Foreign, Foreigner

Foreign, Foreigner [Heb. nekar/nokri, zar, ger; Grk. allotrios, allogenēs, allophulos, xenos]. Something or someone not belonging to a particular group.

The Hebrew terms for "foreign" and "foreigner" are used in the OT mainly for designating foreign things (Exod 2:22; 2 Chr 14:3 [NRSV]; Prov 6:24), gods (Deut 31:16), and persons who do not belong to Israelite ethnic background (1 Kgs 8:41; Ezra 10:1-4). However, in some passages they refer to Israelites themselves who had also been foreigners: initially in the land of Canaan (Gen 17:7-8; 23:4) and later in Egypt (Deut 26:5, NRSV) and Babylon (Ps 137:1, 4; Jer 25:8-11; Dan 9:1-2). The terms also feature in contexts not dealing with ethnic matters. In those instances, they denote specific social status (Exod 29:33; Lev 25:35), people outside of a family circle (Gen 31:15; Deut 25:5), or even someone's enemies (Ps 54:3).

The concept of foreign/foreigner first appears in the covenantal context of the Pentateuch (cf. Gen 17) and then in its legal context where it is mainly employed in relation to foreign residents in Israel. Persons from other nations who lived on the territory of Israel were subject to Israelite civil and religious law with some important exceptions. The civil law was equally mandatory for both groups of people, those who were native Israelites as well as resident aliens in the land of Israel (Lev 24:22; Num 35:15). However, there were still some regulations which made non-Israelites to hold lower status than native Israelites. Some examples are regulations regarding slavery (Lev 25:39-46), intermarriage (Deut 7:1-4), debt release (Deut 15:3), and kingship (Deut 17:15).

Similar was the situation regarding observing religious laws. On the one hand, foreigners who lived in Israel were allowed to participate in the celebration of the Israelite festivals (Exod 12:48-49 [under the condition of circumcision, cf. Exod 12:43]; Lev 16:29-30; Deut 16:11, 14; 26:11), they could participate even in sacrificial system (Lev 17:8-9; Num 15:13-16, 29), and were obligated to keep some aspects of dietary (Lev 17:10-15) and purity regulations (Lev 18:26; Num 19:10). On the other hand, there were some differences such as permission given to foreigners to eat the meat of dead animals (Deut 14:21). Significantly, while foreigners were allowed to participate in Israelite ritual system, offering anything foreign on the incense altar was considered as violation of ritual regulations that would result in severe consequences (Exod 30:9). The most evident example of this negligence is Nadab and Abihu who died because they offered foreign fire before the Lord (Lev 10:2).

Israel's own experience as foreigners in Egypt is the point of reference for issuing laws and regulations that demonstrate concerns for just treatment and protection of those who are foreigners in the land of Israel (Exod 23:9; Deut 10:19). These Pentateuchal laws include protection against oppression (Exod 22:21; 23:9; Lev 19:33-34; Deut 24:14-15), provision of economic aid (Deut 24:19-22), the right to a fair and just trial (Deut 1:16-17), and inclusion in religious practices such as Passover (Exod 12:48), offerings (Lev 17:8-9; Num 15:14-16), and Sabbath rest (Exod 20:10). In light of these regulations, Israel was probably the country with the best social justice laws among ancient Near East nations.

The concept of foreign/foreigner has been further developed in the prophetic literature. In this corpus, foreigners usually refer to other nations—a group that is distinguished from foreign residents of Israel—who are generally perceived as Israel's enemies. They are not described only as those who worship foreign gods but also as those who oppose the Lord and who are violent usurpers and destroyers of Israel. More specifically, foreigners are delineated as nations who desolated the land of Judah and destroyed Jerusalem (Isa 1:7; Lam 5:2). This is the main reason they will be judged by the Lord and condemned to destruction in the future (Isa 25:2). However, unfavorable relationship between Israel and the other nations as well as the judgment of Israel's enemies is not the only portrayal that is found in the prophetic literature; the description of the Lord's judgment is blended with the portrayal of His loving kindness and His desire to save all nations.

One of the best examples of the Lord's love towards the other nations in the prophetic literature is found in the book of Jonah. In this book the prophet Jonah is sent to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, to prophesy about its destruction. However, God is portrayed as "a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness" (Jonah 4:2; cf. Exod 34:6) who decided not to destroy the city (Jonah 3:5-10). It is interesting to notice that while Jonah was on the boat the Gentile sailors also accepted the Lord and even offered a sacrifice to Him (Jonah 1:10-16). Thus, the book of Jonah describes the Lord who is willing to save other nations when they turn from their evil ways. In line with this description of God's mercy towards other nations as well as in accordance with the Pentateuchal laws which promote a positive treatment of aliens that reside in Israel, the prophetic literature also describes an eschatological future in which some of the foreigners will join the people of Israel in order "to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem" (Zech 8:20-23) and will ultimately become His people (Isa 49:6; Zech 2:10-13).

This idyllic description of the eschatological future in the prophetic literature finds its fulfilment in the NT where the concept of foreign/foreigner is again addressed, even though not so extensively as in the OT. Description of the ideal relationship that should exist between Israelites and non-Israelites from the OT is typologically fulfilled in the work of Christ, who abolished divisions among people by breaking down "the dividing wall of hostility" (Eph 2:14, ESV). Nevertheless, non-Israelite nations are still mentioned as foreigners but now with the access to all privileges given to Israelites. In a profound twist in appropriation of these terms, apostle Paul, who himself was a foreigner in Tarsus of Cilicia (Phil 4:4-6; Acts 22:3), describes humanity as a whole as a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17) and consequently foreigners on the earth whose true citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). Thus, in the same way as the OT patriarchs, the members of the NT church are also invited on the journey to their promised homeland (Heb 11:9, 13). See also Stranger, Sojourner, Aliens.