Bible Strands
Genesis 13:10
And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Lot looks out at the land after Abram offers him a choice of territory in Genesis 13:9. This observation occurs before the LORD destroys Sodom and Gomorrah.
The words — וַיִּשָּׂא־ עֵינָיו (va/i.yi.sa'- 'ei.Na/v) literally means "and he lifted up his eyes," and כִכַּר (ki.Kar) denotes "the valley" or plain. These terms frame Lot's deliberate visual survey of the terrain.
The thread — The geographic description reaches to Zoar (Deuteronomy 34:3) and anticipates the garden imagery later applied to Zion's restoration (Isaiah 51:3). The watered landscape directly parallels the planted garden described in Genesis 2:8.
Why it lands — The text records Lot's factual observation of agricultural fertility before he makes his choice. Readers must note how visual assessment of immediate abundance precedes a decision that separates him from Abram.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 34:3 the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho (the City of Palms) all the way to Zoar.
- Isaiah 51:3 For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.
- Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.
- Genesis 14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim
- Genesis 14:2 went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
- Ezekiel 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.
- Joel 2:3 Before them a fire devours, and behind them a flame scorches. The land before them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland—surely nothing will escape them.
- Numbers 32:1 Now the Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, and they saw that the region was suitable for livestock.
- 1 Kings 7:46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.
- Ezekiel 31:8 The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare with its branches, nor the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty.