Genesis 13:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.

NIV: So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.

NASB: So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

CSB: Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev —he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him.

NLT: So Abram left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev, along with his wife and Lot and all that they owned.

KJV: And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

NKJV: Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South.

Abram and his company were forced to enter the land of Egypt in search of food in a time of famine. Now they have been sent back out of Egypt by an angry Pharaoh. God had afflicted Pharaoh's household with a plague, because Pharaoh took Abram's wife Sarai for his own wife. This incident was caused by two factors. The first was Sarai's great beauty (Genesis 12:14). The other was Abram's decision to tell a lie in the form of a half-truth: that Sarai was his sister (Genesis 12:13). This was Abram's cowardly attempt to keep jealous men from attacking him in order to have access to Sarai (Genesis 12:12).

Even though Abram lied, God intervened to protect His own plan for Abram and Sarai's lives. In short, Abram had been faithless, but God had proved Himself faithful. Abram had even become wealthier, leaving Egypt with all the goods Pharaoh gave to him when taking Sarai for his own. Now the company arrives back in the desert-like area of the Negeb (or Negev), in the southern part of the land of Canaan.

Genesis 13:1–13 describes Abram's generosity to his nephew Lot, offering Lot the choice of where to settle his large herds. Lot chooses the fertile lands along the well-watered Jordan, near the city of Sodom. Abram settles near Hebron after hearing from the Lord once more that he and his uncountable descendants will one day possess all the land he can see.

Both Abram and his nephew Lot have grown so wealthy in animals that they cannot occupy the same area together. They split up. At Abram's gracious offer to choose which land to take for himself, Lot elects to live on the well-watered plains of Jordan near Sodom. After the Lord speaks to Abram, reaffirming and expanding on His promises, Abram settles near Hebron, near the great trees of an Amorite man called Mamre. Abram builds an altar to the Lord there and continues to worship Yahweh.

Genesis 12 ended with Abram and his large company being kicked out of Egypt by an angry Pharaoh. Back in Canaan, Abram and his nephew Lot are forced to split up due to the large size of their herds. Lot's choice to live near the wicked city of Sodom will have grave implications in coming chapters. God reaffirms and expands on His promises to Abram, who settles near Hebron, building another altar to the Lord and worshiping God there.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 11/21/2024 4:49:47 PM