Abram returned from Egypt to the Negev with his wife and possessions, and Lot traveled with him. Abram had become wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. Moving by stages, he returned to the place between Bethel and Ai where he had built an altar and called on God’s name.
Lot also owned flocks, herds, and tents. Their combined possessions were too great for the land to support them together, and quarrels broke out between their herders. Canaanites and Perizzites also lived in the land.
Abram told Lot that relatives should not remain in conflict. He offered Lot the first choice of land: if Lot went left, Abram would go right, and if Lot went right, Abram would go left. Lot chose the well-watered Jordan plain and traveled east, pitching his tents near Sodom. Abram remained in Canaan.
After Lot left, God told Abram to look in every direction. God promised to give the land he could see to him and his descendants and to make those descendants as numerous as the dust. Abram moved his tents to the oaks of Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar to God.