Genesis 13:1-18

Abram’s Solution to the Strife

13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. ¹  He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. ²  13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy ³  in livestock, silver, and gold.) ⁴ 

13:3 And he journeyed from place to place ⁵  from the Negev as far as Bethel. ⁶  He returned ⁷  to the place where he had pitched his tent ⁸  at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, ⁹  and there Abram worshiped the Lord. ¹⁰ 

13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling ¹¹  with Abram, also had ¹²  flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could ¹³  not support them while they were living side by side. ¹⁴  Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live ¹⁵  alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels ¹⁶  between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. ¹⁷  (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) ¹⁸ 

13:8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. ¹⁹  13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go ²⁰  to the left, then I’ll go to the right, but if you go to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”

13:10 Lot looked up and saw ²¹  the whole region ²²  of the Jordan. He noticed ²³  that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated ²⁴  Sodom and Gomorrah) ²⁵  like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, ²⁶  all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled ²⁷  toward the east.

So the relatives separated from each other. ²⁸  13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain ²⁹  and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now ³⁰  the people ³¹  of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) ³² 

13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, ³³  “Look ³⁴  from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. 13:15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants ³⁵  forever. 13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. ³⁶  13:17 Get up and ³⁷  walk throughout ³⁸  the land, ³⁹  for I will give it to you.”

13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live ⁴⁰  by the oaks ⁴¹  of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

Genesis 5:4

5:4 The length of time Adam lived ⁴²  after he became the father of Seth was 800 years; during this time he had ⁴³  other ⁴⁴  sons and daughters.

Deuteronomy 6:1-6

Exhortation to Keep the Covenant Principles

6:1 Now these are the commandments, ⁴⁵  statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed ⁴⁶  6:2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments ⁴⁷  that I am giving ⁴⁸  you – you, your children, and your grandchildren – all your lives, to prolong your days. 6:3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number ⁴⁹  – as the Lord, God of your ancestors, ⁵⁰  said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.

The Essence of the Covenant Principles

6:4 Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! ⁵¹  6:5 You must love ⁵²  the Lord your God with your whole mind, ⁵³  your whole being, ⁵⁴  and all your strength. ⁵⁵ 

Exhortation to Teach the Covenant Principles

6:6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind,

Deuteronomy 6:2

6:2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments ⁵⁶  that I am giving ⁵⁷  you – you, your children, and your grandchildren – all your lives, to prolong your days.

Deuteronomy 1:15-16

1:15 So I chose ⁵⁸  as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. 1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ⁵⁹  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ⁶⁰  and judge fairly, ⁶¹  whether between one citizen and another ⁶²  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ⁶³ 

Nehemiah 9:29-30

9:29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances – those by which an individual, if he obeys them, ⁶⁴  will live. They boldly turned from you; ⁶⁵  they rebelled ⁶⁶  and did not obey. 9:30 You prolonged your kindness ⁶⁷  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ⁶⁸  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ⁶⁹ 

Jeremiah 11:7

11:7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors to obey me. ⁷⁰  I warned them again and again, ⁷¹  ever since I delivered them out of Egypt until this very day.

Jeremiah 25:3-7

25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah ⁷²  until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again ⁷³  what he said. ⁷⁴  But you would not listen. 25:4 Over and over again ⁷⁵  the Lord has sent ⁷⁶  his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. ⁷⁷  25:5 He said through them, ⁷⁸  ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. ⁷⁹  If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. ⁸⁰  25:6 Do not pay allegiance to ⁸¹  other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. ⁸²  Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 25:7 So, now the Lord says, ⁸³  ‘You have not listened to me. But ⁸⁴  you have made me angry by the things that you have done. ⁸⁵  Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’

Matthew 21:34-41

21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves ⁸⁶  to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. ⁸⁷  21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, ⁸⁸  killed another, and stoned another. 21:36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. 21:37 Finally he sent his son to them, ⁸⁹  saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 21:39 So ⁹⁰  they seized him, ⁹¹  threw him out of the vineyard, ⁹²  and killed him. 21:40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 21:41 They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”

Philippians 3:1-2

True and False Righteousness

3:1 Finally, my brothers and sisters, ⁹³  rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

3:2 Beware of the dogs, ⁹⁴  beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ⁹⁵ 

Philippians 3:7

3:7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ.

