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Coffee Time

Welcome to Coffee Time. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and join me here for a short message. I want to be clear that I am not a Pastor by any means and that I do not feel qualified to teach the Bible. I do have a humble interpretation of many verses in the Bible. I hope that you will receive my interpretation as it is intended. Not as an authoritative voice on the deeper meanings of the Bible, but simply one person's humble opinion and personal belief which very well could be completely wrong. My hope in writing down my thoughts here are simply to get others to give some thought to the Bible. If you miss a message, you can find past messages on the "Coffee Time Past Messages" page.

Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

Gen 13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

Gen 13:12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Gen 13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

Gen 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

Gen 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

Gen 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

Gen 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

Gen 13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

This verse tells us that that Lot looked at the plain of Jordan and that it was well watered before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The verse tells us that this area was like the garden of the Lord. Apparently it was much different than what we see today. Currently, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are thought to have been on the South East side of the Dead Sea. This is quite a distance from where Abram and Lot were in this verse. Some people dispute the likely locations of Sodom and Gomorrah based on this verse, saying that lot could not have seen the plain of Jordan if it extended into the area now covered by the Dead Sea. We know that Abram and Lot were between Bethel and Hai. I was curious to know if the skeptics were right. Luckily I was able to find proof that Lot could indeed have seen the area now covered by the Dead Sea from the general area of Bethel and Hai. Keep in mind that all of these locations are in dispute, but most agree on the general areas. Back to the proof. Robert Wanamaker was on a dig at Khirbet el-Maqatir (Ai?) in 2009 and snapped a couple of photos on one particularly clear day. Robert was kind enough to share those photographs with me. Here is one of them.


© Copyright 2009 by Robert Wanamaker Reproduced here with permission

You can see the Dead Sea in the background. It must have appeared very different on that day when Abram and Lot stood looking from a place very near to where this picture was taken. It must have appeared much more green and lush. Perhaps the air was more clear with no haze or smog. How amazing is it that we can combine the word of God with modern technology to virtually stand where Abram and Lot stood on that momentous day thousands of years ago?

The above map shows the locations of all places mentioned in these verses based on today's best information.

Gen 13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

There is no doubt that Lot took what appeared to be the better land. Today, I suspect Lot would have chosen much differently because the conditions have changed dramatically

Gen 13:12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

It is interesting that this verse tells us that Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, but then narrows it down further to the city of Sodom. Sodom means: H5467 sed-ome' From an unused root meaning to scorch; burnt (that is, volcanic or bituminous) district; Sedom, a place near the Dead Sea: - Sodom. I suspect that we are being given a clue as to the behavior of Lot in this verse.

Gen 13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

This verse confirms that the people of Sodom were wicked.

Gen 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: Gen 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

God tells Abram that He will give all the land within sight to Abram and his descendants.

Gen 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

God tells Abram that he will have so many descendants that it will be all but impossible to count them all. Remember that Sarai is barren.

Gen 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

When a person buys their first house or piece of land, they instinctively walk the property. There is something within us that compels us to see and touch and feel what belongs to us. We must confirm with our senses what we own. We walk our land and make plans and daydream about what will go here or there. It is a right of passage for the new owner of a property. God tells Abram to go and walk the land. When God speaks, whatever He speaks is a surety. It is certain. We can trust fully in the word of God. This verse demonstrates that point to Abram.

Gen 13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

This verse is very intriguing to me. I wrote in an earlier article on the verses Genesis 12:6 and 7 that the word "plain" could also be translated as trees. To fully understand what you are about to read, you will need to visit that article, http://godmadeus.com/Coffee%20Time%20Past/Interpretations/Genesis/gen126.127pg.php then return here. Does it make sense that the plain of Mamre is in Hebron? Wouldn't it be more likely that Hebron were in the plain of Mamre? I suggest that this verse would be better translated as trees of Mamre. Then it makes sense from a literal as well as a symbolic point of view. I suggest that the trees of Mamre has a similar symbolic meaning as the trees of Moreh did in Gen 12:6. Trees are of course symbolic of leaders.

Here is the meaning of Mamre: H4471 mam-ray' From H4754 (in the sense of vigor); lusty; Mamre, an Amorite: - Mamre. H4754 maw-raw' A primitive root; to rebel; hence (through the idea of maltreating) to whip, that is, lash (self with wings, as the ostrich in running): - be filthy, lift up self.

Confused? Is this definition telling us that Abram is rebelling? I don't think so. Look at the similarities to the definition in Genesis 12:6 of Sichem which was, to put it simply "a burden". In Genesis 12:6 and 7 there was a Leader " a tree" who was a burden to the Canaanites. I believe in this verse we are being told that there are leaders "multiple trees" who are rebelling against the teachings of the Canaanites.

Here is the meaning of Hebron: H2275 kheb-rone' From H2267; seat of association; Chebron, a place in Palestine, also the name of two Israelites: - Hebron. H2267 kheh'-ber From H2266; a society; also a spell: - + charmer (-ing), company, enchantment, X wide. H2266 khaw-bar' A primitive root; to join (literally or figuratively); specifically (by means of spells) to fascinate: - charm (-er), be compact, couple (together), have fellowship with, heap up, join (self, together), league.

Could it be that Abram joined or began to fellowship with a group of great leaders "trees"? If this is the case, then who would these leaders have been? As stated in the article on Gen 12:6 -7, there were four possibilities. They were Shem, Arphaxad, Salah and Eber. Could Abram have began to fellowship with some of these men. Could some of them have been in the land of Canaan? If so which ones? How could we find out? The Bible refers to Hebron by other names also. Perhaps there is a clue in the meaning of one of the other names by which Hebron is known. To find another name for Hebron let's go to Gen 23:2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Now let's look at the meaning of Kirjatharba H7153 (keer-yath') ar-bah', haw-ar-bah' The second form, used in Neh_11:25, has the article interposed; from H7151 and H704 or H702; city of Arba, or city of the four (giants); Kirjath-Arba or Kirjath-ha-Arba, a place in Palestine: - Kirjath-arba.

The city of the four giants. Could it be that Abram began to fellowship with Shem, Arphaxad, Salah and Eber? It is interesting that in Genesis 12:7 and Genesis 13:18, Abram comes to the "trees" and then builds and altar to the Lord.

See also: Genesis 12:6, 12:7