for Genesis: Creation to Isaac · Part 5 · Genesis 12–14
Abram Leaves Home
8 Adventures40 min
What Happens in Part 5
Genesis 12 opens with the LORD calling Abram to leave his country, his relatives, and his father's household, and go to a land the LORD will show him. God promises to bless Abram and make him into a great nation. Abram, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot leave Haran and travel to Canaan, where Abram builds an altar. A famine then sends the family down to Egypt for a time, and they return to Canaan once it passes. In Genesis 13, Abram is now wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. His herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen begin quarreling because the land cannot support both households at once, so Abram lets Lot choose land first. Lot picks the well-watered plain near Sodom, and Abram stays in Canaan, where God repeats his promise of land and descendants. Genesis 14 describes a war between two groups of kings; the losing side's goods and people, including Lot, are carried off. Abram arms the trained men of his household, pursues the raiders, and rescues Lot along with the captured people and goods. On his way back, Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, blesses Abram and brings out bread and wine, and Abram gives him a tenth of everything.
What We Will Learn
Section
What you will practice
Word Study
Words for family, food, worship, and rescue: descendants, famine, possessions, priest, tithe, captive, rescue
Bible Study
How to track a promise as it is repeated across a passage, and how a writer uses contrast between two characters
Scripture Discovery
The real city of Ur, ancient nomadic travel, and how families like Abram's actually moved and lived
Chapter Summary
Ch.
What happens
12
The Call and the Journey — The LORD calls Abram to leave his country and promises to bless him and make him a great nation. Abram, Sarai, and Lot travel from Haran to Canaan, where Abram builds an altar. A famine sends the family to Egypt for a time before they return to Canaan.
13
Abram and Lot Separate — Back in Canaan, Abram and Lot's herdsmen quarrel over grazing land. Abram lets Lot choose first; Lot picks the well-watered plain near Sodom, and Abram stays in Canaan, where God repeats his promise of land and descendants.
14
The Rescue of Lot — A coalition of eastern kings defeats the kings of the plain and carries off goods and people, including Lot. Abram arms his trained men, pursues, and rescues Lot. Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, blesses Abram, and Abram gives him a tenth of everything.
Part 1
Word Study
Study 7 key words from Genesis 12–14, then answer each question.
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💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyUr: A Royal City Dug from the Sand
Word Study · ArchaeologyGenesis says Abram's family came from Ur. Most scholars think that means the great Sumerian city in southern Iraq, though a few argue for a different Ur farther north. Archaeologist Leonard Woolley excavated the southern city between 1922 and 1934, working for the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania. His team uncovered a large cemetery, including sixteen tombs so richly furnished with gold, jewelry, and fine objects that Woolley called them royal. Woolley filled more than twenty thousand catalogue cards, one for every object he numbered, and newspapers around the world printed stories about the dig for years. Ur turns out to have been a real, wealthy, well-organized city.
descendantsn.Gen 12:7
People who come after someone in their family line
“The LORD promises Abram's descendants the land of Canaan.”
faminen.Gen 12:10
A time when there is not enough food
“A famine in the land sends Abram's family down to Egypt.”
possessionsn.Gen 13:2
Things a person owns
“Abram returns to Canaan with many possessions, including livestock and silver.”
priestn.Gen 14:18
Someone who serves God and leads others in worship
“Melchizedek is described as a priest of God Most High.”
tithen.Gen 14:20
A tenth part given as an offering
“Abram gives Melchizedek a tithe of everything he has recovered.”
captiven.Gen 14:14
Someone taken and held by force during a conflict
“Abram sets out to rescue Lot, who has become a captive.”
rescuev.Gen 14:16
To save someone from danger
“Abram and his men rescue Lot and bring back the people and goods.”
ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear word-for-word in your Bible.
1People who come after someone in their family line are called their ___.Gen 12:7
2In Genesis 12, a ‘famine’ is a time when there is too much food to store.Gen 12:10
3Write your answer in the blank, then click Check.Gen 14:18
Word choices:priestcaptivefaminedescendants- some words will not be used
Melchizedek is described as a of God Most High as well as a king.
