Genesis 13

Gen 13:1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, (and Lot was with him) into the south.

went up - south--Palestine being a highland country, the entrance from Egypt by its southern boundary is a continual ascent.

Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver and in gold.

Abram was very rich - The property of these patriarchal times did not consist in flocks only, but also in silver and gold; and in all these respects Abram was exceeding rich.

Gen 13:3 And he went on his journeys from the south, even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been from the beginning, between Bethel and Hai,

between Bethel and Hai - afterwards called Mount Ephraim, and was four miles from Jerusalem on the north.

Gen 13:4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at the first. And Abram called on the name of Jehovah there.

Unto the place of the altar - it is not said he came to the altar, but "to the place," where it had stood. It seems now to have been demolished, either having fallen of itself, being made of earth, or had been destroyed by the Canaanites, since Abram left it; or perhaps it might be pulled down by Abram himself before he went from thence, that it might not be used and polluted by the idolatrous Canaanites.

Gen 13:5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

Gen 13:6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might live together. For their substance was great, so that they could not live together.

They could not dwell together - 1. Because their flocks were great. 2. Because the Canaanites and the Perizzites had already occupied a considerable part of the land. 3. Because there appears to have been envy between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. To prevent disputes among them, that might have ultimately disturbed the peace of the two families, it was necessary that a separation should take place.

Gen 13:7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite lived then in the land.

Perizzite –The origin of the name Perizzite is involved in obscurity, like that of the Kenites and other tribes settled in Canaan that were not descended from Ham. But we may infer from the frequency with which they are mentioned in connection with the Hamitic inhabitants of Canaan, that they were widely dispersed among the latter.

Gen 13:8 And Abram said to Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray you, between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are men, brothers.

We are men, brothers - The strife among the underlings does not alienate their masters. Abram appeals to the obligations of brotherhood. He proposes to obviate any further difference by yielding to Lot the choice of all the land. The heavenly principle of forbearance evidently holds the supremacy in Abram’s breast.

Gen 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? I pray you, separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.

Is not the whole land before thee - As the patriarch or head of the family, Abram, by prescriptive right, might have chosen his own portion first, and appointed Lot his; but intent upon peace, and feeling pure and parental affection for his nephew, he permitted him to make his choice first.

Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the circuit of Jordan, that it was all well watered (before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah,) like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar.

as the garden of Jehovah - the garden planted by Jehovah in paradise.

Gen 13:11 And Lot chose all the circuit of Jordan for himself. And Lot journeyed east; and they separated themselves from one another.

Gen 13:12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the circuit and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan - In that part of the land strictly so called, where the family of the Canaanites had their abode; for otherwise taking Canaan in a more general sense, the plain of Jordan, and cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, were in the land of Canaan.

And Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain - in the neighbourhood of them, or near those cities, which were built on the plain of Jordan, for he could not dwell in more than one, if in one; for it looks as if at his first settlement he did not dwell in any, but near them all, especially Sodom.

and pitched his tent toward Sodom - or "even unto Sodom"; and it may be rendered, as it is by some, "he pitched his tents", for himself, his family, and his servants, his shepherds and his herdsmen, which reached unto Sodom, and where he afterwards dwelt, at least at the gate of it.

Gen 13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before Jehovah, exceedingly so.

and sinners before the Lord - exceeding great sinners, guilty of the most notorious crimes, and these they committed openly and publicly in the sight of God. The Targum of Jonathan reckons up many of their sins, as defrauding of one another in their substance, sinning in their bodies, incest, unclean copulation, shedding of innocent blood, worshipping of idols, and rebelling against the name of the Lord; Isaiah 3:9 The look of their faces witnesses against them; and they declare their sin like Sodom. They do not hide it! Woe to their soul! For they have rewarded evil to themselves.

The men of Sodom were wicked - raim from ra, to break in pieces, destroy, and afflict; meaning persons who broke the established order of things, destroyed and confounded the distinctions between right and wrong, and who afflicted and tormented both themselves and others. And sinners chattaim, from chata, to miss the mark, to step wrong, to miscarry; so a sinner is one who is ever aiming at happiness and constantly missing his mark; because, being wicked - radically evil within, every affection and passion depraved and out of order, he seeks for happiness where it never can be found, in worldly honors and possessions, and in sensual gratifications, the end of which is disappointment, affliction, vexation, and ruin. Such were the companions Lot must have in the fruitful land he had chosen. This, however, amounts to no more than the common character of sinful man; but the people of Sodom were exceedingly sinful and wicked before, or against, the Lord - they were sinners of no common character; they excelled in unrighteousness, and soon filled up the measure of their iniquities.

