The contrast between pitching a tent and building an altar stuck out to me. Abraham was used to moving frequently with his flocks, but it seems he still wanted something solid to come back to, a reminder of the God who called him and on whose name he called.
Genesis 12:8 ESV
[8] From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
Genesis 13:3-4 ESV
[3] And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, [4] to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.
Genesis 13:18 ESV
[18] So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
