Limitless Word
to the site where he had built the altar. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
Genesis 13:4 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on Yahweh’s name.
  • KJV Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
  • NKJV to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
  • NASB to the place of the altar which he had made there previously; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
  • NLT This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped the Lord again.

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

At his former altar Abram called on Yahweh's name. He resumes worship after his time in Egypt.

Overview

Abram returns to the altar he had built and again calls on the Lord's name, renewing his public worship. This act of recommitment marks a recovery from the lapse of faith in Egypt. It models repentance and restored fellowship, returning to the Lord at the place of prior devotion.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Jer 29:12Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
  • Gen 12:7–8Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
  • Isa 58:9Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk,
  • Eph 6:18–19Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
  • Ps 116:2Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.
  • Zeph 3:9For then I will restore pure lips to the peoples, that all may call upon the name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
  • Ps 65:1–2For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song. Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion; to You our vows will be fulfilled.
  • Ps 107:1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
  • Ps 42:1–2For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
  • Ps 116:17I will offer to You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.
  • 1 Cor 1:2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
  • Ps 145:18The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
  • Ps 107:15Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.
  • Ps 84:10For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
  • Ps 84:1–2For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts!
  • Ps 26:8O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.
  • Gen 35:1–3Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
  • Gen 13:18So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the Oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
  • Gen 4:26And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD.
  • Ps 107:8Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 13:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 13:4 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.