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PAGE 4 Vox Reformata, 2011

Aliens and Strangers in the Old Testament

K. J. Tromp

Introduction

Australian society has in recent years revealed a growing interest in

humanitarian and social justice issues. Australia, along with other western

nations, has taken on the responsibility of providing justice for the voiceless

and disenfranchised. Political activist groups like ‘The Micah Challenge’ and

humanitarian aid organisations like ‘World Vision’ have enjoyed strong

support in this current environment. Reflecting this growing trend, biblical

scholarship has also experienced a renewed interest in Old Testament ethics

regarding the marginalised and the oppressed.

Among a number of these marginalised people groups in the Old Testament,

we find the “resident alien”, an ambiguous designation for a mysterious

group of people. Who were the resident aliens of the Old Testament and how

did they relate to Israel? The aim of this paper will be to shed some light on

these questions by looking at contemporary scholarship on this theme and by

tracing the ‘alien motif’ through the Old Testament. The paper will examine

the alien within three broad Old Testament frameworks, namely, ‘the

narratives’, ‘the laws’ and ‘prophecy’. At the conclusion of the paper we

attempt to highlight what the Old Testament tells us about aliens and their

relationship with Israel.

Alien Terminology

Before we venture further, it is necessary to distinguish the Old Testament

‘resident alien’ from other closely related terms. There are several of these

that occur in close proximity or in similar contexts with the OT Hebrew

word, gēr. Although they are similar, it appears that they are not

synonymous.

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 5

“gēr” and “nokrî”

In the Old Testament, the ‘resident alien’ (gēr, רֵגּ) is often differentiated from

the ‘foreigner’ (nokrî, יִרְכָנ). Often carrying negative a connotation (e.g. Gen

31:15; Ps 144:7; Isa 2:6; 62:8), the nokrî is defined as an individual who

comes from another country and has no links with the tribal system of the

covenant community (Deut 17:15; 29:22; Judg 19:12; 1 Kgs 8:41), and

seemingly follows his own religion. This is concluded from the fact that the

nokrî is never listed among those who take part in Israel’s religious

ceremonies and is specifically excluded from eating the Passover (Exod

12:43).

Socially, such do not benefit from the seventh year remission of

debts (Deut 15:3), nor are they eligible for interest-free loans (Deut 23:20).

“gēr” and “tôšāb”

The ‘stranger’ or ‘temporary resident’ (tôšāb, ב ָשׁוֹתּ ) also appears in close

proximity to the gēr. The two are often used together either in parallel (1 Chr

29:15; Ps 39:12) or as a hendiadys (Gen 23:4; Lev 25:23); however they are

not synonymous. The tôšāb is not entitled to partake in the Passover (Ex

12:45; cf. v. 48); meanwhile, the gēr is listed as a participant in public

worship (Lev 16:29; 17:8-9; 22:18), implying that the ‘stranger’ (tôšāb) is

less integrated into Israelite society than the ‘resident alien’ (gēr). The term

tôšāb carries with it the sense of a transitory existence within the host

community; it designates someone who has another destination in mind.

Contemporary Scholarship on the Resident Alien

We see then that the gēr was not a ‘foreigner’ nor a ‘temporary resident’, but

the question remains, who was the gēr and how did he relate to the Israelites?

According to Deuteronomy 14:21, an Israelite may not eat the meat of animal that has died of

natural causes, however it is allowable for this meat to be given to a resident alien or sold to a

foreigner. An apparent contradiction arises when Leviticus 17:15 states that both the native-

born and the resident alien must not eat such meat. An interesting solution is given by

Jonathan Burnside by arguing that ger in Leviticus refers to the assimilating alien, while

toshab refers to the non-assimilating alien), so similarly in Deuteronomy 14:21, the non-

assimilating alien is in view; “The Status and Welfare of Immigrants: The Place of the

Foreigner in Biblical Law and Its Relevance to Contemporary Society”, Jubilee Centre, 2001:

42.

PAGE 6 Vox Reformata, 2011

Many attempts have been made to deduce the ethnic, economic and religious

identity of this particular social group.

Scholars like Weber have made the

claim that the term related to impoverished Israelites who had lost their land

and became landless nomads.

Christiana Van Houten suggests that the Old

Testament laws indicate that the aliens were both Israelite and Samaritan

settlers who returned to Judah during the years of the Babylonian domination

and later joined the restoration community as gērim. Alternatively, Bennett

contends that the aliens are non-Israelites from the surrounding areas.

It is prudent to look at the significant work of Van Houten and Bennett in

order to glean some understanding on the identity of the alien in the Old

Testament. Their research has centred on the laws in the Pentateuch; indeed,

very little attention has been given to the alien outside of the Pentateuch in

recent scholarship. At the conclusion of this section we will offer some

critique on these positions.

