Year of the Bible

Access your family's weekly resource for the Year of the Bible HERE

Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Chapter 13:

By the time Abram, Sarai, and Lot journey back to Canaan, their wealth has grown so much that their herds can no longer survive on the same land. Abram graciously offers his nephew first pick of the land so that the men might separate, and Lot chooses what appears to be the better land: a well-watered valley of the Jordan River. Those who know Genesis are given a hint of an upcoming disaster, however, for in the valley is Sodom, a city of sinners that God will later destroy (chapter 19). Abram is left with the arid desert for his flocks, yet the Lord appears to Abram a third time and promises there will be life in the desert: Abram’s descendants will be more than be counted and all the land Abram sees will be theirs.

The Book of Genesis, Chapter 13:

Abram and Lot Separate

1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.
2 Now Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. 5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great 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. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelt in the land.
8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you 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 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar; this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley, and Lot journeyed east; thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up 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 I will give to you and to your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the Oaks s of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the Lord.

*Daily Lectio Divina Question:

Abram wisely offers compromise to avoid strife with Lot. Lot himself chooses a path to eventual destruction. Pray today for any relationships you may be called to distance yourself from in order to follow God's plan more closely.

Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc, St. Mary Magdalen in Brighton, or online.

Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further.