Genesis 13:6

But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator records the logistical crisis between Abram and Lot after both households have accumulated flocks, herds, and tents. The moment occurs immediately before the herdsmen of each man begin to quarrel over grazing space.

The words — נָשָׂא (naśāʾ) translates literally as "to bear" or "to support," and יַחְדָּו (yachdāw) means "together." The text states the land could not bear their combined presence while they dwelt together.

The thread — The narrative of overcrowded livestock forcing separation runs in Genesis 36:6, where Esau relocates his household due to the land's inability to sustain his possessions. The tension between material accumulation and spatial limits also appears in Ecclesiastes 5:10 and Luke 12:17.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to acknowledge that physical space and resources impose hard limits on human coexistence. It demands a practical decision to separate when shared living becomes logistically unsustainable.

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

וְלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not נָשָׂ֥אna.Sa'it supported אֹתָ֛ם'o.Ta/m<obj.>/ them הָאָ֖רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ land לָשֶׁ֣בֶתla./She.vetto/ dwell יַחְדָּ֑וyach.Davtogether כִּֽי־ki-for הָיָ֤הha.Yahit was רְכוּשָׁם֙re.khu.Sha/mpossession[s]/ their רָ֔בRavmuch וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not יָֽכְל֖וּya.khe.Luthey were able לָשֶׁ֥בֶתla./She.vetto/ dwell יַחְדָּֽו׃yach.Davtogether

King James Version

And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

Cross-references

Genesis 36:6 Later, Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the people of his household, along with his livestock, all his other animals, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan, and he moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
Luke 12:17 So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’
1 Timothy 6:9 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.