More about how the Bible says we should treat aliens, foreigners, and strangers

I recently came upon this passage, using my regular Bible reading plan:

Ezekiel 47:21 “So you shall divide this land to yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 It will happen, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who will father children among you. Then they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel. They shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 It shall happen, that in whatever tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord Yahweh.

It seems that these verses should be considered in thinking about what the Bible says about treatment of foreigners, aliens and strangers. See here for a previous post, pointing out other several other passages which are probably pertinent.

How the Bible wants us to treat aliens, foreigners and strangers.

Matthew 7:12 Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets. (The Golden Rule)

The Israelites were warned that they should eliminate non-Israelites from the Promised Land. (See, for example, Deuteronomy 31:3-6) However, this was not an absolute command. Most likely, those warnings were really against the false gods of these non-Israelites. Rahab, from Jericho, and Ruth, from Moab, were ancestors of David (and of Christ). They were both non-Israelite followers of God. Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba’s first husband, who lived in Jerusalem, and was part of David’s army, had Canaanite ancestry, and he seems to have also been a follower of God (2 Samuel 11). David placed the Ark into the care of Obed-Edom, the Gittite (2 Samuel 6:10-12). Some bible scholars believe that he was descended from the Philistines from Gath, where Goliath came from, but others believe that “Gittite” has another meaning in this case. David purchased the land, which ultimately became the site of Solomon’s temple from Ornan, a Jebusite, who may have been a non-Israelite (1 Chronicles 21:18-30, 2 Chronicles 3:1, Some Bible translations call him Araunah).

The passages below give further evidence that non-Israelites were allowed to live in the Promised Land. 

Exodus 22:21 You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:9 You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:10 You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God. (This command is repeated in other parts of the Bible.)

Leviticus 19:33 If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

Deuteronomy 10:19 Therefore love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Peter reminds the church of his day that they, too, are, in a sense, foreigners: 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify God in the day of visitation. 

The Bible also says, in reference to a specific refugee crisis:

Isaiah 16:3 Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive! 4a Let my outcasts dwell with you! As for Moab, be a hiding place for him from the face of the destroyer. (This was in spite of the fact that the Moabites hadn’t always been good to Israel. See Josh 24:9, Judg 3:12-30, 1 Sam 12:9.)

Ezekiel 47:21 “So you shall divide this land to yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 It will happen, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who will father children among you. Then they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel. They shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 It shall happen, that in whatever tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord Yahweh.

Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers*, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you are also in the body.

*The NIV Study Bible thinks “strangers” may mean “Christians that you don’t know.” The two commentaries I consulted did not say this. There are Christian refugees, that we don’t know, in our time.

Unfortunately, a recent poll found that only 12% of Christians say that they get their views on immigration from the Bible. 

Notes: 1) Refugees may become immigrants, but not all immigrants, legal or illegal, are refugees. The concept of border security probably was seldom considered in Bible times. In the verses above, “alien,” “foreigner,” and “stranger” seem to mean “non-Israelite.” Some of these would have been refugees.

2) Scripture quotations from the World English Bible, public domain. This post, on January 13, 2018, is a modified version of the original, which was posted July 27, 2017.

3) The United States is not equivalent to ancient Israel.

4) At least in Old Testament times, it seems that God would not have expected non-Israelites who came into the country for the purpose of subverting worship of Him, or to murder Israelites, to be treated as generously as the verses above indicate.

Thanks for reading.

Update, June 21, 2018:

Jeff Sessions, currently the US Attorney General, recently claimed that separating immigrant children from their parents is obeying the Bible, which says that we are to obey the law and the government. Well, usually, but Sessions has left out a lot of what the Bible says.

Update, December 23, 2018:

Job 31 gives a list of good things Job has done, and bad things that he has not done, as he justifies himself. One of the good things is in verse 32: “the foreigner has not lodged in the street, but I have opened my doors to the traveler ...”

And we shouldn’t forget that Jesus, Joseph and Mary were refugees in Egypt, fleeing a threat of violence.  

Update, February 26, 2020:

2 Chronicles 30 describes the revival during the reign of Hezekiah, many generations after the time of Ruth, or David. It includes this statement:  
30:25 All the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly who came out of Israel, and the foreigners who came out of the land of Israel, and who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 

How to treat strangers, foreigners and aliens

(This brief study is in response to the prophet Jonah, who did not want to go to preach repentance to the people of Ninevah, because he was afraid that they would, indeed, repent, and not be destroyed. The ESV, and perhaps other versions, use the word, "aliens." The World English Bible, which is quoted below, doesn't use this word.)

Foreigners, strangers and aliens
The Old Testament warns about keeping separate from the gods of other nations. But that’s not the whole story. The Israelites were also warned to treat non-Israelites well, and there were prophecies that God would be the God of all peoples:

Genesis 22:18 All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, because you have obeyed my voice. (God to Abraham. 26:4 is similar)

Leviticus 19:33 If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

Numbers 15:15 For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner, a statute forever throughout your generations. As you are, so the foreigner shall be before Yahweh. 16 One law and one ordinance shall be for you and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner with you.

Jeremiah 22:3a Yahweh says: “Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong. Do no violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. (See also Deuteronomy. 1:16)

Micah 4:2 Many nations will go and say,
“Come! Let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh,
and to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the law will go out of Zion,
and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem;

Zephaniah 3:9 For then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that they may all call on Yahweh’s name, to serve him shoulder to shoulder.

Zechariah 2:1a Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell among you . . .

Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name is great among the nations,” says Yahweh of Armies.

Non-Israelite women were ancestors of important Israelites: Joseph’s wife, the daughter of an Egyptian pagan priest, (Genesis 41) was the mother of Ephraim and Manasseh, founders of two of the tribes; Rahab from Jericho was an ancestor of King David’s line; and so was Ruth, from Moab. There may have been more such.

Thanks for reading!

Added January 8, 2016: Two recent articles are pertinent: Relevant has posted "A Biblical Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis," which mentions a few Old Testament verses not given above, and Christianity Today published a "Christian Declaration on Caring for Refugees: An Evangelical Response," a policy document which was drafted by leaders from several denominations and agencies.