DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12654#0177
Sect. IV.]
CHEDORLAOMER.
149
they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which [is]
Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites,
and also the Amorites, that dwell in Hazezon-tamar."
Having recorded these events, the sacred historian
proceeds to relate the defeat of the Kings of the cities
of the plain by the four confederate monarchs, whose
names are again given, and whose overthrow by Abra-
ham is afterwards narrated. I have been particular in
quoting part of this passage verbatim, to prevent mis-
apprehension of the position of some of the conquered
nations. As Khem is the hieroglyphic name of Egypt,
as the Shepherd-invasion evidently took place about
the time of Chedorlaomer's expeditions, and as a Ham
was conquered during those expeditions, it might be
supposed that the confederate monarchs conquered
Egypt, and that the Shepherds were garrisons left by
them; but this would be an erroneous idea: Ham,
when applied to Egypt, is written with Heth; (on;)
but here Ham is written with He; (DPI;) and even if
we allow that, by a mistake of a copyist, Heth may
have been changed to He, in consequence of the simi-
larity of the two letters, the order of march shews that
this Ham can only have been somewhere in Palestine.
The dates of the two invasions of Palestine which we
are considering are not easily fixed with great exact-
ness. All we know is, that the second happened be-
tween Abraham's journey to Palestine from Haran and
the birth of Ishmael, therefore between the years B.C.
2082 and 2071; and consequently the date of the
first would be between the years B.C. 2095 and 2084,
according to Hales's chronology, slightly corrected by
me. I shall shew that the reign of the first Shepherd-
King commenced about this time; and the Shepherd-
invasion evidently happened not many years before
CHEDORLAOMER.
149
they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which [is]
Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites,
and also the Amorites, that dwell in Hazezon-tamar."
Having recorded these events, the sacred historian
proceeds to relate the defeat of the Kings of the cities
of the plain by the four confederate monarchs, whose
names are again given, and whose overthrow by Abra-
ham is afterwards narrated. I have been particular in
quoting part of this passage verbatim, to prevent mis-
apprehension of the position of some of the conquered
nations. As Khem is the hieroglyphic name of Egypt,
as the Shepherd-invasion evidently took place about
the time of Chedorlaomer's expeditions, and as a Ham
was conquered during those expeditions, it might be
supposed that the confederate monarchs conquered
Egypt, and that the Shepherds were garrisons left by
them; but this would be an erroneous idea: Ham,
when applied to Egypt, is written with Heth; (on;)
but here Ham is written with He; (DPI;) and even if
we allow that, by a mistake of a copyist, Heth may
have been changed to He, in consequence of the simi-
larity of the two letters, the order of march shews that
this Ham can only have been somewhere in Palestine.
The dates of the two invasions of Palestine which we
are considering are not easily fixed with great exact-
ness. All we know is, that the second happened be-
tween Abraham's journey to Palestine from Haran and
the birth of Ishmael, therefore between the years B.C.
2082 and 2071; and consequently the date of the
first would be between the years B.C. 2095 and 2084,
according to Hales's chronology, slightly corrected by
me. I shall shew that the reign of the first Shepherd-
King commenced about this time; and the Shepherd-
invasion evidently happened not many years before