3 Jul 2025 – jeffersonvann

Genesis 13

Genesis 13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev.

Genesis 13:2 Abram had become very heavy in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

Genesis 13:3 And he journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

Genesis 13:4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of Yahveh.

Genesis 13:5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,

Genesis 13:6 so that the land could not support both of them living together; because their possessions were so great that they could not live together,

Genesis 13:7 and there was conflict between the tenders of Abram’s livestock and the tenders of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

Genesis 13:8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no conflict between you and me, and between your tenders and my tenders, because we are kinsmen.

Genesis 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? detach yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of Yahveh, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before Yahveh had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Genesis 13:11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot traveled east. So, they detached themselves from each other.

Genesis 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

Genesis 13:13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, greatly failing Yahveh.

Genesis 13:14 Yahveh said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, to the north and south and east and west,

Genesis 13:15 because all the land that you now see I am promising to you and to your seed permanently.

Genesis 13:16 I will make your seed like the dust of the land, so that if one can calculate the amount of dust there is in the land, your seed also can be calculated.

Genesis 13:17 Get up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, because I am promising it to you.”

Genesis 13:18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to worship Yahveh.

Genesis 13 quotes:

“When Abram prospered, Lot benefited as well: “Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents” (Genesis 13:5). Don’t overlook the specific mention of his many tents. This will be a significant detail later in the story. But prosperity brought its own challenges. Expanding flocks and herds require increasing amounts of food and water. The land may not have fully recovered from the earlier famine, so available resources could not sustain both men’s livestock. Besides that, they had to contend with the existing inhabitants, the Canaanites and the Perizzites.”

Swindoll, Charles R. Abraham : One Nomad’s Amazing Journey of Faith. Tyndale House Publishers, 2014. p. 30.

“Then there came the strife between their respective herdsmen, leading Abraham to offer Lot his freedom and the choice of the whole land before them. How magnanimous it was of Abraham to give Lot the first pick, which, by right of seniority, should have been his! (See Genesis 13:7—9.) Greedily, Lot chose the well-watered plain before him, where Sodom was situated; and in so doing, he separated himself from his revered relative and friend, whose assistance he was yet to need. “

Lockyer, Herbert. Lives of Fame & Shame : Fascinating Figures in Bible History : Enoch, Lot, Rachel, Elijah, Saul, David and Jonathan, Asa, Herod, Barnabas, Timothy. Whitaker House, 2014. p. 29.

“Lot followed his selfish, ambitious desires. He lived for a while on the plain but then moved into the city, where he became wealthy and respected. Lot became a man of great political influence in Sodomite society.”

Stedman, Ray C. Friend of God : The Legacy of Abraham, Man of Faith. Discovery House, 2010. p. 148.