13:5–7 Lot was reintroduced into the storyline at Genesis 13:1, which recounts the return from Egypt. This prepares for his importance in the rest of the chapter, although it is also significant that he participates without becoming an heir to Israel’s inheritance. In that regard his story parallels that of the “rabble” (Hb. hasafsuf; Num. 11:4) that accompanies Israel later on its exodus.223 It is possible to travel for a while with the people of God without ever truly being part of them.

During his time with Abram Lot prospers greatly, which in a seminomadic context means an abundance of flocks (sheep and goats), herds (cattle), and tents (Gen. 13:5). This is a fulfillment of God’s promised blessing in Genesis 12:2: as long as Lot accompanies Abram, he is blessed abundantly and prospers greatly. Yet prosperity can be as challenging as adversity, and the combined abundance of Abram and Lot leads to pressure on the available grazing land and conflict between their herdsmen over scarce resources (13:6). This is an ominous note with regard to the Promised Land—how will it support Israel if it cannot support two seminomadic families? However, the tension is explained by a note: “At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land” (v. 7). It is their presence that limits the available resources; once the Israelites drive them out of the land under Joshua, there will be sufficient resources for all. Of course, if Israel fails to drive the Canaanites and Perizzites out of the land comprehensively, as will prove to be the case, the story will be different (cf. Judges 1).

13:8–13 To resolve the conflict Abram makes a remarkable offer. Although he is the senior member of the alliance and the one to whom God has promised the entire land, he will cede part of the land to Lot—and, what is more, Lot can choose for himself which part of the land he desires, either the right or the left, that is, north or south as they look eastward over the plain of the Jordan from the heights near Bethel (Gen. 13:8–9). Abram proposes this division in order to avoid strife (“For we are men, brothers”; ESV mg. on v. 8), a striking description given the frequently unbrotherly actions of literal brothers elsewhere in Genesis. It is also striking that the word “strife” (Hb. meribah; v. 8) is the same word used elsewhere for Israel’s incessant complaining against the Lord in the wilderness (e.g., Ex. 17:7),224 which suggests an ungrateful attitude on Lot’s part.

Many Westerners misunderstand this offer and fail to see the offensiveness of Lot’s response. It is customary in negotiations in many parts of the world for something to be offered as a gift that politeness demands the recipient to decline. An example of this kind of negotiation may be seen in Genesis 23, where Ephron the Hittite appears to offer to give Abraham the burial site he has requested before a purchase price of 400 shekels of silver is finally negotiated. Ephron would have been shocked and offended if Abraham had accepted the land as a gift! So too here, readers from non-Western countries often recognize the inappropriateness of Lot’s eager acceptance of Abram’s offer. As the younger family member, he should politely refuse the offer and either insist on staying together or insist that Abram make the first choice as the older one in the relationship.

Even more profoundly, since God’s blessing rests upon those who honor Abram (cf. Gen. 12:3), Lot should insist on remaining with Abram on those grounds alone. He has prospered alongside Abram already, and surely some arrangement could be found that would enable them to live together in harmony, even if it limited their potential for wealth and possessions.

Yet Lot’s decision making is not driven by such spiritual considerations. Instead he “lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere” (13:10). As noted earlier, intermittent rainfall is a common cause of famine in Israel, so a reliable water supply is a significant asset. As Eve did in the garden (3:6) and the sons of God did prior to the flood (6:2), Lot sees something attractive and pursues it, with similarly catastrophic results. After the Lord’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (13:10; cf. ch. 19) the land is no longer such an attractive place to settle. The small settlement of Zoar is mentioned (13:10) because it represents the southern limit of the plain of the Jordan; it will reappear later in Lot’s story (14:2, 8; 19:22–23).

