Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 13:5 - 13:9

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 13:5 - 13:9


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Lot Chooses the Plain of Sodom

v. 5. And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.

v. 6. And the land was not able to bear them that they might dwell together; for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
Both Abram and Lot had meanwhile grown immensely wealthy, possessing flocks of sheep and goats and herds of cattle, ass, and camels, together with the necessary slaves of both sexes to take care of the herding and the work in the encampment, which must have had the appearance of a regular tent city. The result was that the land was unable to provide enough food for the two sets of herds and flocks and the households as well; it would not stand for their living together any longer.

v. 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 in the land.
Clashes between the herdmen of the two rich men were almost inevitable, since both parties tried to get the best pasturage for their masters. It was an uncomfortable situation, to say the least, and the matter was rendered still more complicated by the fact that the tribe of the Perizzites, of whose descent nothing is known, and the Canaanites were in possession of the best pastures, Lot and Abram being expected to divide between them what was left.

v. 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.

v. 9. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
It was impossible, of course, to keep the herdsmen's feud from the masters, and if the latter had not taken steps to remedy the situation, a feud between families might hare resulted, as the words of Abraham indicate. Abram's main argument is: "For brethren we are. " An altercation, a quarrel, between strangers may yet be understood, even if it cannot be condoned, but between close relatives, never. Although Abram was the older, and Lot's uncle at that, he gave Lot his choice, declaring himself satisfied to take what remained. The word of Abram has thus rightly passed into a proverbial watchword of the peace loving and yielding disposition, in all cases when a distinction and separation in the circumstances becomes necessary.