Leviticus 19:34 · Symbol · Hospitality
The Words Philoxenia and Ger
The Hebrew ger and the Greek philoxenia lead a small family of words for the sojourner, the guest and the host, from the Law to the letters of the apostles.
Moses named his son Gershom and gave the reason with the noun ger, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land” (Exodus 2:22).
You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
- The word
- גֵּר (ger), H1616
- First appears
- Genesis 15:13 “Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for…”
Summary
Hebrew has a noun for a person who lives among a people not his own, ger, and a verb for living so, gur. Beside them stand toshav, the resident alien, and nokri, the foreigner. In Greek the verbs xenizo and hypodechomai name the act of taking in a guest, and hypodechomai is the verb used of Martha, Zacchaeus, Jason and Rahab. The sense of each word comes from the verses where it stands.
- Ger (H1616), the sojourner, stands 92 times in the Hebrew Bible, and 66 of those uses are in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
- Leviticus 19:34 joins the noun ger to its verb gur and tells Israel to love the sojourner, because Israel had been sojourners in Egypt.
- Abraham called himself a ger and a toshav, a sojourner and a resident alien, when he asked the Hittites for a burial site (Genesis 23:4).
- In Greek, philoxenia names the practice of hospitality and philoxenos the person who practises it, a mark Paul requires of every overseer.
- The Septuagint often renders ger by proselytos, and in the New Testament proselytos means a convert to Judaism.
Scripture's Words for Welcome
The Law names the sojourner three times in one verse of Exodus, and Jesus names the stranger among the least of His brothers.
Hospitality is the value of receiving the stranger and the guest. The Berean text renders its Hebrew and Greek words as stranger, foreigner, outsider and resident, and one English word can stand for two originals. It renders ger as foreigner in Leviticus 19:34, and it renders nokri the same way when Ruth calls herself a foreigner in Ruth 2:10.
The Law gives its commands about the stranger under the name ger, so whom that name covers decides whom the commands reach. A reader who meets the word foreigner in an English verse can learn from the Hebrew whether the person is a settled ger or a nokri.
The stranger in each TestamentExodus 23:9; Matthew 25:35
Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.Israel must not oppress the sojourner because it knows from Egypt the nefesh, the life, of a sojourner, which the Berean text renders how it feels.
For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,The King's word for the stranger taken in is xenos, the noun on which the Greek words of hospitality are formed.
Where the Words Stand
The Hebrew words of the table stand 248 times in all and the Greek words 41 times, so the Old Testament names the stranger far more often.
Ger and its verb gur stand 189 times in the Hebrew Bible, while philoxenia, the Greek noun for hospitality, stands twice.
| Word | Gloss in the lexicon | Uses | Books with the most uses | A verse where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greek | ||||
| philoxenia, φιλοξενία, G5381 | hospitableness | 2 | Romans and Hebrews, one use each | “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:2) |
| philoxenos, φιλόξενος, G5382 | fond of guests, i.e. hospitable | 3 | 1 Timothy, Titus and 1 Peter, one use each | “he must be hospitable” (Titus 1:8) |
| xenos, ξένος, G3581 | foreign (literally, alien, or figuratively, novel) | 14 | Matthew 5, Acts 2, Ephesians 2, Hebrews 2; 7 books in all | “I was a stranger and you took Me in” (Matthew 25:35) |
| xenizo, ξενίζω, G3579 | to be a host (passively, a guest) | 10 | Acts 7, 1 Peter 2, Hebrews 1 | “He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days.” (Acts 28:7) |
| xenodocheo, ξενοδοχέω, G3580 | to be hospitable | 1 | 1 Timothy, one use | “entertaining strangers” (1 Timothy 5:10) |
| hypodechomai, ὑποδέχομαι, G5264 | to admit under one's roof, i.e. entertain hospitably | 4 | Luke 2, Acts 1, James 1 | “So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully.” (Luke 19:6) |
| proselytos, προσήλυτος, G4339 | an arriver from a foreign region, i.e. (specially), an acceder (convert) to Judaism ("proselyte") | 3 | Acts 2, Matthew 1 | “Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism” (Acts 6:5) |
| paroikos, πάροικος, G3941 | having a home near, i.e. (as noun) a by-dweller (alien resident) | 4 | Acts 2, Ephesians 1, 1 Peter 1 | “as foreigners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11) |
| Hebrew | ||||
| gur, גּוּר, H1481, verb | properly, to turn aside from the road (for a lodging or any other purpose), i.e. sojourn (as a guest) | 97 | Jeremiah 13, Leviticus 11, Psalms 11, Isaiah 10; 22 books in all | “Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while” (Genesis 12:10) |
| ger, גֵּר, H1616, noun | properly, a guest | 92 | Deuteronomy 22, Leviticus 21, Exodus 12, Numbers 11; 16 books in all | “I am a foreigner and an outsider among you.” (Genesis 23:4) |
| nokri, נׇכְרִי, H5237 | strange, in a variety of degrees and applications (foreign, non-relative, adulterous, different, wonderful) | 45 | Proverbs 9, Ezra 7, Deuteronomy 5; 19 books in all | “even though I am a foreigner” (Ruth 2:10) |
| toshav, תּוֹשָׁב, H8453 | resident alien | 14 | Leviticus 8; 7 books in all | “you are but foreigners and residents with Me” (Leviticus 25:23) |
hypodechomai, ὑποδέχομαι, G5264, proselytos, προσήλυτος, G4339, paroikos, πάροικος, G3941, Hebrew, gur, גּוּר, H1481, verb, ger, גֵּר, H1616, noun, nokri, נׇכְרִי, H5237, toshav, תּוֹשָׁב, H8453
The counts and a printed concordanceAbbott-Smith (1922)
The counts are those of the site's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, and a printed concordance may differ by a few. Abbott-Smith's lexicon lists proselytos at Acts 2:10 as well, a fourth use the tagged text does not mark.
