Save "Genesis 13 with Caroline"
Genesis 13 with Caroline
Umberto (Moshe David) Cassuto (1883-1951), a twentieth-century Italian historian, rabbi, and scholar, wrote a popular Hebrew commentary on the Bible, as well as more detailed commentaries on the book of Genesis and part of the book of Exodus. His commentary is marked by an assumption that in order to understand the Bible, one must understand the ancient Near Eastern cultural context in which it was composed.

(א) וַיַּ֩עַל֩ אַבְרָ֨ם מִמִּצְרַ֜יִם ה֠וּא וְאִשְׁתּ֧וֹ וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֛וֹ וְל֥וֹט עִמּ֖וֹ הַנֶּֽגְבָּה׃

(1) From Egypt, Abram went up into the Negeb, with his wife and all that he possessed, together with Lot.

פיסקה רביעית: החזרה לארץ כנעןויעל אברם ממצרים. כאן, סמוך לסיום הסיפור, בא ביטוי מקביל הקבלה ניגודית למה שנאמר בתחילתו. נאמר שם (פס׳ י׳): וירד אברם מצרימה; וכאן נאמר במלים מקבילות: ויעל אברם ממצרים...

Here, it is attached to the end of the story- it is a parallel to that which was said above. It is said there: "And Abram went down to Egypt." And here it says in parallel words: "And Abram came up from Egypt"...

David Kimchi (Radak) (1160-1235) was a Provencal rabbi, biblical commentator, grammarian and philosopher, born to a family of grammarians and commentators.

(ד) אֶל־מְקוֹם֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ אֲשֶׁר־עָ֥שָׂה שָׁ֖ם בָּרִאשֹׁנָ֑ה וַיִּקְרָ֥א שָׁ֛ם אַבְרָ֖ם בְּשֵׁ֥ם יהוה׃

(4) the site of the altar that he had built there at first; and there Abram invoked יהוה by name.

אל מקום המזבח, הוסיף לבאר עוד להודיע כי לא נטה אהלה במקום אחר באותו ההר אלא באותו מקום שעשה שם המזבח בראשונה, וכל זה להודיע כי ראוי לאדם לקבוע מקום לתפלתו ולעבודתו את יהוה; כי יותר לבו נכון במקום שהוא רגיל בו. ויקרא שם, פעם אחרת בשם יהוה:

אל מקום המזבח, the Torah details further that Avram did not only return to the mountainous region of which we had been told in 12,8 but that he returned to exactly the place where he had prayed previously. We are to learn from this how important it is for a person to appoint a definitive spot from where to offer his prayers on a regular basis. It is easier to concentrate when one is in familiar surroundings. Now that he had returned to this altar, Avram preached a second time in the name of the Lord, [no doubt telling people of his miraculous escape from Egypt, laden with new riches. Ed.]

(ח) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אַבְרָ֜ם אֶל־ל֗וֹט אַל־נָ֨א תְהִ֤י מְרִיבָה֙ בֵּינִ֣י וּבֵינֶ֔ךָ וּבֵ֥ין רֹעַ֖י וּבֵ֣ין רֹעֶ֑יךָ כִּֽי־אֲנָשִׁ֥ים אַחִ֖ים אֲנָֽחְנוּ׃(ט) הֲלֹ֤א כׇל־הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ לְפָנֶ֔יךָ הִפָּ֥רֶד נָ֖א מֵעָלָ֑י אִם־הַשְּׂמֹ֣אל וְאֵימִ֔נָה וְאִם־הַיָּמִ֖ין וְאַשְׂמְאִֽילָה׃

(8) Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, between my herders and yours, for we are kin.(9) Is not the whole land before you? Let us separate: Let us separate.If you go north, I will go south; and if you go south, I will go north.”

ביני ובינך, כי אם יריבו רועינו, אי אפשר שלא נריב אנחנו:

ויאמר...ביני ובינך, if our shepherds keep on quarrelling it will not be long before we start quarrelling ourselves.

הלא כל הארץ לפניך, כמו לפני, כי בכל מקום אשר תהיה לא יהרגוך אנשיהם ולא ירעו לך, כי עזרת האל תהיה עמך בעבורי ובעבור שהלכת בדרכי להכיר הבורא.

הלא כל הארץ לפניך, you have the same options as I have, as no one will object to the area which we will choose to graze our herds on. G’d’s assistance will be at your side on my account, and on account of the fact that you had joined me on my search for the true Creator in order to come closer to Him.

Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin (1945–2020) was an expert in Jewish law. He was born in the United States, but moved to Israel in 1972. He authored Benei Banim as well as several other book. He was considered a pioneer in women’s leadership in Modern Orthodoxy. His wife, Rabbanit Chana Henkin, founded Nishmat, a seminary in Jerusalem for women to study Torah.
Chaim ibn Attar or Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar (1696-1743) also known as the Or ha-Ḥayyim after his popular commentary on the Torah, was a Talmudist and Kabbalist. He is arguably considered to be one of the most prominent Rabbis of Morocco, and is highly regarded in Hassidic Judaism.

(יד) וַֽיהוה אָמַ֣ר אֶל־אַבְרָ֗ם אַחֲרֵי֙ הִפָּֽרֶד־ל֣וֹט מֵֽעִמּ֔וֹ שָׂ֣א נָ֤א עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ וּרְאֵ֔ה מִן־הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֣ה שָׁ֑ם צָפֹ֥נָה וָנֶ֖גְבָּה וָקֵ֥דְמָה וָיָֽמָּה׃

(14) And יהוה said to Abram, after Lot had parted from him, “Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west,

צפנה ונגבה וקדמה וימה. כולל ככר הירדן שלוט בחר בו, כי אברהם יירש את הכל.

This includes the area of the Jordan that Lot chose, for Abraham was set to inherit it all

וראה מן המקום. טעם שהוצרך לומר מן המקום אשר אתה שם. כאן עשה לו נם עצום שיוכל לראות מצפון לדרום וממערב למזרח ממקום אחד מבלי שיוצרך לסובב:

וראה מן המקום, "and look from the place, etc." G'd had to emphasise the word מן המקום to alert us to the miracle that He expanded Abraham's sense of vision so that he could see the entire land of Israel from the place he stood on. He did not even have to turn around to look in the different directions.