Because You Were a Biblical Theology of Relationship With the Alien

8/3/2019 Because You Were a Biblical Theology of Relationship With the Alien

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Because You Were:

A Biblical Theology of Relationship with the Alien

Jessica Mast

Professor Lynn Jost

Biblical Theology I

May 7, 2011

Table of Contents


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1. Introduction

2. The Law

a. Hospitality

b. The Presence of the Foreignerc. Historical Memory

3. The Foreigner

a. The Identity of the Ger

4. Theological Synthesis

a. Martens and Brueggemann

b. In Conversation with Christian Community Development

5. Contemporary Relevance

6. Conclusion

1. Introduction

The question of the stranger, the foreigner, the alien, and the other is a question faced by

any group of people seeking to maintain identity in a world of pluralism. Moreover, because the Old

Testament Hebrews seek to maintain integrity as people of YHWH, the question of how to interact with


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the other inherently includes an ethical dimension. How do Gods people navigate a healthy relationship

with the stranger, sojourner, and foreigner, as informed by their covenant relationship with YHWH? And

as people of God today, how do we respond to OT literature and create a biblical theology of relationship

with the alien?

This paper will explore the relationship of covenant law and the alien, in the context of Exodus

Book of the Covenant, the holiness codes of Leviticus, and the book of Deuteronomy, using the New

International Version translation. The law, integral to crafting healthy community, provides security for

marginalized groups within the Hebrew people; trusting that Gods favor often rests with the vulnerable,

the foreigner is especially treasured in the laws mandates. This study will first seek to gain a general

understanding of what is said of the foreigner within these parameters of Pentateuch law. Second, the four

Hebrew terms describing the stranger will be explored -ger, nokri, tosab, andzar- for their usage and

individual nuances, concentrating on theger. Third in this paper is the theological analysis of relationship

with the alien, putting this information in conversation with the literature of Elmer Martens and Walter

Brueggemann, and with core principles of a Christian Community Development framework. Finally, the

issue of contemporary relevance will be explored relative to the authors own faith background of

Anabaptism.

A biblical theology of relationship with the alien is built on the foundation of motivation, and the

most important theological element that runs as a thread between all pieces of this study. The motivation

for healthy relationship with the alien comes from YHWHs character, and Israels experience as a

once alien, but now redeemed, people. Five separate instances throughout the literature studied reveal a

theology based on historical memory - that Israel is to treat the alien with justice, precisely because the

people of Israel were once aliens in Egypt and were redeemed by God. This paradigm can be extremely

powerful for North American Christians today (specifically ethnic Anabaptists) as we seek to love our

neighbors who may be strangers - precisely because we were once oppressed and have experienced Gods

redemption.


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2. The Law

Hospitality

M. Daniel Carroll, in his work on contemporary Hispanic immigration issues and OT studies,

begins his examination of law with the foundation of hospitality. Hospitality to the stranger is a virtue,

not just to the Hebrew people but to other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Carroll sees an intensifying of

this cultural norm within the laws that mark the people of God, as hospitality becomes valued for its

spiritual significance, and an echo of the hospitality that YHWH manifests: Whatever might have been

the common cultural impulse to be hospitable to the stranger in ancient times is here given a more

profound motivation. To be hospitable is to imitate God. (Carroll 94) Rebecca Jimenez Yoder writes

that biblical hospitality involves an encounter with God, a response to Gods call and accountability.

