Stranger

The Hebrew word most commonly translated "stranger" (ger) denotes a foreigner who resides permanently or semi-permanently in Israel — not merely a passing traveler but a recognized resident alien. The Law of Moses extended significant protections to the ger: equality before the courts, the right to glean fields at harvest, access to cities of refuge, participation in the Passover if circumcised, and the instruction to love the stranger as oneself, "for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Lev. 19:34; Deut. 10:19). The repeated appeal to Israel's own experience of oppression in Egypt grounds the ethics of hospitality in covenantal memory.

A second term, nokri, denotes a foreigner who remains culturally separate and is subject to different economic regulations (e.g., interest may be charged, Deut. 23:20). The distinction between resident alien and temporary foreigner shaped Israel's social and legal obligations. In the New Testament both Jesus and Paul extend the category of "neighbor" beyond ethnic boundaries, and Ephesians 2:19 declares that Gentile believers are "no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints."