Genesis 13:13
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But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Abram, having returned from Egypt to the south of Canaan with his wife and property uninjured, through the gracious protection of God, proceeded with Lot למסּעיו "according to his journeys" (lit., with the repeated breaking up of his camp, required by a nomad life; on נסע to break up a tent, to remove, see Exo 12:37) into the neighbourhood of Bethel and Ai, where he had previously encamped and built an altar (Gen 12:8), that he might there call upon the name of the Lord again. That ויּקרא (Gen 13:4) is not a continuation of the relative clause, but a resumption of the main sentence, and therefore corresponds with ויּלך (Gen 13:3), "he went...and called upon the name of the Lord there," has been correctly concluded by Delitzsch from the repetition of the subject Abram.
Open source ↗In this chapter we have a further account concerning Abram. I. In general, of his condition and behaviour in the land of promise, which was now the land of his pilgrimage. 1. His removes (Gen 13:1, Gen 13:3, Gen 13:4, Gen 13:18). 2. His riches (Gen 13:2). 3. His devotion (Gen 13:4, Gen 13:18). II. A particular account of a quarrel that happened between him and Lot. 1. The unhappy occasion of their strife (Gen 13:5, Gen 13:6). 2. The parties concerned in the strife, with the aggravation of it (Gen 13:7). III. The making up of the quarrel, by the prudence of Abram (Gen 13:8, Gen 13:9). IV. Lot's departure from Abram to the plain of Sodom (Gen 13:10-13). V. God's appearance to Abram, to confirm the promise of the land of Canaan to him (Gen 13:14, etc.).
Open source ↗13:13 The implication is that Lot would not resist Sodom’s influence because he, too, was living for himself.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.
“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death.
Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”