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 6:1

God’s Grief over Humankind’s Wickedness

6:1 When humankind ⁴²  began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born ⁴³  to them, ⁴⁴ 

Genesis 7:1

7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. ⁴⁵ 

Genesis 12:2

12:2 Then I will make you ⁴⁶  into a great nation, and I will bless you, ⁴⁷ 

and I will make your name great, ⁴⁸ 

so that you will exemplify divine blessing. ⁴⁹ 

Genesis 19:12-17

19:12 Then the two visitors ⁵⁰  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ⁵¹  Do you have ⁵²  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ⁵³  Get them out of this ⁵⁴  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ⁵⁵  it. The outcry against this place ⁵⁶  is so great before the Lord that he ⁵⁷  has sent us to destroy it.”

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ⁵⁸  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ⁵⁹  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ⁶⁰ 

19:15 At dawn ⁶¹  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ⁶²  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ⁶³  19:16 When Lot ⁶⁴  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ⁶⁵  They led them away and placed them ⁶⁶  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁶⁷  said, “Run ⁶⁸  for your lives! Don’t look ⁶⁹  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁷⁰  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

Esther 8:6

8:6 For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives?” ⁷¹ 

Luke 19:9

19:9 Then ⁷²  Jesus said to him, “Today salvation ⁷³  has come to this household, ⁷⁴  because he too is a son of Abraham! ⁷⁵ 

Acts 10:27

10:27 Peter ⁷⁶  continued talking with him as he went in, and he found many people gathered together. ⁷⁷ 

Acts 10:33

10:33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come. ⁷⁸  So now we are all here in the presence of God ⁷⁹  to listen ⁸⁰  to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.” ⁸¹ 

Acts 11:14

11:14 who will speak a message ⁸²  to you by which you and your entire household will be saved.’

Acts 11:2

11:2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, ⁸³  the circumcised believers ⁸⁴  took issue with ⁸⁵  him,

Acts 1:16

1:16 “Brothers, ⁸⁶  the scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through ⁸⁷  David concerning Judas – who became the guide for those who arrested Jesus –

[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.”

[6:1]  ⁴² tn The Hebrew text has the article prefixed to the noun. Here the article indicates the generic use of the word אָדָם (’adam): “humankind.”

[6:1]  ⁴³ tn This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial to the initial temporal clause. It could be rendered, “with daughters being born to them.” For another example of such a disjunctive clause following the construction וַיְהִיכִּי (vayÿhiki, “and it came to pass when”), see 2 Sam 7:1.

[6:1]  ⁴⁴ tn The pronominal suffix is third masculine plural, indicating that the antecedent “humankind” is collective.

[7:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.

[12:2]  ⁴⁶ tn The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative.

[12:2]  ⁴⁷ sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.

[12:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “I will make you famous.”

[12:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.

[19:12]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ⁵² tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ⁵³ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:13]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

[19:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[19:14]  ⁵⁸ sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

[19:14]  ⁵⁹ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

[19:15]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

[19:15]  ⁶² tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.

[19:15]  ⁶³ tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[19:16]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

[19:16]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

[19:17]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

[19:17]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ⁶⁹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

[19:17]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[8:6]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “my kindred” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB “my race”; NIV “my family”; NLT “my people and my family.”

[19:9]  ⁷² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative

[19:9]  ⁷³ sn This is one of the few uses of the specific term salvation in Luke (1:69, 71, 77), though the concept runs throughout the Gospel.

[19:9]  ⁷⁴ sn The household is not a reference to the building, but to the people who lived within it (L&N 10.8).

[19:9]  ⁷⁵ sn Zacchaeus was personally affirmed by Jesus as a descendant (son) of Abraham and a member of God’s family.

[10:27]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:27]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “many people assembled.”

[10:33]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “you have done well by coming.” The idiom καλῶς ποιεῖν (kalw" poiein) is translated “be kind enough to do someth.” by BDAG 505-6 s.v. καλῶς 4.a. The participle παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") has been translated as an English infinitive due to the nature of the English idiom (“kind enough to” + infinitive).

[10:33]  ⁷⁹ tn The translation “we are here in the presence of God” for ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ πάρεσμεν (enwpion tou qeou paresmen) is given by BDAG 773 s.v. πάρειμι 1.a.

[10:33]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “to hear everything.”

[10:33]  ⁸¹ tn The words “to say to us” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Cornelius knows Peter is God’s representative, bringing God’s message.

[11:14]  ⁸² tn Grk “words” (ῥήματα, rJhmata), but in this context the overall message is meant rather than the individual words.

[11:2]  ⁸³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:2]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “the Jewish Christians”; Grk “those of the circumcision.” Within the larger group of Christians were some whose loyalties ran along ethnic-religious lines.

[11:2]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “believers disputed with,” “believers criticized” (BDAG 231 s.v. διακρίνω 5.b).

[1:16]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “Men brothers.” In light of the compound phrase ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί (andre" adelfoi, “Men brothers”) Peter’s words are best understood as directly addressed to the males present, possibly referring specifically to the twelve (really ten at this point – eleven minus the speaker, Peter) mentioned by name in v. 13.

[1:16]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “foretold by the mouth of.”