:4–7).
- The five kings meet the four in battle; the Valley of Siddim's bitumen pits complicate the retreat, and the surviving forces flee to the hills (14:8–10).
- The victors seize Sodom and Gomorrah's goods and food and capture Lot, who is living in Sodom, with his possessions (14:11–12).
- An escapee tells Abram the Hebrew, who is living near Mamre and has treaty allies in Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner (14:13).
- Abram hears that his relative is captive, mobilizes 318 trained household-born retainers, and pursues the captors as far as Dan (14:14).
- Abram divides his force at night, attacks, and pursues north of Damascus to Hobah (14:15).
- Abram brings back all the goods, Lot and Lot's goods, the women, and the people, completing the reversal of the captors' taking (14:16).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“full of slimepits”
In plain language: Abounding in bitumen or tar pits.
The valley's difficult terrain affects the retreat.
Why it matters: The Hebrew's repeated 'pits, pits' is emphatic, while the exact geology remains debated.
How certain? probable“fled, and fell there”
In plain language: They retreated and fell or were defeated there.
The local coalition collapses in the valley.
Why it matters: The Hebrew verb permits more than one reconstruction, so death should not be invented.
How certain? probable“fled to the mountain”
In plain language: The remaining forces escaped toward the hills.
Some survivors get away while the cities are left exposed to plunder.
Why it matters: The verse distinguishes defeat from total annihilation.
How certain? very strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Genesis 14:10 does not require the conclusion that both the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah died in literal tar wells.
The phrase 'fell there' does not let us decide with certainty between physical falling, military defeat, or a combination.
The Dead Sea's bitumen association does not prove one exact geological reconstruction of the battlefield.
The verse does not portray military defeat as proof that every defeated person deserved harm.
What Remains True
Difficult wording and terrain should be explained with restraint; readers do not need invented details for the defeat to be meaningful.
How It Can Shape Life
- When evidence supports more than one physical reconstruction, state the secure result and preserve the uncertainty instead of choosing the most dramatic story.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 14:10's contribution to Genesis 14:1–16. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 14:1–16 — Abram Rescues LotSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The local coalition's defeat and survivors' flight are clear; the exact terrain, individual kings' fates, and force of 'fell there' are not.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, narrative sequence, capture, kinship rescue, recovery, immediate aftermath, and canonical safeguards.
Exact location: Genesis 14:1–16 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 13:8–18; 14:17–24; 18–19; Judges 18:29; and later biblical war, rescue, and enemy texts
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Royal lists, service and rebellion, repeated strike verb, campaign itinerary, bitumen-pit repetition, fall wording, Lot's residence, Hebrew label, treaty-alliance phrase, rare mobilization verb, trained household-born men, kinship term, directions, and repeated recovery language.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 14:1–16
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Shinar, Goiim, coalition structure, vassal sequence, campaign route, strike verb, bitumen wording, fall ambiguity, Hebrew label, treaty allies, rare mobilization verb, Dan, night syntax, and north of Damascus.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 14 and translator notes 1–52, especially notes on verses 1–16
Open NET Genesis 14 ↗peer reviewed geochemical and geographical study
…and the vale of Siddim was full of slime [= bitumen, asphalt?] pits
Arie Nissenbaum
Geochemical Society Special Publications 9, 2004
Supports: Dead Sea bitumen context and the plausible unstable-dark-mud alternative; not used to override the Hebrew or reconstruct the battle with certainty.
Exact location: Geochemical Society Special Publications 9 (2004), pp. 359–364, official abstract
Open source ↗