Genesis 13:1-18

Cross-references For Better Understanding a Related Topics b Additional Materials c

Summary

• Abraham and Lot have to go separate ways, because they have too many flocks and possessions for the available land.

• After Lot leaves, God reaffirms his promises to Abraham

Comments

• Lot chooses to move toward Sodom, which, at that time, was in a very fertile area.

Scripture

Genesis 13:1-18

Scripture Passage	Comments and Links
Gen 13:1 Abram went up out of Egypt: he, his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South. Gen 13:2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. Gen 13:3 He went on his journeys from the South even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, Gen 13:4 to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on the name of Yahweh. Gen 13:5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.	Both with an abundance of wealth.
Gen 13:6 The land was not able to bear them, that they might live together: for their substance was great, so that they could not live together. Gen 13:7 There was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite lived in the land at that time.	Overgrazing Ecological Problems
Gen 13:8 Abram said to Lot, "Please, let there be no strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are relatives. Gen 13:9 Isn't the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left hand, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right hand, then I will go to the left."
Gen 13:10 Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar. Gen 13:11 So Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself. Lot traveled east, and they separated themselves the one from the other. Gen 13:12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Gen 13:13 Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh.	Jordan plain - fertile at this point in history... but that would change in a few years. Ecological Disaster Lot made a values judgment. His options were: 1) good land with wicked inhabitants, or 2) not-so-good land without the wicked inhabitants. Eventually he lived in Sodom. Values Sodom and Gomorrah He was willing to associate with the wicked; and in the end, he would lose everything he owned. The Moral Basis for Ecological Disaster
Gen 13:14 Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, Gen 13:15 for all the land which you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring forever. Gen 13:16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your seed may also be numbered. Gen 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its breadth; for I will give it to you." Gen 13:18 Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.	Land given to Abraham forever. Land Given to Abraham Abraham's Offspring

Scripture Passages (Only books that have relevance to this study have active links. The others are in italics.) Genesis  •  Exodus  •  Leviticus  •  Numbers  •  Deuteronomy  •  Joshua  •  Judges  •  Ruth  •  1 Samuel  •  2 Samuel  •  1 Kings  •  2 Kings  •  1 Chronicles  •  2 Chronicles  •  Ezra  •  Nehemiah  •  Esther  •  Job  •  Psalms  •  Proverbs  •  Ecclesiastes  •  Song of Solomon  •  Isaiah  •  Jeremiah  •  Lamentations  •  Ezekiel  •  Daniel  •  Hosea  •  Joel  •  Amos  •  Obadiah  •  Jonah  •  Micah  •  Nahum  •  Habakkuk  •  Zephaniah  •  Haggai  •  Zechariah  •  Malachi Matthew  •  Mark  •  Luke  •  John  •  Acts  •  Romans  •  1 Corinthians  •  2 Corinthians  •  Galatians  •  Ephesians  •  Philippians  •  Colossians  •  1 Thessalonians  •  2 Thessalonians  •  1 Timothy  •  2 Timothy  •  Titus  •  Philemon  •  Hebrews  •  James  •  1 Peter  •  2 Peter  •  1 John  •  2 John  •  3 John  •  Jude  •  Revelation

—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——

The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.

Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.