4A tenth part given as an offering is called a ___.Gen 14:20
5In Genesis 14, Lot becomes a captive when the eastern kings carry off the goods and people of Sodom.Gen 14:12
6In Genesis 14, Abram refuses to rescue Lot because the two men are no longer on good terms.Gen 14:14–16
7Write your answer in the blank, then click Check.Gen 14:16
Word choices:rescuetithepriestpossessions- some words will not be used
Abram and his men Lot, bringing back the captured people and goods.
Part 2
Understanding
Show you understood what happens in Genesis 12–14.
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💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyTracking a Promise Across a Passage
Close Reading · Repeated DetailThe LORD's promise to Abram is not stated just once. In Genesis 12, God tells Abram he will make him a great nation and bless him. In Genesis 13, after Abram lets Lot choose land first, God tells Abram to look in every direction, since all the land he can see will belong to his descendants, who will be as many as the dust of the earth. A careful reader notices when a passage restates something already said, because the second time usually adds a new detail — here, the size and shape of the promise grows clearer each time it returns. Watching for a repeated promise is one way to find what a passage cares about most.
1What does the LORD tell Abram to do at the start of Genesis 12?Gen 12:1
2Why do Abram and Lot's herdsmen begin quarreling in Genesis 13?Gen 13:6–7
3Which land does Lot choose when Abram lets him pick first?Gen 13:10–11
4What does Abram do once he hears that Lot has been carried off?Gen 14:14
5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order across Genesis 12–14. Number 1 = what happens first.Gen 12–14
Abram lets Lot choose land first, and Lot picks the plain near Sodom.
Abram rescues Lot, and Melchizedek blesses Abram.
The LORD calls Abram to leave Haran for Canaan.
A famine sends Abram's family to Egypt for a time.
Eastern kings defeat the kings of the plain and carry off Lot.
6God repeats his promise of land and descendants to Abram after Lot chooses to live near Sodom.Gen 13:14–17
7Melchizedek is described only as a king, with no mention of any role in worship.Gen 14:18
Part 3
Literary Craft
Understanding HOW and WHY Genesis tells the story across Genesis 12–14.
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💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storySame Story, Different Choices
Literary Craft · ContrastGenesis 13 places two choices side by side. The land cannot support both Abram's and Lot's herds, so Abram offers Lot the first pick. Lot looks at the land and chooses the well-watered plain for himself. Abram, who could have taken the better land since he is the elder, instead lets Lot go first and settles for what remains. Writers often place two characters' choices next to each other on purpose, so a reader can compare them without being told directly what to think. This is called contrast — showing two things side by side so the difference between them stands out on its own.
Contrast
Placing two things side by side so a reader can see how they differ. Abram lets Lot choose land first; Lot picks the better-watered plain for himself, a contrast in what each man chooses.
Setting
The time and place of a story. Genesis 12–13 moves Abram's setting from Haran to Canaan to Egypt and back to Canaan, tracing his journey through changing places.
Repetition
A word or idea repeated on purpose. God repeats his promise of land and descendants to Abram more than once across Genesis 12–13, keeping the promise in view.
1What is contrast?Gen 13
2Fill in the blank with the correct word.Gen 13
Word choices:contrastsettingrepetitionfamine- some words will not be used
Placing Abram's and Lot's choices side by side is an example of .
3How does Genesis 12–13 use setting?Gen 12–13
4Abram lets Lot choose land first even though Abram could have chosen for himself.Gen 13:9
5A repeated promise in a passage is always a copying mistake by the writer.Gen 12–13
6Fill in the blank with the correct word.Gen 12–13
Word choices:settingcontrastrepetitiontithe- some words will not be used
The time and place of a story is called its .
7What does noticing contrast between Abram and Lot help a reader do?Gen 13
Part 5
Wisdom
Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it out.
