Immigration and the Bible: Biblical Principles & Contemporary Issues, pt. 1

Introduction

Immigration has been at the forefront of our nation’s political divide for quite some time. Few issues are as divisive. Passions run high. Discussions frequently generate more heat than light. They often devolve into shouting matches and name-calling. Advocates of one position or another substitute slogans and chants for reasoned discourse.

What is a Christian to think? As always, we should seek guidance from Scripture. “But,” someone may ask, “does Scripture even speak to the issue?” Indeed, it does. It addresses the issue both in broad principles as well as in numerous specific commandments.

Staking the Positions

Let’s begin by staking out the various positions. There are—at least theoretically— three. First, an increasing number of people on the left of the political spectrum (along with some Libertarians) advocate for a policy of “open borders.” This is the position that people should have a free and unrestricted right to enter and exit any country they please at their own discretion without interference by any governing authorities. This would of course effectively eliminate the category of illegal immigration. No immigration can be illegal in a system that legalizes all immigration.

What many who advocate for open borders don’t seem to realize, however, is that it would also effectively eliminate the very concept of a nation. What is a nation without geographical boundaries or an identifiable citizenry? Who governs such a nation? Perhaps more importantly, who elects those who govern it (who is given the right to vote)? 

We should also point out that from a practical standpoint, those who object to calling illegal immigrants illegal or who object to their deportation have implicitly adopted the open borders position even though they might not realize it.

Of course, some do realize that all these things go together. That’s exactly what they want. “No borders, no nations, stop deportations” is becoming a popular slogan among demonstrators both here and abroad.

At the opposite end of the spectrum would be those who say we should have no immigration. I don’t know if there is in fact anyone who takes this position, but at least it stands as the theoretical opposite extreme of the open borders position.

Most people land somewhere between these extremes. They don’t want open borders or a flood of illegal immigration. Neither do they want to put a stop to all immigration; they want an orderly immigration process governed by the rule of law. They may differ about the details (e.g., how many immigrants do we allow in the country each year, from what countries, on what basis, etc.), but they don’t want people crossing our borders illegally.

God and the Nations

We should begin our study by noting the Lord’s role in the founding of the nations. This began in Genesis 11 with the judgment at Babel and the confusion of human language. The text emphasizes the prior unity of the human race. “The whole earth had one language and the same words” (v. 1). They were “one people” (v. 6). They “migrated” together to the land of Shinar (v. 2) and worked together to build a city and a great tower, so that they might dwell together forever (vv. 3-4). But their ways displeased the Lord, and he said:

“Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth…

– Genesis 11:7-8

We should understand, however, that their places of settlement weren’t left to the outcome of chance. Moses said,

When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,

      when he divided mankind,

he fixed the borders of the peoples

      according to the number of the sons of God.

– Deuteronomy 32:8

There is some debate about the meaning of the last line, but the meaning of the first three is clear enough. The Lord divided the human race into nations and fixed their borders. Paul asserts the same thing in his speech in Athens when he says,

[God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place…

– Acts 17:26

He asserts that the Lord presides over the nations in terms of their rise and fall (their “allotted periods”) and the extent of their domain (“the boundaries of their dwelling place”). These things are not haphazard or solely due to human action, but are subject to the overruling providence of God.

We should also observe that the nations do not cease to exist under the reign of the Messiah, but learn to live together in peace.

It shall come to pass in the latter days

      that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

      and shall be lifted up above the hills;

and all the nations shall flow into it.

      And many peoples shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

      to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

      and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

      and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between the nations,

      and shall decide disputes for many peoples;

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

      and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

      neither shall they learn war anymore.

– Isaiah 2:1-4

David envisions a time when,

All the nations you have made shall come

      and worship before you, O Lord,

      and shall glorify your name.

– Psalm 86:9

The nations don’t cease to exist but learn to live and worship together in harmony as they follow the law of the Lord.

National Boundaries in Antiquity

The specific teaching we find in Scripture concerning immigration and our individual and national responsibility toward immigrants comes to us within a certain historical context. It’s important to understand this context if we want to understand the Bible’s teaching and apply it faithfully.

