This should be the most extensive examination of Gen. 13 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 13:

Introduction

         vv.     1–4           Abram Returns to the Land from Egypt

         vv.     5–7           Strife between the Herdsmen of Abram and the Herdsmen of Lot

         vv.     8–13         Lot and Abram Separate

         vv.    14–18         God Gives the Land Covenant to Abram

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Introduction         The Prequel of Genesis 13

         Introduction         The Principals of Genesis 13

         Introduction         The Abrahamic Timeline for Genesis 13

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Genesis 13

         v.       2              Map of Southern Israel

         v.       3              The City of Bethel

         v.       4              How the Altar Proclaims the Essence or Character of Jehovah

         v.       4              Examples of Figures of Speech in the Bible

         v.       5              The Doctrine of Blessing by Association

         v.       9              Robby Dean’s Appended Doctrine of Separation

         v.      10              Explaining “When you enter Zoar”

         v.      11              Problems and Possibilities of Lot’s Movement

         v.      11              A map of the Dead Sea and southern Israel

         v.      11              Relief Map of the Land of Promise

         v.      11              The Doctrine of Logistical Grace (Revised)

         v.      15              The Spiritual Life Parlays Spiritual Growth to Eternal Impact

         v.      15              E-Sword Map of Old Testament Events

         v.      15              Map of the Davidic Kingdom

         v.      16              The Doctrine of Antisemitism

         v.      16              Abraham’s Children

         v.      17              Dispensations, an Overview

         v.      17              Three Dispensations Summarized

         v.      17              The Importance of Bible Doctrine

         v.      17              The Advents of Jesus Christ within the Dispensations

         v.      18              Sands of Time (lyrics)

         v.      18              The Altars Built by Abram

         v.      18              Planting the Flag at Iwo Jima (graphic)

         Addendum          What We Learn from Genesis 13

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Genesis 13

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Genesis 13

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An Introduction to Genesis 13

I ntroduction: Chapter 13 concentrates upon the relationship between Abram and Lot. There relationship is more like siblings than it is like an uncle and a nephew. Lot is the somewhat spoiled youngest child and Abram is the indulgent, overprotective older brother. However, in this chapter, we come to a point where they can no longer function together, even though they have tremendous wealth between them.

The Abrahamic Timeline for Genesis 13

Abram was out of God’s geographical will in the previous chapter (while he was in Egypt) and, also out of fellowship in the previous chapter.

If you have personal honor and integrity, then you can understand how embarrassed Abram was before pharaoh, someone he thought was morally inferior to him (Gen. 12:11–13). Yet, in simple morality, pharaoh shows himself to be superior to Abram. This tells us one more thing: morality is not the Christian way of life. God doesn’t look down, reevaluate the situation, and decide, “You know what, this pharaoh character catches on a lot more quickly than Abram does. I think I am going to move my blessing from morally inferior Abram to the pharaoh.” But God does not do that.

Abram has failed, and he recognizes this. Therefore, he decides to go back to the last place where he had fellowship with God.

God, on several occasions, is going to speak to Abram and make promises to him. Abram has already believed Jehovah Elohim, and has imputed righteousness because of that (Gen. 15:6), but he does not place his faith in God’s Word. Therefore, God will repeat these promises and, on occasion, add to them. That is, God will build doctrine upon doctrine (specifically, in this case, promises upon promises). There will be a point at which Abram will understand God’s promises and believe them, resulting in the birth of his son, Isaac

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Abram Returns to the Land from Egypt

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. Taken from http://targum.info/targumic-texts/pentateuchal-targumim/ and first published in 1862.

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        And Abram went up from Mizraim, he and his wife (and) all that he had; and Lot with him, to go to the south.

Latin Vulgate                          And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him into the south.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so goes up Abram from Egypt—he and his woman and all which [is] to him and Lot—the Negev-ward.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND Abram went up from Egypt, e and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the wilderness.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Abram and Lot separate

Abram went up from Egypt toward the arid southern plain with his wife, with everything he had, and with Lot.

Contemporary English V.       Abram and Sarai took everything they owned and went to the Southern Desert. Lot went with them.

Easy English                          Abram and Lot separate, 13:1-18

Then Abram went up from Egypt. He took his wife with him. And he took everything that they had. Lot went with them to the area called the Negev.

Easy-to-Read Version            So Abram left Egypt. Abram traveled through the Negev [The desert area in the southern part of Judah.] with his wife and everything he owned. Lot was also with them.

The Message                         So Abram left Egypt and went back to the Negev, he and his wife and everything he owned, and Lot still with him.

New Century Version             Abram and Lot Separate

So Abram, his wife, and Lot left Egypt, taking everything they owned, and traveled to southern Canaan.

New Living Translation           Abram and Lot Separate

So Abram left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev, along with his wife and Lot and all that they owned.

The Voice                               Abram left Egypt with his wife, Lot, and everything he owned, and he went back up into the Negev region.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          So, Abram left Egypt along with his woman, Lot, and everything that he had, and they traveled into the desert.

New Advent Bible                  So Abram came back from Egypt into the south country, with his wife and all that belonged to him; Lot, too, went in his company.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Abram and Lot Part.

From Egypt Abram went up to the Negeb with his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot went with him. Gn 12:9.

NIRV                                      Abram and Lot Separate

Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev Desert. He took his wife and everything he had. Lot went with him.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Abram ascended from Egypt to South-Canaan: he, his woman, all with him, and Lot.

