《Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures – Genesis (Ch.13~Ch.32)》(Johann P. Lange)
13 Chapter 13
Verses 1-18
SECOND SECTION
Abram as a witness for God in Canaan, and his self-denying separation from Lot. The New Promise of God. His altar in Hain (oaks) Mamre
Genesis 13:1-18
1And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south [of Canaan]. 2And Abram was very rich, in cattle [possessions], in silver, and in gold 3 And he went on his journeys [nomadic departures, stations] from the south, even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; 4Unto the place of the altar which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called upon the name of the Lord 5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks [small cattle], and herds [large cattle], and tents 6 And the land was not able to bear [support] them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle, and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then [as owners, settlers, ישֵׁכ] in the land 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren [men, brethren]. 9Is not the whole land before thee [open to thy choice]? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand [land], then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain [literally, circle] of Jordan [the down-flowing, descending = Rhein], that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom [burning] and Gomorrah [submersion], even as the garden of the Lord [paradise, in Eden with its stream], like the land of Egypt, as [until] thou comest to Zoar [smallness, the little one]. 11Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east [מִקֶּדֶם, from the east, Septuagint and Vulgate incorrect]: and they separated themselves the one from the other 12 Abram dwelled in the land [province] of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain [the circle], and pitched his tent toward Sodom [until it stood at Sodom]. 13But the men [people] of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
14And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes and look [out] from the place where thou art northward [to Lebanon], and southward [the desert], and eastward [to Perea], and westwards [the sea]. 15For all the land which thou [thus] seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever [to eternity]. 16And I will make [have determined] thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee 18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre [fatness, strength: name of the owner], which is in Hebron [connection, confederacy], and built there an altar unto the Lord.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. The Return of Abram from Egypt, and the introduction of the Separation from Lot ( Genesis 13:1-9). Into the south.—Abram returned with Lot, whose migration with him to Egypt is thus presupposed, to Canaan, not as in Luther’s version, to the south, but northwards to the southern part of Palestine, to the region of Hebron and Bethlehem, from which he had gone to Egypt. The נֶגֶכ is a term which had obviously attained geographically a fixed usage among the Israelites, and points out the southern region of Palestine. But the pasture-ground in this region seems to have been insufficient for Lot and himself at the same time. Besides his treasures in gold and silver he had grown rich in the possession of herds, especially through the large presents of Pharaoh.[FN1] Hence he removes further, by slow and easy stages, to the earlier pasture-grounds between Bethel and Hai. Here, where he had earlier built an altar, he again sets up the worship of Jehovah with his family. This worship is itself also a preaching of Jehovah for the heathen. But even here the pasture-land was not broad enough, since Lot also was rich in herds, and the Canaanite and Perizzite then held the greater part of that region in their possession. These Perizzites are referred to, because they were those with whom Abram and Lot came most frequently into contact, and were their rivals. “The Perizzites, who do not appear in the genealogical lists of the Canaanitish tribes, but only in the geographical enumeration of the inhabitants of the land ( Genesis 15:20; Exodus 3:8; Deuteronomy 7:1; Joshua 11:3), and whom we find in different parts of Canaan, are inhabitants of the lowlands, who devote themselves to agriculture and grazing ( Ezekiel 38:11; ZeGen Genesis 2:4; Deuteronomy 3:5; 1 Samuel 6:18). The Perizzites, as the author intimates, were in possession of the best pastures; those only remained to Lot and Abram, which they had despised.” Hengstenberg. Schröder conjectures that the Canaanites here designate the inhabitants of the cities in contrast with the Perizzites who dwelt in the open country. But the name designates, beyond question, not only a mode of life, but a peculiar people, and they are brought into notice here, because they were thickly crowded in the region of Bethel, with Abram. Gerlach: “Perizzites, probably dwellers in perazoth, open courts, or villages, inhabitants of the country, in distinction from those who dwelt in cities.” But then the greater portion of the Canaanites would have been Perizzites, from whom still Gerlach distinguishes the Canaanites. They appear to have been nomads. In Genesis 34:30, they appear in Sichem; in Joshua 11:3, between the Jebusites and Hittites, upon the mountains. Against the interpretation, inhabitants of the open country, see Keil, p137, who distinguishes the form הַפְּרִזִי and הַפְּרָזִי ( Deuteronomy 3:5), inhabitants of the low or flatlands.[FN2]—Let there be no strife between me and thee.—The strife between the herdsmen, would soon issue in a strife between their masters, if these should quietly or willingly permit the disorder. It is possible that Lot’s restless, uneasy temper, had already betrayed itself in the open strife of his servants. The position of the words of Abram, between me and thee, standing before the allusion to the herdsmen, would seem to intimate something of this kind.—We are brethren (brother men). The law controversies, which, although sometimes allowable between strangers, are yet in all ways to be avoided, ought not to have place between brethren. Here kindred, piety, and affection, should make the utmost concessions easy. In his humility Abram places himself on an equality with Lot, calls him brother, although he was his nephew, and owed to him the duty of a son. Indeed, he so far takes the subordinate place, that he yields to him the choice of the best portions of the land.—If thou wilt take the left hand.—The word of Abram has passed into a proverbial watchword of the peace-loving and yielding temper, in all such cases when a distinction and separation in the circumstances becomes necessary.
