And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
And there was a strife. Strife from similar causes frequently breaks out among the Arabs in Mesopotamia, as well as in Syria; and this is a reason which is often heard for changing the situation of their encampments-namely, that the herdsmen have had a quarrel. Abram's character appears here in a most amiable light. Having a strong sense of religion, he was afraid of doing anything that might tend to injure its character or bring discredit on its name, and he rightly judged that such unhappy effects would be produced if two persons whom nature and grace had so closely connected should come to a rupture.
The Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land. The Canaanite dwelt chiefly in the Phoenician towns in the west; but were scattered in early times throughout the whole country. The Perizzite denoted the inhabitants of open country villages (see the note at Genesis 12:6; 1 Samuel 6:18). The two terms probably indicate the urban and rural populations respectively (Negeb).
Verse 8. Abram said unto Lot, let there be no strife ... between me and thee ... Waiving his right to dictate, he gave the freedom of choice to Lot. The conduct of Abram was not only disinterested and peaceable, but generous and condescending in an extraordinary degree, exemplifying the Scipture precepts, Matthew 6:33; Romans 12:10-11; Philippians 2:4.
Verse 10. Lot lifted up his eyes. Travellers describe that from the top of this hill (see the note at Genesis 13:3.), a little to 'the east of Beth-el,' they can see the Jordan, the broad meadows on either bank, and the waving line of verdure which marks the course of the stream. It is a curious instance of the use of this phrase, "lifted up his eyes," for Lot must have looked down upon the plain of Jordan lying below.
All the plain of Jordan, [Hebrew, kikar (H3603) and hakikaar (H3603), Genesis 13:12; Septuagint, teen (G3588) perichooron (G4066)], (cf. Matthew 3:5). The Greek means: the circle or circuit space, the tract of country along the Jordan. 'The plain thus chosen was situated in, or at least included, the tract then on the south of the Dead Sea, and now covered by the shallow southern bay of that sea' (Robinson). There were copious springs, which have not yet entirely disappeared, and many small streams which issued from the mountains, east and west, so that there was abundance of sweet water in the plain (namely, of Siddim, Genesis 14:3), lying to the south of the lake, which thus, from the almost tropical climate, exhibited a rich luxuriance of vegetation.
As thou comest unto Zoar. - [Septuagint Zogora]. Lot was looking in the direction; but the little town itself was beyond the range of vision. Our translation, as the original text, clearly asserts that, before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, there was a state of wholesome irrigation which did not exist after that destruction. Any understanding whatever leads to the conclusion that the historian, speaking of the choice which Lot made of the country of his after residence, had based that choice upon an irrigation of the land, and a corresponding beauty and fertility which, in the writer's mind, caused it to resemble a garden of the Lord (Eden). Its previous state was that of the Delta in Egypt, where the waters were distributed in rills, or little artificial channels through the fields.