The figure of the stranger or migrant in the Bible
Article summary proposed by the Contacts review with LLM assistance
This article by biblical scholar Daniel Gerber examines the figure of the foreigner and the migrant in the Bible, from the earliest narratives of Genesis to the New Testament epistles. Taking the form of a synthetic exegetical study, it draws on a lexical analysis of the Hebrew terms designating the foreigner (*nakri*, *tosab*, *ger*) and on a structured survey of both Testaments. The central idea is that the Bible does not cast a uniform gaze on the foreigner: the Old Testament oscillates between protective legislation, identity exclusivism, and universalist openness, while the New Testament effects a decisive shift by conferring on the figure of the foreigner a universal soteriological dimension. The contribution of the article lies in its highlighting of a coherent theological evolution: the foreigner moves from a partially protected legal and ethnic status to a spiritual category redefined by the work of Christ, abolishing the boundaries between Jews and Gentiles.
This article has not been translated yet — it is available in its French version here.
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