The Characteristic Identity of the Alien (gēr) in the Covenant Code

Adopting the Documentary Hypothesis, Christiana Van Houten,

systematically works through the Old Testament laws to determine the

identity of the gēr. Beginning with what she designates “the Book of the

Covenant” (Ex 20:22-23:33), Van Houten highlights the fact that the alien,

who was within the protection of an Israelite family, is required to abstain

from work on the Sabbath (Ex 20:8-11). According to the culture of the

Ancient Near East, the alien was housed and protected by a family or a clan,

C. Van Houten, The Alien in Israelite Law, Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991; J. Pedersen, Ancient

Israel: Its Life and Culture, London: Oxford, 1927, 1:39-46; M. Weber, Ancient Judaism,

trans. Hans Gerth and Don Martindale, New York: Free Press, 1952; R. de Vaux, Ancient

Israel: Its Life and Institutions, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1961, 74-76; D. L. Baker,

Tight Fists or Open Hands? Wealthy and Poverty in Old Testament Law, Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans, 2009, 175-189; D. Kellermann, “

רֵגּ

” in Theological Dictionary of the Old

Testament, ed. G. Johannes Botterweck & Helmer Ringgren, trans. John T. Willis, Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975, 439-449; H. V. Bennett, Injustice Made Legal, Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans, 2002; F. A. Spina, “Israelites as gērîm, ‘Sojourners,’ in Social and Historical

Context” The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth, ed. Carol L. Meyers and M. O’Connor,

Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1983, 321-335.

Weber, Ancient Judaism, 33.

Bennett, Injustice, 48. cf. Van Houten, The Alien, 77-108.

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 7

but was subsequently required to adhere to their laws and regulations.

Van

Houten argues that the laws of Ex 20:22-23:33 were seen as civil laws

pertaining to the many early clans of Israel and were not understood as cultic

laws until much later. According to Van Houten, the identity of the alien in

all of the references in the Book of the Covenant was that of a solitary unit,

either an individual or a family, but was essentially still an Israelite from

another clan or tribe. The aliens, and possibly their families, “are strangers

who are vulnerable and need protection and charity because they are out of

their familial context.”

The Characteristic Identity of the Alien in Deuteronomy

Moving on to the Deuteronomic Laws, Van Houten claims that a spiritual

revival during the time of Josiah (641-609 B.C.) saw the rise of a strong

humanitarian concern. Deut 14:22-29; 16:9-15; 24:17-18, 19-22; and 26:12-

15 purport to improve the circumstances of ‘widows, orphans and resident

aliens’ in Israelite society (e.g. Deut 24:19, 20, 21). These laws protect these

people groups in relation to the allocation of wheat, fruit, wine and meat

(14:22-29; 26:12-15); the celebration of major festivals (16:9-15); security

for loans (24:17-18); and entitlement with respect to gleaning of leftovers

from harvests and agricultural property in biblical communities (24:19-22).

Van Houten claims that the humanitarian concern for ‘the alien, the orphan

and the widow’ in Deuteronomy points to the monarchical period of Israel’s

history, where the existence of a wealthy ‘upper class’ and an often

impoverished ‘lower class’ could be found. The introduction of the monarchy

created a royal family, a national cult, a patrician class centred in the cities,

an artisan class and a peasant class. The policies brought in by the monarchy

relied on the wealth of the land and made the life of the lower class more

perilous. “It is to this new socioeconomic reality that the laws concerning

justice and charity are addressed.”

Van Houten, The Alien, 67.

Van Houten, The Alien, 93.

PAGE 8 Vox Reformata, 2011

Harold Bennett’s thorough work on Deuteronomy and the problem of poverty

and oppression in Israel also attempts to shed light on the identity of the

resident alien. His arguments centre on a perceived distinction between the

resident alien in Deuteronomy as opposed to the other codes, namely the

Covenant and Priestly Code.

In his mind there appears to be some

distinguishing features in the treatment of this group within Deuteronomy,

with a characteristic connection with the two other sub-groups: widows and

orphans.

According to Bennett, the gēr shared a close proximity with the Israelites but

maintained a cultural distance from this group. Although the gēr mentioned

in the social sub-group of ‘orphans, strangers and widows’, was a member of

the host community Israel in a spatial sense, they adhered to the culture of

their own ethnic group. Their customs, religion, language and values often

opposed the understandings of the majority in the Israelite village, city or

tribe to which they had migrated.

The ethos, worldview and religion are

what formed the distinctiveness of the gēr. Deuteronomy makes clear that

Israel was in fact a gēr in Egypt (Deut 23:7). Having a distinct culture and

worldview, Israel could not remain a ‘sub-group’ if they had adopted the

worldviews, norms, language, religion and other cultural phenomena of the

dominant group Egypt. In fact, the characteristic socio-cultural identity of

Israel created a sense of belonging among the enslaved people group and this

point of connection differentiated them from the Egyptians. For Bennett,

therefore, the resident alien in Deuteronomy was someone who was culturally

and religiously different from the dominant group. This leads him to

conclude that the ‘resident alien’ referred to individuals or families who were

non-Israelites from the surrounding countryside.

Bennett, Injustice, 45.

Deuteronomy 14:21 may inform this delineation when it says “You shall not eat anything

which dies of itself, you may give it to the alien (ר ֵגּ) who is in your town, so that he may eat it,

or you may sell it to a foreigner (י ִר ְכ ָנ), for you are a holy people (שׁוֹד ָק ֤ ַעם) to the LORD your

God.” Three classifications of individuals appear in this passage, the gēr, the nok

rî, and the

‘am qādôš (holy people). Two of these groups, namely the alien and the foreigner could eat the

animal which died a natural death; the holy people, however, could not consume these corpses.

The rationale is that the former two groups were not considered members of the holy

community. What this may serve to illustrate is that the gēr and the nokrî

practiced a religion

and an ethos that was incongruent with the ‘am qādôš.

