Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 19:33
And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
33, 34. Cp. Exo 22:21; Exo 23:9; Deu 10:19; cp. Mal 3:5.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The stranger – The foreigner. See Lev 16:29 note; Exo 23:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Lev 19:33-34
The stranger.
., shall be . . . as one born among you.
Strangers befriended
I. The danger apprehended. The fear was lest they should grow too inclusive and haughty, and begin to despise and oppress the individual foreigners that should remain in the land or might enter it for a settlement. The invitation to the stranger might be like that of the spider to the fly–a sirens voice luring to destruction. This is the very fate that has befallen the Jews in mediaeval and modern Europe. To prevent such usage the command of the text was issued. There arises a clashing of commercial interests; to see foreigners flourishing in the midst whilst home interests suffer, has often led to riot and persecution.
II. The principles oh which the command of the text is raised.
1. There is a recognition of the brotherhood of man. He shall be unto you as one born among you. This doctrine of the unity of the race was brought eminently to light by Jesus Christ.
2. There is a recognition of the royal law of love, both as to its extent and as an instrument of obedience. For
(1) love is not to be centred in self, nor
(2) is the class of neighbours to be restricted, and
(3) to love the stranger is seen to be the only security against inequitable dealing–three important truths.
Without affection, the strictest rules are in vain. To guide the ship by its helm is easier than by any external attachment of ropes. Better is it for a man to be impelled towards the goal by inward desire than to be pushed and dragged by the hands of others, tugging him now on this side, now on that.
3. It is instructive to discern in the law predictions of the gospel. Here are the germs that developed into trees laden with richest fruit.
III. The memories by which observance of the command is enforced.
1. By a remembrance of their own condition in former days. Christians! your time of bondage should make you compassionate to those still in darkness. Will you shun them as evil, or let praying and working on their behalf go hand in band?
2. By a remembrance of their relationship to God. After nearly every precept comes this solemn reminder, I am the Lord thy God. He was the covenant God to whom the Israelites had dedicated themselves, being sprinkled with sacrificial blood. If they entertained a proper sense of the authority of God, they would attend to this particular statute. Stand on the monument, and it is difficult to tell which is the giant and which the dwarf below in the streets. So before the majesty of God all earthly distinctions of race disappear. Love the stranger! God hath made all of one blood. (S. R. Aldridge, B. A.)
Courtesy to strangers
I. We ourselves are strangers on the earth. For ye were strangers in the land (Lev 19:34).
1. Dependent on other care than our own; human and Divine.
2. Transient, soon to leave, resting but a little while on earth. Observe: it is good to see in the case of others an analogy with our own; it will foster sympathy and helpfulness.
II. Courtesy should root itself in generous love. Thou shalt love him as thyself.
1. Acting to the stranger as if the service were being rendered to us. This will teach us what to do, and how to show kindness.
