What Does Genesis 13:6 Mean?
And the land could not carry them, that they might settle together; for their gathered goods were great, so that they could not settle together.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And 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.THE KEY
The land itself cannot bear them: even abundance can press a shared life past the space it can hold.
THE MEANING
You can have abundance and still reach the point where a shared place cannot carry everyone together. The Hebrew verb for “bear” pictures carrying or lifting a load, while “dwell” names settled presence; the verse places the strain where possessions, people, and available space meet.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the assumption that more possessions always make it easier to stay together: abundance can grow while the room for shared life runs out.
THE ROOT
נָשָׂא
nasa
GROWS FROM
נ־שׂ־א
n-ś-ʾ
To lift, carry, bear, or take.
“carry” in this verse is nasa. The land is the bearer in this sentence, and it reaches a limit under the weight of what the people possess. English “bear” holds the sense of carrying a load, which makes the problem one of capacity as well as abundance.
ALSO GROWS
massaʾ: A load or burden.
מַשָּׂא
This noun from the same root makes the carrying image explicit: the land cannot bear the people and their possessions together.
nasiʾ: A chief or prince; literally, one raised up.
נָשִׂיא
This branch preserves the root’s image of lifting, while Genesis uses it for the land’s inability to carry.
יָשַׁב
yashav
GROWS FROM
י־ש־ב
y-sh-b
To sit, remain, or dwell.
“settle together” in this verse is yashav. The verse repeats the same verb for dwelling together, so the limit concerns sustained co-presence in one place. The root holds sitting and settling together, making “dwell” more than a brief meeting.
ALSO GROWS
yoshev: An inhabitant or one who dwells.
יֹשֵׁב
This form names someone by their settled presence in a place, the kind of shared occupancy the verse says cannot continue.
moshav: A dwelling place or settlement.
מוֹשָׁב
This noun shows the root extending from the act of dwelling to the place where people settle.
THE PATTERN
Shared space has a carrying capacity: when possessions exceed it, abundance becomes pressure on staying together.
For their gathered goods were too many for them to settle together; and the land of their sojourning could not carry them because of their cattle.And he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have nowhere to gather my fruits?THE THREAD
For their gathered goods were too many for them to settle together; and the land of their sojourning could not carry them because of their cattle.This verse repeats the same Hebrew roots: נָשָׂא (nasa, carry or bear) and יָשַׁב (yashav, dwell or remain). The connection makes the pressure visible in both the land’s carrying capacity and the possibility of staying settled together.
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