Genesis 13:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

NIV: Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.

NASB: Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked sinners against the Lord.

CSB: (Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning immensely against the Lord.)

NLT: But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord.

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

NKJV: But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.

When it came time for Abram and Lot to go their separate ways in the land God had promised to Abram, Lot chose to settle in the well-watered valley along the Jordan river. That made sense in a land prone to occasional drought. From a material standpoint, this was a wise choice. Lot's new land was exactly what his growing family and flocks needed.

However, Lot's choice to pitch his tents near the city of Sodom was clearly spiritually unwise. At the very least, Lot does not seem to have taken the threat of Sodom's depraved culture seriously. We're told nothing about Lot's motive for settling his tents so close to the city. More than likely, there was no absolutely necessary reason to do so. Later in Genesis, we will see Lot and his family actually move into the town itself. This gradual numbness to evil will lead to Lot's tragic fate (Genesis 19).

Lot most certainly knew that the people of Sodom were wicked, as this verse reveals (Genesis 13:10). God was certainly aware of their great sins against Him. Later in the book, it will become clear that those sins included participating in homosexuality and rape, among others (Ezekiel 16:49–50).

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.