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Abraham calls himself a resident alien and sojourner among the Hittites while searching for a burial site for Sarah. Hebrews echoes this language to describe the patriarchs as strangers and foreigners on earth who were searching for a homeland.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Genesis 23:4
Septuagint
2 And Sarra died in the city of Arbok that is in the lowland (this is Chebron) in the land of Chanaan. And Abraam went to mourn for Sarra and to grieve. 3 And Abraam rose up from his dead and spoke to the sons of Chet, saying, 4 “I am a resident alien and a sojourner among you; therefore give me possession of a burying place among you, and I shall bury my dead away from me.” 5 And the sons of Chet replied to Abraam, saying,
Hebrews 11:13
New Testament
12 So in fact children were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore. 13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. 14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
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Notes and References
... parepidēmos is derived from dēmos (people) and is found only twice in the Septuagint (Genesis 23:4; Psalm 38[39]:12). It means someone who lives for a short while in a foreign place as a stranger or alien. It occurs in the New Testament 3 times. In 1 Peter 1:1 and 2:11 believers are called parepidēmoi ("exiles", RSV). The word stands in parallel to paroikoi ("aliens", RSV), pointing back to Genesis 23:4 and Psalm 39:13. Because their true home is in heaven (compare Philippians 3:20), God's election has drawn them out of all their natural ties and relations. They now live on earth as exiles. This call and vocation gives rise to the warning to abstain from the lusts of the flesh (1 Peter 2:11). They are to live according to the decrees and laws of their true homeland. Hebrews 11:13 depicts Abraham and the patriarchs as patterns for the Christian. Abraham looked towards the future city (11:10). Hence he and the fathers lived as strangers and exiles on the earth. ...
Bietenhard, Hans
"Foreign" in Brown, Colin (ed.) The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Volume 1
(p. 690) Zondervan, 1975
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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