1 And Abram goeth up from Egypt (he and his wife, and all that he hath, and Lot with him) towards the south ;
2 and Abram [is] exceedingly wealthy in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he goeth on his journeyings from the south, even unto Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the commencement, between Bethel and Hai —
4 unto the place of the altar which he made there at the first, and there doth Abram preach in the name of Jehovah.
5 And also to Lot, who is going with Abram, there hath been sheep and oxen and tents ;
6 and the land hath not suffered them to dwell together, for their substance hath been much, and they have not been able to dwell together ;
7 and there is a strife between those feeding Abram's cattle and those feeding Lot's cattle ; and the Canaanite and the Perizzite [are] then dwelling in the land.
Note · Genèse 13.1–7
Des biens qui compliquent la coexistence
Les richesses des deux maisons ne garantissent pas leur accord. Le conflit concerne les bergers et la capacité du pays à accueillir leurs troupeaux ensemble. Le passage invite à regarder les effets relationnels de l’accumulation, sans présenter les biens matériels comme mauvais par définition.
8 And Abram saith unto Lot, 'Let there not, I pray thee, be strife between me and thee, and between my shepherds and thy shepherds, for we [are] men — brethren.
9 Is not all the land before thee ? be parted, I pray thee, from me ; if to the left, then I to the right ; and if to the right, then I to the left.'
10 And Lot lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the whole circuit of the Jordan that it [is] all a watered country (before Jehovah's destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, as Jehovah's garden, as the land of Egypt,) in thy coming toward Zoar,
11 and Lot chooseth for himself the whole circuit of the Jordan ; and Lot journeyeth from the east, and they are parted — a man from his companion ;
12 Abram hath dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot hath dwelt in the cities of the circuit, and tenteth unto Sodom ;
13 and the men of Sodom [are] evil, and sinners before Jehovah exceedingly.
Note · Genèse 13.8–13
Une concession qui ne connaît pas tout l’avenir
Abram laisse Lot choisir. Cette initiative apaise une rivalité sans garantir que chaque décision suivante sera heureuse. La proximité de Sodome introduit un risque moral distinct de la qualité des pâturages. Le récit n’autorise pas à juger la valeur d’un lieu par sa seule prospérité.
14 And Jehovah said unto Abram, after Lot's being parted from him, 'Lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes, and look from the place where thou [art], northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward ;
15 for the whole of the land which thou are seeing, to thee I give it, and to thy seed — to the age.
16 And I have set thy seed as dust of the earth, so that, if one is able to number the dust of the earth, even thy seed is numbered ;
17 rise, go up and down through the land, to its length, and to its breadth, for to thee I give it.'
18 And Abram tenteth, and cometh, and dwelleth among the oaks of Mamre, which [are] in Hebron, and buildeth there an altar to Jehovah.
Note · Genèse 13.14–18
Une promesse reçue après la séparation
Dieu invite Abram à regarder le pays et renouvelle la promesse d’une descendance. Abram bâtit un autel, mais demeure sous la tente. L’acte de foi n’efface pas la durée nécessaire à l’accomplissement. Cette parole ancienne ne peut être transférée sans examen en titre de propriété pour un conflit contemporain.
