Genesis 13
Introduction
Genesis 13 narrates the separation of Abram and Lot — a parting forced by prosperity but shaped by character. Abram returns from Egypt wealthy, and Lot has prospered alongside him. The land cannot support both households, and conflict erupts between their herdsmen. Abram, the elder and the one who holds God's promise, magnanimously offers Lot first choice of the land. Lot lifts his eyes and chooses the lush, well-watered Jordan plain — a region compared to both the garden of the LORD and the land of Egypt — and pitches his tent toward Sodom. The narrator ominously notes that the men of Sodom were "wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD."
After Lot departs, God speaks to Abram with a renewed and expanded promise: all the land he can see in every direction will be his and his offspring's forever, and his descendants will be as innumerable as the dust of the earth. God tells Abram to walk through the land — to survey and claim it by the act of walking. Abram settles at the oaks of Mamre near Hebron and builds another altar. The chapter is a study in contrasts: Lot chooses by sight and moves toward wickedness; Abram waits on God and receives the promise by faith.
Abram Returns from Egypt (vv. 1–4)
1 So Abram went up out of Egypt into the Negev — he and his wife and all his possessions — and Lot was with him. 2 And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold. 3 From the Negev he journeyed from place to place toward Bethel, until he came to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been pitched, 4 to the site where he had built the altar. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
1 So Abram went up from Egypt — he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him — into the Negev. 2 Now Abram was very wealthy in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed by stages from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar that he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
Notes
וַיַּעַל אַבְרָם מִמִּצְרַיִם ("So Abram went up from Egypt") — The verb עָלָה ("to go up") is the counterpart to the "going down" (יָרַד) of Genesis 12:10. The Negev is geographically higher than Egypt, but the directional language also carries theological weight: leaving Egypt is an ascent, returning to the promised land is a going up. The same verb alah will later describe Israel's exodus from Egypt and their "going up" to the land of Canaan.
כָּבֵד מְאֹד ("very wealthy" — literally "very heavy") — The word כָּבֵד means "heavy, weighty" and is used here metaphorically for wealth. Abram's riches come in three categories: מִקְנֶה ("livestock"), כֶּסֶף ("silver"), and זָהָב ("gold"). Some of this wealth was acquired through the wife-sister deception in Egypt (Genesis 12:16) — prosperity with an ambiguous origin. The same root kaved gives us the word "glory" (כָּבוֹד).
לְמַסָּעָיו ("by his stages/journeys") — The plural noun מַסָּע refers to the stages or encampments of a journey. Abram retraces his earlier path, returning to the very altar between Bethel and Ai where he had worshiped before (Genesis 12:8). The phrase בָּרִאשֹׁנָה ("at the beginning/at first") underscores this return: Abram comes back to his spiritual starting point. After the failure in Egypt, he returns to the place of worship and calls on the LORD's name again.
The Conflict and the Separation (vv. 5–13)
5 Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist. 7 And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land. 8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Now separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left." 10 And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan for himself and set out toward the east. And Abram and Lot parted company. 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 The land could not support both of them dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. 8 Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, I will go to the left." 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the whole Jordan plain was well watered everywhere — like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt — in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan plain, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.
Notes
רִיב ("strife, contention, legal dispute") — The conflict is not between Abram and Lot personally but between their herdsmen, presumably over grazing land and water sources. The word riv has legal overtones — it is a formal dispute, not mere bickering. The note that "the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land" (v. 7) adds urgency: internal conflict among God's people is witnessed by outsiders, and it weakens their position in an already occupied land.
כִּי אֲנָשִׁים אַחִים אֲנָחְנוּ ("for we are kinsmen" — literally "for we are men, brothers") — Abram appeals to family loyalty. The word אַחִים ("brothers") is used even though Lot is his nephew, reflecting the broader Hebrew usage of ach for any close male relative. Abram's generosity in giving Lot first choice is striking: as the patriarch and the one who holds God's promise, Abram had every right to choose first. Instead, he trusts that God's promise does not depend on his own shrewd maneuvering.
הִפָּרֶד נָא מֵעָלָי ("separate yourself from me") — The verb פָּרַד ("to separate, divide") is the same root used in Genesis 10:5 and Genesis 10:32 for the spreading out of nations. Abram initiates the separation peacefully, in contrast to the forced scattering at Babel (Genesis 11:8).
וַיִּשָּׂא לוֹט אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא ("And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw") — This phrase is significant because it contrasts with v. 14, where God tells Abram to "lift up your eyes and look." Lot lifts his eyes on his own initiative and chooses by sight; Abram lifts his eyes at God's command and receives by faith. The pattern echoes Eve, who "saw that the tree was good" (Genesis 3:6) — choosing based on visual appeal rather than divine instruction.
