✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Genesis 13

KJV · Chapter 13/50

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 Hai;

4Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

5And Lot also, which 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 herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

8And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be 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 depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

10And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, 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 unto Zoar.

11Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

12Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

13But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

14And 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:

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 shall thy seed also be numbered.

17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

18Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Abram and his nephew Lot part ways because of conflicts between their herdsmen; Lot chooses the fertile plain of the Jordan near Sodom, and God reaffirms to Abram the promise of the land.

Explanation

This chapter shows Abram acting with generosity and maturity: instead of insisting on his rights as the elder uncle, he lets Lot have first choice of the land, avoiding family conflict. Lot chooses what looks most advantageous to human eyes — the fertile region near Sodom — without considering that closeness to a morally corrupt city would bring future trouble, as the text itself hints ('the men of Sodom were wicked and great sinners'). Right after this separation, God reaffirms and expands the promise of the land to Abram, showing that yielding in generosity brought no loss, only confirmation of the divine blessing. The practical lesson is that decisions based purely on the appearance of immediate advantage can hide bigger risks, and that trusting God often means not fighting for the best piece for yourself.

Fun facts

  • The comparison of the plain of the Jordan to 'the garden of the LORD' and 'the land of Egypt' (v. 10) evokes both the lost Eden and the fertility of the banks of the Nile, showing how the text draws on images already familiar to the reader to describe how attractive that region was.
  • This is the first chapter in which God formally promises Abram offspring 'as the dust of the earth' (v. 16), an image of uncountable multiplication that will be repeated and expanded in later chapters, such as Genesis 15 and 22.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Genesis 13:1Abram goes up from Egypt back to Canaan, with Sarai, Lot, and everything he had—resuming the journey that the famine in the previous chapter had interrupted.
  2. Genesis 13:2The text highlights that Abram leaves Egypt rich, with plenty of livestock, silver, and gold—part of that wealth came precisely from the gifts Pharaoh had given him because of Sarai.
  3. Genesis 13:3Abram returns by the same route he had traveled before, back to the spot between Beth-el and Hai where he had already camped—a kind of return to his starting point before the famine.
  4. Genesis 13:4He arrives at the same altar he had already built before going down to Egypt, and calls on the name of the LORD there again—resuming the worship at the place where he had left off.
  5. Genesis 13:5Lot, who travels with Abram, had also grown rich, with his own flocks and tents—it’s this growth of both men that will create the problem described in the next verse.
  6. Genesis 13:6The land can no longer support the flocks of both families together—too much wealth to share the same space, which forces Abram and Lot to separate.
  7. Genesis 13:7A quarrel breaks out between the herdsmen of the two groups over pasture and water—and the text notes that other peoples, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, also occupied that land.
  8. Genesis 13:8Abram proposes resolving the conflict peacefully, reminding Lot that they are relatives and shouldn’t fight over their servants.
  9. Genesis 13:9Abram offers Lot first choice of the best land, willing to settle for whatever is left—a generous gesture, since as the uncle he could have chosen first.
  10. Genesis 13:10Lot sees the plain of the Jordan and compares it to the “garden of the LORD” and to the land of Egypt—two images of abundance and plentiful water that any ancient reader would instantly recognize. It’s a description of green, rich land, the opposite of the surrounding desert; the irony is that this same region will include Sodom, destroyed just a few chapters later.
  11. Genesis 13:11Lot chooses the more fertile region, near the Jordan, and heads east—repeating the same movement of drawing away that has already appeared earlier in the Bible, always linked to distancing oneself from the center of the story.
  12. Genesis 13:12Abram stays in Canaan, the land promised to him, while Lot settles closer and closer to Sodom—a choice that will prove dangerous in the chapters that follow.
  13. Genesis 13:13This short line warns, well before the full story told in chapter 19, that the people of Sodom had a reputation for wickedness. It’s an early heads-up from the narrator, setting up the reason the city will later be destroyed.
  14. Genesis 13:14After Lot separates from him, God speaks to Abram again, asking him to look in every direction—the invitation to take in the extent of the land He’s about to promise him.
  15. Genesis 13:15God formally promises that all that visible land will be given to Abram and his descendants forever—the same promise of Canaan repeated with even more force after Lot’s separation.
  16. Genesis 13:16Comparing Abram’s descendants to the “dust of the earth” is an old way of saying “countless,” not an exact figure. It’s the same promise that, later on, also appears compared to the stars of the sky—an image exaggerated on purpose to convey the idea of a multitude impossible to count.
  17. Genesis 13:17God tells Abram to walk the land on foot, its length and its breadth—a symbolic gesture of taking possession even before it actually belonged to his descendants.
  18. Genesis 13:18The “plain of Mamre” was a grove near Hebron, in the south of Canaan, a region that will come up again several times in Abram’s life. It’s simply the name of the place where he sets up permanent camp and builds an altar, functioning as a kind of home base between his travels.

Chapters

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play