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 9

The Characteristic Identity of the Alien (gēr) in the Priestly Code

The “Priestly Laws”, which Van Houten dates to the post-exilic period,

concludes the development of the alien identity in the Old Testament laws. It

is a further development away from the Deuteronomic laws. Van Houten

identifies large portions of material recorded in Leviticus and Numbers that

deal specifically with priestly matters; this material is therefore dubbed “the

priestly code”.

In these texts the alien’s identity and treatment have

developed so that they are “not only the resident aliens who need aid, but

they are also given the right of members of the community. They are granted

not only civil justice, but also the privileges of the insider on certain

conditions.”

Van Houten argues that the laws that require the alien to be treated with

equality speak of aliens in a new way. They have been integrated into the

chosen people. According to Van Houten, the meaning of gēr has changed

quite dramatically with the result that the identity of the socially and

economically dependent person of Deuteronomy has been completely

overhauled.

In the priestly laws, the alien who was previously an outsider

becomes an insider while worshipping in the cultic community. Van Houten

isolates two redactional layers in the priestly laws. The primary layer she

identifies as pre-exilic, and the second as post-exilic, from the restoration

period. But she goes further than assigning a general date and provenance and

attempts to construct a specific Sitz im Leben for the two layers of redaction

whereby the aliens in the secondary level are identified as Israelites and

Samaritans who did not go into exile as opposed to the exiled folk who saw

themselves as ‘True Israel’.

These sections include Leviticus 1-9; 19 and Numbers 15-18; 28-30 and contain aspects

specifically related to the alien. In Leviticus, laws on the alien include those concerning the

Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29), offerings (Lev 17:8-9), blood (Lev 17:10-14) and acts which

defile the land or are against Yahweh (Lev 18:26; 20:2; 24:16, 21-22). Those in Numbers deal

with issues including the Passover (Num 9:14), and cities of refuge (Num 35:15).

Van Houten, The Alien, 155.

Van Houten, The Alien, 156.

Van Houten, The Alien, 152, 162.

PAGE 10 Vox Reformata, 2011

Synthesis and Critique

The views of Bennett and Van Houten are problematic. They argue that the

laws dealing with the alien developed and became more inclusive over time.

What began as a mere appeal to charity for the alien in the Covenant Code

(Ex 23:9) comes to be understood as a legal principle in the Priestly laws.

There are many who would disagree with their interpretation on the identity

of the ‘alien’,

the dating of the texts,

and the structure of the laws within

the Pentateuch.

The Documentary Hypothesis which undergirds Van

Houten’s thesis has been largely criticised.

Van Houten herself concedes

that her conclusions presuppose data which is ambiguous and “problematic”

and that the results “remain within the realm of the probable only.”

The theory of a progression of laws due to the different contexts of the aliens,

whether tribal nomads or returning exiles, centres around the idea of the

forms of the laws. Van Houten traces the forms as changing from apodictic to

casuistic. The earlier apodictic law is a direct, unconditional command to do,

or to refrain from doing, a specified act which is universal and binding in

nature, often personally given by Yahweh or Moses his mediator.

The later

casuistic laws are characterised by its impersonal structure and conditional

structure, ‘if a condition is met, then the consequence will be’ often relating

to statutory laws.

Although the Covenant Code laws pertaining to the alien

M. Smith, Palestinian Parties and Politics, London: SCM, 1987, 136. Smith asserts that gēr

never lost the connotation of ‘resident alien’ in the Old Testament despite the various contexts

to which the Pentateuch was addressed.

Y. Kaufmann, The Religion of Israel, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1960, 175-208.

T.E. Fretheim, The Pentateuch, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996, 124, 140. Fretheim says

that acknowledgment of various strands have been placed together and shaped into two books,

reflecting a priestly perspective, but consistent with the whole flow of the Pentateuch.

B. S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979,

119-135; G. J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15, Word Biblical Commentary, Waco: Word, 1987,

xxxiv-xxxv; Duane Garrett, Rethinking Genesis, Great Britain: Christian Focus, 2000, 185-

197; R.N. Whybray, The Making of the Pentateuch, Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1987, 93-108.

Van Houten, The Alien, 162.

R.A.F. Mackenzie, “The Formal Aspect of Ancient Near Eastern Law”, in The Seed of

Wisdom: Essays in Honour of T.J. Meek, ed. W.S. McCullough, Toronto: University of

Toronto Press, 1964, 39.

D. Patrick, “Casuistic Law Governing Primary Rights and Duties” Journal of Biblical

Literature Vol. 92, No. 2, 1973: 180-184.

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 11

are all found in the apodictic form, it is very difficult to distinguish the forms

of the Deuteronomic and Priestly laws. Most of them are neither clearly

apodictic nor casuistic in form, a fact that Van Houten admits in the

conclusion of her book.

Why then, argue that a development in form has

taken place when one cannot clearly conclude that the latter form is

significantly different from the former?

Similarly, the motivating clauses in each law on the alien in the so-called

‘Covenant Code’, and Deuteronomic and Priestly laws are also claimed to

have progressed and this is used as evidence for an ‘evolving’ identity of the

resident alien. For example, the motivating clauses for the Covenant Code

were often appeals to the past, in other words, obedience was grounded in the

memory of what God had done in the past history of the people. The

Israelites are told to be just and kind to the aliens because they themselves

had been in that position in the past (Ex 22:21; 23:9). For Deuteronomy, the

motivating clauses range from appeals to humanitarian instincts (Deut 5:14),

to the threat of penalty for disobedience (Deut 24:14). The priestly laws have

motivating clauses appealing to the authority of God, “I am the LORD your

God” (Lev 19:10, 34: 23:22; 24:22). Additionally, there are appeals to

obedience based on the nature of creation. Take, for example, the issue of

ingesting blood. Since it is the essence of life and created by God to sustain

it, it is not to be eaten and so the Israelites are commanded to submit to the

nature and order of God’s created cosmos (Lev 17:10, 13).

