What Sojourner Means for Believers Today

What is a Sojourner?

In biblical contexts, a 'sojourner' denotes a temporary resident or foreigner, a term central to God’s ethical mandates for justice and compassion.

Exodus 22:21 explicitly commands, 'You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt,' linking care for sojourners to Israel’s own history of exile. Leviticus 19:34 expands this, requiring, 'You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt,' framing hospitality as a reflection of divine love. These verses establish sojourners as a vulnerable group deserving of protection under God’s covenantal law.

These teachings set a theological foundation for later biblical themes of inclusion and mutual responsibility. They invite readers to consider how such principles might inform contemporary understandings of justice and community life.

The Ethical Treatment of Sojourners in Scripture

The Bible explicitly commands ethical care for sojourners as a reflection of God’s covenantal character.

Leviticus 19:33-34 mandates, ‘When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong… You shall love him as yourself,’ equating hospitality to sojourners with loving God (Lev. 19:18). Deuteronomy 10:18-19 expands this, declaring, ‘He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing… You shall love the stranger,’ framing God’s justice as a model for Israel’s communal ethics. These laws reveal a theological rationale: care for the vulnerable is inseparable from obedience to a God who champions the marginalized. By mirroring God’s character, Israel is called to embody divine compassion in tangible, structural ways.

This ethical mandate underscores that sojourner care is pragmatic and rooted in a covenantal identity. Israel’s own history as sojourners in Egypt (Exod. 22:21) becomes a hermeneutical key, binding their treatment of others to their experience of deliverance. Such teachings challenge modern readers to see justice as a lived expression of faith, not a peripheral concern.

How to Read Sojourners Correctly

To interpret 'sojourner' accurately, readers must consider its legal, ethical, and theological layers within biblical narrative contexts.

Legally, Exodus 22:21 prohibits mistreatment of sojourners, while Leviticus 19:34 frames their care as a covenantal obligation. Ethically, these laws reflect a divine mandate for justice, as seen in Deuteronomy 10:19, which ties Israel’s identity to God’s love for the stranger. Theologically, the repeated reference to Israel’s own history as sojourners in Egypt establishes a hermeneutical principle: ethical treatment of others is inseparable from remembering God’s deliverance.

This triadic approach ensures that modern readers neither reduce the term to a historical curiosity nor isolate its ethical implications from their theological foundation. By anchoring interpretation in both covenantal law and redemptive history, the biblical narrative invites a holistic engagement with the dignity and rights of all who dwell within God’s people’s midst.

Going Deeper

Exploring related biblical terms like 'stranger' and 'foreigner' in covenantal law reveals nuanced ethical expectations for communities of faith.

Leviticus 19:34 and Deuteronomy 10:19 use 'stranger' to reinforce obligations similar to those for sojourners, emphasizing structural compassion. Engaging with these terms invites reflection on how ancient mandates might shape modern commitments to justice and inclusion.