1Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev desert.
2Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.
3He traveled from the Negev Desert to Bethel, to the place where his tent had first been pitched, between Bethel and Ai.
4At that spot, he had built an altar in the beginning, and there Abram prayed to Yahweh.
5Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also owned flocks, herds, and tents.
6The land could not support both of them living together, because they owned so many possessions.
7Arguments broke out between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. At that time, the Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.
8Abram said to Lot, "Please, let's not have any arguments between us, or between our herdsmen, because we are family.
9Isn’t the whole land open to you? Please, let’s separate. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right. If you go to the right, I’ll go to the left."
10Lot looked up and saw that the entire Jordan Valley was well-watered everywhere. This was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. The valley was like the garden of Yahweh, or like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
11So Lot chose the Jordan Valley for himself. Lot traveled east, and they separated from each other.
12Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the valley and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
13Now the people of Sodom were extremely wicked and sinned against Yahweh.
14After Lot had separated from him, Yahweh said to Abram, "Now, look up from where you are—north, south, east, and west.
15I will give all the land you see to you and to your descendants forever.
16I will make your descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.
17Get up and walk through the land, both its length and its width, because I am giving it to you."
18Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oak trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron. There he built an altar to Yahweh.