Abstract
Migration is a perennial state of human existence. This reality is reflected in the Hebrew Scriptures, which begin with the story of humanity’s expulsion from Paradise (Gen 3) and proceed to narrate migrations due to climate change (Gen 6–9), famine (Gen 12; 26; 42–23), civil conflict (Gen 27), and human trafficking (Gen 37). These and other stories in the Hebrew Bible are a reminder of the pervasiveness of displacement and other migrant experiences in the human story and of the profound, often existential challenges faced by migrants. They also highlight the ways that actions taken by host societies can make migrants’ lives harder or easier, make migrants feel more or less welcome, and thereby affect migrants’ own responses to their experience, positively as well as negatively. As such, they offer an opportunity for modern readers to reflect on their own behaviour vis-à-vis migrants today. This essay provides a brief discussion of biblical texts that offer a model of positive engagement between host societies and migrants, concluding with a reflection on some ways that these texts might guide us towards the effective integration of migrants in modern society.
