From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before.
Parallel translations
- WEB He went on his journeys from the South even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
- KJV And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
- BSB From the Negev he journeyed from place to place toward Bethel, until he came to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been pitched,
- NKJV And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
- NASB And he went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abram journeyed back toward Bethel, where he had first camped. He retraces his steps to a place of earlier worship.
Overview
Abram returns to the region between Bethel and Ai, the site of his earlier encampment and altar. The deliberate return suggests a renewal of devotion after his Egyptian detour. Coming back to where he first worshiped pictures the believer's return to the Lord after wandering.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Gen 12:8–9He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name.
- Gen 12:6Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. The Canaanites were in the land, then.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 13:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.