Overview
The Bible addresses aliens across 39 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Deuteronomy, Exodus and Leviticus. Closely related themes include Strangers in Israel, Hospitality, Servants and Orphan. Figures whose stories touch this theme include David, Solomon and Manasseh.
Key Bible verses about aliens
Old Testament
Exodus
A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. heart: Heb. soul
Leviticus
And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. vex: or, oppress
But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.
Numbers
And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.
And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do.
One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.
These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.
Deuteronomy
And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;
Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.
Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:
Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
2 Samuel
Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile.
Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee. go up: Heb. wander in going
Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me. Strangers: Heb. Sons of the stranger submit: or, yield feigned obedience: Heb. lie
Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places.
2 Chronicles
And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred. the strangers: Heb. the men the strangers
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
Jeremiah
If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
Ezekiel
The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. oppression: or, deceit wrongfully: Heb. without right
And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
New Testament
Matthew
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
People in the Bible and aliens
Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.
In the Bible dictionary
Studying aliens for yourself
- Begin with Exodus 12:45, then read the passages below in canonical order.
- Compare how Deuteronomy, Exodus and Leviticus each treat the theme.
- Consider the lives of David, Solomon and Manasseh and how their stories intersect with it.
- Widen the study to related themes: Strangers in Israel, Hospitality, Servants and Orphan.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about aliens?
The Bible addresses aliens across 39 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Deuteronomy, Exodus and Leviticus. Closely related themes include Strangers in Israel, Hospitality, Servants and Orphan. Figures whose stories touch this theme include David, Solomon and Manasseh.
How many Bible verses are about aliens?
The Bible references aliens in 39 verses (King James Version).
Where does the Bible first mention aliens?
In canonical order, the first of these passages is Exodus 12:45: “A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.”
Which people in the Bible are associated with aliens?
David, Solomon and Manasseh.
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