The Expanded Bible              Abram and Lot Separate

So Abram, his wife, and Lot ·left [^Lcame up from] Egypt, taking everything they owned, and traveled ·to southern Canaan [^Linto the Negev; ^Ca somewhat desolate area].

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 So Abram went up from Egypt with his wife, and all he possessed; and Lot accompanied him to the southern pastures.

NET Bible®                             Abram's Solution to the Strife

So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev [Or "the South [country]" (also in v. 3).] [Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.]. He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot [Heb "And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev."]. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Avram went up from Egypt - he, his wife and everything he had, and Lot with him - into the Negev..

exeGeses companion Bible   ABRAM AND LOT SEPARATE

And Abram ascends from Misrayim,

he and his woman and all he has

and Lot with him, toward the south:...

Judaica Press Complete T.    And Abram came up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that was his, and Lot with him, to the south.

Kaplan Translation                 Abram headed northward [Literally, 'went up.'] to the Negev along with his wife and all that was his, including Lot.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Avram went up out of Mitzrayim, he, and his isha, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                So Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South [country of Judah, the Negeb].

Concordant Literal Version    And up is Abram going from Egypt, he and his wife and all that is his, and Lot with him, to the south-rim.

English Standard V. – UK       Abram and Lot Separate

So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.

The Geneva Bible                  And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. His great riches gotten in Egypt, did not hinder him in following his vocation.

LTHB                                     And Abram went up out of Egypt into the Negeb, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot being with him.

NASB                                     Abram and Lot

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev [I.e. South country], he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

New King James Version       Abram Inherits Canaan

Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South [Hebrew Negev].

Syndein/Thieme                     {Note: Verses 1-4 actually go with Chapter 12}

And Abram went up out of Egypt {picture of rebound back into fellowship - I John 1:9} . . . he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

Webster’s Bible Translation  And Abram returned from Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

Young’s Literal Translation    And Abram goes up from Egypt (he and his wife, and all that he has, and Lot with him) towards the south.

Young’s Updated LT             And Abram goes up from Egypt (he and his wife, and all that he has, and Lot with him) towards the south.

The gist of this verse:          Abram leaves Egypt with his family and heads toward southern Canaan again.

Translation: Abram went up from Egypt... Because he lied to the Pharaoh of Egypt, Abram was escorted out of town and told to leave. There was a plague put upon the Pharaoh’s household from God, and Pharaoh was clearly peeved that Abram just let all of this happen.

Abram is out of God's geographical will because he had gone down to Egypt, as he was in the Negev less than a year previous. God has in the past given Jews to Egypt as witnesses innumerable times. All the surrounding countries had some benefit of their close proximity with the Jews; but Egypt seemingly more than the rest. There will be millenniums of contact between the two countries, sometimes antagonistic, but always as a witness as to the true God of the Universe, Y^ehowah of the Jews, Jesus Christ. God always allowed the witness of the Jews to stand, even when they were not as honorable as the Egyptians to whom they were witnessing to (as in this case). God also blessed Egypt greatly when Egypt honored their relationships with the Jews (as we will see with Abram's great grandson, Joseph, who helped rule over Egypt). However, when Egypt did wrong by the Jews, God witnessed to Egypt with the application of His justice, as He did in the exodus.

Translation: ...—he and his wife and all that was his [lit., and all that (was) to him];... Interestingly enough, Abram was not punished for his deception, apart from being escorted to the border. He received a number of gifts from the Pharaoh of Egypt, and it appears as though none were taken back.

Very likely, among these many gifts was a slave-girl called Hagar, who would serve Sarai directly.

Translation: ...and Lot—toward the Negev. Lot was still with family of Abram. They went back to where God wanted them all to be in the first place, in the Negev, which is the southern portion of Canaan.

Gen 13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev.

Remember that the Negev is southern Canaan (Palestine). Abram and company are coming out of Egypt, where he had been out of God’s geographical will. Abram had been overly concerned about a famine in the land of Canaan, so he traveled outside of God’s will in order to deal with the famine. However, now he is going back where he ought to be.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                And Abram had become very strong in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Latin Vulgate                          And he was very rich in possession of gold and silver.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And Abram [is] rich, very, in the cattle, in the silver and in the gold.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Abram was very rich in cattle, and silver, and gold.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       Abram was very rich. He owned many cattle, sheep, and goats, and had a lot of silver and gold.

Easy English                          Abram was very rich. He had a lot of *cattle, silver and gold.

Easy-to-Read Version            At this time, Abram was very rich. He had many animals and much silver and gold.

The Message                         By now Abram was very rich, loaded with cattle and silver and gold.

New Berkeley Version           Abram with his wife and all he possessed with Lot along with him, went up from Egypt to the southland, extremely ricin livestock, in silver and in gold. V. 1 is included for context.

The Voice                               Because of his experience in Egypt, Abram had become quite rich. He had livestock, silver, and gold to carry with him.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And by now, Abram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold.

Christian Community Bible     Now Abram was very rich in flocks, silver and gold.