The first thing we should say here is that many people seem to be under the impression that national boundaries are a relatively new thing in history, that in the ancient world borders were ambiguous at best, and that immigration was much freer than it is now. But that was not the case, as James Hoffmeier as observes in his book, The Immigration Crisis:  Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible.[1] Hoffmeier was born and raised in Egypt and has been a refugee from war and lived as an alien in two different countries. He is currently professor of Old Testament and Near Eastern archaeology at Trinity International University. He writes,

Even in ancient times there were clearly delineated lands or countries, some large and others tiny. This is why the Old Testament speaks of the border of the land of Canaan (Exod. 16:35), Egypt (1 Kings 4:21; 2 Chron. 9:26; 26:8), and the borders of Israel (1 Sam. 27:1).[2]

He writes elsewhere:

Nations small and large had clearly recognizable borders, typically demarcated by natural features such as rivers, valleys, and mountain ranges, much as they are today. Warring Egyptian Pharaohs often claimed that they went on campaigns to widen or extend Egypt’s borders. Wars were fought over where boundary lines would be drawn, and forts were strategically placed on frontiers to defend the territory and to monitor movements of pastoralists.[3]

One might think that people could just move about wherever they wanted in ancient times, roam at will, and set up camps freely. This is not an accurate picture, however.[4]

Permits akin to the modern visa were issued to people entering another land.[5]

He goes on to cite both archeological and documentary evidence for this, including a painting in the tomb of an Egyptian governor, about which he writes,

A celebrated tomb scene from a governor of middle Egypt during the nineteenth century b.c. shows a band of Semites entering his territory. The leader’s name is given in hieroglyphics as Abishai, which is Northwest Semitic, and he bears the title “foreign chieftain.” He is followed by men, women, children, and donkeys that bear their gear. Their hairstyles, beards, and clothes contrast with those of the Egyptians in the same painting, revealing their different ethnicity and foreign status. In front of the chief an Egyptian official presents their credentials, the Egyptian equivalent to a visa authorizing them to be there, either for work, possibly as blacksmiths (two sets of bellows are included on the pack animals) or more likely as miners in search of galena. Evidently economic opportunity brought these workers to central Egypt. However they had a permit that allowed this band of thirty-seven to enter and work. The document is displayed in the scene in such a way that one can read its contents. It is dated to the sixth year of Pharaoh Senusert II, or 1862 b.c., and records the number of Semites for which the visa applies.[6]

 

An Egyptian text has been found in which Pharaoh Khety, several centuries before Abraham, claims to have populated the northeastern delta of the Nile “in order to repulse barbarians” coming from the arid regions of southern Canaan.[7] Hoffmeier also writes of a communique dating to the 13^th century b.c. from a frontier fort commander to his superior back in the capital concerning a band of Edomite Bedouin seeking water for their flocks. “The border guard gave these needy people access to water but did not allow them to freely roam and likely put a time limit on their stay in Egypt.”[8]

Immigration and the Patriarchs

It is against this background that we encounter the journeys of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through foreign lands in the book of Genesis. When there was a famine in the land of Canaan, Abraham went to settle in the land of Egypt.

When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me because of you, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”

– Genesis 12:11-13

Hoffmeier suggests that this conversation between Abraham and Sarah, which took place as they were “about to enter Egypt,” occurred at a border check point, where the border guards wanted everyone in the party properly identified, similar to what we see in the tomb painting mentioned earlier. In any event, Abraham and Sarah and their large retinue were allowed to settle in Egypt. Pharaoh was captivated with Sarah’s beauty and took her into his house with the intent to make her his wife. Soon thereafter, however, he discovered she was married to Abraham.

Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her and go.” And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had. 

– Genesis 12:18-20

They were sent away. As in, out of the country. In a word, they were deported.

Sometime later, when Sarah died in the land of Canaan, Abraham sought to purchase a burial place for her. As yet he didn’t have permanent legal title to land. He was a guest in a land not his own. This comes out in his negotiations with the Hittites.

