Stranger and Sojourner (in the Apocrypha and the New Testament)
The Language of Stranger and Sojourner
While the Old Testament draws careful legal distinctions between types of foreigners using specific Hebrew terms, the Greek vocabulary of the Apocrypha and New Testament carries different nuances. The most common Greek word for "stranger" is xenos, which primarily means "guest" and carries connotations of hospitality rather than legal status. This word appears frequently in the New Testament, most memorably in Jesus's parable of the sheep and goats: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Matthew 25:35). The word allotrios, meaning "belonging to another," is equally common and appears in passages like John 10:5, where sheep refuse to follow a stranger's voice.
In the Apocrypha, allotrios is the predominant term for stranger (Sirach 8:18; 1 Maccabees 1:38), while allogenes ("of another nation") appears in both 1 Esdras 8:83 and in Jesus's question about the grateful Samaritan leper: "Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:18).
Sojourning as a Spiritual Condition
The concept of sojourning takes on rich theological depth in the New Testament. The Greek verb paroikeo ("to dwell beside") and its noun form paroikos describe someone living in a place without full citizenship. In Luke 24:18, Cleopas uses this word when speaking to the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus, asking whether he is the only sojourner in Jerusalem unaware of recent events.
The most transformative use appears in Ephesians 2:19, where Paul declares that Gentile believers are "no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." Here the old categories dissolve entirely: through Christ, those who were outsiders have become family.
Hospitality and the Stranger
The New Testament elevates hospitality toward strangers to a core Christian virtue. Jesus identifies himself with the stranger (Matthew 25:35-43), making care for outsiders a criterion of final judgment. The author of Hebrews urges, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2), echoing the story of Abraham's visitors at Mamre.
This stands in sharp contrast to the Wisdom of Solomon 19:13, which speaks of misoxenia — hatred toward guests — as characteristic of those who reject God's ways. The early church took these teachings seriously, establishing networks of hospitality that facilitated the spread of the gospel across the Roman Empire.
The Christian as Pilgrim
Perhaps the most significant development is the application of sojourner language to believers themselves. First Peter opens by addressing Christians as "elect exiles of the Dispersion" (1 Peter 1:1), using parepidemos — a compound word meaning "resident alien." Later, Peter urges believers: "as sojourners and exiles, abstain from the passions of the flesh" (1 Peter 2:11).
Hebrews 11:13 describes the heroes of faith as "strangers and exiles on the earth," people who acknowledged they had no permanent home in this world. The related noun paroikia ("sojourning") appears in 1 Peter 1:17, where believers are urged to conduct themselves with reverence "during the time of your exile."
From Legal Category to Gospel Identity
The shift from Old Testament to New Testament usage represents a profound theological development. In the Torah, laws protected strangers and sojourners as a vulnerable social class. In the New Testament, the language is spiritualized and universalized. Every believer is a sojourner in this world, and every stranger is a potential encounter with Christ himself.
Paul's letter to the Ephesians captures this transformation most powerfully. The verb apallotrioo ("to alienate") describes humanity's former condition — "alienated from the commonwealth of Israel" (Ephesians 2:12) and "alienated from the life of God" (Ephesians 4:18). But through Christ, this alienation is overcome, and the dividing wall of hostility is broken down (Ephesians 2:14).
Biblical Context
The stranger and sojourner language appears across multiple New Testament books. Jesus uses it in the parable of the sheep and goats (Matthew 25), the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10), and the healing of the Samaritan leper (Luke 17:18). Paul employs it in Ephesians 2:12-19 and Colossians 1:21 to describe the Gentiles' transformation from outsiders to members of God's household. Peter uses pilgrim and sojourner imagery extensively (1 Peter 1:1, 17; 2:11). Hebrews 11:9-13 presents Abraham and the patriarchs as exemplary sojourners. In Acts, Stephen describes Israel's sojourning in Egypt (Acts 7:6, 29), and the concept appears in descriptions of Paul's audiences (Acts 2:10; 17:21).
Theological Significance
This language teaches that the gospel dissolves the boundaries between insider and outsider. In Christ, strangers become family members, and believers discover that their true citizenship is in heaven. The call to welcome strangers reflects God's own character as one who welcomes the alienated. The sojourner identity reminds Christians that earthly life is temporary, orienting them toward an eternal home while calling them to radical hospitality in the present.
Historical Background
In the Greco-Roman world, the status of foreigners varied greatly. Greek cities distinguished sharply between citizens and non-citizens, with resident aliens (metics) holding an intermediate status. Roman law similarly differentiated between citizens and non-citizens, though Roman citizenship could be extended. The early Christian practice of welcoming strangers was remarkable in this context, creating a trans-ethnic community that transcended conventional social boundaries. Letters of recommendation, like Paul's commendation of Phoebe (Romans 16:1-2), facilitated hospitality networks across the Mediterranean.