There are certainly distinguishing motivational clauses in the various sections

of the legal texts found in the Pentateuch, but what Van Houten and Bennett

have failed to realise is the great amount of overlap that one finds as well.

The appeal to ‘remember’ the past is made in the Covenant Code (Ex 22:21;

23:9), the Deuteronomic Code (Deut 23:7) and the Priestly Code (Lev 19:33,

34; 25:33). We also find points of contact with regards to the humanitarian

concern of giving rest to the alien on the Sabbath so that they may be

refreshed (Ex 23:12; cf. Deut 5:14). Likewise the promise of divine blessing

and cursing is found throughout all of the texts (Ex 23:20f; Deut 14:29;

24:19; Leviticus 26). Motivating clauses cannot be used to prove whether an

Van Houten, The Alien, 165

PAGE 12 Vox Reformata, 2011

evolution in theology has taken place or not. It is more likely that the

particular type of motivation employed was determined by the content of the

law. Laws requiring charity tended to be backed by clauses that encourage

sympathy and humanitarian concern (cf. Deut 16:9-15). Dietary laws were

backed either by an appeal to creation, in which the law is seen as a means of

maintaining the order of the cosmos (cf. Lev 11:1-42), or by reminding them

of their status as a holy people, in which the law is seen as a response to the

prior acts of God (cf. Lev 18:24-26). The variety of motivating clauses,

therefore, is not sufficient evidence for a development or progression in

social-ethical laws, but testifies to the richness of the theology in the

Pentateuch.

Lastly, the syntactical structures are also difficult to reference as evidencing

progression of thought. The typical designations of the “widow, orphans and

alien” from Deuteronomy are found within the Covenant Code also. For

example, Ex 22:20 legislates for the alien; Ex 22:21 for the widow and

orphan. The widow and orphan are again mentioned in Ex 23:11. Similarly,

priestly code nuances in regards to worship and rest on the Sabbath are found

in Ex 23:12. The resting of the alien within the household of the Israelite

family on the Sabbath day is significant if one considers that rest on the

Sabbath was intricately linked with worship of Yahweh. Resting and worship

on the Sabbath was meant for God’s people. Contrary to Van Houten’s

argument, perhaps it is possible to suggest that the alien’s subsequent

willingness to rest, subsequent to God’s concern for the alien’s welfare,

should be considered as an act of worship alongside his native Israelite

neighbour.

While the contributions of both Van Houten and Bennett have been useful in

bringing to light some of the methodological issues in identifying the resident

alien in the Pentateuch, there are several flaws to their conclusions on the

identity of the gēr. Giving a hard and fast definition of the characteristic

identity of the resident alien in Israel’s history is fraught with danger. We

must attempt to find an alternative approach by focussing on how the alien

related to Israel and how the Old Testament viewed the alien.

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 13

A Better Way: The Need for a Narrative Understanding of the Old

Testament

Increasing interest in the narrative of the Pentateuch and studies on the final

form of the text has arisen in the last twenty years.

What these narrative

studies have contributed to the academic realm is to stress the important

theological insights of the Pentateuch. Indeed, without appreciating the

nature of the story that the Pentateuch tries to tell, it is impossible to

understand the theological framework these five books are attempting to give

the rest of the Old Testament. The historical, socio-political studies of the

Pentateuch, to which Van Houten and Bennett have given so much thought,

although important, fail to grasp the fine threads which are woven throughout

these books. And although each book is different, with a distinct character

and emphasis, they maintain a remarkable unity not only with each other but

also with the rest of the Bible. As they stand, the books of Genesis to Kings

form a continuous narrative. This is apparent from both the overall picture

provided and the way in which individual books are linked together. Viewed

as a whole, Genesis to Kings records selected events from the creation of the

earth to the demise of the Davidic monarchy at the time of the Babylonian

exile. Books that appear further on in sequence presuppose that the reader is

familiar with those that have gone before. For example, the references to the

death of Moses and the rise of Joshua at the very start of the book of Joshua

serve to link the book immediately prior to it, namely, Deuteronomy.

Similarly, the introductory verse of Exodus assumes an understanding of the

Joseph story. The death of Joshua is mentioned in the first verse of the Book

of Judges which leads the narrative into the rest of the story of Israel’s

formation.

Whatever the oral or literary history of the individual books, the

one certain thing to hold to is that they have been deliberately linked to form

one continuous narrative.

Notable works include: J.H. Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative, Grand Rapids:

Zondervan, 1992; T.D. Alexander, From Paradise to Promised Land, Grand Rapids: Baker,

2002; Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses, New York: W.W. Norton, 2004; J. W.H. van

Wijk-Boos, Making Wise the Simple, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005; J.H. Sailhamer, The

Meaning of the Pentateuch, Illinois: Intervarsity, 2009.

Many more examples could be added to the list.

