Abraham and Lot's conflict (, ''Merivat Roey Avraham Ve'Roey Lot'') is an event in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

, in the

weekly Torah portion The weekly Torah portion refers to a lectionary custom in Judaism in which a portion of the Torah (or Pentateuch) is read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' (), is popularly abbre ...

Lech-Lecha Lech-Lecha, Lekh-Lekha, or Lech-L'cha ( ''leḵ-ləḵā''—Hebrew language, Hebrew for "go!" or "leave!", literally "go for you"—the incipit, fifth and sixth words in the parashah) is the third weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the ...

, that depicts the separation of

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

and Lot, 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 In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...

, which belongs to him, in order to resolve the conflict peacefully. (This provides an early example of the

Divide and choose Divide and choose (also cut and choose or I cut, you choose) is a procedure for fair division of a continuous resource between two parties. It involves a heterogeneous good or resource and two partners who have different preferences over parts of ...

procedure for fair division of a continuous resource between two parties.)

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 emeritus of Hebrew language, Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has published two dozen books, including an aw ...

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

Jewish exegesis

Abraham finds the flows of water but, after this, these were closes.

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

and

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

“renew these treasures”: So this water became “bitumen”, i.e. “

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

”.

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definitions ...

was also historically fill of this “element”.

Outcome

The reference to Sodom 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 In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...

. Lot 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