The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 13
Chapter XIII · Vol. I, pp. 232–234
1 Abram and Lot return out of Egypt. 7 By disagreement they part asunder. 10 Lot goeth to wicked Sodom. 14 God reneweth the promise to Abram. 18 He removeth to Hebron, and there buildeth an altar.
1 AND Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the asouth.3
A.M. 2086. B.C. 1918.
a ch.12.9; 20.1; 21.33. Jos.10.40; 18.5. 1 Sa.27. 10. 2 Sa.24.7.
3 The word here rendered 'south' is in reality a proper name. It ought to be 'towards Negeb.' Negeb embraced the country along the southern border of Palestine from Gaza to the southern end of the Dead Sea. It is the same word which is translated 'south' in Ge.12.9; 24. 62. and many other passages, where it is a proper name.—P.
3 And he went on his journeys from the south4 even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai;
4 Negeb.
4 Unto the cplace of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and dthere Abram called on the name of the LORD.
c See ch.12.7,8.
d Ps.107.1,8,15; 65.1, 2. Ep.6.18,19. ch.4.26. Is.58.9.
5 And Lot also, which went5 with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and etents.
5 About 1915.
e Servants dwelling in tents, Je.49.29.
6 And the fland was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
f ch.36.7.
7 And there was a gstrife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle. And the hCanaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, iLet there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.6
i 1 Co. 6.7. He.12.14. Mat.5.9. Pr.15.1. Ja.3. 17,18.
6 Heb. men brethren.
9 Is 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 depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld kall the plain of Jordan,7 that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest lunto Zoar.7
k ch. 19. 17. Is. 51.3. Eze. 28. 13; 31. 8. Joel 2.3.
7 The view from the crown of the ridge between Bethel and Ai is most commanding. It embraces a large section of Southern Palestine, and the whole valley of the Jordan around Jericho. The reference to Egypt is natural, whether we regard this passage as written by Moses, who was familiar with Egypt, or by Abraham himself, who had just returned from that country. The rich and well-watered valley of the Jordan bears in places a striking resemblance to the valley of the Nile; and it seems that resemblance was even greater before the destruction of Sodom and the enlargement of the Dead Sea. All difficulty is removed from the passage if we translate according to the grammatical construction of the Hebrew, thus: 'Lot . . . beheld all the plain of Jordan towards Zoar, that it was well watered,' &c. From the spot on which Lot stood Zoar lay directly beyond the plain, or 'circuit' of the Jordan, hence it is said, 'All the circuit of the Jordan towards Zoar.'—P.
A.M. 2086. B.C. 1918.
l ch. 14.2; 19.20,22. De. 34.3. Is. 15.5. Je. 48.34.
7 This land is described as well watered as the garden of the Lord, which had four rivers (ch. 2.10), and as the land of Egypt, which being annually overflowed by the Nile, is rendered thereby one of the most fertile regions of the earth.—C.
11 Then8 Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
8 About 1915.
12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan,9 and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
9 Canaan proper embraced only the country lying to the west of the valley of the Jordan.—P.
13 But the men of Sodom were mwicked, and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
m ch. 18.20; 19.5. 1 Sa. 15.18. Eze. 16.49. Mat. 9.10,13. Jn. 9.24,31. 2 Pe. 2.6,7,10. Jude 7. Ro. 1.27. Job 34.22. Je. 23.24. He. 4.13. Is. 3.9.
14 And the LORD 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:
15 For nall the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed ofor ever.1
n See on ch. 12.7; 26.4. De. 34.4.
o See ch. 17.7,8.
1 The title of the Jews to the land of Canaan is as valid now as in the day it was granted by Jehovah to Abram, as no adverse possession of the Gentiles can invalidate the right of the Creator to give it to whom he pleases. The return of the Jews to Canaan is an event clearly predicted in the Scriptures (see especially Eze. 37.21,22); so that their title for ever, though for a time suspended, will, in God's good time, be finally resumed.—C.
16 And I pwill make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
p ch. 12.2; 15.5; 17.6,16; 18.18; 22.17; 26.4; 28.3,14; 32.12; 35.11; 46.3. Ex. 1.7. 1 Ki. 4.20. 1 Ch. 21.5. 2 Ch. 17.14-18. Ge. xxv. xxxvi.; 17.20; 21.13. Ju. 6.3,5.
17 Arise, walk through the land, in the length of it, and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Notes
Ver. 7. It was not proper these heathens should be scandalized by a strife between such as were brethren both by natural relation and by profession of the true religion.
Ver. 8. Ps. 133. 1-3, 'Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!' He. 13. 1, 'Let brotherly love continue;' Ge. 45. 24, 'He sent his brethren away, and said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way;' Ac. 7. 26, 'Ye are brethren, why do ye wrong one to another?' Ro. 12. 10; Ep. 4. 3; 1 Th. 4. 9; He. 6. 10; 1 Pe. 1. 22; 2. 17; 3. 8, 4. 8; 2 Pe. 1. 7; 1 Jn. 2. 9, 11; 3. 14-19; 4. 7, 20, 21.
Ver. 14. [From the spot on which he stood, on the mountain east of Bethel, ch. 12. 8; ver. 3, Abraham saw a large section of Mount Ephraim on the north, Benjamin and Judah to the west and south, the Jordan valley and the long range east of the Jordan from Edom on the south almost to the base of Hermon. P.]
Ver. 17. Abram's survey of Canaan was a mean of strengthening his faith, and of enabling him to discern the glories of heaven thereby represented.
Ver. 18. [The original name of Hebron was Kirjath-Arba, that is 'the city of Arba,' a celebrated chief of the Anakim. It was also called Mamre, though this appears to have been the specific name of a place beside the town, opposite Machpelah, see ch. 23. 19; 35. 27, once possessed by a powerful Amorite chief called Mamre, ch. 14. 13. P.]
Reflections.—Mark, my soul, what a load, what an occasion of strife, the riches of this world are! And how sinful and imprudent it is for the children of God to indulge contention before a carnal generation! Better to be losers in outward things than strivers about them! Never let me dare to mingle myself with monsters of wickedness for the sake of carnal advantage, lest, where I expect a paradise, I should find a hell! If, by yielding for the sake of peace, I submit myself to the worst, new visits from God, new promises, and new surveys of the Canaan above, will more than make up my loss. Meanwhile, wherever I go, let me set the Lord always before me, and attend to his worship and service, as my principal employ; then shall his blessing go with me, and render every change on earth a pleasing earnest of the promised inheritance.