PAGE 14 Vox Reformata, 2011

The Identity of the Alien

Due to the weaknesses in allocating a socio-historical Sitz im Leben to the

Old Testament texts, it is with the Old Testament’s ‘narrative framework’ in

mind that we will investigate the way in which the ‘motif of the alien’

develops throughout the whole Old Testament. As was mentioned previously,

very little work on the alien has been done outside of the Pentateuch. It is our

hope to bring to light some of the important aspects of the resident alien

found throughout the Old Testament as a whole. Instead of defining the

religious, cultural and ethnic background of the alien, however, we will

attempt to track the alien motif through the entire Old Testament canon as

they relate to the people of God.

It is not within the scope of this paper to investigate every passage where the

gēr is mentioned in any great detail. In coming to the Old Testament, we see

the noun gēr (רֵגּ) occurring 92 times throughout the entire Hebrew Bible with

the verb ‘to sojourn’(רוּגּ) occurring 81 times in the qal, and the rarer hithpolel

showing up 3 times. These statistics are noteworthy, however, because the

sheer volume of occurrences shows that the concept of the resident alien was

significant to the Old Testament authors and their audiences. Instead of

examining each occurrence of the term, we will survey the alien motif by

investigating it within three broad outlines, namely, the alien within the

narratives of the Old Testament, the alien within the laws of the Pentateuch,

and the alien in relation to Old Testament eschatology.

The Alien Motif throughout the Old Testament Narrative

The commencement of the Scriptures in Genesis reveals an establishment of

a theme that will run through the Old Testament even reaching the New

Testament writings of 1 Peter and Hebrews. The motif of the alien is

developed both through explicit references to the term ‘alien’, as well as

through allusions to the concept of the alien. The reader first finds such an

allusion in the narrative of the fall of Genesis 3. Adam and Eve experience

intimacy with God, with each other and with the world in the garden.

As a

G.W. Coats, “Strife and Reconciliation: Themes of a Biblical Theology in the Book of

Genesis”, in Horizons in Biblical Theology 2, 1980: 18-20.

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 15

result of the fall the text states that God “drove out” Adam and Eve from the

garden and barred their return (Gen 3:24). The two are driven into a land that

is foreign and for the first time they experience alienation from God and the

place that was their intended home.

Later, Cain is forced to leave his land

and be a wanderer as a result of killing his brother Abel (Gen 4:12-16). In

these opening chapters of Genesis we see the whole of humanity as aliens in

an environment that is not their home, experiencing an alienation from God

that was not intended for them.

But it is when we come to the hero of Genesis, Abraham, the example and

forerunner for Israel, that we begin to find the explicit connection of Israel

with the alien motif of the Bible. Genesis 12 begins with Abraham being

called by God to leave his home and journey to a place that God will show

him. Here the first occurrence of the root gēr is found in the Bible. Genesis

12:10 states, “Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to

Egypt to reside there as an alien” (gēr). Abraham from here on is frequently

referred to as a ‘resident alien’ (Gen 17:8; 20:1; 21:23, 34: 23:4). Later, the

story of Jacob’s time in Laban’s household (Gen 28-32) is a repetition of this

theme as Jacob travels from his land to Paddam Aram. Again Jacob is

specifically referred to as a gēr in Genesis 28:4 and 32:4.

Furthermore,

Joseph and the whole clan of Jacob are also designated as aliens in Genesis

47:4 and 9, and four hundred years later Moses identifies himself as an alien

through the naming of his son ‘Gershom’, meaning ‘alien there’ (Ex 2:22).

Right from the outset the reader clearly recognises that the fathers of Israel

experienced an alien identity. Israel’s lineage, tradition and self-identity is

grounded in the setting of alienation.

This understanding of belonging to an ‘alien people’ also saturated all of the

great theological doctrines of the Israelites. Take for example the key factors

shaping the identity of the Israelites. Firstly, there are the promises made to

Abraham and his descendants regarding an inheritance and large progeny

T.M. Bolin, “A Stranger and an Alien Among You (Genesis 23:4)”, in Common Life in the

Early Church, ed. J.V. Hills, Harrisburg: Trinity, 1998, 72, n.52. Bolin classifies the expulsion

of Adam and Eve as an example of the alienation theme of the creation narrative.

Significantly, both the references to Abraham and Jacob’s ‘alien-status’ as described in the

construction “the land where you are now living as an alien” (Gen 17:8 and 28:4 respectively)

is also found in Israel’s status in Egypt in Exodus 6:4.

PAGE 16 Vox Reformata, 2011

(Gen 12:1-9) which happened in the context of alienation and sojourning.

Secondly, there is the establishment of the covenant with Abraham and

subsequent affirmation with Moses and the Israelites at Sinai (Exodus 20) in

the context of landlessness and the promise of land. Thirdly, there are the

experiences of the exodus, as God rescued Israel out of the house of slavery

in Egypt (Exod 6:1), a ‘house’ to which they did not belong, and brought

them out to be his chosen people. Through their disobedience, however, they

remained as wanderers in the wilderness, having no homeland to settle in.

The individual Israelite was someone who could lay claim to the promises

Yahweh had made to Abraham and his descendants regarding the land; a land

where once they resided only as aliens. Their people had experienced the

slavery in Egypt, a country where they did not belong, and witnessed the

deliverance by Yahweh out of that land. Because of God’s faithfulness, the

individual Israelite could belong to a people with a land that was theirs to

own, a land which God had sworn to them with an everlasting covenant. It is

within these particular events of significant theological importance that the

identity of the Israelite was formed. Meanwhile the undertone of alienation,

sojourning, of ‘not-belonging’ was ever-present.

