LEV795 The most frequently mentioned non-Israelite is the ger or "stranger," the non-Israelite resident of the land who appears mostly in the guise of the landless poor. According to the Torah, some may have left Egypt alongside Israel (Exodus 12:38, Numbers 11:4), but a more likely source is those who inhabited the land of Canaan before Israel's conquest and settlement (Joshua 9, 1 Kings 9:20–21). For reasons of religious purity, Deuteronomy demands their extermination (7:1-4, 20:16-18). At the same time, much legal rhetoric is aimed at their protection. [this and following verse]. Admonitions against abusing the ger are found four more times in the Torah (Exodus 22:20, 23:9, Deuteronomy 10:18–19, 24:17). Israel's God is praised as "the guardian of strangers" (Psalm 146:9). They are mentioned as one of the recipients of compassionate giving, along with the poor, the widow, and the fatherless (Leviticus 19:10, 23:22, Deuteronomy 14:29, 16:11, 14, etc.). The Israelite is required to afford them Sabbath rest (Exodus 20:10, 23:12). The stranger was afforded equal protection by Israel's laws regarding homicide and assault (Leviticus 24:22, Numbers 35:15), and he was obligated by all the same prohibitive or negative commandments as the Israelites, for violation of these endangered the purity of the land of Israel. For example, the ger was also required to obey the restrictions in Leviticus 18 regarding illicit sex because these "abominations" polluted the land of Israel no matter who was the perpetrator (Leviticus 18:26). However, he was not obligated to observe positive or performance commandments such as dwelling in booths during Sukkot (Leviticus 23:42). (Jacob Milgrom, The JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989), pp. 398-402). The ger, therefore, belongs to a distinct legal category in Israelite law: he is generally subject to the same laws as the Israelite but not required to perform the same religious duties. [The rabbis of the Roman era identify the ger with the convert to Judaism because of the Torah's requirement that he observe many of the same laws as Israelites do.] At the same time, the Israelites is commanded to treat him according to the highest ethical standards, to "love him as yourself" [this verse]. (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible)
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