(Yoder 40) This relational interaction between YHWH and his people manifests into hospitality, weaves

its way into Torah law, and becomes part of Israels identity as a people group. With Torah law not

simply a set of archaic legal codes meant for sacrificial atonement (as we today can so easily assume), but

instead a tradition that helps define and describe covenant community, The laws reflect something

deeper: Israels stance toward the foreigner was part of the larger fabric of its ethical life. It was part of

the ethos of what it meant to be the people of God. (Caroll 99)

The Presence of the Foreigner

A cursory glance at the aliens presence in the law codes reveals that much of the content is

centered around a few key elements of Israels social structure. Foreigners are specifically included in

Sabbath rest from their work (Ex 20:10, Lev 16:29, Deut 5:14), mentioned in conjunction with Israelites

or native-born people when subject to the same dietary and social regulations (Lev 17, Lev 18:16, Lev

20:2, Lev 22, Lev 24:27), listed as a beneficiary of gleaning policies and rhythms of redistributive tithing


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(Lev 19:10, Lev 23:22, Deut 14:19, Deut 26:29-31, Deut 26:12), and invited to celebrate in Israels

religious feasts and listen to the reading of the law and renewing of the covenant (Deut 15, Deut 26:11,

Deut 29:11, Deut 31:12), among other interactions. The alien translated as nokri is not allowed certain

privileges retained for native-born Israelites, such as kingship and interest-free debt repayment, recorded

in Deut 15:3, 17:15, and 23:20. The sojourner is both protected under Torah and expected to share in the

responsibility of the societal order; but in both cases, the distinction of foreign-ness is maintained,

without the alien being considered part of the majority culture.

Especially in Deuteronomy, the alien is found often connected with widows and orphans in the

call for justice and special attention. Grouping the stranger and alien with other handicapped groups

of the blind, deaf, widows, and orphans, William Dyrness notes a special concern in Gods heart for the

disadvantaged: ... it is recognized [in the OT] how unjust the fallen order is, and those who are special

victims of injustice provide Gods people with a heaven-sent opportunity to express the mercy of God

himself. (Dyrness 134) Special instances that do not resemble these above categories are certainly worth

noting as well, especially concentrated in Leviticus 25; both tosab andger, terms we will explore later,

are present in this Leviticus passage that might be understood as a blue parakeet passage. First, Israel

is called YHWHs aliens in verse 23, making this sojourning a mark of the holy people; the passage

continues to exhort Israelites to support one another financially as they support aliens or temporary

residents in verse 35. The assumption here is that there is a standard of generosity towards the stranger

that is already familiar. Verse 40 reveals that hired workers and temporary residents can work until the

Year of Jubilee brings them freedom, and suggests that a poor fellow Hebrew may take this course of

action. Verse 45 presents an allowance for temporary residents to be bought as slaves, in a seemingly

different treatment than the usual thus far, but is swiftly followed by verse 47s provision for Israelites

who may need to sell themselves to foreigners who have become wealthy. These unconventional

mentions of the alien remind the reader that the experience with outsiders certainly varies by situation and

circumstance, and that the issue of dealing with the foreigner covers a wide range of possibilities.


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Historical Memory

The most powerful call to live justly with the foreigner comes five times throughout the texts.

This motivation of former enslavement, and Gods redemptive hand, is unmistakable as justification for

treating the alien with mercy. These texts serve as our basis for contemporary relevance.

Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. (Exodus 22:21)

Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens; because you were aliens in Egypt.

(Exodus 23:9)

When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your

native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:19)

Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you

were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. (Deuteronomy 24:17)

3. The Foreigner

The English translations of these four Hebrew terms -ger, nokri, tosab, andzar - vary between

alien, sojourner, stranger, resident alien, and overlap in their usages. The adjectives nokri andzarrefer

more to those who may be newcomers in Israel, not as assimilated as others and perhaps retaining some

of their cultural distinctiveness by retaining their native religion. Although Ruth is known as a nokriyya

and other instances are positive, the idea of foreignness in both these terms carries a negative

connotation... used to refer to enemies, strange gods, a licentious woman, or foreign women of another

faith who would corupt an Israelite. (Carroll 100) Tosab occurs a few times in the texts, mostly in

conjuction withgeras the words describe a resident alien, resident dweller, or what one could bring

contemporary by the term of squatter. (Knauth 27)

