Genesis 13:5
in Genesis 13Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
KJV
And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
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This verse in Genesis 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseIt remains to be seen if Lot too, his nephew, was rich as one who belonged to the same family. But Scripture says only that he had many cattle. In fact, the text reads, "Lot also, who went with Abraham, had flocks, herds and tents." He had no silver, because he was not yet just; in fact, "the tongue of the just man is like silver purified by fire." He had no gold, which was the possession of the one who saw the posterity of Christ, of whom it is written: "And his posterity shines like gold."
This site's exposition
Lot, who was traveling with Abram
on Genesis 13:5-7
Lot's flocks and herds have grown too, and the land cannot carry both households at once. The wealth they brought out of Egypt is what divides them. Their herdsmen quarrel while the Canaanites and the Perizzites are living in the same land, and Wesley notes that those neighbours knew what both men professed.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
It is impossible for me to omit here a discussion of a question that has stumped even the more learned, namely, why the text is worded this way: "Lot also, who went with Abraham," as though we were to understand that there was another Lot who did not go with him. And many believe the problem is as yet unresolved. So to satisfy these and at the same time to abide by the rule of Scripture, we would say that there is one person who takes on two roles, that in one and the same individual two things are signified. Numerically Lot is a single individual; virtually he is two. In fact, Lot, according to the Latin interpretation, means declinatio ("a deviation"). But one can deviate either from the good or from the bad. So when Lot deviated from the bad, that is, from error, from base and criminal behavior, he was joined to his uncle. When he deviated from the good, that is, from what is just, innocent, holy and sacred, he was joined to baseness. This is why it says, "now Lot too, who accompanied Abraham," because he had not yet chosen Sodom, and he was not dwelling among those who are authors of evil. Thereafter he did go to live in Sodom. And so it was that he became alienated from himself; he thought of himself as of another, as of one, that is, who withdraws not only from the just man but even from himself.
The Medieval Church1 voice
But Lot also, who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and herds, and tents; nor could the land bear them so that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, and they could not dwell together: hence there was a quarrel between the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) that Lot, who went with Abram, was rich too; and therefore God blessed him with riches because he went with Abram. It is good being in good company, and going with those with whom God is, Zech. viii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Lot also, which went with Abram,.... into Egypt, and was now come back with him: had flocks, and herds, and tents; flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle, of oxen, asses and camels, and tents for himself and his servants to dwell in, and put his substance in.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְגַם־ | vegam- | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| לְל֔וֹט | lelot | to Lot | H3876 → | 33 times |
| הַהֹלֵ֖ךְ | haholekh | who was traveling | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| אַבְרָ֑ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| הָיָ֥ה | hayah | it be[longed] | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| צֹאן־ | tzon- | sheep | H6629 → | 274 times |
| וּבָקָ֖ר | uvakar | and cattle | H1241 → | 183 times |
| וְאֹהָלִֽים׃ | veohalim | and tents | H168 → | 345 times |
וְגַם־and also
vegam-H1571 →769 times
לְל֔וֹטto Lot
lelotH3876 →33 times
הַהֹלֵ֖ךְwho was traveling
haholekhH1980 →1546 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
אַבְרָ֑םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
הָיָ֥הit be[longed]
hayahH1961 →3559 times
צֹאן־sheep
tzon-H6629 →274 times
וּבָקָ֖רand cattle
uvakarH1241 →183 times
וְאֹהָלִֽים׃and tents
veohalimH168 →345 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 25:27When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:9
By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 21:20
And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.
- Genesis 6:9
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
- Genesis 10:9
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
- Genesis 28:10–11
Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
- Hebrews 11:9
Through
Jeremiah 49:29They will take their tents and flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. They will take their camels for themselves. They will shout to them: ‘Terror is on every side!’
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:25
Do not go out to the fields; do not walk the road. For the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.
- Jeremiah 46:5
Why am I seeing this? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back; terror is on every side!” declares the LORD.
- Habakkuk 3:7
I saw the tents of Cushan in distress; the curtains of Midian were trembling.
- Jeremiah 6:25
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Abraham; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.