Gen 13.1-18 tells us that Abram and Lot separate because of contention between the servants of Abram and the servants of Lot; Lot chooses to go to the plain of the Jordan; Yehovah promises the land to Abram and reminds him that he will have many descendants; Abram walks through the land and dwells in Hebron.
v 1…And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him (mentioned specifically because of the role he is about to play), into the Negev (south).
v 2… Now Abram was very rich (heavy laden) in cattle (livestock), in silver and gold.
v 3…And he went on his journeys (in stages) to the Negev (south) as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been (where he built his altar in 12.8) at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai (the ruins),
v 4…to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord (“called on the name of Yehovah”).
v 5…Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
v 6…And the land could not sustain them (not enough pasture, water, etc) while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.
v 7…And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling in the land (taking the more fertile parts).
v 8…Then Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be strife between you and me; nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers (not literally; means “kinsmen”).
v 9…Is not the whole land before you (several unoccupied areas)? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right, then I will go left.”
v 10…And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan; that it was well-watered every place-this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-like the garden of the Lord (Eden and its river-Gen 2.10), like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar (well-watered till you got to Zoar, south of the Dead Sea; the southernmost part seen by Moses from Nebo-Deut 34.3).
v 11…So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed eastward (for the Jordan Valley). Thus they separated from each other.
v 12…Abram settled in the land of Canaan and Lot settles in the cities of the plain, and moved his tents toward Sodom.
v 13…Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord (Yehovah) exceedingly.
v 14…And the Lord said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are northward and southward and eastward and westward (God is going to repeat his promise);
v 15…for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants (literally “seed”) forever.
v 16…And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.
v 17…Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”
v 18…And Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the plain (or grove of oaks) of Mamre, which is Hebron and there he built an altar to the Lord (in thanksgiving fo what the Lord had just given him).
Gen 14.1-24 will tell us about the War of the Kings; how Abram rescues Lot and meets Melchizedek.
v 1…And it came to pass, in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar (or Babylon), Arioch king of Ellasar (a place in Mesopotamia), Chedorlaomer king of Elam (Persians) and Tidal king of Goiim (nations),
v 2…that they made war (a punitive war to stop the rebellion of the following five kings) with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar (this king is not named because he was insignificant and his city small).
v 3…All these were joined together in the valley of Siddim (“fields”), which is the Salt Sea (what Siddim was called afterwards, but not at this time).
v 4…Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled (Chedorlaomer was a descendant of Shem, and the prophecy of Noah began to be fulfilled, that Canaan would be a servant to Shem).
v 5…And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and defeated the Rephaim (a tribe of the Canaanites) in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham (called from Ham, the father of Canaan) and the Enims in Shaveh KIriathaim )early settlers of Moab in the area north of the Arnon-Deut 2.10),
v 6…and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran which is the wilderness (through which Israel would pass son their way to Canaan later-these were defeated by the four kings of the east).
v 7…Then they turned back (going south as far as they could) and came to En-mishpat (that is Kadesh when Moses wrote this), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites (so-called in the time of Moses, they had not been born yet), and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar (tribes of the Canaanites descended from Amor, a son of Canaan).
v 8…And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is Zoar) came out, and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim (where the four kings were),
v 9…against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar-four kings against five.
v 10…Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of sodom and Gomorrah fled and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to a mountain (the first mountain they came to).
v 11…and they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the food supply, and departed.
v 12…And they also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom (or the the country near to it).
v 13…Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew (“Hebrew “Ivri” and he was a descendant of Eber; came from the other side of the Euphrates). Now he was living in the plain (aoks) of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol abd brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram).
v 14…And when Abram heard that his relative (kinsman) had been taken captive, he led out his trained men (trained for battle and civil affairs), born in his house (under Abram’s command; his proteges), three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan (formerly called Leshem in Josh 14.47 or Laish in Judges 18.29; extreme north of Canaan).
v 15…And he divided his forces against them by night (for a sudden attack from different directions), he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus (50 miles north).
v 16…And he brought back all the goods and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women and the people.
v 17…Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh, that is, the King’s Valley (a smooth valley cleared of trees and obstructions near Jerusalem; possibly the south slope of the Temple Mount to Hinnom Valley).
v 18…And Melchizedek (a title for the king) king of Salem (Hebrew “Shalem”; an early name for Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine (a customary gesture for those returning from battle); now he was a priest of the God Most High (El Elyon; Melchizedek was a priest of Yehovah, not his descendants; Psa 110.1-4 and Heb 7 shows that Yeshua is a priest according to the order or division of Melchizedek in the Olam Haba, and has superiority over the Levitical priesthood in the Olam Ha Zeh because Levi was in the loins of Abram when he paid tithes to Melchizedek; see our Hebrews study for further information).
v 19…And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High (El Elyon), Possessor of heaven and earth;
v 20…and blessed be God Most high, who has delivered (abandoned) your enemies into your hand.” And he (Abram) gave him (Melchizedek) a tenth of all (the spoils of war).
v 21…And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me (as the victor, Abram had a right to do with the people as he wished) and take the goods for yourself.”
v 22…And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn (lifted up my hand) to the Lord (Yehovah) God (El) Most High (Elyon), possessor of heaven and earth (Abram made it very clear who he is referring to by using the personal name of God),
v 23…that I will not take bread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich (God had already promised to bless Abramin Gen 12.2).’
v 24…I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten (my people with me), and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share (they were not active participants in the battle but had stayed behind to protect Abram’s people left behind and his goods; the spoils of war were to be shared evenly between combatants and non-combatants; David would follow this example in 1 Sam 30.24-25).”
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