The Identity of the Ger

By far the most occurring term here isger, used to describe both the identity of a sojourner,

as well as the nature of what makes a sojourner. Ethnicity is part of what defines ager, but even more

importantly is the dependent and vulnerable socioeconomic status of ager, as we see when the patriarchs


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are referred to as sojourners. ... it was not simply an indication of foreign ethnicity, however, but a

particularly vulnerable socioeconomic status calling for special protections in line with ancient hospitality

traditions. (Knauth 27) The term is used for both Israelites and non-Israelites, especially powerful

semantically in the above-mentioned five instances where Israel is reminded of their oppression in Egypt,

and their once-alien status. James Brenneman writes of three categories to the meaning of this sojourner.

First, an immigrant could be one who occupies a position somewhere between native-born and foreigner,

dependent on the hospitality of others as he or she travels through another peoples land. Second, he

speaks of the native displaced Canaanites, labeled by Israel by strangers but in actuality the indigenous

people remaining in their own land. (In studying the hospitality and protection around foreigners, it

is important to note that the story of Israel-foreigner interaction is not fully positive - especially with

instances such as the exclusion of the nokri from generous debt repayment policy, and Brennemans

understanding of Israels ethnocentrism. It is significant that different foreigners are treated in different

ways, and should be remembered as we do not seek to overshadow Israels reality with assumed

generosity.) Third, he points to immigrants in Leviticus as those specifically targeted for naturalization,

those anticipated as joining Israels ranks after their return from the exile. (Brenneman 8)

Theger, as we have already seen, is one term that refers to a myraid of identities. The New

Iterpreters Dictionary makes the connection between reference to non-Israelite alien and Israelite

sojourner on the basis of two identity markers, which will become foundational for our contemporary

relevance piece. Theger is a person not native to the local area and thus without family ties or landed

property. (Knauth 29) These two resources, the relational security of family ties and the financial

security of land ownership, are set in contrast to what Israel as a community of people connected to their

land holds dear. These two varieties of poverty will be revisited later in the study. Although thegeris

assimilated in some ways to the Hebrew dominant culture, the natural expectation is that thegerwould

be a landless, semi-nomadic wanderer... or else some sort of dependent client or hireling - perhaps

a day-laborer or a mercenary in the army, or dependent in an Israelite household. (Knauth 29) This


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removal from full citizenship means a case must be exceptional for thegerto prosper economically, as we

see in the misfit passage of Leviticus 25 where thegerbecomes the party lending. Generally thegeris of

a different or lower status... dependent on a patron for protection. (Knauth 29)

Offering a different perspective, The Anchor Bible Dictionary makes clear that thegeris not

primarily a label regarding ethnicity, but instead regarding socioeconomic status, a legally disadvantaged

class. The groups with which they are constantly associated, widows, orphans, and Levites, are certainly

Israelites. (Cobling 315) The author agrees with Rolf Rendtorff in assuming that the most important,

or even the only thing that a permanentgerfrom an Israelite is the participation in the possession of

the land. (Rendtorff 85) Rendtorff draws on literature that contrasts thegerwith the ezrah, a native

born Israelite, and suggests that if thegeris to own land, there will no longer be any difference at all.

(Rendtorff 85) The ambiguity surrounding thegerleaves us with no certain answer as to whether this

alien is only defined by his class, or if the sojourner is to be understood as defined by both class and

origin. It seems too harsh, however, to assume that thegermay be fully assimilated with dominant

Hebrew culture, and fully integrated into the people of God, if thegerim are not in fact Israel-born. Even

with the alleviation of landlessness, more identitty markers are at stake - especially as we remember that

this foreigner is known for poverty of both wealth andrelationship.

4. Theological Synthesis

Martens and Brueggemann

To revisit the first question posed at the onset of this study, How do Gods people navigate a

healthy relationship with the stranger, sojourner, and foreigner, as informed by their covenant relationship

with YHWH? Elmer Martens speaks to this relationship of covenant and ethics, as covenant is seen as

one of the core pieces of Israels OT story; more importantly for this study, Martens lays out a fourfold

design for Gods interaction with his people. Salvation, covenant community, knowledge of God, and

land form the four elements, and serve as the four promises of a healthy relationship with the creator.