While the identity of the alien was inextricably linked with Israel’s self-

understanding, the God they worshipped showed particular care and

protection for aliens as well. Adam and Eve, in being driven from their home,

are promised a redeemer-offspring (Gen 3:15) and do not die immediately but

are provided clothes from the skins of animals to cover their shame (Gen

3:21). Cain is marked so that no-one would kill him even though he is made

to ‘sojourn’ the earth (Gen 4:15). Abraham is called from the land of Chaldea

to be a vulnerable alien but is protected by God many times (Gen 12:10-20;

14:1ff; cf. 14:20; 20:1-18). Israel’s history in Egypt begins with Joseph and

his brothers’ living as aliens in Egypt where God provides and protects them

(Gen 39:2-3, 21-23; 45:5-8; 50:20). The story of Israel’s alien status in Egypt

ends when God hears the cry of Israel and remembers his covenant promise

to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God remembers his promise of giving them the

land of Canaan in which once “they lived as aliens” (Ex 6:4) but will now

inherit as the nation of Israel (6:8). The narrative of the Old Testament not

only establishes the biblical alien motif and the alien self-identity of God’s

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 17

people Israel, but also shows that God watches over the interests of the alien.

God intervenes on behalf of the alien Israel to care for, protect and bless

them.

The Laws Regarding the Alien

Precisely because of God’s love and concern for the alien Israel, he set in

place regulations, rights and responsibilities regarding aliens among the

Israelites.

These laws reveal something of the character of God and had

implications for both Israel and the aliens in their midst. Broadly speaking

the law reveals God as a holy, righteous, faithful and just God. These are the

very characteristics which the Israelites must adopt in their relationships with

God, each other and the world. Consequently, it provides the pattern by

which they must also relate to the alien. Israel is to refrain from oppressing

the alien and instead provide justice for him, to incorporate him in the

Sabbath rest and even the religious festivals. Likewise, the alien, to whom the

Law equally applies, must imitate God by abstaining from actions that will

defile the land (Lev 18:26; 20:2; 24:16, 22) and to abide by the laws on

sacrifice and offerings (Lev 17:8-9; 22:18; Num 15:14).

In the laws the term gēr is often employed where the alien is mentioned in

juxtaposition with the Israelite. When the scope and efficacy of the laws were

stressed, often the ‘native’ (aezr*j) or the ‘brother’ (a*j) and the gēr would

be mentioned in the same sentence, meaning that the law applies to both the

Israelites and the alien (Ex 12:19; Lev 17:10-16; 18:26; 19:34; 20:2; 22:18;

24:16; Num 15:13-16; Deut 1:16). Resident aliens could celebrate Passover

as long as they were circumcised (Exod 12:48-49; Num 9:14; cf. 2 Chr

30:25), and even offer sacrifices (Lev 17:8; Num 15:14). They were involved

in covenant ceremonies (Deut 29:10-12; 31:12; Josh 8:32-35), and were

expected to keep the Sabbath (Exod 20:10; 23:12; Deut 5:14) and the Day of

Atonement (Lev 16:29).

On the significance of the alien motif within the context of the Pentateuchal laws see the

Masters thesis of J. Harris, “A Theological Examination of the Alien within the Laws of the

Pentateuch”, Supervising Institution: Bible College of Victoria.

PAGE 18 Vox Reformata, 2011

God’s concern in giving the law is for Israel to live out its covenant

relationship with him in all aspects of life, but this also applied to the ‘alien

within their gates’. There is no division in the covenant between what is

sacred and secular, legal or ethical, and this is clearly evident in the broad

range of areas to which the laws on the alien apply. The laws cover the

religious, economic and legal aspects of Israel’s relationship with the alien.

The covenantal impetus to love God through obeying the laws becomes the

catalyst to love the alien. God is concerned that Israel lives out its

relationship with him in the areas of religious, economic and legal matters,

and so the laws on the alien, touching on all these aspects, serve to give the

Israelites the opportunity to show their love.

The other significant aspect of the Law is in facilitating or producing worship

to God. Israel’s obedience to the laws of God are acts of worship to Yahweh.

Hence, the Israelites is given set days and seasons in which they may worship

God through various feasts and festivals. The alien is included in all of these

events. The alien must rest on the Sabbath, he may attend the pilgrimage

feasts and partake of the first fruits and give tithes. He may participate in

offering sacrifices and offerings reflecting their thankfulness to God.

Similarly the alien may attend the Day of Atonement. In all aspects of

worship, whether it be in obedience to the covenantal laws or in the

pragmatic expression of worshipping alongside aliens, Israel’s worship of

God must be demonstrated in relation to the alien.

Old Testament Prophecy and the Alien in Eschatological Writings

Moving to the later writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Psalms, we find

further developments of the alien motif. With the context of exile continually

in view, the alien identity of Israel takes on a sobering new meaning. They

are landless and aliens once more.

Religious laws include Ex 20:10; 23:12; Deut 16:11, 14; 26:11-13; Lev 16:29; 17:12-15.

Laws with a more social concern include Ex 22:21; Deut 24:14; Lev 19:33, 34; Num 35:15.

Laws that touch on the economic aspect are Deut 14:29; 24:19-21; Lev 23:22. Legal laws

include Ex 23:9; Deut 24:14; Lev 25:47.