Hebrews 5:12

5:12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, ⁹⁶  you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. ⁹⁷  You have gone back to needing ⁹⁸  milk, not ⁹⁹  solid food.

[13:1]  ¹ tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).

[13:1]  ² tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”

[13:2]  ³ tn Heb “heavy.”

[13:2]  ⁴ tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.

[13:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.

[13:3]  ⁶ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[13:3]  ⁷ tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “where his tent had been.”

[13:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).

[13:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he called in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 21:33; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[13:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “was going.”

[13:5]  ¹² tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.

[13:6]  ¹³ tn The potential nuance for the perfect tense is necessary here, and supported by the parallel clause that actually uses “to be able.”

[13:6]  ¹⁴ tn The infinitive construct לָשֶׁבֶת (lashevet, from יָשַׁב, yashav) explains what it was that the land could not support: “the land could not support them to live side by side.” See further J. C. de Moor, “Lexical Remarks Concerning Yahad and Yahdaw,” VT 7 (1957): 350-55.

[13:6]  ¹⁵ tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.

[13:7]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term רִיב (riv) means “strife, conflict, quarreling.” In later texts it has the meaning of “legal controversy, dispute.” See B. Gemser, “The rîb – or Controversy – Pattern in Hebrew Mentality,” Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East [VTSup], 120-37.

[13:7]  ¹⁷ sn Since the quarreling was between the herdsmen, the dispute was no doubt over water and vegetation for the animals.

[13:7]  ¹⁸ tn This parenthetical clause, introduced with the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), again provides critical information. It tells in part why the land cannot sustain these two bedouins, and it also hints of the danger of weakening the family by inner strife.

[13:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “men, brothers [are] we.” Here “brothers” describes the closeness of the relationship, but could be misunderstood if taken literally, since Abram was Lot’s uncle.

[13:9]  ²⁰ tn The words “you go” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons both times in this verse.

[13:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.

[13:10]  ²² tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”

[13:10]  ²³ tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ²⁴ sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).

[13:10]  ²⁵ tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ²⁶ sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the Lord and to the land of Egypt for comparison. Just as the tree in the garden of Eden had awakened Eve’s desire, so the fertile valley attracted Lot. And just as certain memories of Egypt would cause the Israelites to want to turn back and abandon the trek to the promised land, so Lot headed for the good life.

[13:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.

[13:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”

[13:12]  ²⁹ tn Or “the cities of the plain”; Heb “[the cities of] the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[13:13]  ³⁰ tn Here is another significant parenthetical clause in the story, signaled by the vav (וו) disjunctive (translated “now”) on the noun at the beginning of the clause.

[13:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.

[13:13]  ³² tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly.” The description of the sinfulness of the Sodomites is very emphatic. First, two nouns are used to form a hendiadys: “wicked and sinners” means “wicked sinners,” the first word becoming adjectival. The text is saying these were no ordinary sinners; they were wicked sinners, the type that cause pain for others. Then to this phrase is added “against the Lord,” stressing their violation of the laws of heaven and their culpability. Finally, to this is added מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “exceedingly,” translated here as “extremely”).

[13:14]  ³³ tn Heb “and the Lord said to Abram after Lot separated himself from with him.” The disjunctive clause at the beginning of the verse signals a new scene.

[13:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”

[13:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”

[13:16]  ³⁶ tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.

[13:17]  ³⁷ tn The connective “and” is not present in the Hebrew text; it has been supplied for purposes of English style.

[13:17]  ³⁸ tn The Hitpael form הִתְהַלֵּךְ (hithallekh) means “to walk about”; it also can carry the ideas of moving about, traversing, going back and forth, or living in an area. It here has the connotation of traversing the land to survey it, to look it over.

[13:17]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the land to its length and to its breadth.” This phrase has not been included in the translation because it is somewhat redundant (see the note on the word “throughout” in this verse).

[13:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he came and lived.”

[13:18]  ⁴¹ tn Or “terebinths.”

[5:4]  ⁴² tn Heb “The days of Adam.”

[5:4]  ⁴³ tn Heb “he fathered.”

[5:4]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “commandment.” The word מִצְוָה (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. See note on the word “commandments” in 5:31.

