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The verse Bereshit 13:1 tells us (Sefaria translation):

"From Egypt, Abram went up into the Negeb, with his wife and all that he possessed, together with Lot."

On this verse, the RaDaK comments the following:

ויעל וגו' וכל אשר לו, שלא נפקד ממנו דבר. ולוט עמו. אע"פ שהשבע במצרים לא רצה להפרד מאברהם

What is the השבע referring to, according to the RaDaK? Who were these seven people who came up from Egypt?

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2 Answers 2

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The word is הַשָּׂבָע “hasava”, meaning satiety, rather than הַשֶּׁבַע “hasheva” meaning the seven.

Radak is saying that despite there being food in Egypt, Lot was still willing to leave with Avraham.

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The comment from Radak is referring to Lot. השבע is not referring to The Seven, but means that Lot had satisfaction in Mitzrayim. They provided him what he wanted materially from life. In spite of that, Lot did not want to remain in Mitzrayim and separate from Avram.

This same idea continues in Bereshit 13:10-12 which points out how Lot ultimately chose the territory around Sodom over the balance of Canaan because it was like Mitzrayim.

This is in contrast with Avraham, who rejected what Mitzrayim offered, like is pointed out in Bereshit 14:17-23 when Avram rejects what the King of Sodom offers him as a reward for his military victory.

The essence of this is that Avraham trusted that G-d would provide for him materially with whatever he needed. And this is the meaning of Bereshit 15:1, where Avram is promised that G-d will be his shield and his reward would be very great.

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  • I don't think 13:10-12 is a continuation of the same idea at all. It's the opposite! 13:1 praises him - he's staying with Avraham even though Mitzrayim is materially better. Over the next few months he got more greedy and eventually chose Sodom.
    – Heshy
    Commented Oct 25, 2018 at 18:36
  • @Heshy The trope mark under וכל-אשר-לו is Tevir, which means 'to break' or 'to fracture'. This indicates that Lot was not 'with Avram, his wife and Avram's servants and possessions'. Although Lot left when Avram left, it was not with a whole heart. Commented Oct 25, 2018 at 18:48
  • Ok, I agree, but he still did it. That has to count for something. He wasn't completely off the derech yet. (btw I think the grammatical function of the tevir, which is the biggest mafsik in that pasuk until the tipcha, is a much better support for your argument than its name. Grammar is pshat, trop names are remez at best, and I'm not even sure what you're trying to do with the "brokenness" here.)
    – Heshy
    Commented Oct 25, 2018 at 19:20
  • @Heshy In terms of 'counting for something', Lot and his family didn't die in the holocaust of Sodom and Gemorrah. That is something. Your understanding of trope being Remez, and not Peshat is not understood. Proper reading of the Hebrew, with all the dikduk (including the Trope) is the Peshat meaning. The emphasis is not on Lot's shortcomings, but on the merit of Avraham. Avraham was demonstrating that he trusted HaShem to provide for him materially. According to some of the Meforshim, like Ramban, that was a question when Avram chose to leave Canaan for Mitzrayim during the famine. Commented Oct 25, 2018 at 19:40
  • In a similar fashion, Avram's trust in HaShem was questioned when he made the peace agreement with King Amalek. That question resulted in the test of the Akeidah. And we also see that Yitzchok learned from Avraham's behavior and didn't leave Canaan his entire life, even during famine. Commented Oct 25, 2018 at 19:43

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