2. Recognising that we may perchance be in the strangers position. As thus needing kindness, let us now exhibit it.
3. Opening our hearts in ungrudging benevolence. Love gives lavishly. Courtesy should not be meagre and superficial.
III. Gratitude to heaven prompts us to generous kindness. Ye were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
1. Memory of Gods rescue should constrain us to care for others.
2. Gods relationship to us requires that we illustrate His lovingkindness.
3. His commands to courtesy cannot be evaded with impunity. (W. H. Jellie.)
Unkindness to a stranger
Philip of Macedon, hearing of one in his kingdom that refused most unthankfully to receive a stranger, of whom he had been formerly succoured in a time of extreme need, as having lost all he had by a wreck at sea, caused him to be worthily punished, by branding in his forehead these two letters I. H., i.e., Ingratus Hospes, The Unthankful Guest. Now, if every unthankful man were thus used, there would be many a blistered forehead amongst us. Oh the unthankfulness that we show unto God, who, when we were strangers to Him, shipwrecked even in an ocean of sin, sent His Son Christ Jesus to deliver us, yet we refuse to receive Him, to relieve Him in His distressed members, and to be obedient to His blessed commands I And then our ingratitude to one another is such that though we come off with smooth fronts here in this world, yet such characters of shame and confusion are engraven on our souls that men and angels shall read them with amazement when the books shall be laid open (Dan 7:10). (J. Spencer.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 33. If a stranger sojourn] This law to protect and comfort the stranger was at once humane and politic. None is so desolate as the stranger, and none needs the offices of benevolence and charity more: and we may add that he who is not affected by the desolate state of the stranger has neither benevolence nor charity. It was politic to encourage strangers, as in consequence many came, not only to sojourn, but to settle among the Jews, and thus their political strength became increased; and many of these settlers became at least proselytes of the gate if not proselytes of the covenant, and thus got their souls saved. Hence humanity, sound policy, and religion said, Vex not the stranger; thou shalt love him as thyself. The apostle makes use of a strong argument to induce men to hospitality towards strangers: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares, Heb 13:2. Moses also uses a powerful motive: Ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. The spirit of the precept here laid down, may be well expressed in our Lord’s words: Do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Either with opprobrious expressions, or grievous exactions.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
33, 34. if a stranger sojourn withthee in your land, ye shall not vex himThe Israelites were tohold out encouragement to strangers to settle among them, that theymight be brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God; andwith this in view, they were enjoined to treat them not as aliens,but as friends, on the ground that they themselves, who werestrangers in Egypt, were at first kindly and hospitably received inthat country.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And if a stranger sojourn with you in your land,…. Ben Gersom, and others, understand this of a proselyte of righteousness, who was circumcised, and in all things conformed to the Jewish religion; but it may be interpreted of a proselyte of the gate, who was not an idolater, since he is described as one sojourning with them, and indeed of any stranger, who for a time was providentially cast among them:
ye shall not vex him: with hard and grievous words, upbraiding him with his former ignorance and idolatry, and saying unto him, as Jarchi observes, yesterday thou wast a worshipper of idols, and now thou comest to learn the law; nor distress him by any means in business, or with law suits; [See comments on Ex 22:21].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
A few commandments are added of a judicial character. – Lev 19:33, Lev 19:34. The Israelite was not only not to oppress the foreigner in his land (as had already been commanded in Exo 22:20 and Exo 23:9), but to treat him as a native, and love him as himself.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 33, 34:
This text amplifies the mandate given in Ex 22:21; 23:9, and is incorporated into the positive Law. It extends the law of verse 18 to include the “stranger” or foreigner who lives in Israel.
“Stranger,” ger, a sojourner, one not native-born.
“Dwelleth,” gur, “inhabit, draw together.” From the same root word as “stranger.”
Beginning with Abraham, Israel was not a permanent resident in any land, but looked for a city “eternal and in the heavens” (Heb 11:8-14). They lived as temporary residents in Egypt. Their status as “strangers” demanded that they show concern for those who were “strangers” among them. Their relationship to Jehovah their Elohim was the basis for their hospitality, see Heb 13:2.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Lev 19:33
. And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land. Before I pass on to the other iniquities, I have thought fit to introduce this precept, wherein the people are commanded to cultivate equity towards all without exception. Fob if no mention had been made of strangers, the Israelites would have thought that, provided they had not injured any one of their own nation, they had fully discharged their duty; but, when God recommends guests and sojourners to them, just as if they had been their own kindred, they thence understand that equity is to be cultivated constantly and towards all men. Nor is it without cause that God interposes Himself and His protection, lest injury should be done to strangers; for since they have no one who would submit to ill-will in their defense, they are more exposed to the violence and various oppressions of the ungodly, than as if they were under the shelter of domestic securities. The same rule is to be observed towards widows and orphans; a woman, on account of the weakness of her sex, is exposed to many evils, unless she dwells under the shadow of a husband; and many plot against orphans, as if they were their prey, because they have none to advise them. Since, then, they are thus destitute of human aid, God interposes to assist them; and, if they are unjustly oppressed, He declares that He will be their avenger. In the first passage He includes widows and orphans together with strangers; in the latter He enumerates strangers only; yet the substance is the same, viz., that all those who are destitute and deprived of earthly succor, are under the guardianship and protection of God, and preserved by His hand; and thus the audacity of those is restrained, who trust that they may commit any wickedness with impunity, provided no earthly being resists them. No iniquity, indeed, will be left unavenged by God, but there is a special reason why He declares that strangers, widows, and orphans are taken under His care; inasmuch as the more flagrant the evil is, the greater need there is of an effectual remedy. He recommends strangers to them on this ground, that the people, who had themselves been sojourners in Egypt, being mindful of their ancient condition, ought to deal more kindly to strangers; for although they were at last oppressed by cruel tyranny, still they were bound to consider their entrance there, viz., that poverty and hunger had driven their forefathers thither, and that they had been received hospitably, when they were in need of aid from others. When He threatens, that if the afflicted widows and orphans cry unto Him, their cry shall be heard, He does not mean that He will not interfere, if they endure their wrongs in silence; but He speaks in accordance with the ordinary practice, that those who find no consolation elsewhere, are wont to appeal to Him. Meanwhile, let us be sure that although those who are injured abstain from complaining, yet God does not by any means forget His office, so as to overlook their wrongs. Nay, there is nothing which incites Him more to inflict punishment on the ungodly, than the endurance of His servants.