Gen 13:14 And after Lot was separated from him, Jehovah said to Abram, Lift up your eyes now and look from the place where you are northward and southward, and eastward and westward.

Jehovah said to Abram – After Lot’s departure, He states His promise that He would give the land to him and to his seed in its whole extent, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward, and would make his seed innumerable like the dust of the earth. From this we may see that the separation of Lot was in accordance with the will of God, as Lot had no share in the promise of God; though God afterwards saved him from destruction for Abram's sake.

northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward - the north of the land of Canaan was Mount Lebanon, the south of it Edom or Idumea, the east the plain and river of Jordan, the west the Mediterranean sea; and the word for "westward" here is "to the sea"; northward of it was Babylon, southward Egypt, eastward Arabia, and westward the Mediterranean sea.

Gen 13:15 For all the land which you see I will give to you, and to your seed forever.

To thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever - This land was given to Abram, that it might lineally and legally descend to his posterity; and though Abram himself cannot be said to have possessed it, Acts 7:5 And He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not even a foot-breadth. And He promised that He would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, there being no child to him yet it was the gift of God to him in behalf of his seed; and this was always the design of God, not that Abram himself should possess it, but that his posterity should. (Old commentators add “till the manifestation of Christ in the flesh” however this has been shown in recent times, and in the study of scripture, that God still intends for the descendents of Abraham to possess the land. In 1948, the nation of Israel was born in a day, as predicted in the bible. Currently, Israel is in the condition prophecied by Ezekiel 37:8 And I watched. And behold! The sinews and the flesh came up on them, and the skin covered them above. But there was no breath in them.)

Forever - olam means either Eternity, which implies the termination of all time or duration, such as is measured by the celestial luminaries: or a hidden, unknown period, such as includes a completion or final termination of a particular era, dispensation, etc.;.

Forever - The possession of the land is promised “for ever.” The promise of God is unchangeable. As the seed of Abraham was to exist before God for ever, so Canaan was to be its everlasting possession.

Gen 13:16 And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be counted.

like the dust of the earth - That is, they shall increase incredibly, and take them altogether; they shall be such a great multitude as no man can number. So extensive a survey of the country, in all directions, can be obtained from no other point in the neighborhood; and those plains and hills, then lying desolate before the eyes of the solitary patriarch, were to be peopled with a mighty nation "like the dust of the earth in number," as they were in Solomon's time 1 Kings 4:20 Judah and Israel were many, as the sand by the sea in multitude; eating and drinking and making merry.

like the dust of the earth - The revelation made Gen_15:5, was evidently made in the night; for then he was called to number the stars, which could not be seen but in the night season: here he is called on to number the dust of the earth, Gen_13:16, which could not be seen but in the day-light.

And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth - An hyperbolical expression denoting the great multitude of Abram's posterity, as they were in the days of Solomon, and as they will be in the latter day; and especially as this may respect all the spiritual seed of Abram, Jews and Gentiles, and as they will be in the spiritual reign of Christ, Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. And it shall be, in the place where it was said to them, You are not My people, there it shall be said to them, You are the sons of the living God. Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

Gen 13:17 Rise up and walk through the land, in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it to you.

Arise, walk through the land - And take a survey of it, and see what a land it is, how good and how large, and take possession of it for himself and his, and making in it a possession, which in civil law was done by walking:

Gen 13:18 And Abram moved his tent and came and lived in the oaks of Mamre, which is in Hebron. And he built an altar to Jehovah there.

Abram moved his tent - Continued to travel and pitch in different places, till at last he fixed his tent in the plain, or by the oak, of Mamre, where he did in Gen_12:6, which is in Hebron.

in the oaks of Mamre - supposedly called after a man whose name was Mamre, an Amorite, a friend and confederate of Abram:

he built an altar - A third altar is here built by Abram.