After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer: in some languages it will be necessary to say where Abram returns; for example, “After Abram defeated Chedorlaomer and the kings, he returned home” or “… returned to where he was living.” Defeat translates the same word translated “subdued” in verses 5 and 7, and “routed” in verse 15. See comments on “subdued” in Gen 14.5. The kings who were with him or “the other kings” is the same expression as used in Gen 14.5. Here again only Chedorlaomer is named among the four kings.
As to the king of Sodom, the narrator does not explain his presence. It may be that in verse 10 he did not die in the tar pit, or that the king of Sodom in this verse is the successor to the one in verse 10. It is also possible that verse 17 comes from a different source than the episode about the tar pits.
Went out to meet him: him may be better translated as “Abram” to avoid confusion. In some languages it will be necessary to know the purpose of this approach by the King of Sodom, in order to choose the right equivalent for meet. Although this is not stated in the text, we can guess that it was to thank or to honor Abram for defeating the enemies and bringing back the loot they had taken. One translation, for instance, says “… the King of Sodom went to give a welcome to him….”
Valley of Shaveh: Valley translates the same word as used in “Valley of Siddim” in verse 10. Shaveh, another word meaning valley (see verse 5), is used here as a proper noun, perhaps because the name was no longer known. (That is, the King’s Valley) is an explanation of Valley of Shaveh. It was in “the King’s Valley” that Absalom set up a memorial stone for himself in 2 Sam 18.18. It is thought to be close to Jerusalem but has not been identified for certain.
The last part of the verse may be translated, for example, “The king of Sodom went to meet Abram in Shaveh Valley, which is also called King’s Valley.”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .