Genesis 13
13
1And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South. 2And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3And he went on his journeys from the South even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Ai, 4unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of Jehovah. 5And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land. 8And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou take the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar. 11So Lot chose him all the Plain of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against Jehovah exceedingly.
14And Jehovah said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward: 15for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then may thy seed also be numbered. 17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto thee will I give it. 18And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar unto Jehovah.
Genesis 13
13
Abram Returns to Canaan
1So Abram left Egypt. He traveled through the Negev with his wife and everything he owned. Lot was also with them. 2At this time Abram was very rich. He had many animals and much silver and gold.
3Abram continued traveling around. He left the Negev and went back to Bethel. He went to the place between the city of Bethel and Ai,#13:3 Ai The name of this town means “the ruins.” where he and his family had camped before. 4This was where Abram had built an altar earlier. So he worshiped the Lord there.
Abram and Lot Separate
5During this time Lot was also traveling with Abram. Lot had many animals and tents. 6Abram and Lot had so many animals that the land could not support both of them together. 7(The Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in this land at the same time.) The shepherds of Abram and Lot began to argue.
8So Abram said to Lot, “There should be no arguing between you and me or between your people and my people. We are all brothers. 9We should separate. You can choose any place you want. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
10Lot looked and saw the whole Jordan Valley. He saw that there was much water there. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. At that time the Jordan Valley all the way to Zoar was like the Lord’s Garden. This was good land, like the land of Egypt.) 11So Lot chose to live in the Jordan Valley. The two men separated, and Lot began traveling east. 12Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived among the cities in the valley. Lot moved as far as Sodom and made his camp there. 13The Lord knew that the people of Sodom were very evil sinners.
14After Lot left, the Lord said to Abram, “Look around you. Look north, south, east, west. 15All this land that you see I will give to you and your people who live after you. This will be your land forever. 16I will make your people so many that they will be like the dust of the earth. If people could count all the particles of dust on earth, they could count your people. 17So go. Walk through your land. I now give it to you.”
18So Abram moved his tents. He went to live near the big trees of Mamre. This was near the city of Hebron. There he built an altar to honor the Lord.
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International