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 he was very rich in possession of gold and silver.
3And he returned by the way that he came, from the south to Bethel, to the place where before he had pitched his tent between Bethel and Hai:
4In the place of the altar which he had made before. And there he called upon the name of the Lord.
5But Lot also, who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and herds of beasts, and tents.
6Neither was the land able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, and they could not dwell together.
7Whereupon also there arose a strife between the herdsmen of Abram and of Lot. And at that time the Chanaanite and the Pherezite dwelled in that country.
8Abram therefore said to Lot: Let there be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen: for we are brethren.
9Behold, the whole land is before thee: depart from me I pray thee. If thou wilt go to the left hand, I will take the right: if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the left.
10And Lot, lifting up his eyes, saw all the country about the Jordan, which was watered throughout, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha, as the paradise of the Lord, and like Egypt as one comes to Segor.
11And Lot chose to himself the country about the Jordan, and he departed from the east: and they were separated one brother from the other.
12Abram dwelt in the land of Chanaan; and Lot abode in the towns that were about the Jordan, and dwelt in Sodom.
13And the men of Sodom were very wicked, and sinners before the face of the Lord, beyond measure.
14And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him: Lift up thy eyes, and look from the place wherein thou now art, to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west.
15All the land which thou seest, I will give to thee, and to thy seed for ever.
16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: if any man be able to number the dust of the earth, he shall be able to number thy seed also.
17Arise and walk through the land in the length, and in the breadth thereof: for I will give it to thee.
18So Abram removing his tent came and dwelt by the vale of Mambre, which is in Hebron: and he built there an altar to the Lord.
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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