Komentarz do Rodzaju 13:12

ויאהל means he pitched tents for his shepherds and cattle עד סדום throughout the whole district extending AS FAR AS SODOM.

ABRAM DWELT IN THE LAND OF CANAAN. The meaning thereof is that he dwelt in the remainder of the entire land of Canaan; he did not stay in one place but abode in the entire land of Canaan while Lot settled in one place thereof, namely, the cities of the Plain, for the cities of the Plain are part of the land of Canaan. The meaning of [the plural “cities” in the expression, and Lot dwelt in] the cities of the Plain, is that he dwelt for a time in this city and a time in the other on account of his many cattle. This is the reason that the verse says, So Lot chose him all the plain of the Jordan;¹⁰⁶Verse 11 here. he made a condition with Abram that he [Abram] should not come into the entire Plain.

אברם ישב בארץ כנען, even though the city of Sodom and its satellite towns are on the border of the land of Canaan, the people living in those cities at that time, were not Canaanites. It was therefore in order for the Torah to write that Avram- as opposed to Lot- settled in the land of Canaan. He settled in the part of the land inhabited by Canaanites. They were not as evil as the Sodomites. Avram did not move close to the boundary of Sodom at all.

ויאהל עד סדום, he moved his tent from place to place, almost as far as the city of Sodom.

אברם ישב בארץ כנען, “Avram dwelled in the land of Canaan.” This means that he lived all over the land of Canaan as opposed to Lot who lived only in the Jordan valley. Avram continued the life of a nomad whereas Lot had a firm abode. The words בערי הככר do not mean that Lot lived in several towns of the valley simultaneously but that he lived “in one of the towns of the valley at a time.” This too was due to the extent of his herds. All of those towns were part of the land of Canaan. This is why the Torah wrote that Lot “chose for himself the entire valley of the Jordan river;” he concluded a treaty with Avram that the latter would not move to any part of that valley.

He pitched tents for his shepherds. Rashi is answering the question: Why does it say, “Setting up his tents as far as Sedom,” [if Lot lived in the Plain]? Thus Rashi explains: “He pitched tents for his shepherds.” I.e., he had many tents and pitched them from the Plain until Sedom.

(12-18) Nicht ויאהל ,ויאמר ד׳ ,וישב אברם; sondern ,לוט ישב ,אברם ישב ויאהל אברם ויבא ,וד׳ אמר. Überall wo in dieser Weise nicht durch den עתיד מהופך die Erzählung weitergeführt, sondern durch den עבר unterbrochen und dann erst wieder in das historische Tempus eingeleitet wird, da ist dieser עבר nicht Perfektum, sondern Plusquamperfektum. Es dürfte hier gerade der Gegensatz zu Lot gezeichnet sein. Während Lot rasch und freudig sich von Abrahams isoliertem und isolierendem Wandel lossagte und sich in den Kreis gerade der üppigsten Städte — er wohnte in den Städten und hatte seinen Viehstand bis an Sedom — niedergelassen hatte, obgleich die Städte in einem Grade sittenverderbt waren, dass dies auch dem blödesten Auge auf den ersten Blick erkennbar sein mußte, hatte Abraham nur noch umsomehr in der Isolierung verharrt, in welcher er sich und die Seinigen vor der Berührung mit den kanaanitischen Städten wahrte, und nur sich in solcher Nähe der Menschengesellschaft hielt, ׳קורא בשם ד sein zu können. Hatte er doch eben die schmerzliche Erfahrung gemacht, dass es ihm nicht einmal gelungen war, seinen nächsten Verwandten für sich und seinen Beruf zu gewinnen und zu fesseln! Und erst nachdem Gott ihn ermuntert und gleichsam gebeten hatte, doch über seinen isolierten Standpunkt hinaus zu blicken, und sich furchtlos für sich und sein Prinzip in das Getriebe des ganzen Landes hineinzubewegen, erst da ging Abraham hinein in das eigentliche Land und ließ sich in Hebron nieder.

ויאהל עד סדום, “he erected his tents as far as Sodom.” He did not take up residence inside the city of Sodom, because he knew that those people were evil and wicked. This is also why later on the Torah described Lot as sitting in the gateway to Sodom. (19,1) His house, though part of the wall of Sodom, had its entrance outside that wall.

ויאהל עד סדום “his tent extended as far as the town of Sodom.” Here the Torah taught us something detrimental about Lot. He chose the proximity of evil people and pitched his tent among them. This is why the Torah immediately continues with telling us what kind of people lived in Sodom.