God’s Word™                         Abram was very rich because he had livestock, silver, and gold.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Abram was by now the master of rich possessions, with abundance of gold and silver.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. [13:2-18] In this story of Abraham and Lot going their separate ways, Abraham resolves a family dispute by an act that shows both trust in God and generosity toward his nephew. The story suggests Lot rather than Abraham is the natural choice to be the ancestor of a great family; he is young and he takes the most fertile land (outside the land of Canaan). In contrast to Lot, who lifts his eyes to choose for himself (vv. 10-11), Abraham waits for God to tell him to lift his eyes and see the land he will receive (v. 14). Chaps. 18-19 continue the story of Abraham and Lot. Abraham's visionary possession of the land foreshadows that of Moses (Dt 3:27; 34:4). Psalm 112:1-3 Prov. 10:22.

NIRV                                      Abram had become very rich. He had a lot of livestock and silver and gold.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Abram was-heavy a hundredfold with livestock, silver, and gold.

Bible in Basic English             Now Abram had great wealth of cattle and silver and gold.

NET Bible®                             (Now Abram was very wealthy [Heb "heavy."] in livestock, silver, and gold.) This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (?) disjunctive (translated "now"), provides information necessary to the point of the story.

NIV, ©2011                             Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Avram became wealthy, with much cattle, silver and gold.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and Abram is mighty heavy in chattel,

in silver and in gold:...

Kaplan Translation                 Abram was very rich, with livestock, silver and gold.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Avram was very rich in cattle, in kesef, and in zahav.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                Now Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold.

Concordant Literal Version    And Abram is very heavy in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Syndein/Thieme                     And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. {Note: One thing about Abram (chiseler) [Kukis note: chisler?] when he was out of fellowship he was able to made a tremendous amount of money.}.

World English Bible                Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Young's Literal Translation     And Abram is exceedingly wealthy in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

The gist of this verse:          Abram, partially from his trip to Egypt, was quite wealthy, having livestock, silver and gold.

Translation: Abram [was] now very rich in livestock,... Abram’s wealth is summed up here. He is quite wealthy with livestock, of all sorts. We know this from when he came down to Egypt; and it appears that he might have even a greater wealth at his departure from Egypt.

It is clear that Abram is quite successful from Gen. 12:5, where his possessions were spoken of before. However, here, Abram is said to be wealthy, indicating that God has blessed Abram greatly, despite his wandering down to Egypt.

Even though Abram has made some serious mistakes in judgement, God still prospered him and God did not withdraw his promises from Abram. We, as believers today, understand some moral issues and the obedience required, and we recognize the severe mistakes that King David made, but what Abram did was a serious mistake as well. This was covered back in chapter 12; but bear in mind, to know God's will and not to do it; to know God's Word and not to believe it, these are very serious sins. And yet, note how prosperous Abram is. This verse indicates that in the mist of a famine (Gen. 12:10), Abram is a very rich man. In fact, he and Lot are so wealthy that it is too difficult to keep track of their own individual wealth. This is Abram's third test (he was tested once when he was told to leave his father's house; he did, thereby passing the test. He was tested again when he arrived in Egypt and could have either trusted God for protection or he could have lied about his relationship to Sarai; that test he failed). Abram's third test will involve Lot and their individual possessions.

Translation:...[and] in silver and in gold. Abram is also quite wealthy in silver and gold. This was not mentioned before. So, where did it come from? (1) In the long list of things that Pharaoh gave him, there was also silver and gold given Abram, but not named in Gen. 12:16. Or (2) Abram sold some of these items as he traveled back to the Land of Promise, and made a lot of money along the way (remember, there was a famine in the land, so people would have paid well for portions of Abram’s ranch.

Gen 13:2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

In the previous chapter, you will recall that Canaan was in the midst of an economic downturn, so bad that Abram felt he ought to move to Egypt. And yet, here, we find out that Abram is rich in livestock, silver and gold. God is able to bless us, despite surrounding economic conditions. This is important as an application to us today, as I write this during a time when the world is in an economic downturn. God may or may not choose to bless us materially, but that is unrelated to the environment in which we find ourselves. There were many millionaires whose fortunes increased during the Great Depression (just as many millionaires lost their fortunes during this time). Your own personal finances are an outgrowth of your relationship to Jesus Christ and not a result of whatever economic downturn or upturn you find yourself to be in.

It is also important to note that, even though Abram lied to Pharaoh about his wife; God did not severely punish Abram and take away all of his material blessings. Abram continued to be quite wealthy. In fact, he became more wealthy in Egypt because of the Pharaoh’s gifts.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we make a lot of mistakes. We all sin. This does not mean the end of our lives. God has made provision for these things, which can include, of course, divine discipline. However, such things will not necessarily end our spiritual lives. We get up, we dust ourselves off, and go back to the land of promise, where God wants us to be.

You will notice what is missing from this narrative—anything which has to do with the famine in the land. There is no telling how long Abram was in Egypt (probably, less than a year). There is no indication that, Abram returns to the land and the famine is all over. It is simply a non-issue. We learn that the famine motivates Abram to go to Egypt, but the famine itself has no real impact on Abram’s life. This is an extremely important spiritual principle: we may face a dramatic change in circumstances, but we are who we are, and God is Who He is. The circumstances are inconsequential. You may live in a country being invaded, a country under attack. It doesn’t matter. Your country might be falling into socialism. It doesn’t matter. You are who you are and God is Who He is. God will vindicate the doctrine in your soul, no matter what the circumstances are around you. If you have no doctrine in your soul, then there is nothing there with which God can work.

