The issue of the role and treatment of foreigners in the Former Prophets has been hotly debated. The debate not only occurs within seminaries, but also by proponents of atheism in attempts to prove the cruelty of Yahweh and, more practically, by recent political initiatives regarding immigration policy. Accordingly, it is difficult to imagine a more relevant topic for study, a study that begins by tracing the development of foreigners through Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and, finally, the books of Kings.

Including the Stranger_ Foreigners in the Former Prophets (Volume 50)

Although the controversial topic of genocide normally pervades the discussions surrounding the book of Joshua, it is two members of the supporting cast that actually take center stage in the discussion of foreigners: Rahab and Achan. The story of Rahab is familiar. Joshua sends spies to spy out the land, and they stay with the prostitute, Rahab, who not only assists the spies, but also appears to acknowledge Yahweh as God by admitting that her heart had melted and by stating, “for the Lord your God, He is God” (Josh 2:11). Rahab also negotiates the safety of her family, which appears to undermine both the command to completely destroy the Canaanites and the prohibition to make a covenant with them in accordance with Deuteronomy 7:2. At this point, David Firth asks the appropriate question, “What sort of Israel is it when it can include not only a foreigner, but a Canaanite?”^[1] In contrast to Rahab, Achan, a member of Judah’s tribe, stole a coat, 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold (Josh 7:20-21) and, as a result, “They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones” (Josh 7:25). Rahab was saved, and Achan and his family were killed; Rahab followed God, and Achan disobeyed God; Rahab became an insider, and Achan became an outsider. Rahab and Achan’s legacy remains intact typologically throughout the Old and New Testament.

In the book of Judges, the topic of my extended research, foreigners take on two contrasting roles: the role of deliverance and the role of punishment. Firth recognizes the positive interaction with foreigners in Judges 1:11-16, specifically with regard to Caleb’s Kenizzite family and the settlement with the Kenites.^[2] However, a more forceful example is the character of Jael. The reader of the Deborah cycle likely believes that Barak will be the hero until he places conditions to his efforts. At this point, Deborah becomes the likely heroine. However, when Sisera escapes, Yahweh’s unpredictable predictability enters the story, an unpredictability that undermines man’s effort to control or manipulate God while simultaneously furthering His purposes through the attribute of sovereign freedom. In surprising fashion, it is Jael, a foreign woman, who, according to Firth, “abandoned the political commitments of her husband to fight for Israel, and in so doing has become the most blessed of women.”^[3]

The book of Judges also tells of the influence of foreign nations and individuals who oppose Yahweh. For example, Gideon’s family was involved in Baal worship, Abimelech’s murder of his brother reflects the influence of Yahweh’s opposition, and Jephthah’s child sacrifice appears to be a pinnacle of Canaanization. Accordingly, Daniel Block goes so far as to conclude that the overarching theme of the book of Judges is “the Canaanization of Israelite society during the period of settlement.”^[4] Finally, it is difficult to exclude at least a passing reference to the influence of foreign women on Samson: Timnah, the lady from Gaza, and Delilah. Finally, echoes of Achan appear not only in the individuals, but also in the Canaanization of the entire nation of Israel as the book of Judges continues to move toward a grisly close.

The books of Samuel utilize foreigners to evaluate Israelites. The two representative examples of foreigners are Doeg and Uriah. First, according to Firth, Saul’s chief herdsman, Doeg the Edomite, implies that Ahimelech, an Israelite priest, conspired to assist David.^[5] Accordingly, Saul orders Doeg to murder eighty-five priests and the people of Nob (1 Sam 22:18-19). In other words, under the influence of a foreigner, Saul assaults an Israelite city rather than carrying out Yahweh’s directives. Second, it would be difficult to even imagine the tragic reality of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and the subsequent cover up and murder of Uriah if it were not for the continued reality of similar indiscretions in so many Catholic and Protestant churches in the twentieth and twenty-first century. In sum, Uriah, the Hittite, will simply do no wrong. As a foreign descendant of the Canaanites, Uriah provides a standard for righteousness. The great reversal is again in sight. Saul and David become Canaanites, while Uriah, the Hittite, becomes an Israelite. At this point, it would be difficult for any interpreter not to begin connecting the dots between the Abrahamic promise (Gen 12:1-3) as the message of Yahweh’s desire to bless all nations weaves through the Former Prophets.

Unlike the books of Samuel, Kings does not so much use foreigners to evaluate Israel, but instead shows how foreigners who oppose Israel provide a destructive influence. First, the episodes with Pharaoh’s daughter, the Queen of Sheba, and Hiram, the king of Tyre foreshadow the damage that foreigners have on Solomon’s kingship. However, importantly, Firth provides a reminder that the foreigners are not the threat; ethnicity is not the issue, for “if these foreigners embrace faith in Yahweh, then even if they never become Israelite they are still a part of the people of God.”^[6] Yahweh’s love for foreigners continues in the stories of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Elijah, a foreigner himself, a Tishbite, calls on Yahweh to revive the son of a foreign woman, and not only does Yahweh have mercy on the woman, but the events also lead the woman to confess her faith in Yahweh (1 Kgs 17:17-24). Furthermore, within the Elisha episode, Naaman, an Aramean general, discovers Yahweh and is healed (2 Kgs 5:1-14). However, Firth explains that the forgiveness is only granted in Kings in the episode of Naaman, a foreigner, while Gehazi, an insider, takes on Naaman’s skin disease, which is another echo of the Rahab and Achan reversal.^[7] While many other foreigners pervade the books of the Former Prophets, the message is clear: it is not ethnicity. Instead, it is faith that forges a relationship with Yahweh and shapes the interpreter’s understanding of the Former Prophets.

Without a doubt, the promises of the Old Testament and its stories shape the New Testament understanding of foreigners. Specifically, Firth references two stories in the Gospel of Matthew: the healing of the centurion servant and the encounter with the Canaanite woman.^[8] First, in Capernaum, Jesus heals a centurion, a non-Israelite, a member of the Roman guard recorded in Matthew 8:5-13. What astounds Jesus is neither religious duty nor ethnicity, but the foreigner’s faith. The centurion’s faith is ironically contrasted with the lack of faith by Israel (Matt 8:11-12). Again, the foreigner takes on the identity of an Israelite and the Israelites play the part of a foreigner. Second, Jesus meets a Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28. Once again, the expectation is that a Canaanite would not be part of the people of Israel. Even Jesus seems to question the authenticity of the foreigner. However, Jesus recognizes the woman’s faith and heals her daughter. Again, a foreigner becomes part of the family of God. Jesus provides a bridge between what had begun as a promise to Abraham to bless all nations and what continued through the Old Testament prophets, manifested itself in His work on the cross, extended to the Gentiles in Paul’s ministry, and will culminate in Christ’s return: A gospel message for all people to the ends of the earth.

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[1] David G. Firth, Including the Stranger: Foreigners in the Former Prophets (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2019), 24.

[2] Ibid., 73.

[3] Ibid., 77.

[4] Daniel I. Block, Judges, Ruth: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, vol. 6 of The New American Commentary, ed. Kenneth A. Mathews and David S. Dockery (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999), 58.

[5] Firth, Including the Stranger, 108.

[6] Ibid., 146.

[7] Ibid., 155–156.

[8] Ibid., 181–183.

Bibliography

• Block, Daniel I. Judges, Ruth: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture. Vol. 6 of The New American Commentary. Edited by Kenneth A. Mathews and David S. Dockery. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999.
• Firth, David G. Including the Stranger: Foreigners in the Former Prophets. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2019.