Genesis 13:5 kjv

And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

Genesis 13:5 nkjv

Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.

Genesis 13:5 niv

Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

Genesis 13:5 esv

And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,

Genesis 13:5 nlt

Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents.

Genesis 13 verses

Genesis 13 5 Meaning

Genesis 13:5 establishes Lot's considerable material prosperity, specifying that he, like his uncle Abram, possessed significant flocks, herds, and tents. This detail highlights that Lot had also accumulated great wealth, mirroring Abram's affluence which was earlier described in verse 2, setting the scene for the subsequent conflict over resources due to their shared nomadic lifestyle and vast possessions.

Genesis 13 5 Context

Abram (Abraham) and Lot had just returned from their brief stay in Egypt (Gen 12:10-20), where a famine had driven them. Despite Abram's misstep with Pharaoh regarding Sarai, God's protection remained, and they left Egypt significantly wealthier (Gen 13:1-2), reaffirming God's continued blessing. This verse immediately follows the description of Abram's great wealth, establishing that Lot also became very prosperous due to his close association and travels with Abram. The overall context of Genesis 13 is the journey back to Bethel (where Abram had first built an altar to the LORD), and the growing tension between the two households because their combined wealth exceeded the carrying capacity of the land, leading to their necessary separation.

Genesis 13 5 Word analysis

• And Lot also (וְגַם-לְלוֹט, v'gam l'Lot): The opening connective "And also" emphasizes a direct parallelism with Abram's described wealth in verse 2, highlighting Lot's shared prosperity. The word "also" underscores that Lot benefited directly from his close association with Abram, upon whom God's blessings rested, thus setting up Lot as a beneficiary of Abram’s divinely favored status.
• who went with Abram (הַהֹלֵךְ אֶת-אַבְרָם, ha-holekh et-Avram): This phrase acts as a perpetual identifier for Lot, signifying his secondary role in the narrative. He is consistently defined by his companionship with Abram. The participle "who went" indicates an ongoing and defining aspect of his life, a journey initiated and led by Abram under God's explicit call (Gen 12:4-5). This distinction between Abram as the divinely called leader and Lot as the follower is crucial to understanding their later divergence and the subsequent spiritual implications of Lot's choices.
• had (הָיָה, hayah): A simple, fundamental Hebrew verb meaning "to be" or "there was," which here indicates direct and tangible possession. It denotes the objective reality of Lot's accumulated material wealth.
• flocks and herds (צֹאן וּבָקָר, tson u-vakar): These terms represent the primary and most significant forms of wealth for a nomadic pastoral society. Tson (sheep and goats) provided essential resources like wool, milk, and meat, while Baqar (cattle or oxen) offered additional milk, meat, and draught power. The explicit inclusion of both terms indicates substantial livestock holdings, confirming considerable assets.
• and tents (וְאֹהָלִים, v'ohalim): Tents were portable dwellings necessary for their transient nomadic existence, representing their mobile households and the entirety of their transient communities, including their servants. Beyond mere shelter, tents also symbolize the sojourning nature of Abram's covenant life, signifying that he and those with him did not yet possess a fixed inheritance in the promised land (Heb 11:9-10). The abundance of tents further implies numerous individuals within each retinue, demanding significant grazing space and water resources.

Words-group Analysis:

• "And Lot also, who went with Abram": This introductory phrase immediately establishes Lot's identity and fortune in direct relation to Abram. It subtly implies that Lot's prosperity is not inherently self-generated or divinely initiated for him in the same way as Abram’s, but rather derived from his continuous proximity to Abram, upon whom God's primary blessings rested. This sets up a narrative dynamic where Lot’s subsequent actions will reveal whether he has merely inherited wealth or truly embraced the spiritual journey alongside his uncle.
• "had flocks and herds and tents": This precise description of Lot's wealth, mirroring the language used for Abram's possessions in Gen 13:2, highlights the nearly equivalent material prosperity of the two households. This equivalence, surprisingly, does not lead to greater cooperation but instead becomes the immediate source of contention (Gen 13:6). It creates a practical challenge where the land’s resources become insufficient for two such large, mobile, and expanding operations without direct conflict, thereby establishing the necessary precursor for their impending, faith-testing separation.

Genesis 13 5 Bonus section

The biblical narrative often presents Lot as a character who consistently benefits from Abram's presence and God's blessings upon Abram, yet his personal choices reflect a worldly rather than faith-driven perspective. His wealth, described identically to Abram's in this verse, underscores the stark reality that external prosperity does not automatically equate to spiritual discernment or adherence to God's ways. The commonality in possessions in verse 5 serves as a deliberate narrative device, accentuating the parity in their external material situation before their internal differences in faith and priority lead them to distinct destinies. Lot's subsequent choice of the Jordan plain, described as "like the garden of the LORD" but ultimately leading him to the wicked city of Sodom (Gen 13:10-13), poignantly highlights this fundamental contrast between a prosperous material outlook and one anchored in faith in God's specific promises.

Genesis 13 5 Commentary

Genesis 13:5 acts as a pivotal narrative link, confirming that Lot, by virtue of accompanying Abram, had become equally prosperous. This shared abundance, stemming from God's blessings upon Abram, creates the central dilemma of Genesis 13. The text concisely outlines Lot’s substantial material possessions—flocks, herds, and tents—which mirror Abram's wealth described previously. This material success, however, paradoxically introduces practical limitations within the land they occupied. The combined assets of both households placed an insurmountable strain on the available pastures and water sources, rendering harmonious cohabitation impossible. Thus, this verse serves as the essential setup, explaining the immediate and inevitable strife between their respective herdsmen (Gen 13:6-7) that precipitates the significant choice Abram will present to Lot, a choice that will dramatically shape Lot's destiny and highlight the divergent paths of worldly acquisition versus divine promise.