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 19

According to Israel’s memory, God’s promise of the land of Canaan as their

homeland was inseparably connected to their relationship with Yahweh.

With the appearance of the prophet Amos, however, the imminent arrival of a

radical break in this relationship was announced. “Israel will surely go into

exile away from this land” (Amos 7:17b).

The threat of exile and its realisation for Judah in 597 and 586 BC was a

blow to Israel’s understanding of itself as the people of God. Israel possessed

no theology that could justify its identity in a foreign country. “How shall we

sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Ps 137:4). They were once again

foreigners in a foreign land, aliens among strangers. The prophets saw the

situation of Israel to be comparable to their ancestors in Egypt long ago, but

there was hope for them: Yahweh is known to be a God who sets captives

free and leads them through the wilderness to a land that he gives them.

There was hope that this would happen once again (Ezek 20:33-34, 41-42).

Isaiah prophesies that there will be rejoicing because God would forgive (Isa

40:2; 43:1) and because all obstacles, both spiritual and physical, were in the

process of being overcome.

And the ransomed of the L

ORD

shall return, and come to Zion with

singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy

and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away (Isa 51:11).

The resettlement of Israel would be the sign that God had restored his favour

upon them after his anger and judgment subsided. In returning them to their

homeland, God held out the evidence of his love and reconciliation and his

pledge of their adoption. The people of Israel would not be aliens and

orphans any longer but would be unified with God once again. As Yahweh

triumphed in restoring his people to their homeland, the vindication of Israel

would be experienced by the nations of the world, who would acknowledge

the supremacy of Yahweh by being part of the restoration (Isa 45:14-17;

49:22-23).

After this restoration, the rule of God would produce living water that would

heal and redeem the land (Ezek 47:8). The Dead Sea will become a lake with

D. Gowan, Eschatology in the Old Testament, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986, 22.

PAGE 20 Vox Reformata, 2011

fresh water teeming with all sorts of fish. The river banks will be overgrown

with fruit trees that perpetually bear fruit. Included in this restoration the

‘resident alien’ would also inherit the new homeland. Yahweh declares,

You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the

tribes of Israel. You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and

for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children.

You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you

they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In

whatever tribe the alien settles, there you are to give him his

inheritance (Ezek 47:22-23).

In the ‘time of the end’ the alien would receive an inheritance together with

the native-born Israelites. Similarly Isaiah 14:1 reads,

The L

ORD

will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose

Israel and will settle them in their own land. Aliens will join them and

unite with the house of Jacob.

Shocking promises are made in the Prophets regarding the relationship

between the resident alien and Israel. In returning to the Promised Land, the

alien, the outsider who once did not belong to the nation of Israel will now be

integrated as one of them. They will be united (spj– nifal) with the house of

Jacob, and the land that once belonged to Jacob will be shared with the alien.

They would share in the covenant! How could this possibly be acceptable to

the Jew who heard this? With the deep theological crisis that was caused by

the exile, the need to remember God’s promises and his actions in the past

would have been more important than ever. As Israel remembered God’s

salvation during the Exodus, they would have been reminded of the alien

status of Israel in Egypt. They would have been reminded that the land,

which was seen as a tangible seal of God’s covenant with them, was not

theirs by right but by privilege, and that Yahweh had declared, “the land is

mine, for you are resident aliens and tenants in my presence” (Lev 25:23).

Their great king David prayed, “We are aliens and strangers before you, as

were all our forefathers” (1 Chron 29:15). Indeed, depending on how one

dates Psalm 39, this attitude of post-exilic Israel may be reflected in the

words, “Hear my prayer, O L

ORD

, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 21

weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were”

(Ps 39:12). The return to the land levelled the playing field in that the alien

and the Jew would be equal heirs to the land since it was God’s land to give,

just as it was his to take away. The exile showed that Israel did not have an

entitlement to the land, but was graciously gifted with it. If both the Israelite

and non-Israelite lived in the land rightly owned by God, who then was the

alien? As the description of the restoration of Israel developed, so came a

broader understanding of God’s intention for the alien and their place within

Israel. Both the Israelite and the alien became seekers of a restored homeland

ruled by God.

The realisation of a full restoration of the Promised Land, however, never

occurred. There was a partial return during the time of Ezra around 460 B.C.

but it seems that those who returned were only a small remnant (Ezra 2:64)

and they were still under the governorship of the foreign rule of Persia. The

re-unification of all the twelve tribes of Israel never eventuated even when a

second and third return in 458 and 445 B.C was permitted by Artaxerxes

(Ezra 7:1-10; cf. Neh 2:11-20). It seemed that God’s people would remain

waiting for this fulfillment to be made complete at some future event.

Meanwhile, a shift had begun to take place for the Jews, from seeing

themselves, the land and the promise in literal terms, to grasping a broader

eschatological understanding. The unfulfilled promises of God in the

prophets were understood as reflecting a future hope – a hope of the “last

days” in which God would restore the whole world (Isa 11:9). This

eschatological and theological shift in turn reflected a shift in the

understanding of the gēr in the Old Testament. Israel’s reflections on the

alien moved from the strictly legal to a new awareness that their plight was

the same plight of the alien and that God was committed to bringing the alien

into his restoration also. A development took place away from the political-

“On the one hand, exiles had returned and established a slowly growing Jewish community

in the homeland. The temple had been rebuilt and with its services functioned as a spiritual

center for world Judaism. But on the other hand, the ingathering was far from complete and the

experiences of the Jews who lived in Palestine between 520 BC and AD 70 were hardly literal

fulfilments of the OT’s expectation of the ideal future.” Gowan, Eschatology in the OT, 28.

