"And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong. The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and THOU SHALT LOVE HIM AS THYSELF; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God."f. Love the alien. read more
Leviticus 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. read more
33, 34. if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him—The Israelites were to hold out encouragement to strangers to settle among them, that they might be brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God; and with this in view, they were enjoined to treat them not as aliens, but as friends, on the ground that they themselves, who were strangers in Egypt, were at first kindly and hospitably received in that country. read more
3. Holiness of behavior toward God and man ch. 19Moses grouped the commandments in this section together by a loose association of ideas rather than by a strictly logical arrangement. They all spring from the central thought in Leviticus 19:2: "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." This sentence is the motto of Leviticus (cf. Leviticus 11:44-45; Leviticus 20:26; Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:16)."Every biblical statement about God carries with it an implied demand upon men to imitate... read more
Statutes and judgments 19:19-37"This section is introduced with the admonition ’You shall keep my statutes’ (Leviticus 19:19 a) and concludes with a similar admonition, ’You shall keep all my statutes and all my judgments’ (Leviticus 19:37 a), and the statement ’I am the LORD’ (Leviticus 19:37 b). Like the preceding section of laws, it consists of a list of twenty-one (3x7) laws. These laws also are broken up into smaller units by a sevenfold repetition of the phrase ’I am the LORD (your God)’... read more
This list concludes with commands to practice honesty in judicial matters. Leviticus 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. Matthew 5:48; 1 Corinthians 11:1), to "be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). Application of the imperatives in this chapter is different for... read more
Various Laws, mainly of a Moral and Humane CharacterThis chapter was very naturally regarded by Jewish authorities as an embodiment of the Decalogue. It will be observed that in general the precepts in Leviticus 19:3-8 correspond to those of the first table of the Decalogue (’Thou shalt love the Lord thy God’), and those in Leviticus 19:9-18 to the second table (’Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’). In this chapter alone the characteristic phrase ’I am the Lord’ (i.e. Jehovah) occurs no... read more
(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 (Leviticus 16:29); he had to submit to the regulations about sacrifices (Leviticus 17:8-9; Leviticus 22:18); he had to... read more
(34)But the stranger that dwelleth.—Better, The stranger that sojourneth. The word “but” is not in the original, and its insertion mars the flow of the passage, whilst the expression rendered in the Authorised Version by “dwelleth” is the same which is translated “sojourn in the preceding verse. This stranger is in every respect to be treated as any other member of the commonwealth, and as a native.Shalt love him as thyself.—He is not simply to be treated with consideration and courtesy because... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Leviticus 19:34
But. This is better omitted. unto you. Authorized Version, 1611, omitted these words. as thyself. Compare Leviticus 19:18 . ye were strangers. Occurs four times in the Pentateuch: Exodus 22:21 ; Exodus 23:9 . Exo 19:34 .Deuteronomy 10:19 . read more