Genesis 14:1

And it was in the days of Amraphel,--he is Nimrod, who commanded Abram to be cast into the furnace; he was then king of Pontos; Ariok, (so called) because he was (arik) tall among the giants, king of Thalasar, Kedarlaomer, (so called) because he had bound himself (or gone over) among the bondmen of the king of Elam, and Thidal, crafty as a fox, king of the peoples subjected to him,

AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL KING OF SHINAR. This event happened to Abraham in order to teach us that four kingdoms will arise to rule the world. In the end, his [Abraham’s] children will prevail over them, and they will all fall into their hands. Then they will return all their captives and their wealth. The first one mentioned here is the king of Babylon for so it was to be in the future, as it is written, Thou art the head of gold. Perhaps Ellasar, mentioned here second, is the name of a city in Media or Persia, and Elam, mentioned third, is the city in which the first Greek king — Alexander — was crowned. From there his kingdom spread after he was victorious over Darius, [king of the Persians]. Our Rabbis have already mentioned this matter: “Rabbi Yosei said, ‘For six years the Greeks ruled in Elam, and after that their kingdom spread over the entire world.’” The king of Goiim, as the name of a place. Ramban explains it as meaning “nations,” and it is hence an allusion to Rome, whose kings ruled over many nations. [the last of the four kings mentioned here], who ruled over various nations that had made him their head and leader, is an allusion to the king of Rome who ruled over a city comprised of many peoples: Kittim, Edom, and the rest of the nations. Thus the Rabbis said in Bereshith Rabbah, “Rabbi Avin said, ‘Just as Abraham’s grief began with four kingdoms, so will it end for his descendants only with four kingdoms.’” And it further says there: “And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar — this is Babylon; Arioch king of Ellasar — this is Media; Chedorlaomer king of Elam — this is Greece; And Tidal king of Goiim — this is that kingdom (Rome) which writes out a levy [and collects assessment] from all nations of the world.”

ויהי בימי אמרפל מלך שנער, who was widely known as a powerful king in his generation and also later. During his lifetime the kings listed forthwith, i.e. Aryoch, king of Elassar, Kedorlaomer, king of Eylam, and Tidal, king of Goyim, jointly made war against Bera, etc.

ויהי בימי אמרפל, these wars took place during the reigns of the kings described in these verse; details of them will follow. We find a similar construction in Esther 1,1,ויהי בימי אחשורש, where the words ויהי בימי also serve as an introduction to what is to follow. The main reason why the Torah gives us details of these wars, something that does not appear to be too relevant to our times, is to demonstrate the righteousness, courage, and sense of responsibility even for a nephew who had suffered a setback, as well as captivity due to his greed in settling near the Sodomites. When Avram knew that what he was about to do was something that morality demanded, i.e. not to allow a next of kin even one such as Lot to remain in captivity, he mobilised the few men he had, and tackled the greatest contemporary war machine to liberate his nephew, being sure that G’d would assist him in such an endeavour. The word כדרלעומר is one word. The words מלך גוים mean “king of a people known as גוים. The reason may well be that in that land members of different nations had decided to live together under a single king.

אריוך מלך אלסר, “Aryoch, king of Elassar.” From this verse, i.e. the wording here, our sages decided that in a dispute between two major Talmudic scholars, Rav and Sh’muel, when the subject concerns secular matters we rule in accordance with the opinion of Sh’muel, whereas when the subject concerns ritual matters, matters regulating our direct relationship to G–d.], we rule like Rav. (Compare Talmud, tractate Shabbat folio 53.) Our sages describe Aryoch’s real names as being “Sh’muel, and the reason that he is called here Aryoch, is because the word is synonymous with being a monarch on earth, the secular part of the universe, whereas the name Elassar reminds us of the Hebrew word Issur, something forbidden by religious law. In other words: Aryoch arrogated to himself the right to give both secular and religious rulings on earth, treating earth as if G–d had no say in this terrestrial part of the (His) universe.