![]() ![]() When Israel was constituted as a nation at Sinai (Exod 19-24), a concern for resident aliens was etched into the legal system. This pilgrim existence characterized early Israel ( Exod 6:4 ), as the embryonic nation was shaped in Egypt, another foreign country ( Exod 22:20 23:9 ). The patriarchs' lives were marked by a rootlessness, as the only land they actually received was a grave for Sarah, Abraham's wife (chap. Abram and his family, the founders of the Israelite nation, obeyed the call of God to emigrate to this land, leaving Mesopotamia to become resident aliens in Canaan ( 12:10 20:1 23:4 ). 12) commences with blessing as a family receives a divine pledge of land and a promise of progeny that will bless the alienated nations. If the early history of the Bible ends with curse the disintegration of humanity into many nations the beginning of Israel's national history (chap. A divided humanity, alienated from God and from itself, is in desperate need of a home. The tower of Babel incident ( 11:1-9 ) is the reason for these divisions, as God confuses the language and disperses the human race. 10), portraying the remarkable growth of the human community with its variety of racial, linguistic, and political divisions. This is the background to the important Old Testament theme of the promise of land.Īfter the judgment of the flood, the Book of Genesis records the Table of Nations (chap. With the fall, humanity is exiled from God's immediate presence into a "foreign" land. The creation account records the first human residence in the garden of Eden. ![]() A less permanent settler was known as a "stranger" or "temporary resident." Sometimes the term "foreigner" is used to translate a Hebrew word that generally means an "outsider" from a different race, tribe, or family. Words like immigrant, refugee, and tourist more specifically indicate a person’s status.Įxample: The secluded island nation was known for being distrustful of foreigners and rarely allowed visitors from other countries.Person from a different racial, ethnic, and linguistic group as in contrast to a "native." Circumstances during biblical times often forced people to emigrate to another country, where they would become "resident aliens" (see Gen 19:9 Ruth 1:1 ). Although foreigner can be used in a neutral way, it can also be used in a way that’s very offensive. It implies that the person or people being discussed are not acceptable in some way-that they don’t belong where they are. Sometimes, foreigner is used negatively to harshly judge or discriminate against a person’s culture, customs, language, or country. However, foreigner implies that a person has different customs and culture or speaks a different language. The word foreigner is similar to words like stranger and outsider, referring to a person who is from outside a community. A foreigner is a person from a different country than the one being referred to, as in The country was welcoming to foreigners from neighboring countries.įoreigner is a noun form of the adjective foreign, which is used to describe someone or something that is from another place, particularly another country, as in foreign country and foreign language.įoreigner can be used more generally to mean a person from outside someone’s community or group. ![]()
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