Abraham and Lot's conflict ( he, מריבת רועי אברהם ורועי לוט, ''Merivat Roey Avraham Ve'Roey Lot'') is an event in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

, in the

weekly Torah portion It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is po ...

, Lech-Lecha, that depicts the separation of

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

and

Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

, as a result of a fight among their shepherds. The dispute ends in a peaceful way, in which Abraham concedes a part of the

Promised Land The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...

, which belongs to him, in order to resolve the conflict peacefully.

Biblical narrative

In Genesis 13:5-13, Abraham (then called Abram) and Lot separate, as a result of the quarrel among the shepherds. At the beginning of the story, Lot is described as a very wealthy man, like Abraham is after his return from Egypt. The biblical text does not elaborate on the exact reason for the dispute, however, as a result of this, Abraham offers Lot to separate, in order to prevent the fight, and he grants Lot with the right to be the first among the two to pick the territory he desires:

Robert Alter Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He published his translation of the Hebrew Bible in 2018. Biography Rober ...

suggests that Abraham's language is "clear, firm and polite." Lot accepts the peace deal, for the Partition of the Land, and chooses the area of the plain of the Jordan – in the area including

Sodom Sodom may refer to: Places Historic * Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis United States * Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town * Sodom, New York, a hamlet * Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Sodom, West Virginia, an ...

, and the story ends with Abraham and Lot separately settling in different areas of the Land:

Outcome

The reference to

in verse 13 suggests that Lot made a bad choice. The narrator uses Lot's choice of land near Sodom as a way of foreshadowing Lot's role in the

Battle of Siddim The Battle of the Vale of Siddim, also often called the War of Nine Kings or the Slaughter of Chedorlaomer, is an event in the Hebrew Bible book of that occurs in the days of Abram and Lot. The Vale of Siddim was the battleground for the cities ...

, in which Lot is taken captive in battle, and the role of Lot in the destruction of

Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...

pitches his tents near Sodom according to Genesis 13:12. By 14:12, Lot is living in the city itself. The destruction of Sodom is related in chapter 19.

References

{{Book of Genesis Abraham Lot (biblical person) Lech-Lecha