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Especially important is understanding the foreigner, alien, stranger, orgersperspective with each of

these elements. Thegeris a person experiencing relational poverty without covenant community,

financial poverty without land, and (depending on how we understand thegers specific identity) perhaps

spiritual poverty without knowledge of God. This design of God is far removed from the alien without the

specific legal codes that intervene to protect, invite in, and offer hospitality to the stranger. Martens

salvation, the deliverance from Egypt which shows Gods redeeming hand, is the absolute foundational

motivation for Israelites to respond justly to thegerin their midst. In the call to remembertheir own

salvation is the call to avoid repeating history written from another point of view.

Walter Brueggemann brings further insight into this historical memory piece of relationship with

the alien. He writes that the the competing systems of justice, pharaonic and covenantal, are in profound

dispute in the exodus narrative. (Brueggemann 105) He studies the contrast between two very different

ways of ordering society, doing justice, and navigating priorities - and reminds us that the way Israel is to

treat the alien fits into a larger picture of law. This laws purpose is to craft a worldview in explicit

contrastto the exploitation and oppression of Egypt. Relationship with the alien is a poignant part of this

contrast, especially when Israel is reminded that oppressing thegercompletely undermines the weight of

their personal history of Gods redemptive work.

In Conversation with Christian Community Development

As the author is a student of the Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary as well as the Fresnos Institute

for Urban Leadership (FIFUL), the challenge and joy of this project (and others) has been to make

connections between the two learning environments. The principles of urban-based Christian community

development can be understood, as written by their pioneer John M. Perkins, as practical biblical

principles evolved from years of living and working among the poor. (Perkins 17) The development of

these ideas by practitioners, and their birthing out of intentional listening to the outsider and to scripture

at once, equips them with a voice that is important to hear in conversation with the biblical study done so

far in this project. The three key principles are known as the Three Rs: Relocation, Reconciliation, and


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Redistribution.

Relocation, as a commitment of urban CCD, encourages Christians to physically root themselves

in the midst of poverty, set a personal stake in the neighborhood, and function as 'newcomer' until settled

into the culture. This choice to relocate, as many urban community development people seeking to be

good neighbors in a new context, expands the definition of who now is the alien, allows us

different 'others' in different contexts, and reminds those from the dominant culture that is it not only the

vulnerable who is the stranger. The identity of thegerhas become our own identity if we choose to root

ourselves in an unfamiliar context for the purpose of transformation. The theological response in

conversation with these two frameworks, is a choice to embrace an interdependent and culturally-critical

identity as theger, resonating with thegerim who are both the sojourning patriarchs and the dependent

marginalized.

The second principle of reconciliation means that God's redemptive work is able to break down

barriers of race, ethnicity, culture, theology, and economics; disparate groups are called to witness

together across boundaries for kingdom justice. The commitment to reconciliation creates cross-cultural

partnership as a priority, and recognizes the challenge in witnessing effectively together. It is apparent

that any kind of community development or transformation must be the work of not one dominant

monoculture, but varied groups who have a stake in the future of the community. The theological

response, born from clear calls in Leviticus, may be to intentionally include thegerin our

contemporary 'religious feasts' and celebrations of covenant renewal, crossing boundaries with hope for

reconciliation.

The third principle of redistribution has to do with understanding both the needs of a community

(felt and real) and the resources present in the community, that can be brought to life and shared. The

assumption is that God's people are present and rooted among those with poverty of varying kinds, able to


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put skills and resources to work as the community is empowered. Thegeris marked by a poverty of

wealth and relationship, and CCD reminds us that poverty or lack of resources can be manifested in all

different forms - financial, relational, educational, spiritual, and others. The freedom and flexibility of

organic redistribution means that different methods will be used to engage the foreigner because of

differing needs, echoing the variety of different protections and expectations placed on the alien in the

Pentateuch. It seems undeniable that the immigrant, legal or illegal, lacks both these resources; a

theological response birthed out of commitment to redistribution, and commitment to honor OT values, is

to resource the under-resourced, especially those who are vulnerable immigrants in our midst.

