Genesis 13:4
in Genesis 13to the site where he had built the altar. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of Jehovah.
KJV
Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
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This verse in Genesis 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseUnto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first,.... When he first came to that place, and before he went down to Egypt: it is not said he came to the altar, but "to the place", where it had stood, for it seems now to have been demolished, either having fallen of itself, being made of earth, or had been destroyed by the Canaanites, since Abram left it; or perhaps it might be pulled down by Abram himself before he went from thence, that it might not be used and polluted by the idolatrous Canaanites.
This site's exposition
where his tent had formerly been pitched
on Genesis 13:3-4
Abram goes back up to Bethel and stops on the ground where his tent had formerly been pitched. He comes to the site of the altar he had built, and Gill reads bare ground there with the stones gone. Genesis records no altar and no word from God for the whole time he was in Egypt. He takes his life up where he set it down.
This site's exposition
Abram called on the name of the LORD
Henry notes that with the altar gone Abram could offer nothing on it, and he called on the name of the LORD all the same. Abram had called on the name of the LORD at this place before he went down to Egypt. He takes up the worship where he left it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 13, Verse 4) And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the wilderness. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel. It is said that Abram went up from Egypt in a splendid manner. But there is a contradiction to this idea in what follows: how could he have become very rich upon leaving Egypt?
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
His altar was gone, so that he could not offer sacrifice; but he called on the name of the Lord, as he had done, ch. xii. All God's people are praying people. You may as soon find a living man without breath as a living Christian without prayer.
His altar was gone, so that he could not offer sacrifice; but he called on the name of the Lord, as he had done, ch. xii. All God's people are praying people. You may as soon find a living man without breath as a living Christian without prayer.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מְקוֹם֙ | mekom | [the] place of | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָ֥שָׂה | ʾasah | he had made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| בָּרִאשֹׁנָ֑ה | barishonah | at the former [time] | H7223 → | 182 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֥א | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| שָׁ֛ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אַבְרָ֖ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| בְּשֵׁ֥ם | beshem | on [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מְקוֹם֙[the] place of
mekomH4725 →401 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָ֥שָׂהhe had made
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
בָּרִאשֹׁנָ֑הat the former [time]
barishonahH7223 →182 times
וַיִּקְרָ֥אand he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
שָׁ֛םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
אַבְרָ֖םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
בְּשֵׁ֥םon [the] name of
beshemH8034 →864 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Jeremiah 29:12Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
it leads to
- Matthew 7:7–8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- Psalms 145:19
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
- Matthew 7:7–8
Through
Isaiah 58:9Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Through
Psalms 116:2Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.
it leads to
- Psalms 145:18–19
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Psalms 40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
- Psalms 145:18–19
About Genesis
This page draws on Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.