Atlas Biblica

    person

    Birsha

    בִּרְשַׁע

    Birsha was the king of Gomorrah when Chedorlaomer and his allies invaded the region.

    verses
    1
    first named
    Genesis 14:2
    last named
    Genesis 14:2
    period
    the Patriarchs
    tribe
    Canaan

    Description

    Who was Birsha?

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    Birsha was the king of Gomorrah during the time of Abraham (Gen. 14:2). He was one of the five kings of the cities of the plain who rebelled against Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam, after serving him for twelve years. In response, Chedorlaomer and his allies invaded the region, defeating the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar) in the Valley of Siddim. The invaders seized the goods and food of Sodom and Gomorrah, and took captives, including Abraham's nephew Lot. This event prompted Abraham to mount a rescue mission, where he successfully defeated Chedorlaomer and his allies, freeing Lot and recovering the stolen goods (Gen. 14:13-16). The mention of Birsha as the king of Gomorrah provides historical context to the biblical narrative and highlights the political dynamics of the region during Abraham's time.

    Relations

    Direct connections

    Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.

    How the graph connects Birsha10 of 11 entities the graph connects to Birsha, in 2 groups: company 1, events 9. Kinship, company and ground are stated relations; events counts the acts two entities stand in together and is not a relation. Each mark is sized by how many verses name that entity and labelled with the link and the count, so the grouping and the size are both readable without colour. Distance from the centre carries nothing.Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveTook part in · 5 versesCompanyAmorites1 event · 86 versesKadesh1 event · 26 versesRephaim1 event · 9 versesEngedi1 event · 7 versesChedorlaomer1 event · 5 versesSiddim Valley1 event · 3 versesAshteroth-karnaim1 event · 2 versesBera1 event · 1 verseShemeber1 event · 1 verseEventsBirsha

    The 10 best-attested of 11 are drawn. All 11 are listed below.

    Took part in

    Stands in the same events as

    Places

    Where this happens

    The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.

    Where the story of Birsha happensAll 5 places the claims about Birsha reach, on a map of the world the text moves through, framed to them: Gomorrah, Ashteroth-karnaim, Engedi, Kadesh, Siddim_Valley. Each dot is a coordinate from the gazetteer, sized by how many rows put Birsha there. The coastline is a modern one, simplified; no border, road or settlement of any period is drawn, and no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.GomorrahAshteroth-karnaimEngediKadesh
    the PatriarchsAll 5 places the claims about Birsha reach

    Read it

    Where to read it

    Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — one, across 1 book.

    1. Genesis1 verse

      14:2

    Onward

    Where this page goes

    Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.

    via Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveAmoritesCanaanite people group, enemies of Israelvia Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveAshteroth-karnaimAncient city defeated by Chedorlaomervia Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveBeraKing of Sodom during Abraham's timevia Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveChedorlaomerKing of Elam, led coalition against Sodom and Gomorrahvia Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveEngediOasis in Judah; refuge for David; Chedorlaomer's victoryvia Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveRephaimA race of giants who inhabited Canaanvia Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveShemeberKing of Zeboiimvia Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveShinabKing of Admah who rebelled against Chedorlaomer.via Chedorlaomer, Allied Kings, and Amorites’ war of Engedi, Bera, Birsha, Shinab, Shemeber, Rephaim, Amalekite Territory, Amorites, and Latter FiveSiddim ValleyValley near the Dead Sea; site of battle

    Sources

    What this rests on