3And he goeth on his journeyings from the south, even unto Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the commencement, between Bethel and Hai —

4unto the place of the altar which he made there at the first, and there doth Abram preach in the name of Jehovah.

5And also to Lot, who is going with Abram, there hath been sheep and oxen and tents;

6and the land hath not suffered them to dwell together, for their substance hath been much, and they have not been able to dwell together;

7and there is a strife between those feeding Abram's cattle and those feeding Lot's cattle; and the Canaanite and the Perizzite [are] then dwelling in the land.

8And Abram saith unto Lot, ‘Let there not, I pray thee, be strife between me and thee, and between my shepherds and thy shepherds, for we [are] men — brethren.

9Is not all the land before thee? be parted, I pray thee, from me; if to the left, then I to the right; and if to the right, then I to the left.’

10And Lot lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the whole circuit of the Jordan that it [is] all a watered country (before Jehovah's destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, as Jehovah's garden, as the land of Egypt,) in thy coming toward Zoar,

11and Lot chooseth for himself the whole circuit of the Jordan; and Lot journeyeth from the east, and they are parted — a man from his companion;

12Abram hath dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot hath dwelt in the cities of the circuit, and tenteth unto Sodom;

13and the men of Sodom [are] evil, and sinners before Jehovah exceedingly.

14And Jehovah said unto Abram, after Lot's being parted from him, ‘Lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes, and look from the place where thou [art], northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward;

15for the whole of the land which thou are seeing, to thee I give it, and to thy seed — to the age.

16And I have set thy seed as dust of the earth, so that, if one is able to number the dust of the earth, even thy seed is numbered;

17rise, go up and down through the land, to its length, and to its breadth, for to thee I give it.’

18And Abram tenteth, and cometh, and dwelleth among the oaks of Mamre, which [are] in Hebron, and buildeth there an altar to Jehovah.

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Genesis 13

Abram and Lot Part. 1From Egypt Abram went up to the Negeb with his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot went with him.#Gn 12:9. 2#In this story of Abraham and Lot going their separate ways, Abraham resolves a family dispute by an act that shows both trust in God and generosity toward his nephew. The story suggests Lot rather than Abraham is the natural choice to be the ancestor of a great family; he is young and he takes the most fertile land (outside the land of Canaan). In contrast to Lot, who lifts his eyes to choose for himself (vv. 10–11), Abraham waits for God to tell him to lift his eyes and see the land he will receive (v. 14). Chaps. 18–19 continue the story of Abraham and Lot. Abraham’s visionary possession of the land foreshadows that of Moses (Dt 3:27; 34:4). Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.#Ps 112:1–3; Prv 10:22. 3From the Negeb he traveled by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly stood, 4the site where he had first built the altar; and there Abram invoked the Lord by name.#Gn 12:8.

5Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6so that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not live together. 7There were quarrels between the herders of Abram’s livestock and the herders of Lot’s livestock. At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.

8So Abram said to Lot: “Let there be no strife between you and me, or between your herders and my herders, for we are kindred. 9Is not the whole land available? Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.” 10Lot looked about and saw how abundantly watered the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar, like the Lord’s own garden, or like Egypt. This was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain and set out eastward. Thus they separated from each other. 12Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom. 13Now the inhabitants of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.#Gn 18:20; Ez 16:49; 2 Pt 2:6–8; Jude 7.

14After Lot had parted from him, the Lord said to Abram: Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west;#Gn 28:14. 15all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.#Gn 12:7; Mt 5:5; Lk 1:55, 73; Acts 7:5; Rom 4:13; Gal 3:16. 16I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted.#Gn 22:17; Nm 23:10. 17Get up and walk through the land, across its length and breadth, for I give it to you. 18Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the oak of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.#Gn 14:13.

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Genesis 13

Genesis 13