Abram has doctrine in his soul; he was out of God’s geographical will, and he is getting back into God’s geographical will. He went into Egypt rich with possessions and he exits Egypt rich with possessions. He made a mistake, he is correcting that mistake, and God has not impacted his temporal blessing.

Map of Southern Israel. Abram will be going from Egypt to Bethel, which can be seen in the map below.

Abram will go from Egypt, which is southwest of the lower left-hand corner of this map, up to Bethel, which is at the center top of this map. From

http://www.bible-history.com/map-davids-kingdom/israel_davids_kingdom_shg.jpg

In 2Samuel, we have a much more dramatic set of circumstances, where King David gets way, way out of fellowship; and he eventually falls into national disaster (there is a revolution in his country spearheaded by one of his own sons). Yet, when the smoke clears and the dust settles, David will have everything which God blessed him with, despite David’s sins and personal shortcomings.

I am not saying that, no matter what, God will restore you to all that He has given you. However, there are 2 examples here where both Abram and David got out of God’s will (David for an extended period of time), and God still blessed them. The key appears to be that, both David and Abram recognize their mistake and want to get back on board with God’s plan; and they both have souls filled with divine viewpoint (they were able to think from the Bible doctrine which was in their souls).

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                And he proceeded in his journeyings from the south unto Bethel, and returned to the place where he had outspread his tabernacle at the first, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at the beginning; and Abram prayed there in the Name of the Lord.

Latin Vulgate                          And he returned by the way, that he came, from the south to Bethel, to the place where before he had pitched his tent between Bethel and Hai, In the place of the altar which he had made before, and there he called upon the name of the Lord.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so he goes to his journeys from a Negev and as far as Bethel, as far as the place where was there his tent in the beginning, between Bethel and between Ai; unto a place of the altar which he had made there in the first. And so calls there Abram in the name of Y^ehowah.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And he went on his journey from the south as far as Beth-el, to the place where he had pitched his tent at first, between Beth-el and Ai; To the place of the altar which he had built there at the first; and there Abram had called upon the name of the LORD.

Septuagint (Greek)                And he went to the place where he came, into the wilderness as far as Bethel, as far as the place where his tent was before, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar, which he built there at first, and Abram there called on the name of the Lord.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Abram traveled, making and breaking camp, from the arid southen plain to Bethel and to the sacred place there, where he had first pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai, that is, to the place at which he had earlier built the altar. There he worshipped in the Lord's name.

Contemporary English V.       Abram moved from place to place in the Southern Desert. And finally, he went north and set up his tents between Bethel and Ai, where he had earlier camped and built an altar. There he worshiped the LORD.

Easy English                          Abram travelled from the Negev to Bethel. He stopped sometimes on the way. Then he went beyond Bethel towards Ai. That was the place where he had had his tent at the beginning. That was where he had made an *altar before. There Abram *worshipped the *Lord.

Easy-to-Read Version            Abram continued traveling around. He left the Negev and went back to Bethel. He went to the place between the city of Bethel and the city of Ai. This was the same place Abram and his family had camped before. This was the place Abram had built an altar. So Abram worshiped the Lord at this place.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Then he left there and moved from place to place, going toward Bethel. He reached the place between Bethel and Ai where he had camped before and had built an altar. There he worshiped the LORD.

New Living Translation           From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before. This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped the Lord again.

The Voice                               He journeyed north in stages from the Negev as far as Bethel to the place where he had pitched his tent earlier between Bethel and Ai. He returned to one of the first altar tables he had made in the land, stopped there, and called on the name of the Eternal once again.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          So he returned to the place where he had come from (in the desert near BethEl, between BethEl and AgGai, where he had pitched his tent previously), to the place where he had earlier built the altar and 5 where he (Abram) had called on the Name of the Lord.

Beck’s American Translation Moving from place to place, he went from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tents had been the first time, the place where he had first made the altar, and there Abram called on the LORD’s name.

Christian Community Bible     As he journeyed on, he went from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where he first pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai at the spot where he had formerly made an altar and called on the Name of Yahweh.

God’s Word™                         He traveled from place to place. He went from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the area between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been originally, where he had first made an altar. There Abram worshiped the LORD.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       He took the same road northwards by which he had come, and reached Bethel, and the place between Bethel and Hai where he had pitched his tent before, with the altar still standing there, as he had built it, commemorating the Lord's name. `Commemorating the Lord's name'; or perhaps, `and there (once more) he invoked the Lord's name'.

New American Bible (R.E.)    From the Negeb he traveled by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly stood, the site where he had first built the altar; and there Abram invoked the LORD by name. Gn 12:8.

NIRV                                      From the Negev Desert, he went from place to place until he came to Bethel. He came to a place between Bethel and Ai. That's where his tent had been earlier. He had also built an altar there. He worshiped the Lord there.

New Jerusalem Bible             By stages he went from the Negeb to Bethel, where he had first pitched his tent, between Bethel and Ai, at the place where he had formerly erected the altar. There Abram invoked the name of Yahweh.

New Simplified Bible              He traveled from place to place from the Negev until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier. This was where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of Jehovah.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      His journeying went from South-Canaan unto Bethel, unto the place his tent was in the beginning, there between Bethel and Ai, at the place of the first altar he made. There Abram called Yahweh's name.

Bible in Basic English             And travelling on from the South, he came to Beth-el, to the place where his tent had been before, between Beth-el and Ai; To the place where he had made his first altar, and there Abram gave worship to the name of the Lord.

