Exodus 22:21-22
“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse doesn't just say not to oppress foreigners; it explicitly includes "vex," which means to annoy, irritate, or bother them. This points to a deeper truth: our responsibility extends beyond mere absence of legal harm to actively cultivating kindness and empathy, remembering our own past vulnerability and suffering.
Fresh out of Egypt, the Israelites are receiving laws for how to live justly in their new covenant relationship with God. This verse is part of a cluster of laws addressing how to treat the vulnerable in their society—specifically foreigners, widows, and orphans—urging compassion and protection for those who lack power or standing. The reason given is a powerful appeal to their recent shared experience of hardship and injustice.
Imagine arriving in a new land, not knowing the language or customs. You're vulnerable, dependent, and far from home. How should you be treated?
This verse commands the Israelites to treat 'sojourners' – foreigners living among them – with kindness and justice. The reason? They themselves had experienced the hardship and vulnerability of being strangers in Egypt.
From Oppressed to Oppressors?
God knew the human tendency to forget past struggles once life improves. He warns against becoming like the Egyptians, who had oppressed them. Instead, the Israelites were to 'know the heart of a stranger' because they had lived it. This meant actively empathizing with their feelings of insecurity and dependence.
More Than Just Tolerance
This wasn't just about not being mean. It involved active protection from injustice in legal matters, fair dealings in business, and refraining from mockery or taunts. God wanted them to create a community where the vulnerable, no matter their origin, found safety and dignity.
What happens when the law offers no protection? Who steps in when the vulnerable are wronged?
The laws in this section (Exodus 22:21-24) address the treatment of the most vulnerable: sojourners, widows, and orphans. Interestingly, while the wrong done to a sojourner isn't given a specific human penalty, God declares He will personally intervene.
God's Eye on the Oppressed
'If his cry to me, I will surely hear it.' This is a powerful promise. God identifies with the oppressed and assures that their cries do not go unnoticed. He is not distant from their suffering; He is its hearer and, ultimately, its judge.
A Call to Righteousness
This divine oversight serves as a strong deterrent. It's a reminder that even if human systems fail to deliver justice, God's justice is certain. It compels the community to act justly, not just out of fear of punishment, but out of reverence for a God who demands righteousness, especially for those who have no earthly advocate.
Understand the original words
yānâ · Hebrew Verb
To treat unfairly, harm, or violate the rights of another. In a biblical context, it often refers to cheating, defrauding, or abusing those in a vulnerable position.
gēr · Hebrew Noun
A resident alien or foreigner living within the land who lacks the full legal rights and ancestral land ownership of the native-born citizens, often depending on the host community for protection.
lāḥaṣ · Hebrew Verb
To treat harshly, crush, or exploit someone, often through the misuse of power, authority, or economic advantage over those who are weaker.
ʿānâ · Hebrew Verb
To afflict, humiliate, or treat with violence and cruelty. It implies a persistent course of harmful action against someone who is vulnerable.
This passage echoes the command from Exodus, urging the Israelites to treat foreigners living among them with love, as they themselves are to love their neighbors. It reinforces the idea that empathy for the stranger stems directly from remembering their own past hardships.
Deuteronomy 10:19Here, Moses explicitly states the reason for loving the stranger: 'because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.' This emphasizes the foundational nature of this command, rooted in their shared history of vulnerability.
Matthew 7:12Jesus' articulation of the Golden Rule, 'So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,' provides a New Testament parallel. It encapsulates the principle of empathy that underpins the command to not oppress the stranger, calling us to consider the stranger's feelings based on our own.
Jeremiah 7:5-6The prophet Jeremiah warns against oppressing foreigners, widows, and orphans, condemning such actions as unjust and sinful. This shows that the concern for the vulnerable, including strangers, continued to be a vital aspect of prophetic social justice.
bensonExodus 22:21: "Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."
Exodus 22:21 . A stranger must not be abused, not wronged in judgment by the magistrates, not imposed upon in contracts, nor any advantage taken of his ignorance or necessity, no, nor must he be taunted, or upbraided with his being a stranger; for all these were vexatious. For ye were strangers in Egypt — And knew what it was to be vexed and oppressed there. Those that have themselves…
pulpitExodus 22:21: "Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."
Verse 21. - Law against oppression of foreigners. It may be doubted whether such a law as this was ever made in any other country. Foreigners are generally looked upon as "fair game," whom the natives of a country may ridicule and annoy at their pleasure. Native politeness gives them an exceptional position in France; but elsewhere it is the general rule to "vex" them. The Mosaic legi…
The verse doesn't just say not to oppress foreigners; it explicitly includes "vex," which means to annoy, irritate, or bother them. This points to a deeper truth: our responsibility extends beyond mere absence of legal harm to actively cultivating kindness and empathy, remembering our own past vulnerability and suffering.
Fresh out of Egypt, the Israelites are receiving laws for how to live justly in their new covenant relationship with God. This verse is part of a cluster of laws addressing how to treat the vulnerable in their society—specifically foreigners, widows, and orphans—urging compassion and protection for those who lack power or standing. The reason given is a powerful appeal to their recent shared experience of hardship and injustice.
Fresh out of Egypt, the Israelites are receiving laws for how to live justly in their new covenant relationship with God. This verse is part of a cluster of laws addressing how to treat the vulnerable in their society—specifically foreigners, widows, and orphans—urging compassion and protection for those who lack power or standing. The reason given is a powerful appeal to their recent shared experience of hardship and injustice.
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ʾalmānâ · Hebrew Noun
A woman whose husband has died; in biblical law, she is categorized as one of the most vulnerable members of society, often lacking social status, income, and legal protection.
yātôm · Hebrew Noun
A child who has lost one or both parents; in the ancient Near East, such children were particularly susceptible to poverty, exploitation, and social exclusion, and were placed under God’s special protection.
"“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child." — The verse doesn't just say not to oppress foreigners; it explicitly includes "vex," which means to annoy, irritate, or bother them. This points to a deeper truth: our responsibility extends beyond…