And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

– Genesis 23:3-4

As the following verses show, they eventually settled upon a sum of 400 shekels of silver for the plot of land Abraham desired. But what should be noticed is how Abraham refers to himself, namely as a “sojourner and foreigner.” It’s important to unpack this because the vocabulary is important to our study. The Hebrew word for “sojourner” is used only 12 times. The Hebrew word for “foreigner” (ger) is used 83 times, and its verbal form (gur) is used 80 times. 

But here’s where it gets a little confusing. Genesis 23 is the only place that ger is translated as “foreigner”. It’s an unfortunate translation because it doesn’t mean foreigner; there are two other Hebrew words, nekhar and zar, that mean foreigner. In the ESV, ger is usually translated as sojourner, often as stranger, and sometimes as alien. It’s too bad it’s not translated more consistently by the same word, preferably “sojourner”.

Ger has a specific connotation in the Old Testament. As Hoffmeier observes, it refers to people who have abandoned their homeland and have obtained legal permission to dwell (sojourn) within the borders of another country. Thus, the word means something different from foreigner or traveler who is simply passing through a land or someone who is staying in the land on a temporary basis, perhaps for business, or someone who has not obtained permission to live in the host country.

In modern terms, ger corresponds to the category of “legal immigrant.”[9] This is an important point because often times those who quote the Scriptural mandate to treat the ger or legal immigrant with special care apply those passages to illegal immigrants. This is not to say that we have no obligation to treat everyone humanely, we certainly do; but it is to recognize that Scripture itself makes a distinction between legal and illegal immigrants.

Further evidence from Scripture bears out this this distinction. Consider the family of Jacob. Even though his son Joseph was a high-ranking official in Egypt, he nevertheless sought official permission from Pharaoh to settle in the land.

Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn [gur] in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen.”

– Genesis 47:3-6

They didn’t presume to settle in the land without official permission, even though one of their own relatives was second in authority to Pharaoh.

Regard for the territorial boundaries of nations in the ancient world is also evident in Israel’s journey to the Promised Land several generations later. As Hoffmeier points out, during their years in the wilderness, the Israelites “lived a nomadic existence…in the Sinai. Since no country, not even Egypt in those days, claimed hegemony over the peninsula, the Hebrews could move freely and required no permission. But when they left Sinai, they needed to pass through Edom in southern Jordan.”[10] They were camping in at Kadesh-barnea in the northeastern part of the Sinai when the Lord told them it was time to rise up and take possession of the land. Their route would take them through Edom and Moab. But in Numbers 20, we find Moses asking the king of Edom for permission to travel through his country (vv. 14-21).

Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.

– Numbers 20:14-21

From the ESV Bible Atlas

The Israelites ended up going far out of their way to go around Edom. They had to travel far to the south and around Edom in order to pass along its eastern border. But the point is, there was a respect for the borders of the nation of Edom. Not even Israel, God’s covenant people, had a right to transgress the borders of another nation.

In subsequent posts, we’ll consider many other issues related to immigration, but for now let’s summarize:

• God established the nations and rules over them, presiding over their rise and fall and determining their boundaries 

• Immigration was widely practiced in the ancient Near East 

• National borders were recognized and protected 

• Immigrants had to obtain permission before settling in host country or even passing through a country 

• A distinction was made between a sojourner dwelling in the land as a permanent resident and a foreigner who just passing through or temporarily doing business in the land 

• Legal Immigrants could be deported for violating the law of the land

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[1] James K. Hoffmeier, The Immigration Crisis:  Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible (Wheaton, IL:  Crossway, 2009)

[2] Ibid, p. 29

[3] James K. Hoffmeier, The Use and Abuse of the Bible in the Immigration Debate (https://cis.org/Use-and-Abuse-Bible-Immigration-Debate)

[4] Hoffmeier, The Immigration Crisis:  Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible, p. 29

[5] James K. Hoffmeier, The Use and Abuse of the Bible in the Immigration Debate (https://cis.org/Use-and-Abuse-Bible-Immigration-Debate)

[6] Hoffmeier, The Immigration Crisis:  Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible, pp. 38-39

[7] Ibid, p. 40

[8] Ibid, pp. 41-42

[9] See the discussion of these terms in The Immigration Crisis, pp. 48-52

      [10] Ibid