The nature of the punishment is also expressed; those who have afflicted widows and orphans shall perish by the sword, so that their own widows and orphans may be exposed to the audacity, violence, and knavery of the ungodly. Moreover, it must be observed that, in the second passage, they are commanded to love strangers and foreigners as themselves. Hence it appears that the name of neighbor is not confined to our kindred, or such other persons with whom we are nearly connected, but extends to the whole human race; as Christ shows in the person of the Samaritan, who had compassion on an unknown man, and performed towards him the duties of humanity neglected by a Jew, and even a Levite. (Luk 10:30.)
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(33) And if a stranger sojourn with thee.The stranger, for whose benefit the legislators enacted so many humane and benign laws, and with regard to whom the book of Leviticus has laid down so many precepts, is one of non-Jewish origin, but who had joined the Jewish faith. He had, therefore, to undergo the rite of circumcision; he had to fast on the great Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29); he had to submit to the regulations about sacrifices (Lev. 17:8-9; Lev. 22:18); he had to abstain from eating blood and the flesh of animals torn by wild beasts (Lev. 22:10; Lev. 22:15); he had to practise the laws of chastity (Lev. 18:26); like the Israelite by birth, he had to refrain from blasphemy, and obey the moral precepts (Lev. 24:16-22). These were some of the conditions of his sojourning in the land.
Ye shall not vex him.Having once been admitted into the community, the Israelites were forbidden to upbraid him with his nationality or throw at him the fact that he was originally an idolater. They are thus prohibited calling him foreigner or neophyte, a practice which every civilised nation and religious community are prone more or less to indulge in to this day, with regard to aliens and those who have embraced their faith.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Right Attitude Towards the Resident Alien ( Lev 19:33-34 ).
Lev 19:33-34
“And if a stranger sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the home-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.”
The resident alien who lives among them is not to be wronged. Rather he is to be treated as though he were a native of the land, and is to be loved by them as they love themselves (compare Lev 19:18). This is because Israel will remember how they were in the same position in the land of Egypt, and will recognise that they must treat him as they would have wished to be treated.
This application of the principle of loving one’s neighbour to all who came to live among them is one of the most remarkable teachings of the Old Testament. Had it been carried through it would have been a beacon to the world.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Lev 19:33. If a stranger sojourn with thee The reason subjoined, Lev 19:34 for this humanity to strangers, for ye were strangers, &c. evidently proves that strangers in general, not proselytes only to the Jewish religion, are here meant. The narrow-minded principles which the Jews in future times too strongly displayed, are no sort of objection to the generous and hospitable intention of this law.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Lev 19:33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
Ver. 33. And if a stranger. ] See Trapp on “ Exo 22:21 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
thee. Some codices, with Samaritan Pentateuch, Targum of Onkelos, The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read “you”.
vex = oppress.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
And if: Exo 22:21, Exo 23:9, Deu 10:18, Deu 10:19, Deu 24:14, Mal 3:5
vex him: or, oppress him, Jer 7:6, Eze 22:7, Eze 22:29
Reciprocal: Deu 14:21 – the stranger Deu 23:20 – a stranger
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 19:33. Vex him Either with opprobrious expressions, or grievous exactions.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Lev 19:33-36. Final Rules of Humanity and Justice.Resident aliens are to be respected; fraud is to be banished. For the stranger, cf. Lev 17:8 f.*. Straightforward dealing is here placed in a position of special importance. It is uniformly emphasized by the prophets (Amo 5:24, Mic 6:8, Eze 45:9 ff.). In early stages of society, untested and unstandardised weights and measures make dishonesty easy. The weights unearthed in the soil of Palestine (e.g. at Gezer) make no pretence to exactness. The isolated fragment in Num 15:37-41* (provision of fringes on garments) seems to belong, in style and matter, to H, and would best be inserted after Lev 19:31.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
This list concludes with commands to practice honesty in judicial matters. Lev 19:37 is a summary exhortation.
Since the church contains people of every nation it is no longer necessary for Christians to observe the laws that typified Israel’s uniqueness among the other nations. Nevertheless God still calls Christians to imitate Himself (cf. Mat 5:48; 1Co 11:1), to "be holy, for I am holy" (1Pe 1:16). Application of the imperatives in this chapter is different for Christians, but the fundamental principles of holy living remain the same.
"God’s people must conform to his holiness by keeping his commandments (the letter of the law), by dealing with others in love (the spirit of the law), by living according to the standards of separation in the world, and by demonstrating kindness and justice to others." [Note: Ross, p. 365.]