Genesis
Chapter 13
Abram and Lot
Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev with his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him.
Now Abram was very rich in flocks, silver, and gold.
As he journeyed on, he traveled from the Negev as far as Bethel to the place where he had first pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai,
at the spot where he had previously made an altar and called on the Name of the LORD.
Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, cattle, and tents.
The land could not support both of them because their possessions were too great for them to live together.
A quarrel arose between the herdsmen of Abram’s flock and those of Lot. (The Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land at that time.)
Abram said to Lot, “Don’t let there be a dispute between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and yours, since we are brothers!
Isn’t the whole land there before you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
Lot looked up and saw the entire valley of the Jordan: how well it was watered! Before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, this place resembled one of the LORD’s gardens, like the region of Egypt, upon reaching Zoar.
Lot chose all the Jordan valley for himself and journeyed eastward. In this way, they parted ways.
Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the towns of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom.
Now, the people of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
The LORD said to Abram after Lot had left him, “Raise your eyes and look from where you are, towards the north, the south, the east, and the west;
all the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.
I will make your descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth; if the grains of dust can be counted, then your descendants may be counted.
Come, travel through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
So Abram moved his tent and lived by the oaks of Mamre at Hebron. There, he built an altar to the LORD.
Commentaries
Abram and Lot.
Two well-defined parts make up this section:
1. Abram and Lot’s decision to separate is due to the limited territory they occupy. The number of cattle they both own requires more space to graze. What stands out in this section is the peaceful tone with which the situation is resolved (8-13).
2. The second part is the ratification, once again, of the promise that the Lord made to Abram in 12:2, now featuring the new element that the patriarch definitively chooses the location in the territory where he will establish his residence and also locate his tomb—the oak grove of Mamre in Hebron—where he simultaneously erects an altar to the Lord (18).