Log inSign up

Genesis 13 · a question people ask

Was Lot wrong to choose the well-watered plain?

Interpretation

Abram offered him the choice (13:9), and the text doesn't say the choice itself was a sin. It does say where it led: toward Sodom, whose men "were exceedingly wicked" (13:12-13). Protestant readers weigh it two ways.

How Christians read it

Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.

A choice made by sight

"Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw… So Lot chose… for himself" (13:10-11). Readers who take this view note that the plain looked "like the garden of the LORD" (13:10), and that the Hebrew "saw… that" is the same pairing used of the woman who "saw that the tree was good" (3:6). The narrator then sets Sodom's wickedness right beside Lot's move (13:12-13).

Genesis 3:6 · Genesis 13:10-13

A fair choice, with hard consequences

Abram gave him the choice, and the land was good. The New Testament calls Lot "righteous", a man "very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked" among whom he lived (2 Peter 2:7-8).

Genesis 13:9 · 2 Peter 2:7-8

From Favor's study of Genesis 13

Genesis 13: Lift up your eyes

Abram, whose offspring were promised the land, lets Lot choose first. Lot lifts up his eyes and moves toward Sodom; then God tells Abram to lift up his eyes, promises all he can see to him and his offspring forever, and promises offspring as countless as the dust.

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

Start your free weekGenesis 13 Bible study

First week free, then $10 a month per person

More questions about Genesis 13

All questions about Genesis →

The best way to learn the Bible

Favor opens up every chapter as you read.

Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.

  • Every chapter explains itself

    As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.

  • The Hebrew and Greek behind it

    Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.

  • Every page leads to Jesus

    Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.

  • Better together

    Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.

  1. 1

    Start your free week

    Sign up in a minute with your email.

  2. 2

    Read a few minutes a day

    Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.

  3. 3

    Bring your people, if you like

    Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person

Questions like this, in every chapter

The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.

There's a seat for you at the table.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions