Genesis 13 Study Notes

13:1 Having been forced to go out from Egypt, Abram returned to the Negev, the last place he had lived in the promised land (12:9) before his departure to Africa.

13:2-3 Abram moved northward to Bethel, an area of Canaan with greater rainfall—and thus more vegetation—than the Negev. This move was probably necessary in order to feed the large flocks of Abram and his nephew Lot.

13:4 Abram’s physical return to the place where God first spoke to him in the promised land was paralleled by a spiritual recommitment of his life to God. For the first time since he left Canaan for Egypt, Abram called on the name of the Lord.

13:5-6 Especially during the dry summer months, the land around Bethel and Ai was too dry for such a large number of flocks and people. To remain in the area, Abram and Lot would have to separate.

13:7 With limited natural resources, quarreling between Abram’s and Lot’s . . . herdsmen was inevitable.

13:8 Abram defused a tense situation that had soured the relationship between himself and his nephew, and between their herdsmen. Since they were relatives and were surrounded by people groups that had no reason to be friendly to them, it was important that they work out a compromise.

13:9 Abram realized the only way to end the dispute was for them to separate. As senior member and head of the clan, he should have been the one to select the region where he would live. But Abram graciously handed the choice over to Lot, allowing his nephew to lay claim to the most desirable spot in the whole land.

13:10 Thinking especially of his flocks’ need for water and pasture, Lot was particularly interested in the southern end of the plain of the Jordan, an area that was well watered everywhere. So well off was this region before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, two prominent cities located there (19:24-25), that it was reputed to be as lush as the Lord’s garden—or the garden of Eden (2:9-10). The name Zoar anticipates the events of 19:20-22; the name of the village at this time was Bela (14:2).

13:11 To the careful reader, Lot’s journey eastward has some troubling implications. Other situations in the early chapters of Genesis in which the “east” is mentioned as a destination include those of Adam and Eve following their sin in Eden (3:24), Cain following his judgment (4:16), and sinful humanity prior to the tower of Babylon incident (11:2).

13:12 Lot apparently lived a transitional existence, living in the cities on the plain while also maintaining a tent camp near Sodom in order to maintain his flocks.

13:13 The evil state of the men of Sodom and how they were sinning immensely against the Lord will be addressed further in 18:20-19:25.

13:14-15 When Abram gave parts of Canaan to Lot in the land-for-peace deal, it threatened to undo God’s earlier promise to Abram (12:7), but God’s promises could not be thwarted by Abram’s actions. In spite of Abram’s commitment to Lot, the Lord himself would give Abram all the land that he could see in every direction. What is more, Canaan would also belong to Abram’s offspring forever. Lot’s offspring would not be left landless, however. His sons—Moab and Ben-Ammi (19:37-38)—would become the founders of Moab and Ammon, nations east of the land promised to Abram.

13:16 In addition to land, the Lord also promised Abram offspring too numerous to be counted. Since Abram was more than seventy-five years old and still childless at the time the Lord spoke these words, this divine pledge was particularly amazing.

13:17-18 Perhaps as a test of Abram’s faith, the Lord issued two commands. With them came a reaffirmation of the promise first uttered when Abram arrived in the promised land (12:7). Immediately after God’s command to walk around the land, through its length and width, Abram went to live near the oaks of Mamre, a site about two miles north of Hebron. Hebron became the primary residence of Abram and, later, his son Isaac (18:1; 23:2; 35:27; 37:14).