Scholarship on migration in the Bible tends to focus on its historical and theological significance, going so far as to posit a grand narrative of exile. Moving beyond such broad-stroke descriptions, my dissertation shows that individual biblical texts express conflicting responses to the cultural integration or exclusion of immigrants, whether Jewish, Christian, or Gentile. Furthermore, I argue that despite their differences, biblical texts convey a common concern for the well-being of “strangers” and espouse an ethic of hospitality and mutuality. In terms of the Bible’s view about immigration and the treatment of migrants in particular, my research delineates three imperatives: cross-cultural interaction, civic access, and social inclusion.

Within six chapters, my dissertation interprets and compares four writings: the letter of First Peter, the book of Daniel, the letter of Aristeas, and the Diaspora Letters. They represent some of the most extended and reflective discourses on the realities of immigration and the challenges of being a foreigner in another land. Central to my research is my translation of each writing from its original language (Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic) and use of the earliest textual sources (papyri, codices).