"And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar." (Genesis 14:1). It would appear that the answer to this question lies in the following Midrash (Bereshit Rabba 42:1): And the question therefore begs to be asked: What is so important about this particular battle that caused the Torah to describe it in such detail? Could it be that all of this information is important to know in order that we better appreciate the miracle of Abraham’s victory over the four kings who were so mighty that they managed to defeat the five?! Such an explanation, though, is not satisfactory, for why should scripture have had to go into such detail regarding a war which on the face of things is so unrelated to Abraham, the forefather of the Jewish people, if it contains no lesson for us whatsoever?
This week’s Torah portion describes at great length the war between the four and five kings, detailing their names and lands.
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