Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“There was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land at that time. Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are relatives. Isn’t the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left hand, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right hand, then I will go to the left.””
(Genesis 13:7-9)

It wasn’t the family that quarrelled, but their staff. There were other people living in the region (the Canaanites and the Perizzites), so they couldn’t simply do whatever they wanted wherever they wanted. There were limited resources and each group of men wanted what was best for their master. They did not want to have to travel way off the track or find new resources or expend a lot of effort. Instead, they bickered and argued and were at the point of coming to blows over it.

Abram was a peacemaker. He didn’t want trouble. And he honoured his nephew, letting him have the choice. He wasn’t going to stir up more trouble by high-handedly demanding something. He used gentle words. He made a generous offer. In a sense, he was letting Lot borrow a piece of the Land that he knew would one day be his (because of God’s promise). He was going to be so blessed, he could afford to be magnanimous. Also, Abram knew that regardless of what piece Lot chose, Abram would prosper in the other. Abram was so sure of God’s promises of increase that it did not matter where the staring point was. Abram was going to end up BLESSED.

This whole issue could have been avoided by Abram having obeyed God in the first place. If he had separated himself from his relatives, there would have been no one to share the resources that were available to him. This Land had not been promised to Lot. There should never have been a situation where Abram was seeking to ‘share’ his inheritance.

Notice also that it was Abram taking the lead in this situation. Lot was silent and letting things unfold however they were going to unfold. Abram was a leader. Lot was a follower.

The sage Rashi writes: ‘ויהי ריב AND THERE WAS A QUARREL because Lot’s shepherds were wicked men and grazed their cattle in other people’s fields. Abram’s shepherds rebuked them for this act of robbery, but they replied, “The land has been given to Abram, and since he has no son as heir, Lot will be his heir: consequently this is not robbery”. Scripture, however, states: “The Canaanite and the Perizzite abode then in the land”, so that Abram was not yet entitled to possession (Genesis Rabbah 41:5).’

The sage Ramban writes: ‘By way of the plain meaning of Scripture the quarrel concerned the pasture as the land could not support them both. When Abram’s cattle were grazing in the pasture, Lot’s shepherds would come into their territory and graze their cattle there. Now Abram and Lot were both strangers and sojourners in the land. Abram, therefore, feared that the Canaanite and the Perrizite, who inhabit the land, might hear of the abundance of their cattle, [whose great number was made apparent when Lot’s shepherds encroached on Abram’s land, thereby combining the flocks], and drive them out of the land or slay them by sword and take their cattle and wealth since the mastery of the land belonged to them, not to Abram. This is the purport of the verse, And the Canaanite and the Perrizite. Scripture thus mentioned that there were many peoples dwelling in that land, they and their cattle being innumerable, and the land could not support them and Abram and Lot.
From the word oz (then) — [And the Canaanite and the Perrizite abode ‘then’ in the land] — it appears to me that the nations dwelling in the land at that time were those who live in tents and have cattle, some of them converging on one district and grazing there for a year or two and then journeying from there to another district in which they had not previously pastured. And so they continued to do, as is customary among “the children of the east.” The Canaanite and the Perrizite were thus “then” in the land of the south, and in the following years the Jebusite and the Amorite would come there.’

The sage Steinsaltz writes: ‘Abram said to Lot: Please, let there be no quarrel between me and you and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. When herdsmen disagree with one another, each group complains to their master, which could eventually lead to a fight between the heads of the two groups, Abram and Lot. Abram did not wish to become embroiled in a conflict with his relative. Isn’t the whole land before you? Since Abram and Lot were not looking to settle down, but were merely seeking pasture, the entire land was available to them, without restrictions. Please, part from me, and we will head in different directions; we do not need to dwell in the same place. So choose which territory you would like: If you go to the left, I will go to the right; and if you go to the right, I will go left.‘