Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Sforno · Torah

Sforno on Genesis 13:12/ספורנו על בראשית י״ג:י״ב

אאַבְרָם יָשַׁב בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁסְּדוֹם וְחַבְרוֹתֶיהָ הֵם מִגְּבוּל הַכְּנַעֲנִי, מִכָּל מָקוֹם יוֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ לֹא הָיוּ כְּנַעֲנִים. אָז אָמַר, אִם כֵּן, שֶׁאַבְרָם בָּחַר לָשֶׁבֶת בְּאוֹתוֹ הַחֵלֶק מִן הָאָרֶץ שֶׁהָיוּ יוֹשְׁבִים בּוֹ בְּנֵי כְנַעַן, שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ כָּל כָּךְ רָעִים כְּאַנְשֵׁי סְדוֹם, וְלֹא קָרַב לִגְבוּל סְדוֹם כְּלָל.
1אברם ישב בארץ כנען, even though the city of Sodom and its satellite towns are on the border of the land of Canaan, the people living in those cities at that time, were not Canaanites. It was therefore in order for the Torah to write that Avram- as opposed to Lot- settled in the land of Canaan. He settled in the part of the land inhabited by Canaanites. They were not as evil as the Sodomites. Avram did not move close to the boundary of Sodom at all.