Neville Goddard on Genesis 13:1-18 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Genesis 13 in context

Scripture Focus

1And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

2And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

3And 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;

4Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

5And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

6And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

7And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

8And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

9Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

10And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

11Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

12Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

13But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

14And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

15For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

18Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

Genesis 13:1-18

Biblical Context

Abram returns from Egypt with Lot and great wealth. A land dispute forces them apart, with Abram remaining in Canaan and Lot moving toward Sodom; God then reaffirms the land and seed to Abram, who builds an altar.

Neville's Inner Vision

Genesis 13 invites you to test the truth that your outer journey reflects an inner movement of consciousness. Abram’s wealth appears not as something 'out there' to chase, but as a signal of an awakened state you carry within. The Egyptian episode and the later land dispute with Lot mark the friction where old beliefs meet the demand of a larger vision. When Abram says, 'Let there be no strife, for we are brethren,' he refuses to let the outer strife define him, choosing to separate in the sense of honoring his inner covenant rather than clinging to scarcity. Lot’s gaze toward the watered plain mirrors the human tendency to seek security in appearance; Abram’s eyes are lifted by the LORD, who promises land and seed to his descendants. The command to look in four directions and the promise that all the land seen shall belong to Abram reveals that real inheritance is the expansion of consciousness, not possession alone. The dust of the earth imagery points to multiplication through inner state. The final altar at Mamre signals worship as the grounding of the covenant—true wealth thus flows from a heart aligned with the I AM. Separation here clears the path for the larger dream to unfold in consciousness.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Close your eyes and assume you already stand on your inner land—the land promised to you. Feel the abundance, call on the LORD within, and declare, I AM the possessor of all good; let this belief settle into you as your present state.