The Expanded Bible              He ·left [^Lwent by stages from] ·southern Canaan [^Lthe Negev] and went back to Bethel where ·he had camped before [^Lhis tent had been], between Bethel and Ai [12:8], and where he had built an altar [^Lat first]. So he ·worshiped [^Lcalled on the name of] the Lord there.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Afterwards he marched from the south towards Bethel, to the place where his tent had first been pitched, between Bethel and Haai; for the place where he had formerly built an Altar, and there Abram called upon the name of the Ever-living.

NET Bible®                             And he journeyed from place to place [Heb "on his journeys"; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.] from the Negev as far as Bethel. He returned [The words "he returned" are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons] to the place where he had pitched his tent [Heb "where his tent had been."] at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. This was the place where he had first built the altar [Heb "to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning" (cf. Gen 12:7-8).], and there Abram worshiped the Lord [Heb "he called in the name of the Lord." The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 21:33; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.].

NIV, ©2011                             From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and he goes on his journeys

from the south even to Beth El,

to the place where his tent was at the beginning

between Beth El and Ai

- to the place of the sacrifice altar

which he worked there at the first:

and there Abram calls on the name of Yah Veh.

Hebrew Names Version         He went on his journeys from the South even to Beit-El, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beit-El and `Ai, to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Avram called on the name of the LORD.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               And he proceeded by stages from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been formerly, between Bethel and Ai, the site of the altar that he had build there at first, and there Abram involved the Lord by name.

Kaplan Translation                 He continued on his travels, from the Negev toward Bethel, until [he came to] the place where he originally had his tent, between Bethel and Ai, the site of the altar that he had built there at first. Abram called in God's name.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And he went on his journeys from the Negev even to Beit-El, unto the makom where his ohel had been at the beginning, between Beit-El and Ai; Unto the makom of the Mizbe'ach, which he had built there at the first; and there Avram called on the Shem of Hashem.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And he journeyed on from the South [country of Judah, the Negeb] as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, Where he had built an altar at first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

Concordant Literal Version    And going is he, in his journeyings from the south-rim, as far as Beth-El, as far as the place where his tent came to be at the start, between Beth-El and Ai, to the place of the altar, which he made there at the first. And there calling is Abram on the name of Yahweh.

The Geneva Bible                  And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;... He calls the place by the name which was later given to it, ( Genesis 23:19 ).

New King James Version       And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

Syndein/Thieme                     And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. And there Abram called on the name of Jehovah/God {rebound}. {Note: Picture of Abram's rebound. He is now back in fellowship. Principal - never let your failures be a discouragement to you. Rebound, forget them and move forward. Remember the promises of the Lord the next time and claim them! Faith Rest. Rebound. Claiming the Promises of God. Relaxed Mental Attitude. Impersonal love for all mankind - based on your own integrity. Personal love for God. Then you can begin to truly be occupied with Christ and share in the happiness which belongs to God.}.

Webster’s Bible Translation  And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; To the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

Young’s Updated LT             And he goes on his journeyings from the south, even unto Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the commencement, between Bethel and Hai, unto the place of the altar which he made there at the first, and there Abram did preach in the name of Jehovah.

The gist of this verse:          Abram continues to travel throughout the Land of Promise, going back the way that he came.

Translation: He advances in [lit., concerning, according to] his travels from the Negev... Abram enters into the Land of Promise through the south, which is the Negev.

When it is possible, most translations give a word-for-word translation of the Hebrew into English (which would include cognizance of the suffixes and verb forms). This has its good and bad points. On the good side, a reader does not presume there are 3 Hebrew words translated by one English word, or vice versa. On the negative side, sometimes some meaning is lost. The KJV says that Abram went on his journeys from the south and The Emphasized Bible has Abram going on his way, by removals, from the south. The Hebrew word is maçça‛ (מַסַּע) [pronounced mahs-SAH] and it refers to the picking up and removal, or the plucking up of tent pins, or the breaking of camp. Obviously, what this means is that Abram and company travel, camp, remain perhaps for a night, a few days, a few months, and then pick up stakes and move on. By stages I believe, would be the best way to translate this word and its preposition.

The word for travels is maçça‛ (מַסַּע) [pronounced mahs-SAH], which means a pulling up [of stakes]; breaking camp; setting out; travels, journeys, journeying; stages. Strong's #4550 BDB #652. It simply means that Abram, when going from Egypt, through the Negev and on up to Bethel, that this took some time. He and his crew would stop, make camp, and then pull up stakes and set out again.

The Negev is the mostly uninhabited wilderness area between southern Judah and Egypt, so Abram is obviously on his way back to the Land of Promise. This area is now desert, although that was not necessarily the case in Abram’s day.

Translation: ...to Bethel,... Abram decides to follow a route that he followed before, retracing his steps back.

As you see in the Hebrew exegesis, the simple translation of to Bethel is legitimate.

Translation: ...to the place where his tent was at the beginning,... One of the first places that Abram had pitched his tent was in between Bethel and Ai (Gen. 12:8).

Translation: ...between Bethel and Ai;... Abram first entered the land through Shechem, where he built an altar. However, the text speaks of him pitching a tent between Bethel and Ai (Gen. 12:6–8). It is possible that they stopped for a few days in Shechem, knowing that they would be moving forward soon thereafter.

