to ascend · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Egypt
מִמִּצְרַ֜יִםmi.mitz.Ra.yim
H4714
Mitsrajim · preposition + proper noun, a place name
wife
וְאִשְׁתּ֧וֹve.'ish.To
H802
a woman · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Lot
וְל֥וֹטve.Lot
H3876
Lot · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
south
הַנֶּֽגְבָּהha.Neg.bah
H5045
the south (from its drought) · definite article + proper noun, a place name + directional suffix
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 12:9-20 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
Joshua 10:40 So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remai…
2 Samuel 24:7 And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, e…
Genesis 20:1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
Genesis 21:33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
Joshua 18:5 And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coast…
1 Samuel 27:10 And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites,…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 13:1-4
I. Here is Abram's return out of Egypt, Gen 13:1. He came himself and brought all his with him back again to Canaan. Note, Though there may be occasion to go sometimes into places of temptation, yet we must hasten out of them as soon as possible. See Rut 1:6.
II. His wealth: He was very rich, Rut 1:2. He was very heavy, so the Hebrew word signifies; for riches are a burden, and those that will be rich do but load themselves with thick clay, Hab 2:6. There is a burden of care in getting them, fear in keeping them, temptation in using them, guilt in abusing them, sorrow in losing them, and a burden of account, at last, to be given up concerning them. Great possessions do but make men heavy and…
Abram went up out of Egypt - into the south - Probably the south of Canaan, as In leaving Egypt he is said to come from the south, Gen 13:3, for the southern part of the promised land lay north-east of Egypt.
John Gill on Genesis 13:1
And Abram went up out of Egypt,.... That country lying low, and so more easy to be watered by the river Nile, as it was, and Canaan being higher; whither he went, but not till the famine in Canaan ceased: he went out of Egypt, as the Jewish (p) chronologers say, after he had been there three months; but Artapanus (q) an Heathen writer, says, he stayed there twenty years:
he and his wife, and all that he had; servants and cattle:
and Lot with him: from whence it is clear that he went down with him into Egypt, and it is highly probable had great respect and favour shown him on account of his relation to Abram and Sarai; for it appears by what follows, that he was become very rich: and they a…
And Abram went up out of Egypt. In the commencement of the chapter, Moses commemorates the goodness of God in protecting Abram; whence it came to pass, that he not only returned in safety, but took with him great wealth. This circumstance is also to be noticed, that when he was leaving Egypt, abounding in cattle and treasures, he was allowed to pursue his journey in peace; for it is surprising that the Egyptians would suffer what Abram had acquired among them, to be transferred elsewhere. Moses next shows that riches proved no sufficient obstacle to prevent Abram from having respect continually to his proposed end, and from moving towards it with unremitting pace. We know how greatly even a…
The Church Fathers
So Abraham left, taking with him his wife Sarah, which means "sovereign," not "servant." Therefore it was said to Abraham, "Listen to your wife Sarah." In fact, she who is liberated from the slavery of sin obtains sovereignty, not servitude. Therefore a sound mind possesses sovereign virtue, which has dominion over the bodily senses, which is not subject, which has brought back everything from Egypt, which has not left there any of the norms that regulate her life. Such a mind is not clothed with intemperance or insolence or shameful immodesty. Nor is it lacking the veil of prudent wisdom, and it is clothed with modesty.
Abram went up therefore from Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the southern region. He does not mean the southern region of Egypt, but of the promised land: for indeed he did not travel southward from Egypt, which whoever does, goes farther from the promised land: but leaving all of Egypt, part of which he had visited, he first ascended to the southern region of the promised land, which was nearest. It should also be noted according to the letter that Abraham is remembered as having previously descended into Egypt, and now ascending from Egypt, because certainly the land of Egypt is considered inferior not only to the land of Canaan but also to other regions of the world, just as conversely the region of the Scythians is said to be elevated higher than other parts of the earth: which can be easily inferred from the courses of the rivers flowing into it from elsewhere and flowing out from it. It fits however most aptly with the typical senses that the land of Canaan should be higher than Egypt, because this indeed represents the promise of the heavenly homeland, while that signifies the oppressions and labors of present life. For this the Lord both promised and gave as an inheritance to his people Israel: but in that land both Abraham encountered peril, though protected immediately by the Lord, and his progeny were for a long time oppressed by a severe servitude, although they themselves were at last miraculously redeemed and led out from there. Therefore the land of promise is higher than the boundaries of Egypt, although situated nearby, because even if the just and the reprobate appear to live a common life outwardly in this age, yet with the great sublimity of a devoted mind, the citizens of heaven surpass all the lovers of this world. Therefore what is said about Abraham that he went up from Egypt, and came with all his own to the southern region, signifies typically that he himself while living in the flesh, and all the elect, that is the children of the same promise, thus for a time turn their thoughts to caring for bodily necessities in the lowest things, so that soon, having fulfilled the same care of the body, they may recall the whole intention of the mind to contemplate the things that are above, and seek to be renewed by the fervor of love and the light of heavenly grace from the Sun of righteousness: for this is…
Dictionary and topics
Abraham — Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named (Gen. 11:27) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises. Till the age of seventy, Abram sojourned among his kindred…
Lot — (Heb. goral, a “pebble”), a small stone used in casting lots (Num. 33:54; Jonah 1:7). The lot was always resorted to by the Hebrews with strictest reference to the interposition of God, and as a…
Meekness — A calm temper of mind, not easily provoked (James 3:13). Peculiar promises are made to the meek (Matt. 5:5; Isa. 66:2). The cultivation of this spirit is enjoined (Col. 3:12; 1 Tim. 6:11; Zeph. 2:3),…
South — Heb. Negeb, that arid district to the south of Palestine through which lay the caravan route from Central Palestine to Egypt (Gen. 12:9; 13:1, 3; 46:1-6). “The Negeb comprised a considerable but…
Egypt · .Abraham lives in — .Abraham lives in
Israel · .Prophecies about the multitu — .Prophecies about the multitu
Lot · .Returns with him to Beth-el — .Returns with him to Beth-el
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
This story is set in conflict amid God’s blessings. In the opening verses, Abram returns to a place where he had built an altar. Previous events are emphasized as Abram’s return to the land is described (13:3-4); Abram renewed his worship and again proclaimed the Lord’s name (cp. 12:8).
Rashi on Genesis 13:1
ויעל אברם וגו' הנגבה AND ABRAM WENT UP [OUT OF EGYPT] …TOWARDS THE NEGEB — He went up to proceed to the Southern part of the land of Israel — as it is said above (Genesis 12:9) “going on more and more to the Negeb” — to the Mount Moriah. Still, when one goes from Egypt to the land of Canaan, one proceeds from South to North, because Egypt is to the South of the land of Israel, as may be proved from the account of the journeys that the Israelites made in the wilderness and from the description of the boundaries of the land of Israel (see Numbers 33 and Numbers 34).