2. Lot’s Choice, and the Separation( Genesis 13:10-13). The bold, unblushing, self-seeking features in Lot’s character come clearly into view here. He raises his eyes, and with unrestrained greediness chooses what seems to him the best. The circuit of the Jordan, i. e. the region of the Jordan (named simply הַכִּכָּר), includes the deep valley of the Jordan (the Ghor), from the Sea of Tiberias to the Dead Sea. The whole valley, until we reach the Red Sea, is the Arabah, which takes its name from the region here mentioned. It is the vale of Siddim ( Genesis 14:3), the present region of the Dead Sea, which is here intended. That the lower valley of the Jordan was peculiarly well-watered, and a rich pasture-region, is expressed by a twofold comparison; it was as Paradise, and as the land of Egypt. The lower plain of the Jordan was glorious as the vanished glory of Paradise, or as the rich plains of the Nile in Egypt, which were still fresh in the memory of Lot. For the Jordan and its valley, compare the Bible Dictionories, geographical works, and books of travels.[FN3]—As thou comest to Zoar.—At the southeast of the Dead Sea (Ghor el Szaphia).—And they separated themselves, the one (a brother) from the other.—The separation was brotherly in a good and evil sense; good in the mind and thought of Abram, and as to its peaceful form, but evil in so far as the nephew acts as a privileged brother, and chooses the best of the land.—And Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan.—The opposition here is not, as Knobel thinks, between Canaan and the lower valley of the Jordan, but between the land of Canaan in which Abram remained, and the plain rich in cities—(אֶרֶץ must be emphasized in opposition to עָרֵי). This also forms a distinct feature in Lot’s character. Abram remained in the retirement of his oaks, from which Lot removed further and further toward the cities of the valley, and indeed to those most renowned; he soon has his pastures in the neighborhood of Sodom, and his dwelling in Sodom itself. In Sodom, even, we find him in the most frequented place—at the gate. While there is no doubt that he left Mesopotamia in the characteristic faith of Abram, yet the prominence of the worldly thought and inclination is revealed in him, through these facts, although he on the whole preserves in the very heart of his disposition and thought, the essential features of faith and reverence for God. “Sodom must have lain at the southwesterly end of the Dead Sea. The allusion to the pillar of salt points to this location ( Genesis 19:26), and its name is still preserved there in the present Usdum. The near vicinity of Zoar ( Genesis 19:20), which must be sought in the Ghor el Szaphia (see Genesis 19:22) and the general nature of the southern part of the Dead Sea, are in favor of this location.” Knobel. It is true, that the kindred of the Israelitish tribes left Palestine ( Genesis 21:14; Genesis 25:6; Genesis 25:18; Genesis 36:6), but it by no means follows, as Knobel holds, that the writer brings this into prominence from special and interested motives, for the same writer records also the journeyings of the Israelites into Egypt.—But the men of Sodom.—We shall learn more fully the wickedness of the Sodomites in the 19 th ch. It is referred to here, in order to show that Lot had chosen foolishly when he thought that he was choosing the best portion, and in order to make way for the history of the punishment which came upon Sodom, in which Lot also must suffer for his folly.[FN4]
3. The Renewal and Enlargement of the Promise of the Land of Canaan, with which Abram’s new act of self-denial was rewarded, and his settlement in the groves (oaks) of Mamre, in Hebron( Genesis 13:14-18).—Lift up now thine eyes and look.—After the departure of Lot, Jehovah commanded Abram now also to lift up his eyes, in pious faith, as Lot had raised his eyes in impious and shameless self-seeking. Since Bethel was about central in the land, and lay high upon a mountain ( Genesis 12:8; Genesis 35:1, etc.), this direction is evidently historical;[FN5] probably Abram could look far and wide over the land in all directions from this place.—Northwards (towards the midnight), etc.—The designation of the four-quarters of the heavens (com. Genesis 28:14).—And I will make thy seed.[FN6] As the land should be great for the people, thy posterity, so thy people shall be numerous, or innumerable for the land. The seed of Abram are compared with the dust of the earth, with reference to its being innumerable. At a later point, the one hyperbole falls into two: “as the stars of heaven, and as the sand upon the sea-shore” ( Genesis 15:5; Genesis 22:17).