Genesis 13:14
in Genesis 13After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward:
KJV
And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
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This verse in Genesis 13
Commentary
11 notes on this verseAnd the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him,.... The Lord appeared unto him as he had before, and with an articulate voice spoke unto him, to comfort him upon the separation of his kinsman from him, and to renew the grant of the land of Canaan to him and his seed, and to assure him, that though Lot had chosen the most delightful and fruitful part of the country, yet it should not be an inheritance to him and his posterity, but the whole land should be Abraham's and his seed's.
This site's exposition
lift up your eyes
on Genesis 13:14-15
God tells Abram to lift up his eyes, the same thing Lot did for himself four verses earlier, and He says it only after Lot has gone. Lot took one plain, and Abram is told to look north and south and east and west, with all of it given to him. The grant runs to Abram and his offspring forever. Stephen says at Acts 7:5 that God gave him no ground of his own in it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
See the promptness of God's providential recompense demonstrated in favor of the good man. Sacred Scripture wants to teach us the extent of the reimbursement the patriarch was accorded for such humility from the loving God. And so after saying that Lot took his leave and went off to the land he had selected on the score of its beauty, [Scripture] immediately added, "The Lord God said to Abram." Then, for our precise realization that he said this by way of rewarding him for what had been done for Lot, it added, "God said to Abram after Lot's parting with him," as if to say the following words to him without demur: You ceded the beautiful region to your nephew on account of your great restraint and thus gave evidence of your eminent humility and showed such concern for peace as to put up with anything for the sake of preventing any rivalry coming between you—accept from me a generous reward.
A commentator
Clement of RomeClement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 10 · Written before 99.
proposed
Abraham, styled "the friend," [Isaiah 41:8] was found faithful, inasmuch as he rendered obedience to the words of God. He, in the exercise of obedience, went out from his own country, and from his kindred, and from his father's house, in order that, by forsaking a small territory, and a weak family, and an insignificant house, he might inherit the promises of God. For God said to him, "Get you out from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, into the land which I shall show you. And I will make you a great nation, and will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be blessed. And I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curse you; and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed." [Genesis 12:1-3] And again, on his departing from Lot, God said to him, "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you now are, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, [so that] if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered." [Genesis 13:14-16] And again [the Scripture] says, "God brought forth Abram, and spoke unto him, Look up now to heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them; so shall your seed be. And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness." [Genesis 15:5-6] On account of his faith and hospitality, a son was given him in his old age; and in the exercise of obedience, he offered him as a sacrifice to God on one of the mountains which He showed him.
There follows a passage that clearly teaches us how fast the soul progresses once the excesses of the irrational parts have been eliminated and how much evil is produced by an accumulation of vices.
(Verse 14 and 15.) Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, towards the north, south, east, and west; for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring. He set the four regions of the world: east, west, north, and south. But what is read in all the Scriptures, let it suffice to say once, that the sea is always considered to be in the west: because the region of Palestine is situated in such a way that the sea is in the western part.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And 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: all the land that you see I will give to you and to your …
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The prospects of an eye of faith are much more rich and beautiful than those of an eye of sense. Those for whom the heavenly Canaan is designed in the other world have sometimes, by faith, a comfortable prospect of it in their present state; for we look at the things that are not seen, as real, though distant.
Abram's Removal to Canaan. 1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:90%@v1-3
The prospects of an eye of faith are much more rich and beautiful than those of an eye of sense. Those for whom the heavenly Canaan is designed in the other world have sometimes, by faith, a comfortable prospect of it in their present state; for we look at the things that are not seen, as real, though distant.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The Lord said unto Abram - It is very likely that the angel of the covenant appeared to Abram in open day, when he could take a distinct view of the length and the breadth of this good land. The revelation made Gen 15:5, was evidently made in the night; for then he was called to number the stars, which could not be seen but in the night season: here he is called on to number the dust of the earth, Gen 13:16, which could not be seen but in the day-light.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיהוָ֞ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַבְרָ֗ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| אַחֲרֵי֙ | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הִפָּֽרֶד־ | hipared- | separated | H6504 → | 26 times |
| ל֣וֹט | lot | Lot | H3876 → | 33 times |
| מֵֽעִמּ֔וֹ | meimo | from with <the> him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| שָׂ֣א | sa' | lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| נָ֤א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾeineikha | eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וּרְאֵ֔ה | ureeh | and look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמָּק֖וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | [are] there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| צָפֹ֥נָה | tzafonah | north -ward | H6828 → | |
| וָנֶ֖גְבָּה | vanegbah | and south -ward | H5045 → | 112 times |
| וָקֵ֥דְמָה | vakedemah | and east -ward | H6924 → | 87 times |
| וָיָֽמָּה׃ | vayamah | and west -ward | H3220 → | 396 times |
וַֽיהוָ֞הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
אָמַ֣רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַבְרָ֗םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
אַחֲרֵי֙after
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
הִפָּֽרֶד־separated
hipared-H6504 →26 times
ל֣וֹטLot
lotH3876 →33 times
מֵֽעִמּ֔וֹfrom with <the> him
meimoH5973 →1050 times
שָׂ֣אlift up
sa'H5375 →656 times
נָ֤אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙eyes your
ʾeineikhaH5869 →887 times
וּרְאֵ֔הand look
ureehH7200 →1300 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַמָּק֖וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁר־where
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
שָׁ֑ם[are] there
shamH8033 →834 times
צָפֹ֥נָהnorth -ward
tzafonahH6828 →
וָנֶ֖גְבָּהand south -ward
vanegbahH5045 →112 times
וָקֵ֥דְמָהand east -ward
vakedemahH6924 →87 times
וָיָֽמָּה׃and west -ward
vayamahH3220 →396 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 28:14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through…
it leads to
- Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
- Genesis 18:18
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
- Genesis 22:18
And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- Acts 3:25
And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
- Genesis 26:4
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
- Genesis 12:3
Through
Genesis 13:10And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 34:3
the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho (the City of Palms) all the way to Zoar.
- Isaiah 51:3
For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness…
- Deuteronomy 34:3
Through
Isaiah 49:18Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on…
it leads to
- Isaiah 54:1–3
“Shout for joy, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth in song and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her…
- Isaiah 54:1–3
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Abraham; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 10; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 34.5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.