BERA

(Beʹra) [possibly, gift, ascend, or, excel].

King of Sodom whom Chedorlaomer subjugated along with four other kings of the valley of Siddim in the twentieth century B.C.E. (Gen. 14:1-3) Thirteen years after that, the “king of Sodom,” together with the other four kings, organized a rebellion against Chedorlaomer. In the battle that resulted during the next year, the forces of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated upon being caught in the nearby bitumen pits when attempting to flee. Abraham pursued the victors in order to free his nephew Lot, recovered the spoil and returned it to the king of Sodom rather than keeping it for himself. Abraham did this, he says, in order that the king of Sodom could never boast: “It was I who made Abram rich.”—Gen. 14:4-24.