Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 13:12-13

"Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against Jehovah exceedingly." — Genesis 13:12-13 (ASV)

Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain. —Hebrew, of the Ciccar. Not yet within their walls, but in their neighbourhood, and evidently with a longing “toward Sodom,” where, in Genesis 19:0, we find him sitting in the gate as a citizen, and his tent changed to a house. While Abram continued to lead a hardy life as a stranger upon the bracing hills, Lot sighed for the less self-denying habits of the city; and probably, when he had descended into the Ghor, the enervating climate, which so developed the sensual vices of the people as to make them sinners before Jehovah , disposed Lot also to quit his tent and yield himself to a luxurious and easy manner of living.