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💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyLife on the Move in the Ancient Near East
Archaeology · Daily LifeFamilies like Abram's, moving between cities with herds of sheep and goats, were part of a real, well-documented way of life. Thousands of clay tablets recovered from the ancient city of Mari, written mostly in Akkadian, record letters between kings and local officials about herding groups moving with their flocks between settled cities. These groups kept close ties to city life — trading, making agreements, and sometimes settling down — while also living seasonally in tents beyond the city walls. The Mari letters show this back-and-forth movement was normal across the region in roughly Abram's era, not a rare or unusual lifestyle.
Read Genesis 12–14 in your Bible first. Notice exactly what the LORD promises Abram at the very start, and watch for that same promise being restated later in Genesis 13 with a new detail added. Then look closely at how Abram and Lot each choose when they have to separate — what each choice shows about each man, without the passage stating it directly. Finally, follow the rescue in Genesis 14 and notice exactly what Abram does and does not accept from the king of Sodom afterward.
Original passage written for this workbook — not a quotation from Scripture.
1Claim: “Genesis 12–14 shows Abram responding to God's call and acting generously and courageously along the way.” — choose the three details that best support it.Claim & Evidence
2Stated in Genesis 12–14, or Not stated there? Tap each detail to send it left or right.Sort into two
◄ Stated in Genesis 12–14Not stated there ►
3Match each first detail with the detail paired with it.Match the Pairs
Sarai→
Lot→
Abram's trained men→
Melchizedek→
The king of Sodom→
4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument
Abram lets Lot choose land first instead of taking the better land for himself because , which shows that .
Part 5
World Discovery (SAT/TOEFL)
Reading passage · Herders on the Move · Ancient Daily Life and Careful Evidence · practices the same reading-comprehension skills tested on the SAT and TOEFL: main idea, detail, vocabulary in context, inference and synthesis.
📖 Read the passage below (the highlighted words are tested), then answer the questions. Tap an answer to select it, tap again to confirm — you get one chance to change it before it's final.
Original passage written for this workbook — not a quotation from Scripture.
Herders on the Move
Thousands of clay tablets were recovered from the ancient city of Mari, on the Euphrates River. Most of them are letters written in the Akkadian language between roughly 1900 and 1800 BC. Many were written by or to officials tracking groups who moved seasonally with herds of sheep and goats between settled cities. These herding groups were not cut off from city life. The tablets show them trading, making agreements, and staying in close contact with kings and local officials, even while living in tents for part of the year. A single ruler could govern both city dwellers and herding groups at once, since the two ways of life overlapped constantly rather than staying separate. Scribes recorded these letters in cuneiform, pressing wedge-shaped signs into soft clay before it dried hard in the sun or an oven. That hardened clay is exactly why so many tablets survived for thousands of years in the region's dry soil. The Mari letters cannot describe every family who moved this way across the ancient Near East, but they do show that this kind of seasonal, herd-based travel between cities was a normal, well-documented part of life in the region.
1What is the passage mostly about?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Main Idea
2Where were the Mari tablets found?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Detail
3In this passage, “govern” most nearly means ___.SAT/TOEFL Reading · Vocabulary in Context
4What evidence shows herding groups stayed in contact with city officials?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Detail
5Why might a ruler have governed both city dwellers and herding groups at once?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Inference
6What kind of evidence does the passage rely on to make its point?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Evidence
7According to the passage, what can and cannot the Mari letters show?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Synthesis
Part 6
Writing
A print-only writing prompt — not part of your online score.
Writing Task — Part 5 “A Hard Choice, Made Well”
In Genesis 13, Abram lets Lot choose land first, even though Abram could have chosen the better land for himself. Think of a time you let someone else go first, or gave up something to keep the peace. What did you give up, and why did you choose to do it? 4–6 sentences. End by saying how it turned out.
You can start with: “One time I let someone else choose first was…”
Write your response on paper or in a notebook. This section is for print and take-home use; it is not scored online.
Part 5 Complete!
You finished Genesis 12–14 of Genesis: Creation to Isaac.
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Teach it to someone
The best last step is to teach it. In your own words, explain what happened — retell a favorite scene, teach a character’s big choice, or sum up the main idea for a parent, friend, or classmate. When you can teach it clearly, you truly own it.