Bethel and Ai are roughly in the center of Canaan, not far from Jericho (Bethel can be seen on the map above).

Note that Abram’s thinking here is to go back to where he was at the beginning. The idea here is, Abram got out of God’s geographical will and went down to Egypt. When he realizes that he was out of God’s will, he pulled up stakes and moved back to where God led him in the first place. Here is the concept: Abram knows that he wandered from God, so, in order to rectify that problem, he goes back to the last place where he was clearly in God’s will.

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The gist of this verse:          Abram returns to the place of his altar, and worships God there.

Translation: to the place of the altar that he made there at the beginning. Abram made two altars that are named in Gen. 12: one in Shechem (Gen. 12:7) and then one near Bethel (Gen. 12:8). Abram goes back to Shechem, and the altar is still there.

Abram was supposed to be traveling throughout the promised land, but God has not contacted Abram since those last instructions, so Abram is wandering about, to some degree.

Therefore, Abram returns to where he had previously built an altar to God and sacrificed to Him. It is possible that this was the last time that Abram was in God's geographical will, but it is possible that God needed for Abram to be a witness of sorts to the Pharaoh in Egypt. Even if he had been out of God's geographical will, God still used this to His Own advantage.

Puzzled by what God's will was for his life, Abram decided to sacrifice to Yahweh and then to proclaim the character of God. Even though Abram’s wealth has increased dramatically, Abram probably feels as though he was wasted a great deal of time going down to Egypt for no purpose. The increase in wealth was a fluke, not the result of a series of business decisions which resulted in prosperity.

Abram realizes that he has made some errors in his life. What is the solution? He goes back to the point at which everything was spiritually sound. When I first read this, I first thought, superstition; however, as I reread it, it is clear that Abram was simply going back to a point where he knew he ought to be.

We have all failed, some of us more spectacularly than others. For many of us, this does not mean that you automatically pick up everything you have and move back home (or, wherever). You get with the Word of God; you study the Word of God under a pastor-teacher, and, in many cases, you will pick back up where you left off. You will go back to the place where you were advancing spiritually, and from there, you continue that advance.

God is going to put Abram to a geographical test again. In the previous test, Abram failed, and he went to Egypt. This time, God is going to put Abram in a similar test, and this time, Abram will apply doctrine (what God has promised him) and he will pass.

What exactly is going on? Abram knew that he was right to move into the Land of Promise. However, in going down to Egypt, it is apparent to him that was a wrong move. So, he tries this again, going back to where he started.

Application: We sometimes have this as believers; and more often as new believers. We slip up, we screw up; so we go back to a point where we knew it was right. That appears to be what Abram is doing here.

Application: When considering various doctrines, I find myself having to go back to the fundamentals, to make certain in my own mind that everything is consistent with the basics of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You learn the fundamentals of the faith—that Jesus Christ died for our sins and that we are saved simply be believing in Him. Then, if a passage or a thought or a comment appears to throw us for a loop, then we go back to this point (or to any point where we are comfortable in the doctrine).

You will note what Abram is thinking about—he is concerned about his relationship to the Revealed God. Therefore, he is not confused or thrown off by having a lot of wealth. He doesn’t stop and say, “Hey, I am doing it right—I have a lot of material blessings, so everything is copacetic.” How many of us would have made that mistake? Abram doesn’t.

Translation: Consequently, Abram proclaimed [and celebrated] the name of Y^ehowah there. We find this phrase throughout the book of Genesis, and it is often translated to make it sound as if some believer is standing at the altar calling for God. That would be goofy. Abram is an evangelist and he knows the principles of right and wrong. So, it is logical that he will teach about the Revealed God and that he will teach the laws of divine establishment (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Vv. 3–4 read: Abram continued traveling through the land, moving from Negev back to Bethel, back to where he pitched his tent at the first, between Bethel and Ai; and to the place where he made the altar at the beginning. Consequently, Abram proclaimed and celebrated the name of Jehovah there. This is the third time we have come upon the phrase, to call upon the name of Jehovah. The words found here are all quite common and found many times in the Bible, which actually makes it more difficult to interpret this phrase. Literally, this portion of the verse reads: And so calls out there Abram in a name of Y^ehowah. This could also be translated: And so there Abram calls out by means of [the] name of Y^ehowah. In the many times that this phrase occurs, it sounds as if (in most translations) that someone calls out to God one time, expecting that God will answer them. However, this is nearly always in the imperfect tense, which indicates continuous or future action. The verb has a variety of related meanings: to call, cry, utter a loud sound; to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God); to proclaim; to read aloud, read (to oneself), read; to summon, invite, call for, call and commission, appoint, call and endow; to call, name, give name to, call by (Brown Driver Briggs definitions).

If a person were to summon God, the verb would reasonably followed by unto God or, more likely, unto Y^ehowah (the latter being the personal name of God, usually referring to the second Person of the Trinity). We do not have the preposition unto or even the preposition to, but the preposition b^e (בְּ) [pronounced b^eh], which usage and meaning consumes over 3 pages in Brown-Driver-Briggs, even though this word was never even assigned a Strong’s number. It is most often translated by the Greek preposition ἐν, and is most often translated in or by [means of]. However, b^e (בְּ) can also be translated into, through; at, near, on, upon; with, before, against; among; within, in the midst of; at, before, in the presence of, to, unto, up to; in respect to, on account of; because of; by means of, about, concerning. Sometimes it simply acts somewhat like the mark of a direct object. It points to the thing that the action of the verb acts upon. Therefore, fixing a meaning on this phrase is difficult because there are so many ways it can be reasonably translated. A very reasonable translation would be: And there Abram proclaims the name [reputation] of Y^ehowah. Therefore, the notion that Abram has not talked to God for a long time and now he is calling out God’s name so that God will come down and talk to him is not necessarily what this verse means. The offering of the animal sacrifices upon the altar proclaims the character of God.

