Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

13:1-7 This story is set in conflict amid God’s blessings. In the opening verses, Abram returns to a place where he had built an altar. Previous events are emphasized as Abram’s return to the land is described (13:3-4); Abram renewed his worship and again proclaimed the Lord’s name (cp. 12:8).

Verse 2

13:2 Abram already had powerful resources (12:5); his Egyptian sojourn augmented his wealth and power (12:16).

Verse 5

13:5-7 Lot was also wealthy, with flocks and herds. Tents figure prominently in Lot’s story (13:12). • The Canaanites and Perizzites (see 34:30; Deut 7:1; Judg 1:4; 3:5) held the well-watered land; the quarrel between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen left Abram more vulnerable to attack.

Verse 8

13:8-13 Abram, to whom the land was promised, might have told Lot to find his own place. Abram’s generosity was an act of faith; he knew that even if he gave the whole land away, God would still give it to him and his descendants. Abram did not have to cling to things, whereas Lot’s choices were self-seeking.

13:8 Abram was concerned that there be no conflict (Hebrew meribah) between them, as they were close relatives (literally brothers). Moses later reproved Israel over the incident in the wilderness at Meribah (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13) and instructed them on exercising faith in such situations. Meribah thereafter became a watchword for testing and striving with the Lord in unbelief (see Ps 95).

Verse 10

13:10 What appealed to Lot would be short-lived. In the garden of the Lord, Adam and Eve succumbed to their craving for what they saw; Israel was later enslaved in Egypt. Sodom and Gomorrah are reminders of putting intense desires ahead of obedience to God (3:5-6; see 1 Jn 2:16). • Zoar was a small town in the plain to which Lot and his daughters later fled (19:18-22); it was previously called Bela (14:2).

Verse 11

13:11-18 The narrator makes numerous contrasts between Lot and Abram.

13:11 Lot’s choice was totally selfish, without concern for Abram or faith in the Lord. • The region called the whole Jordan Valley (literally the circle of the Jordan) is believed to have been near the south end of the Dead Sea, based on descriptions in ancient records that locate cities of the Plain. This area is now very desolate.

Verse 13

13:13 The implication is that Lot would not resist Sodom’s influence because he, too, was living for himself.

Verse 14

13:14-17 Abram could give Lot the choice land because he believed in God’s promise. Abram waited for God to give him the land; Lot just took what he wanted.

Verse 18

13:18 Hebron was an Anakite city (Num 13:22) originally called Kiriath-arba (“city of Arba”), located in forested highlands just north of the Negev (Gen 12:9; Josh 17:15). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all settled there (Gen 18:1; 35:27; 37:14), and Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were buried there (23:19; 35:27-29; 49:29-32; 50:13). • Mamre was an Amorite (14:13; 15:16).