1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South.
2 And Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he returned by the way that he came, from the south to Beth-el, to the place where he first pitched his tent between Beth-el and Ai,
4 to the place of the altar, which he had made there at first; and there Abram called upon the name of the LORD.
5 And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and livestock, and tents.
6 Neither was the land able to bear them, that they might dwell together; for their substance was great, such that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle; and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land.
8 And Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there be no strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brothers.
9 Is not the whole land before you? Choose a different place from me: if you will take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”
10 So when Lot looked and saw the all the country about[a] the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the LORD, and like Egypt as one comes to Segor[b].
11 And so Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself; and Lot departed east; thus they separated one brother from the other.
12 Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot went into the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom.
13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and exceedingly sinful before the LORD.
14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had departed from him, “Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward:
15 for all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed, forever.
16 And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could number the sands of the earth, then your seed may also be numbered.
17 Arise and walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks[a] of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.
[3] Although ‘returned by the way he came’ is from GNV, Rashi states that he had lodged again in all the inns he had been to on the way to Egypt. He was going to visit the people he had visited previously and repay debts and give them news and talk with them again.
[5] This means, in the manner of ‘Shem, and Japeth also,’ that it was Abraham who had wealth, and Lot had wealth because he was with Abram. Later, when Lot departs from Abram he loses his share in the promise of Land to Abraham’s descendants.
[7] The Canaanites and Perizzites, who seeing their contention might blaspheme God and destroy them (GNV). Rashi states that Lot’s herdsmen were wicked, and claimed a right to the land since Abram had no heir; yet the land had not been given to Abram yet. This would have upset the Canaanite and Perizzite population who would have then had reason to suspect God and Abram.
[8] brothers in the figurative sense; lit. kinsmen or relatives.
[9] Rashi states, ‘to the left, to the right’ means I will not distance myself from you, I will stand by you as a protector and helper.
[10a] Or, Circle
[10b] or Zoar (Zo’ar). Rashi states that because Lot saw that there were secular cities there similar to Egypt, he was tempted to return to that kind of secular life and thus chose to go to those cities near the Jordan.
[11] from the east. Rashi states this means Lot chose to distance himself from Abram and return to the sort of secular life he had wanted to enjoy in Egypt. In this manner he neglected his relationship with Abraham, and with God.
[13] before the LORD — Once again we see this phrase means, “in the face of the LORD”. Rashi writes that they recognized their master and intended to rebel against him.
[18] Or, terebinths.