6. Contemporary Relevance

The issues of relevance today will be motivated by the authors own experience as a part of

Anabaptist culture. First, we revisit one of the most powerful primary texts around historical memory and

the foundation for justice in relationship with the alien. These few rich statements hold elements of ethics

instruction, reminder of Israels identity, and assertion of Gods authority and character.

When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your

native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

(Leviticus 19:33-34)

The bold suggestion here is that, if we understand thegertoday as a vulnerable immigrant, and

understand the people of Gods call to do justice as we remember our own story of oppression and

redemption - perhaps it should be Anabaptist voices leading the movement for healthy love of the alien,

and even comprehensive immigration reform. In a world where Christianity has become a dominant,

powerful, and secure faith practice, and where Christianity has become what John Howard Yoder refers

to as Constantinianized, the responsibility to remember redemption from oppression falls on those

groups whose persecution or hardship still remains strong in their historical memory. The author speaks

only from a North American Anabaptist perspective without assuming that other groups have the same


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relative security to speak prophetically against mistreatment of the aliens who are now in our midst; but

for this group, the memory of our own persecution is not too far gone to compel us to action.

To synthesize the Leviticus passage with our own experience of persecution, we can creatively

craft an alternative narrative:

When an immigrantlives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The immigrantliving with you must be treated as

one of yourown heritage. Love him as yourself, for you were immigrants persecuted in Europe. I am the Lord your God.

(built from Leviticus 19:33-34)

7. Conclusion

What we read in Exodus Book of the Covenant, the Holiness Codes of Leviticus, and throughout

the book of Deuteronomy is that the presence of aliens is not a thing to be ignored. Studying the presence

of the foreigner in the law codes, and understanding the relational and financial poverty that makes

thegera marginalized person, are imperative in our quest to navigate a healthy relationship with the

alien today. Justice for the foreigner is a key element of the law that seeks craft healthy community for

the Hebrew people who have been oppressed but now redeemed; principles of Christian community

development (and for some of us, an embrace of our identity as now redeemed Anabaptists) can propel

us to engage the Old Testament as alive and vital for our ethics today. A biblical theology of relationship

with the alien is built on the redemption of God, and sustained by the commitment to covenant

relationship with our creator.


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Works Cited

Brennemann, James E. The Stranger in our Midst: A Biblical Perspective. InLoving

Strangers as Ourselves: Biblical Reflections, 7-10. Mennonite Central Committee U.S: Akron,

Pennsylvania, 2006.

Brueggemann, Walter. Old Testament Theology: An Introduction. Abingdon Press:

Nashville, 2008.

Carroll, M. Daniel. Christians at the Border: Immigration, Church, and the Bible. Baker Academ

Jimenez Yoder, Rebecca. Welcoming the Strangers Among Us. InLoving Strangers as

Ourselves: Biblical Reflections, 7-10. Mennonite Central Committee U.S: Akron, Pennsylvania,

2006.

Jobling, David. Sojourner. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Ed. David N. Freedman.

New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Knauth, R.J.D. "Alien, Foreign Resident." The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible.

Ed. Katharine D. Sakenfeld. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006.


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Martens, Elmer. God's Design: A Focus on OT Theology. 3rd ed. Bibal Press: N.

Richaldn Hills, Texas, 1998.

Perkins, John M.Restoring At-Risk Communities. Baker Books: Ada, Michigan: 1995.

Rendtorff, R. The Gerin the Priestly Laws of the Pentateuch. InEthnicity and the

Bible, edited by Mark G. Brett, 77-87. Biblical Interpretation Series. Leiden: Brill, 1996.

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