Also, God the Holy Spirit will bracket this chapter with Abram building an altar here to God and in the final verse of this chapter (Gen. 13:18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived among the oaks of Mamre, which were in Hebron; and he built an altar to Jehovah there) . This is God the Holy Spirit telling us that Abram is back in fellowship. He is in God’s geographical will. Recall that Abram got out of fellowship and out of God’s geographical will and went down to Egypt and embarrassed himself before the pharaoh of Egypt. All of this stuff occurred, and yet God the Holy Spirit did not specifically tell us, “Now Abram, when he went down to Egypt, was out of God’s geographical will.” We figured this out based upon what the text said and what the text did not say.

The first 4 verses read: Consequently, Abram returned from Egypt back to the Negev, taking with him his wife, his possessions and Lot. Abram, at this time, had become quite wealthy in livestock, as well as in silver and gold. Abram continued traveling through the land, moving from Negev back to Bethel, back to where he pitched his tent at the first, between Bethel and Ai; and to the place where he made the altar at the beginning. Consequently, Abram proclaimed and celebrated the name of Jehovah there. Here, in these first few verses, we are told that Abram returns to where he made an altar originally, so this is God the Holy Spirit telling us that Abram has rebounded (i.e., he named his sins to God), and he is therefore back in fellowship with God. Again, God the Holy Spirit does not tell us specifically, “Then Abram named his sins to God and also got back into fellowship and then back into God’s geographical will.” This information is conveyed to us by literary device or literary symbolism, which becomes quite important when trying to interpret and understand narrative, where very few qualifiers might be offered. That is, in most narratives, the action does not stop, and then there is a proclamation from God, “And that, by the way, was a very bad idea.” Or, “And, in case you could not figure it out, Abram is now out of fellowship and is about to get out of God’s geographical will.” Such things occur, but only on rare occasion. After David’s great sin with Bathsheba, which culminated in his having Bathsheba’s husband killed, Scripture reads: But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD (2Sam. 11:27b). Sometimes, historical incidents are reviewed later in Scripture (e.g., Moses teaching about the exodus in Deuteronomy or various psalmists explaining the exodus centuries later). However, most of the time, narrative is left for us to read and interpret and by us, (by us, I mean a pastor-teacher or a commentator).

So that there is no misunderstanding, I am a literalist and I take the Bible literally. However, this does not mean that I am unable to recognize various literary devices. Gen. 11:1 literally reads: And so all the land [or, earth] is one language and a united vocabulary. Land does not speak; the earth does not have a verbal language or a vocabulary. We understand that all the land is a metonym for all the people on earth. In fact, many figures of speech are so obvious, like this one, that we read it and understand it without stopping to realize that the literal understanding of this sentence makes no sense. Many figures of speech come to us so naturally that our mind does not even process the fact that we are reading (or hearing) a figure of speech.

The Bible is filled with literary devices and figures of speech. It is common to find ellipsis, foreshadowing, aposiopesis, inclusio, repetition, parallelisms, hyperbole, anacoluthon, metonym, idiom, etc. in the Word of God. There is a 1000+ page book by Bullinger called Figures of Speech Used in the Bible; and it lays out hundreds of literary figures of speech, devices and tricks which are found in the Bible (which book can now be found on the internet, which information I will give to you later in this lesson).

Let me remind you of the definition of inspiration of the Bible: God the Holy Spirit so supernaturally directed the human writers of Scripture, that without waving their human intelligence, individuality, literary style, personal feelings or any other human factor, His own complete and coherent message to man was recorded in perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture, the very words bearing the authority of divine authorship. The literary style of the human author would include a variety of literary devices and figures of speech. Furthermore, there is nothing in the definition of inspiration which precludes the human authors or even God the Holy Spirit from making use of literary devices.

I gave the example of this chapter being bookended by Abram and an altar, which tells us that Abram is where he ought to be. Now, did Abram decide to mention an altar twice in order to convey that he was right with God spiritually, or did God the Holy Spirit do that?

Let me give you a non-answer—just as the Bible is the written word of man and the Word of God, so Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God, fully man and fully God. When He spoke, He did not reveal every bit of this information with everything He said (when you meet someone new and they say, “Hi, how are you?” this does not reveal everything there is to know about their character). So, when Jesus speaks of the Father being greater than He, then He is speaking from His humanity. When He said, “I and the Father are One;” He is speaking from His Deity. And when He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man comes to the Father but through Me;” He is speaking from His hypostatic union (the union of His humanity and Deity).

Therefore, sometimes in the Bible, it is clear that the information being conveyed, on one level, comes from the human author. Abram is conveying true history here, where he returns to where he built this first altar and this chapter will close with Abram building an altar. That really happened. At the same time, these words are also the Word of God which indicate to us that Abram is in fellowship. And I have even suggested that, there are times when a verse means one thing from the human perspective, and yet, something different from God’s perspective. So you can see the analogous relationship between Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, and the Bible, the written Word of God (although this is not an exact analogy).

