Genesis 13:7

Summary

The verse reports a conflict between the herdsmen working for Abram's and Lot's livestock, and adds a circumstantial note that the Canaanite and the Perizzite were already inhabiting the land at that time.

Key words

• riv ("quarreling", H7379) — masculine singular noun naming the dispute itself; it is the subject of the verb "was."
• ro'ei ("[the] herdsmen of", H7462B) — qal participle, masculine plural, in construct form; a participle used substantively to mean "those who tend," linked grammatically to what follows ("of the livestock of...").
• mikneh ("[the] livestock of", H4735) — masculine singular noun in construct, chaining the herdsmen to their owner's name (Abram, then Lot).
• az ("then", H0227A) — adverb marking a temporal aside, shifting from the narrative of the quarrel to a background statement about who was living in the land.
• yoshev ("[was] dwelling", H3427) — qal participle, masculine singular, expressing an ongoing state ("dwelling") rather than a punctual action, fitting the descriptive, non-narrative nature of the clause it introduces.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative vav attached to yehi ("it was", H1961), the standard formula introducing a new event in the story. Its subject, riv ("quarreling", H7379), is immediately specified by a double construct chain: "between the herdsmen of the livestock of Abram" and "between the herdsmen of the livestock of Lot." Each bein ("between", H0996G) governs its own participial construct phrase (ro'ei + mikneh + proper name), so the Hebrew twice repeats the full chain "herdsmen of the livestock of [name]" rather than shortening it to "the herdsmen of Abram/Lot." This repetition marks the identical grammatical status of both parties in the dispute.

The second half of the verse breaks from the quarrel narrative. It is joined by ve ("and", H9002) but introduced by the adverb az ("then", H0227A), which here functions to set a temporal frame rather than continue sequential action. The participle yoshev ("[was] dwelling", H3427) describes an ongoing situation — the presence of hakkena'ani ("the Canaanite", H3669A) and haperizzi ("the Perizzite", H6522), each marked with the definite article and grammatically singular though referring to a people as a collective — rather than a new event in the storyline.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew keeps the collective singular form for both peoples (hakkena'ani, haperizzi), and the Vulgate mirrors this with singular "Chananæus" and "Pherezæus," while the LXX renders both as plurals, "Χαναναῖοι" and "Φερεζαῖοι." The English versions (BSB, RV1909) also render them as plurals ("Canaanites," "Cananeo... Pherezeo" varies). Additionally, some translations (BSB, RV1909) shorten the doubled Hebrew construct chain "herdsmen of the livestock of Abram/Lot" to simply "herdsmen of Abram/Lot," while the LXX and Vulgate preserve the fuller construction with "κτηνῶν"/"gregum" ("livestock/flocks").