Philoxenia and Philoxenos, the Practice and the Person
The noun names the practice, the adjective names the person who keeps it, and a rarer verb names the deed.
Philoxenia is a noun for a practice, and both of its uses come in lists of what a church does. In Romans 12:13 it follows sharing with the saints in need, and in Hebrews 13:2 it follows brotherly love.
Paul's two lists for the overseer1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8
Philoxenos is the adjective, and it describes a person. Two of its three uses stand in Paul's lists of what an overseer must be.
An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,Paul sets hospitable beside self-controlled and able to teach, so the welcome of guests is part of the overseer's character.
Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.The list of what an overseer must be in Titus 1:8 opens with hospitable and pairs it with a lover of good.
Xenodocheo, the enrolled widow's welcome of strangers1 Timothy 5:10
The verb xenodocheo, to receive strangers, stands once, in the list of good deeds that mark a widow the church may enroll. It sits there between bringing up children and washing the feet of the saints.
Xenos and Xenizo, Stranger, Guest and Host
Xenos stands 14 times in seven books of the New Testament, and its verb xenizo stands ten times.
The lexicon defines xenos as foreign and, by implication, a guest or an entertainer.
Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as does our brother Quartus.Here the tagged text glosses xenos as host, so one word names both sides of the welcome.
Xenos rendered stranger, strange and foreignMatthew 25; Ephesians 2:19; Hebrews 11:13 and 13:9; Acts 17:18
The tagged text renders it a stranger in Matthew 25 and strangers in Ephesians 2:19 and Hebrews 11:13. It renders it strange in Hebrews 13:9 and foreign in Acts 17:18, where some philosophers in Athens said Paul seemed to be advocating foreign gods.
Xenizo names lodging in Acts and surprise in 1 PeterActs 10:6; 1 Peter 4:4 and 4:12
The verb xenizo is glossed to be a host, and in the passive to be a guest. Seven of its uses are in Acts, and four of those stand in the story of Peter and Cornelius.
He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”The angel sends Cornelius to the house by the sea where Peter is lodging with Simon the tanner.
Former companions think it strange that believers no longer join them (1 Peter 4:4), and believers are told not to be surprised at the fiery trial. In 1 Peter 4:12 the verb and the adjective stand side by side.
Ger, Gur and Toshav, the Sojourner
The Hebrew noun names the sojourner, its verb names the act of sojourning, and a second noun often stands beside it.
The Berean text gives gur no single English word. A man of Bethlehem went "to reside in the land of Moab" (Ruth 1:1), and the LORD told Isaac, "Stay in this land as a foreigner" (Genesis 26:3). In Leviticus 19:34 the Hebrew reads hagger haggar, the sojourner who sojourns with you.
“I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”Abraham owns no ground in Canaan and must ask for a burial site for Sarah, and he names his standing with the two nouns.
Ger and toshav describe Israel before GodLeviticus 25:23; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalm 39:12
In Leviticus 25:23 the LORD forbids selling the land for good, since it is His and Israel holds it as ger and toshav with Him. In Psalm 39:12 the psalmist uses the same pair of himself before the LORD.
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.David prays with ger and toshav for himself and his people, the pair Abraham used of himself before the Hittites.
Moses, a ger in a nokri landExodus 2:22
In Exodus 2:22 Moses sets the two words side by side, ger for himself and nokri for the land. Nokri is the wider word, and the lexicon glosses it strange in a variety of degrees and applications.