[6:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”

[6:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Here the terms are not the usual חֻקִּים (khuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim; as in v. 1) but חֻקֹּת (khuqqot, “statutes”) and מִצְוֹת (mitsot, “commandments”). It is clear that these terms are used interchangeably and that their technical precision ought not be overly stressed.

[6:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.

[6:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “may multiply greatly” (so NASB, NRSV); the words “in number” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 10, 18, 23).

[6:4]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “the Lord, our God, the Lord, one.” (1) One option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). This would be an affirmation that the Lord was the sole object of their devotion. This interpretation finds support from the appeals to loyalty that follow (vv. 5, 14). (2) Another option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is unique.” In this case the text would be affirming the people’s allegiance to the Lord, as well as the Lord’s superiority to all other gods. It would also imply that he is the only one worthy of their worship. Support for this view comes from parallel texts such as Deut 7:9 and 10:17, as well as the use of “one” in Song 6:8-9, where the starstruck lover declares that his beloved is unique (literally, “one,” that is, “one of a kind”) when compared to all other women.

[6:5]  ⁵² tn The verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) in this setting communicates not so much an emotional idea as one of covenant commitment. To love the Lord is to be absolutely loyal and obedient to him in every respect, a truth Jesus himself taught (cf. John 14:15). See also the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

[6:5]  ⁵³ tn Heb “heart.” In OT physiology the heart (לֵב, לֵבָב; levav, lev) was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could think with one’s heart. See A. Luc, NIDOTTE 2:749-54.

[6:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “soul”; “being.” Contrary to Hellenistic ideas of a soul that is discrete and separate from the body and spirit, OT anthropology equated the “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) with the person himself. It is therefore best in most cases to translate נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) as “being” or the like. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 10-25; D. Fredericks, NIDOTTE 3:133-34.

[6:5]  ⁵⁵ sn For NT variations on the Shema see Matt 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-30; Luke 10:27.

[6:2]  ⁵⁶ tn Here the terms are not the usual חֻקִּים (khuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim; as in v. 1) but חֻקֹּת (khuqqot, “statutes”) and מִצְוֹת (mitsot, “commandments”). It is clear that these terms are used interchangeably and that their technical precision ought not be overly stressed.

[6:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.

[1:15]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”

[1:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:16]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.

[1:16]  ⁶¹ tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).

[1:16]  ⁶² tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”

[1:16]  ⁶³ tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”

[9:29]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “if a man keep.” See note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

[9:29]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “they gave a stubborn shoulder.”

[9:29]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “they stiffened their neck.”

[9:30]  ⁶⁷ tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:30]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

[9:30]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[11:7]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “warned them…saying, ‘Obey me.’” However, it allows the long sentence to be broken up easier if the indirect quote is used.

[11:7]  ⁷¹ tn For the explanation for this rendering see the note on 7:13.

[25:3]  ⁷² sn The year referred to would be 627 b.c. The same year is referred to in 1:2 in reference to his call to be a prophet.

[25:3]  ⁷³ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:3]  ⁷⁴ tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[25:4]  ⁷⁵ tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.

[25:4]  ⁷⁶ tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.

[25:4]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).

[25:5]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”

[25:5]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.

[25:5]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.

[25:6]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.

[25:6]  ⁸² tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[25:7]  ⁸³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[25:7]  ⁸⁴ tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).

[25:7]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.

[21:34]  ⁸⁶ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[21:34]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”

[21:35]  ⁸⁸ sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[21:37]  ⁸⁹ sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.

[21:39]  ⁹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son in v. 38.

[21:39]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

[21:39]  ⁹² sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

[3:1]  ⁹³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[3:2]  ⁹⁴ sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.

[3:2]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”

[5:12]  ⁹⁶ tn Grk “because of the time.”

[5:12]  ⁹⁷ tn Grk “the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.”

[5:12]  ⁹⁸ tn Grk “you have come to have a need for.”

[5:12]  ⁹⁹ tc ‡ Most texts, including some early and important ones (א² A B* D Ψ 0122 0278 1881 Ï sy Cl), have καί (kai, “and”) immediately preceding οὐ (ou, “not”), but other equally significant witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B² C 33 81 1739 lat Or Did) lack the conjunction. As it was a natural tendency for scribes to add a coordinating conjunction, the καί appears to be a motivated reading. On balance, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ has καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.