Genesis 13:3

3 He moved on from the Negev, camping along the way, to Bethel, the place he had first set up his tent between Bethel and Ai

Genesis 13:3 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 13:3

And he went on in his journeys from the south
He took the same tour, went the same road, stopping at the same resting places, as when he went down to Egypt; having learned, as Jarchi observes, the way of the earth, that a man should not change his host. Though some, as Ben Gersom, understand it of his taking his journeys as were suitable for his cattle, as they were able to bear them, and not overdrive them, lest he should kill them, but made short stages, and frequently stopped and rested. And thus he went on through the southern part of the land, until he came

even to Bethel;
as it was afterwards called, though now Luz, ( Genesis 28:19 )

unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning;
when he first came into the land of Canaan, to a mountain

between Bethel and Hai;
afterwards called Mount Ephraim, and was four miles from Jerusalem on the north F20; see ( Genesis 12:8 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F20 Bunting's Travels p. 59.

Genesis 13:3 In-Context

1 So Abram left Egypt and went back to the Negev, he and his wife and everything he owned, and Lot still with him.
2 By now Abram was very rich, loaded with cattle and silver and gold.
3 He moved on from the Negev, camping along the way, to Bethel, the place he had first set up his tent between Bethel and Ai
4 and built his first altar. Abram prayed there to God.
5 Lot, who was traveling with Abram, was also rich in sheep and cattle and tents.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.