Genesis 13:7
in Genesis 13And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land.
KJV
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.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 13
Commentary
13 notes on this verseVery scandalous: No doubt the eyes of all the neighbours were upon them, because of the singularity of their religion, and the extraordinary sanctity they professed; and notice would soon be taken of this quarrel, and improvement made of it to their reproach by the Canaanites and Perizzites.
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.
This site's exposition
the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land
The quarrel starts with the herdsmen, and Matthew Henry blames servants who sow discord between relatives. Adam Clarke takes the note about the Canaanites and the Perizzites as plain history, the peoples living there when the two men pitched their tents. The same clause stands at 12:6.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Notice how the abundance of their possessions proved to be a major cause for their separation, creating a division, sundering their harmony and undoing the bond of kinship. "Trouble developed between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen. Now the Canaanites and the Pherezites inhabited the land at that time." Notice how the relatives are responsible for the first signs of separation. Invariably this is the source from which springs all sorts of problems—discord among the brethren. The text says, remember, "Trouble developed between the herdsmen." They are the ones who provide the occasion for separation, who sunder the harmony, who give evidence of bad feeling.
Let us now consider who are the shepherds, and what living creatures they shepherd and what was the nature of the dispute between the shepherds of Abraham and those of Lot. Shepherds are those who govern the flocks. They are diligent and wise when they do not allow their animals to trample the farmlands with their feet or to damage the crops with their teeth. [They are] negligent and lazy when they do not invite their cattle to pasture on grassy fields rather than in planted areas but allow them to wander freely through the various garden crops.
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
It is a very wicked thing for servants to do ill offices between relations and neighbours, and to sow discord; those that do so are the devil's agents and their masters' worst enemies. The aggravation of the quarrel was that the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land; this made the quarrel, 1.
Very scandalous: No doubt the eyes of all the neighbours were upon them, because of the singularity of their religion, and the extraordinary sanctity they professed; and notice would soon be taken of this quarrel, and improvement made of it to their reproach by the Canaanites and Perizzites.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle,....
And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle,....
It is a very wicked thing for servants to do ill offices between relations and neighbours, and to sow discord; those that do so are the devil's agents and their masters' worst enemies. The aggravation of the quarrel was that the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land; this made the quarrel, 1.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Having a strong sense of religion, he was afraid of doing anything that might tend to injure its character or bring discredit on its name, and he rightly judged that such unhappy effects would be produced if two persons whom nature and grace had so closely connected should come to a rupture [Ge 13:8].
The Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land - That is, they were there at the time Abram and Lot came to fix their tents in the land. See the note on Gen 12:6.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| רִ֗יב | riv | quarreling | H7379 → | |
| בֵּ֚ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| רֹעֵ֣י | roei | [the] herdsmen of | H7462 → | 177 times |
| מִקְנֵֽה־ | mikneh- | [the] livestock of | H4735 → | 76 times |
| אַבְרָ֔ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| וּבֵ֖ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| רֹעֵ֣י | roei | [the] herdsmen of | H7462 → | 177 times |
| מִקְנֵה־ | mikneh- | [the] livestock of | H4735 → | 76 times |
| ל֑וֹט | lot | Lot | H3876 → | 33 times |
| וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ | vehakenaani | and the Canaanite[s] | H3669 → | 73 times |
| וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔י | vehapperizi | and the Perizzite[s] | H6522 → | 23 times |
| אָ֖ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| יֹשֵׁ֥ב | yoshev | [was] dwelling | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַֽיְהִי־and it was
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
רִ֗יבquarreling
rivH7379 →
בֵּ֚יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
רֹעֵ֣י[the] herdsmen of
roeiH7462 →177 times
מִקְנֵֽה־[the] livestock of
mikneh-H4735 →76 times
אַבְרָ֔םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
וּבֵ֖יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
רֹעֵ֣י[the] herdsmen of
roeiH7462 →177 times
מִקְנֵה־[the] livestock of
mikneh-H4735 →76 times
ל֑וֹטLot
lotH3876 →33 times
וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙and the Canaanite[s]
vehakenaaniH3669 →73 times
וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔יand the Perizzite[s]
vehapperiziH6522 →23 times
אָ֖זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
יֹשֵׁ֥ב[was] dwelling
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
בָּאָֽרֶץ׃in the land
baaretzH776 →2504 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
James 3:16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
it leads to
- James 3:14
But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- 1 Corinthians 3:3
for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
- 1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace—as in all the churches of the saints.
- James 3:14
Through
James 4:1What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:11
Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
- Galatians 5:17
For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.
- Romans 7:23
But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.
- James 1:14
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
- Romans 8:7
because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
- 1 Peter 2:11
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 33.6; 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.