Literary Devices – Bereshit 13/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 13

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Character Titles

Lot

When Avraham begins the journey to Egypt in Bereshit 12:5, Sarai is identified as his wife and Lot as his brother’s son.  By contrast, when the family leaves Egypt in 13:1, Sarai is still identified as his wife but Lot is not given a relational epithet.  This implies that Lot’s relationship with Avraham frayed during the time in Egypt, leading to their separation in Ch. 13. 

 

Articles See R. Joseph Soloveitchik, Abraham’s Journey (New York, 2008):117-119, who discusses how Lot's being attracted to Egyptian materialistic culture contributed to the rift between him and Avraham.¹

¹ He writes, “Something happened in Egypt . . . . Lot also traveled with him, but no longer as a member of Abraham’s family. . . Egypt was the world’s most advanced country, and Abraham was a shepherd. Lot was completely overpowered and overwhelmed by the stupendous Egyptian culture, civilization, and technology. He could not resist the influence of the environment. Abraham could, Sarah could, but Lot couldn’t. Here is the acid test of a Jew: can he resist environmental pressures, can he withstand the impact of a culture that is materially great but morally and ethically very primitive?”