PAGE 22 Vox Reformata, 2011

legal realm to the sphere of metaphor and spirituality.

It was within this

context that the letters of 1 Peter and Hebrews would eventually be written

addressing Christians as ‘aliens and strangers in this world’ (1 Pet 1:1; 2:11;

cf. Heb 11:13). Using the rich history and deep theological meaning of the

term gēr, the New Testament writers planted the seed of Israel’s alien

background into the soil of their Christian context.

So who was the Alien?

The exact identity of the alien is difficult to define with any certainty in terms

of ethnicity, culture and religion. There is simply not enough evidence to give

any more detailed definition than a alien (gēr) being, ‘a man who (alone or

with his family) leaves village and tribe because of war, famine, epidemic, or

blood guilt and seeks shelter and residence at another place, where his right

of landed property, marriage, and taking part in jurisdiction, cult and war has

been curtailed.’

What we have discovered, however, is that there was a

significantly important relationship between Israel and the alien – a

relationship that spanned across the entire Old Testament narrative.

A strong tradition existed in the Old Testament that illustrated Israel’s close

affinity to the alien because Israel’s identity carried with it the undertones of

alienation. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are described as aliens at several points

with regard to their residence in the Promised Land. The laws in the

Pentateuch continually revealed God’s concern for the alien and reminded the

Israelites of their alien identity in Egypt. The Prophetic writings reflected the

understanding that the nation’s character was built upon being sojourners in

the land of Canaan. With the trauma of the exile still fresh in their minds, a

new sense of reflection on an alien identity was born. The Israelites were

promised that one day they would no longer be aliens but natives of a new

land. Even the resident aliens among them would become integrated with

Israel and would be treated as members of the same covenant community (Isa

José E. Ramirez Kidd has drawn attention to this shift in the function of the term gēr,

moving from a purely legal usage to a figura theologica applied to collective Israelite identity.

Alterity and Identity in Israel: The “gēr” in the Old Testament, Berlin: de Gruyter, 1999, 119-

123.

Ludwig Koehler & Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old

Testament, Leiden: Brill, 2001, l: 201.

Vox Reformata, 2011 PAGE 23

14:1). Nevertheless, the alien identity of Israel would never be left behind

because the promised land, and indeed the whole earth, was understood to be

the property of God and the nation of Israel resided there as aliens.

The Israelite audience of the Old Testament would have understood clearly

that they once were, and continued to be, aliens. Reflecting on these passages

would invoke both a deep sense of humility and gratitude to Yahweh and his

covenant but it would also summon a profound sense of sympathy for

resident aliens. The roaming of the patriarch Abraham in his pasturelands, the

hardships in the land of the Nile, and their wanderings in the wilderness, all

pointed to the fact that the Israelites shared a common story with those aliens

within their gates.

When these Old Testament references to the alien are taken within the

broader narrative framework of Israel’s history, and are understood within the

development of Israel’s theological framework, several things can be seen.

First of all, given the number of occurrences of the term gēr within the Old

Testament, one must realise that the alien was an important topic for both

God and Israel. Secondly, the very fact that the topic permeates the entire Old

Testament canon should be cause for attention. The concept of the alien was

not an isolated, historically-bound notion in reaction to situational pressures

within Israelite society (contra Van Houten and Bennett); it spans hundreds

of years, from the judges to the kings, from the patriarchs to the prophets.

Thirdly, the concept of the alien was both complex and dynamic; it was not

restricted to any one demographic. At one time the alien was a wandering

Israelite, the other time a Jewish exile. On the one hand they could be

wealthy merchants and farmers and on the other they were oppressed, poor

and powerless. Finally, what is very clear of the motif that runs through the

Old Testament is that the alien shared a special relationship with the nation of

Israel. In understanding themselves as being formed in the furnace of

alienation, the Israelites were motivated to love the alien. When the struggles

of the exile arose, this identity served to provide the ‘non-belongers’ with a

sense of belonging and held out hope that one day they would find home.

PAGE 24 Vox Reformata, 2011

Conclusion

The marginalised alien not only shared a geographical location with Israel,

living in and among the people of God, but also shared a common story. We

have seen that the Israelites’ identity was shaped by their history of transient

existence; of landlessness in strange settings. God’s concern for the alien,

shown through the laws, is revealed by the motivation that Israel, too, knew

what it was like to be an alien. Later, in the wake of the exile, the people of

God became inseparably linked with the aliens who would one day also be

gathered into the restored homeland of the end time. The ‘alien’ was an

oppressed, marginalised people group – that much is clear. What we have

discovered, however, is that Israel shared a deep and meaningful bond with

the strangers and aliens of their world. As the Church comes to grips with its

responsibility to immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, may we be

reminded that we are also “strangers and aliens in this world” (1 Pet 2:11).

Like Israel, something of our own sense of displacement and longing should

drive us to defend those who are disenfranchised due to their cultural,

religious or ethnic backgrounds. A Church that feels alienated by the social

pressures placed upon it every day should be the first to relate to those who

struggle with fitting in with their host culture. May Christians be spurred on

to love those aliens in their midst, so that they may also come to understand

that there is only one true place that is their home.