—Arise, etc. “The free passage through the land, should serve to animate his faith, and be a sign for his descendants of the symbolic seizure and possession of the land. The command is not to be understood as a literal direction; Abram could view the land promised to him, at his pleasure.”—Then Abram removed his tent.[FN7] “The oak-grove of Mamre lay in Hebron, and is often mentioned as the residence of the patriarchs ( Genesis 14:13; Genesis 14:18; Genesis 35:27). It had its name from the Amorite Mamre, a confederate with Abram ( Genesis 14:13; Genesis 14:24), as the valley northerly from Hebron holds its name, Eschol, from a brother of Mamre” ( Numbers 13:23). Knobel. According to Knobel, the later custom of sacrificing to Jehovah at Hebron ( 2 Samuel 15:7), is dated back to the times in Genesis. Still, he can neither deny the migrations, nor the piety of Abram. As to the circumstance that, according to Joshua 15:13, Hebron at an earlier date was called Kirjath-arba,[FN8] see the Introduction. For the founding of Hebron, see Numbers 13:23. Bunsen: “This remarkable narrative bears upon its face every evidence of historical truth, and is most fitly assigned to a time soon after2900 years before Christ.”
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. In the history of Abram we must distinguish throughout the providence of God, and the conduct of the patriarch. In the previous chapter the providence of God preserves in safety the promise to Abram, since it preserves Sarah inviolate. In this a new confirmation of the promise appears in the separation from Lot. The conduct of Abram is in both cases marked by a renunciation of self, grounded in faith. As the previous chapter portrays the self-renunciation of Abram in reference to his country, and his father’s house, in regard to a fixed settlement in Canaan, and to his connubial blessedness, so here we meet a like renunciation as to the relative position of Lot, and as to the best parts of Palestine itself. For this new act of self-denial is twofold. With the separation of Lot, leaving out of view now the society and assistance which Abram might have had in him, and which was renounced, his former patriarchal dependence upon Abram ceases, and with the residence of Lot and his family in the best of the land, there might arise a serious prejudice to the claims of the descendants of Abram to the land. But in regard to this also he trusts God, and in this case, without any exaggerated or over-hasty confidence, such as appeared in the exposure of Sarah.[FN9]
2. Abram returns to the place of his altar in Bethel. In like manner Christian settlements, towns, and villages, cluster around their churches.
3. The wealth of Abram is referred to by the early writers as an example that even rich people may be pious, and also that the pious may be rich. And indeed, without any contradiction to the word of Christ ( Matthew 19:24), for Christ himself explains that word more fully in the 26 th verse, by the thought, that through the grace of God, one could be freed from the influence of his wealth, and enabled in humility to use it as a moral good for the glory of God. The writing of Clemens Alex, Τίςὁσωζόμενοςπλούσιος, is in place here. Moreover, the danger of riches appears prominently here, in the very first case in which riches, as such, are mentioned. His riches were, in some measure, a tax to Abram, since he could not find room for his herds, and his possessions threatened to involve him in hostility with his nephew. It is here also, as always, tainted with a want; the want in this case of sufficient pasturage, and the necessity for the separation of Abram and Lot. But for Lot, indeed, his wealth becomes a temptation, which he does not resist in any creditable way.
4. The germinal divisions of masters ofttimes reveal themselves clearly in the strifes of their servants and dependents. Even the wives are often in open hostility while their husbands are still at peace. Abram teaches us how to observe these symptoms in the right way. His proposal to separate arises from his love of peace, not from any selfish regard to his own interests.[FN10]
5. A law-suit is always doubtful or hazardous, although often necessary. Law-suits between brethren are to be avoided with double care and earnestness. How beautiful it is for brethren to dwell together in unity ( Psalm 133:1); but a peaceful separation is also beautiful, if it prevents a dwelling together in strife and hatred. This holds true also in spiritual things. Abram must avoid with special watchfulness giving an offence to the Canaanites.[FN11]