The point being made here, by literary device, is that Abram is back where he should be (he is in the geographical will of God); and he is also in fellowship with God. We know this, not by an outright statement, but by literary device.

Richard Salt has a webpage called Virtual Salt; and on this particular page http://virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm, he lists about 60 rhetorical devices. He is simply teaching literature on his website, but these terms also describe various rhetorical devices found in Holy Writ. Many psalms are so carefully constructed, that understanding them is dependent upon understanding their literary construction (just as we understand in this chapter that Abram is in God’s will because the altars he has built bookends this chapter).

If you recall, the events of the flood were recounted in a chiasmos (χ) format (Lesson #80). The key to these chapters and the center of those chapters was the clear emphasis of those chapters, which was obvious as long as you could see the chiasmos format. Let me suggest that, possibly from the human perspective, the chiasmos format made it easier to recall all of the events of the flood (a mnemonic device, perhaps); and God the Holy Spirit used this format to tell us what was most important in that narrative. So you have a human purpose and a divine purpose—which purposes are different yet not at odds with one another—by means of the same literary device.

So far we have studied:

Gen 13:1–4 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there [where Abram returned to] Abram proclaimed the name of Y^ehowah.

Because we found an altar at the beginning and end of this chapter, we drew the conclusion that Abram is both in God’s geographical will and in His directive will. Taking the Bible literally does not mean that you give a literal meaning to each and every phrase you read. The example which I gave was Gen. 11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. Nobody has ever read that verse and assumed that the ground actually spoke a language. The whole earth is a metonym for the entire population of the earth. A metonym is a figure of speech which means that one thing is used in the place of another.

Gen 13:1–4 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there [where Abram returned to] Abram proclaimed the name of Y^ehowah.

Abram had gotten out of fellowship and out of God’s geographical will and went down to Egypt. As a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Abram sinned in such a way as to embarrass him before the pharaoh of Egypt.

So, now, Abram is back where he ought to be, in the Land of Promise, and now he is going to make a spiritually significant decision. The idea is, you have to be geographically where God wants you to be, in fellowship, and thinking as God wants you to think, in order to make good decisions. Abram will make a good decision in this chapter without God telling him exactly what to do.

Vv. 3–4 read: Abram continued traveling through the land, moving from Negev back to Bethel, back to where he pitched his tent at the first, between Bethel and Ai; and to the place where he made the altar at the beginning. Consequently, Abram proclaimed and celebrated the name of Jehovah there. You will note what concerns Abram, first and foremost—an altar built to God and proclaiming or celebrating the name of God. What concerns Lot will follow in the next couple verses.

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Strife between the Herdsmen of Abram and the Herdsmen of Lot

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                And also unto Lot, who was remembered through the righteousness of Abram, there were sheep and oxen and tents.

Latin Vulgate                          But Lot also, who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and herds of beasts, and tents.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And also to Lot, the one going with Abram, were a flock and a herd and tents.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And Lot also, who went with Abram, had large flocks, herds, and tents.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Lot, who went out with Abram, had sheep, oxen, and tents.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       Lot, who was traveling with him, also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and slaves.

Easy-to-Read Version            During this time, Lot was also traveling with Abram. Lot had many animals and tents.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Lot also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and servants.

The Message                         Lot, who was traveling with Abram, was also rich in sheep and cattle and tents.

New Life Version                    Now Lot, who went with Abram, had flocks and cattle and tents of his own.

New Living Translation           Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents.

The Voice                               Lot, who had gone with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so the land was no longer large enough to support the two of them living together as one household. They each had so many possessions that they just couldn't stay together any longer. V. 6 is included for context.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

New Advent (Knox) Bible       ⁵ Lot, his companion, had flocks and herds and a camp of his own, ⁶ so that there was no room for them to live together on the same land; they could not share a camping-ground, with such great possessions, ⁷ and already a quarrel had broken out between Abram's shepherds and Lot's. Vv. 6–7a are included for context.

New Jerusalem Bible             Lot, who was travelling with Abram, had flocks and cattle of his own, and tents too.

New Simplified Bible              Lot moved about with Abram. He also had flocks and herds and tents.

Revised English Bible            Since Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also possessed sheep and cattle and tents, the land could not support them while they were together. A portion of v. 6 is included for context.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

The Expanded Bible              During this time Lot was traveling with Abram, and Lot also had flocks, herds, and tents.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Lot also, who journeyed with Abram, possessed sheep, cattle, and camp-followers;...

NET Bible®                             Now Lot, who was traveling [Heb "was going."] with Abram, also had [The Hebrew idiom is "to Lot there was," the preposition here expressing possession.] flocks, herds, and tents.

NIV, ©2011                             Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support them staying together, for their possessions were so great that they could not remain together. V. 6 is included for context.

Kaplan Translation                 Lot, who accompanied Abram, also had sheep, cattle and tents.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Lot also, which walked with Avram, had tzon, and herds, and ohalim.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And moreover, Lot who is going with Abram, comes to have a flock and a herd and tents.

World English Bible                Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

Young's Updated LT              And also to Lot, who is going with Abram, there have been sheep and oxen and tents.

The gist of this verse:          Lot also had negotiable assets, which included flocks, herds and tents.