The Jordan Valley is described as being “like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt” (Gen. 13:10). This may sound like a good place to choose to settle down, since the garden of the Lord was beautiful and Egypt was the place where there was no famine. Yet this superficially delightful description carries with it ominous undertones of spiritual danger. It was in the garden of the Lord that Lot’s first ancestors, Adam and Eve, were tempted by the serpent and fell into sin (3:6). As did the builders of the Tower of Babel (11:1–9), Lot thinks to bypass the cherubim guarding the way back to God’s presence and to enjoy the benefits of a place resembling the garden of the Lord without the inconvenience of having to trust in the Lord of the garden.

Describing the land chosen by Lot as being “like the land of Egypt” (Gen. 13:10) further reinforces the image of physical prosperity combined with spiritual danger. Abram and Lot have only just returned from Egypt, where they prospered materially at the cost of endangering God’s promise. It appears that Lot would be quite happy to return there. The danger of this attitude should not have been lost on the original readers of this account in the time of Moses, who had themselves just emerged from captivity in Egypt and experienced its continuing attraction as well.225 Finally, to get to this land Lot journeys “east” (13:11), an ominous direction of travel in Genesis (cf. 3:24; 4:16; 11:2).226

Genesis 13:10 adds parenthetically, “This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.” The fate of Sodom and Gomorrah have not yet been sealed, although their sin is already a well-known feature of their city (cf. 13:13). In choosing with his eyes and neglecting a fuller exploration of the facts, Lot entrusts his life to a dangerously flawed sense. The land that Lot is choosing for himself227 is on the edge of the land promised to Abraham, if not actually outside it (cf. v. 12), and he chooses to live with wicked sinners, under God’s curse, rather than with Abram, the bearer of the Lord’s blessing. It is no surprise that Lot’s life begins to follow a downward trajectory from this moment onward after the two of them separate (v. 11).

Once Lot begins on this path of compromise he progresses smoothly along it. He may have started out living “as far as Sodom” (v. 12), but before long he is living “in Sodom” (14:12). Later Lot is to be found “sitting in the gate of Sodom” (19:1), which suggests that he holds a position of honor and respect among the citizens of Sodom, and his daughters are pledged to marry inhabitants of the city (19:14). At that point Lot’s destiny and that of Sodom are intertwined, and only a personal intervention by the Lord could deliver him from Sodom’s destruction (cf. Genesis 19). Lot may seem to have triumphed in this exchange, receiving “all the Jordan Valley” (13:11), but in reality he is the loser in terms of everything that really matters.228

13:14–18 The real winner in this division of the land is Abram, who continues in faith, trusting that God can provide for him within the Land of Promise. In return he receives a renewed blessing from the Lord. The one who refuses to live by sight is now told to lift up his eyes229 and look in all directions—north, south, east, and west (v. 14). Instead of limiting himself to the land on the left or the right (v. 9), or even the apparently best of the land, all the land that he can see is to be his, and his offspring will become as numerous as the dust of the earth (vv. 14–16). This represents a substantial expansion of the Lord’s promise to Abram in 12:7, which had merely mentioned offspring and land. Now, even though he has just separated himself from the last remaining member of his father’s house, he is told that his offspring will be as innumerable as the dust of the earth and that his offspring will possess the whole land forever (13:15–16). For this promise to be fulfilled God will have to give him an heir and a family line.

In contrast to Lot, who settles down quickly with the inhabitants of Sodom, Abram continues his nomadic travels, walking to and fro throughout the land (v. 17), exploring the goodness of God’s gift to him. Abram will never receive the full ownership of that property while he lives here on earth. At the time of his death all that Abram owns is a field containing a cave with two small burial plots for himself and his wife—significantly, in Hebron, where he ends this chapter (v. 18). If Abram’s hope is in earthly property, then it must be said that God fails him. As the apostle Paul puts it, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19). Yet Abram is looking for a city with foundations, which God himself will build (Heb. 11:10), so his hopes are not disappointed.

Abram’s spiritual hopes are summed up by the conclusion to the chapter. After surveying the land and settling at Hebron, in the center of Judah, Abram builds an altar there to the Lord (Gen. 13:18). In this way the entire section is bracketed by worship (cf. v. 4), the appropriate response of faith to God’s promises. To borrow from the language of a later chapter, “[Abram] believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (15:6).