כְּגַן יְהוָה כְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם ("like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt") — The Jordan plain is compared to two things: Eden and Egypt. The first comparison elevates it; the second should give pause. Egypt is the place Abram just fled, the place of deception and danger. Lot is drawn to a landscape that evokes both paradise and the world's seductions. The double comparison is the narrator's warning: what looks like Eden may prove to be Egypt.
וַיִּסַּע לוֹט מִקֶּדֶם ("and Lot journeyed east") — Once again, an eastward movement carries ominous weight in Genesis. Cain went east (Genesis 4:16); the Babel builders moved east (Genesis 11:2); now Lot journeys east. The direction of departure from God's blessing.
וַיֶּאֱהַל עַד סְדֹם ("and moved his tent as far as Sodom") — The verb אָהַל ("to pitch a tent, to tent") shows Lot's gradual drift: he first looks at the plain (v. 10), then chooses it (v. 11), then settles among the cities (v. 12), and finally pitches his tent toward Sodom. By Genesis 14:12 he is living in Sodom, and by Genesis 19:1 he is sitting in its gate as a civic leader. The progression is a case study in moral compromise: each step seems small, but the trajectory is toward catastrophe.
רָעִים וְחַטָּאִים לַיהוָה מְאֹד ("wicked, great sinners against the LORD") — Two words for evil: רָעִים ("wicked, evil in disposition") and חַטָּאִים ("sinners" — habitual wrongdoers). The intensifier מְאֹד ("exceedingly, greatly") is placed at the end for emphasis. The narrator drops this devastating assessment immediately after Lot's choice, letting the reader draw the obvious conclusion: Lot has chosen well-watered land and wicked neighbors.
God's Renewed Promise to Abram (vv. 14–18)
14 After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, "Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west, 15 for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Get up and walk around the land, through its length and breadth, for I will give it to you." 18 So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the Oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
14 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes now, and look from the place where you are — northward and southward and eastward and westward. 15 For all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, your offspring also could be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the land, through its length and its breadth, for I will give it to you." 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 the LORD.
Notes
The timing is significant: God speaks after Lot has departed. Lot's presence — and the attachment to family that his presence represented — may have been an impediment to the full reception of the promise. God's call in Genesis 12:1 required Abram to leave his "father's house"; Lot was a remnant of that house. Now that the separation is complete, God enlarges the promise.
שָׂא נָא עֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה ("Lift up your eyes now, and look") — The same verb pair used of Lot in v. 10, but now commanded by God. Lot lifted his eyes and chose for himself; Abram lifts his eyes at God's direction and receives what God gives. Four directions are named — צָפֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה וָקֵדְמָה וָיָמָּה ("northward and southward and eastward and westward") — encompassing the totality of the land. What Abram sees in every direction is his.
עַד עוֹלָם ("forever") — The land promise is not temporary or conditional but עוֹלָם — a word meaning "perpetuity, ages, forever." This is the first time the land promise is described as permanent. In Genesis 12:7 it was simply "to your offspring"; now it is "to you and your offspring forever."
כַּעֲפַר הָאָרֶץ ("as the dust of the earth") — The first of several metaphors for Abram's innumerable descendants. Later God will compare them to the stars of heaven (Genesis 15:5) and the sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17). Dust, stars, sand — earth, sky, sea — the descendants of Abram will fill every realm. The image of dust is particularly apt for a man who has just been promised land: his offspring will be as plentiful as the very soil they inherit.
קוּם הִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּאָרֶץ לְאָרְכָּהּ וּלְרָחְבָּהּ ("Arise, walk through the land, through its length and its breadth") — The command to walk the land is a symbolic act of possession. In the ancient Near East, walking through a territory was a legal act of claiming it. God tells Abram to survey his inheritance by foot — not as a tourist but as an owner. The Hithpael form הִתְהַלֵּךְ ("walk about, walk to and fro") is the same verb form used for God "walking" in the garden (Genesis 3:8) and for Enoch and Noah "walking with God" (Genesis 5:24, Genesis 6:9). Abram's walk through the land is a walk with God.
בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא אֲשֶׁר בְּחֶבְרוֹן ("by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron") — Mamre is an Amorite ally of Abram (see Genesis 14:13). Hebron is approximately 19 miles south of Jerusalem and will become one of the most important cities in Israelite history: the burial place of the patriarchs (Genesis 23:19), David's first capital (2 Samuel 2:1-4), and a city of refuge (Joshua 20:7). Abram builds his third altar — at Shechem (Genesis 12:7), between Bethel and Ai (Genesis 12:8), and now at Hebron. The altars trace a north-to-south line through the central hill country, marking the land as belonging to the LORD.