Genesis 13:10-12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 13:10-13

We have here the choice that Lot made when he parted from Abram. Upon this occasion, one would have expected, 1. That he should have expressed an unwillingness to part from Abram, and that, at least, he should have done it with reluctancy. 2. That he should have been so civil as to have remitted the choice back again to Abram. But we find not any instance of deference or respect to his uncle in the whole management. Abram having offered him the choice, without compliment he accepted it, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 13:10

And Lot lifted up his eyes ,.... He immediately fell in with Abram's proposal, but had not the ingenuity to return back the choice to Abram which he gave him, but took the advantage of it; nor did he show any uneasiness or unwillingness to part from Abram, though so near a relation, and so wise and good a man, and by whose means greatly he had obtained his riches; but without giving himself any concern about this, he at once cast about in his mind where to make his choice; he considered... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 13:11

Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan ,.... Because of its good pasturage, and because of the plenty of water there; the want of both which was the inconvenience he had laboured under, and had occasioned the strife between his and Abram's servants: and Lot journeyed east , or "eastward"; for the plain of Jordan, and that part of the land on which Sodom and Gomorrah stood, were to the east of Bethel: the phrase is by some rendered "from the east" F25 מקדם "ab Oriente", V. L.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 13:12

Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan ,.... In that part of the land strictly so called, where the family of the Canaanites had their abode; for otherwise taking Canaan in a more general sense, the plain of Jordan, and cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, were in the land of Canaan. And Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain ; in the neighbourhood of them, or near those cities, which were built on the plain of Jordan, for he could not dwell in more than one, if in one; for it looks as if at his first... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 13:10

Like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar - There is an obscurity in this verse which Houbigant has removed by the following translation: Ea autem, priusquam Sodomam Gornorrhamque Do minus delerit, erat, qua itur Segor, tota irrigua, quasi hortus Domini, et quasi terra Aegypti . "But before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it was, as thou goest to Zoar, well watered, like the garden of the Lord, and like the land of Egypt." As paradise was watered by the four neighboring... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 13:11

Then Lot chose him all the plain - A little civility or good breeding is of great importance in the concerns of life. Lot either had none, or did not profit by it. He certainly should have left the choice to the patriarch, and should have been guided by his counsel; but he took his own way, trusting to his own judgment, and guided only by the sight of his eyes: he beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered, etc.; so he chose the land, without considering the character of the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 13:10

Verse 10 10.And Lot lifted up his eyes. As the equity of Abram was worthy of no little praise; so the inconsideration of Lot, which Moses here describes, is deserving of censure. He ought rather to have contended with his uncle for the palm of modesty; and this the very order of nature suggested; but just as if he had been, in every respect, the superior, he usurps for himself the better portion; and makes choice of that region which seemed the more fertile and agreeable. And indeed it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 13:1-13

The separation between Abram and Lot. Return to Bethel—to the altar. The circumstances of the patriarch were very different. He was very rich. Lot is with him, and the sojourn in Egypt had far more depraving effect upon his weaker character than upon that of his uncle. We should remember when we take the young into temptation that what may be comparatively harmless to us may be ruinous to them. The subsequent misery of Lot's career may be all traced to the sojourn in Egypt. I. The root... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 13:10

And Lot lifted up his eyes . Circumspexit ; with a look of eager, lustful greed (cf. Genesis 3:6 ). The same expression is afterwards used of Abram ( Genesis 13:14 ), where perhaps also the element of satisfaction, though in a good sense, is designed to be included. And beheld all the plain. Literally, all the circle, or surrounding region ( כִּכָּר , from כָּרַר , to move in a circle; cf. arrondissement, Fr.; kreis or bezirk, Ger.); περίχωρος ( LXX ; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 13:10

The choice of Lot. I. THE EXCELLENCE OF LOT 'S CHOICE . 1. Beautiful . Viewed from the Bethel plateau, at the moment perhaps gilded with the shimmering radiance of the morning sun, the Jordan circle was a scene of enchanting loveliness; and in yielding to the fascinations of the gorgeous panorama that spread itself out on the distant horizon it cannot be affirmed that Lot committed sin. The Almighty Maker of the universe loves beauty, as his works attest ( Ecclesiastes... read more

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