Lot bets on Sodom, moving there
1Abram and his caravan left Egypt and traveled to the Negev. [1] He took his wife and everything he owned. His nephew Lot left with him. 2By this time, Abram was rich with livestock, silver, and gold. 3Abram left the Negev and started backtracking north toward Bethel, camping at different locations along the way. He eventually arrived at a site where they had camped earlier, between Bethel and Ai. 4This was the same place Abram had built a stone altar and worshiped the LORD.5Abram wasn’t the only one rich. His nephew Lot had also gotten rich with livestock and tents. 6Abram and Lot had so much livestock that the land couldn’t support the combined herds and flocks. There wasn’t enough pasture and water to go around. 7Arguments broke out between the two men’s herders. This took place when Canaanites and Perizzites lived in the area.
8Abram told Lot, “We’re family. There should not be any bickering between you and me or between your servants and mine. 9Why don’t we give ourselves some elbowroom. This whole region is ours for the grazing. You go in one direction and I’ll go in the other.” 10Lot took a good look around and saw that the Jordan River Valley in the direction of Zoar looked like the perfect place—much like the Nile River Valley. It seemed like a garden good enough for the LORD. This was before the LORD wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah. [2]
11Lot chose the entire Jordan River Valley, east of where they were camping at the time. And that’s where he moved. Abram and Lot parted company. 12Abram stayed west of the river, camping in the fields of Canaan. [3] Lot lived among the cities on the plain in the sprawling valley. He pitched his tents as far south as Sodom. 13The people of Sodom were a poor excuse for human beings. Terrible sinners against the LORD.
