āl´yen : Found in the King James Version for גּר , gēr , (Exodus 18:3 ) = "guest," hence: "foreigner," "sojourner" the Revised Version (British and American); also for נכר , nēkhār (Isaiah 61:5 ) = "foreign," "a foreigner" the Revised Version (British and American) (concrete), "heathendom" (abstract), "alien," "strange" (-er), and for נכרי , nokhrı̄ (Deuteronomy 14:21 the Revised Version (British and American) "foreigner"; compare Job 19:15; Psalm 69:8; Lamentations 5:2 ) - "strange," in a variety of degrees and meanings: "foreign," "non-relative," "adulterous," "different," "wonderful," "alien," "outlandish," "strange." In the New Testament we find ἀπηλλοτριωμένος , apēllotriōménos (Ephesians 4:18; Colossians 1:21 ) = "being alienated," and allótrios (Hebrews 11:34 ) = "another's," "not one's own," hence: "foreign," "not akin," "hostile." In the Old Testament the expression was taken in its literal sense, referring to those who were not Israelites - the heathen; in the New Testament it is given a figurative meaning, as indicating those who have not become naturalized in the kingdom of God, hence are outside of Christ and the blessing of the gospel.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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