Hypodechomai, Receiving Under One's Roof
Four people in the New Testament receive guests under this verb, two in the Gospel of Luke, one in Acts and one in James.
Martha, Zacchaeus, Jason and RahabLuke 10:38; Luke 19:6; Acts 17:7; James 2:25
Each of the four hosts of hypodechomai takes a guest into a house.
| Host | Guest | The words of the Berean text |
|---|---|---|
| Martha | Jesus | “a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home” (Luke 10:38) |
| Zacchaeus | Jesus | “So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully.” (Luke 19:6) |
| Jason at Thessalonica | Paul and Silas | “Jason has welcomed them into his home” (Acts 17:7) |
| Rahab | The two spies | “she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route” (James 2:25) |
Jason's welcome became the charge brought against him, so receiving the apostles under his roof put his house at risk. James names Rahab's welcome of the spies among the actions by which she was justified.
A Word's Sense Comes From Its Use
The parts of philoxenia suggest one meaning, and its two uses show another.
Philoxenia is formed from the stem of philos, which the lexicon glosses fond or friendly, and from xenos. Read by its parts it would mean a fondness for strangers. The lexicon gives its meaning as hospitality, the practice of receiving guests, and that is how both verses use it.
How the Words Have Been Taught
Three commentators of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries explained the sojourner of the Law and of Abraham.
1662 to 1714 · Matthew Henry
Strangers are to be invited to God's grace
The reading1 paragraph
Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, read Leviticus 19:33 to 34 as a charge to bring strangers to God. He wrote, "Strangers shall be welcome to God's grace, and therefore we should do what we can to invite them to it". He added that people "of different countries, customs, and languages, are all made of one blood".
1703 to 1791 · John Wesley
Abraham confessed himself a pilgrim on the earth
The reading1 paragraph
John Wesley, in his Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, read Abraham's words in Genesis 23:4 as a confession of faith. He called them an occasion "which Abraham took to confess that he was a stranger and a pilgrim upon earth".
1762 to 1832 · Adam Clarke
Israel learned in Egypt what a foreigner feels
The reading1 paragraph
Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, explained what the people of Exodus 23:9 knew from Egypt. He wrote that they knew "the fears, cares, anxieties, and dismal forebodings which the heart of a stranger feels".
Who Was the Ger, and How Far Does the Charge Reach?
Readers have taken the ger as the resident foreigner and, in many laws, as the convert to Israel's faith, and each reading meets an objection.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (1889) reports that the Septuagint uses proselytos "often for גֵּר". By the time of the New Testament the word meant a Gentile who had become a Jew, as in Matthew 23:15 and Acts 13:43.
The ger is the resident foreigner, owed protection and loveAdam Clarke; John Gill
Adam Clarke wrote on Leviticus 19:33 that the law "to protect and comfort the stranger was at once humane and politic". He added, "None is so desolate as the stranger".
John Gill, in his Exposition of the Old Testament, read Deuteronomy 10:19 as a call to "sympathize with such, and show them compassion, relieve them in distress".
The objection: Exodus 12:48 lets a ger keep the Passover only after his household's males are circumcised, so some laws of the ger assume he has joined Israel's worship.
Many laws of the ger concern the convertJohn Wesley; John Gill
John Wesley wrote on Leviticus 19:34 that, as to church privileges, the law "concerns only those who were proselytes".
John Gill read the ger of Exodus 12:48 by the later Jewish classes of converts. He called the sojourner "a proselyte of the gate, he observing the commands of the sons of Noah". After circumcision, he wrote, "he would become a proselyte of righteousness".
If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it. The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”The Passover law sets the circumcised ger beside the native under one law, the text Wesley and Gill read of the convert.
The objection: Leviticus 19:34 grounds the love in Israel's years as foreigners in Egypt, a ground that holds for every foreigner whether or not he joins Israel's worship.
Strangers No Longer
The Greek words reach the Gentile believers of Paul's letters.
Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,Paul uses xenoi and paroikoi, the plurals of xenos and paroikos, for what the Gentile believers no longer are.
Sources
Scripture is the Berean Standard Bible.
- The tagged Hebrew and Greek text of the Bible, with Strong's numbers, morphology and glosses (STEP Bible, Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0)
- STEP Bible TBESG and TBESH, the brief lexicons based on Abbott-Smith (1922) and on Strong's dictionary (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0)
- Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), entry 4339, proselytos.
- Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible (1832), on Exodus 23:9 and Leviticus 19:33.
- Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710), on Leviticus 19:33 to 34.
- John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765), on Genesis 23:4 and Leviticus 19:34.
- John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748 to 1763), on Exodus 12:48 and Deuteronomy 10:19.
Keep Studying
Read it1
In this value4
Doctrines2