16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if any one can number the dust of the earth, thy seed also will be numbered.
Therefore [it is] on the principle of faith, that [it might be] according to grace, in order to the promise being sure to all the seed, not to that only which [is] of the law, but to that also which [is] of Abraham's faith, who is father of us all, (according as it is written, I have made thee father of many nations,) before the God whom he believed, who quickens the dead, and calls the things which be not as being; who against hope believed in hope to his becoming father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be:
Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then would thy peace have been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea; and thy seed would have been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof: their name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
And these are the numbers of them according to their fathers' houses. Of Judah the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valour; and next to him was Johanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; and next to him, Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Jehovah; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour. And of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valour, and with him two hundred thousand, armed with bow and shield; and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty thousand ready prepared for war.
And I will make of thee a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
And these are the generations of Esau, that is Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basmath Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. And Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz; and Basmath bore Reuel. And Oholibamah bore Jeush and Jaalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau that were born to him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his possessions, that he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went into a country away from his brother Jacob. For their property was too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were sojourners could not bear them, because of their cattle. Thus Esau dwelt in mount Seir; Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau, the father of Edom, in mount Seir. These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah the wife of Esau; Reuel, the son of Basmath the wife of Esau. -- And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Adah Esau's wife. -- And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basmath Esau's wife. -- And these are the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bore to Esau Jeush and Jaalam and Korah. These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basmath Esau's wife. -- And these are the sons of Oholibamah Esau's wife: chief Jeush, chief Jaalam, chief Korah; these are the chiefs of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Esau, and these their chiefs: he is Edom. These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitant of the land: Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. -- And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. -- And these are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho and Onam. -- And these are the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah. This is the Anah that found the warm springs in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. -- And these are the sons of Anah: Dishon, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. -- And these are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. -- These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan. -- These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. These are the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir. And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned a king over the children of Israel. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; and the name of his city was Dinhabah. And Bela died; and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. And Jobab died; and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. And Husham died; and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the fields of Moab, reigned in his stead. And the name of his city was Avith. And Hadad died; and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. And Samlah died; and Saul of Rehoboth on the river reigned in his stead. And Saul died; and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died; and Hadar reigned in his stead; and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred daughter of Mezahab. And these are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, after their places, with their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling-places in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of Edom.
And Abraham took another wife named Keturah. And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were the Asshurim, and the Letushim, and the Leummim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah, and Epher, and Enoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. And to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and, while he yet lived, sent them away from Isaac his son, eastward to the east country. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: a hundred and seventy-five years. And Abraham expired and died in a good old age, old and full [of days]; and was gathered to his peoples. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which was opposite to Mamre -- the field that Abraham had purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer-lahai-roi. And these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's bondwoman, bore to Abraham. And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their names according to their generations: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedmah. These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, in their hamlets and their encampments -- twelve princes of their peoples. And these are the years of the life of Ishmael: a hundred and thirty-seven years; and he expired and died, and was gathered to his peoples. And they dwelt from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite to Egypt, as one goes towards Assyria. He settled before the face of all his brethren. And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. And Isaac entreated Jehovah for his wife, because she was barren; and Jehovah was entreated of him, and Rebecca his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If [it be] so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of Jehovah. And Jehovah said to her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels; And one people shall be stronger than the other people, And the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red -- all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out; and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. And the boys grew, and Esau became a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field; and Jacob was a homely man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because venison was to his taste; and Rebecca loved Jacob. And Jacob had cooked a dish; and Esau came from the field, and he was faint. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with the red -- the red thing there, for I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me now thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am going to die, and of what use can the birthright be to me? And Jacob said, Swear unto me now. And he swore unto him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and the dish of lentils; and he ate and drank, and rose up and went away. Thus Esau despised the birthright.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 13
Commentary on Genesis 13 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 13
Ge 13:1-18. Return from Egypt.
1. went up … south—Palestine being a highland country, the entrance from Egypt by its southern boundary is a continual ascent.
2. very rich—compared with the pastoral tribes to which Abraham belonged. An Arab sheik is considered rich who has a hundred or two hundred tents, from sixty to a hundred camels, a thousand sheep and goats respectively. And Abram being very rich, must have far exceeded that amount of pastoral property. "Gold and silver" being rare among these peoples, his probably arose from the sale of his produce in Egypt.
3. went on his journeys—His progress would be by slow marches and frequent encampments as Abram had to regulate his movements by the prospect of water and pasturage.
unto the place … between Beth-el and Hai—"a conspicuous hill—its topmost summit resting on the rocky slopes below, and distinguished by its olive groves—offering a natural base for the altar and a fitting shade for the tent of the patriarch" [Stanley].
4. there Abram called on the name of the Lord—He felt a strong desire to reanimate his faith and piety on the scene of his former worship: it might be to express humility and penitence for his misconduct in Egypt or thankfulness for deliverance from perils—to embrace the first opportunity on returning to Canaan of leading his family to renew allegiance to God and offer the typical sacrifices which pointed to the blessings of the promise.
7. And there was a strife—Abraham'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 [Ge 13:8]. Waiving his right to dictate, he gave the freedom of choice to Lot. The conduct of Abraham was not only disinterested and peaceable, but generous and condescending in an extraordinary degree, exemplifying the Scripture precepts (Mt 6:32; Ro 12:10, 11; Php 2:4).
10. Lot lifted up his eyes—Travellers say that from the top of this hill, a little "to the east of Beth-el" [Ge 12:8], they can see the Jordan, the broad meadows on either bank, and the waving line of verdure which marks the course of the stream.
11. Then Lot chose him all the plain—a choice excellent from a worldly point of view, but most inexpedient for his best interests. He seems, though a good man, to have been too much under the influence of a selfish and covetous spirit: and how many, alas! imperil the good of their souls for the prospect of worldly advantage.
14, 15. Lift up now thine eyes … all the land which thou seest—So extensive a survey of the country, in all directions, can be obtained from no other point in the neighborhood; and those plains and hills, then lying desolate before the eyes of the solitary patriarch, were to be peopled with a mighty nation "like the dust of the earth in number," as they were in Solomon's time (1Ki 4:20).
18. the plain of Mamre … built … an altar—the renewal of the promise was acknowledged by Abram by a fresh tribute of devout gratitude.