Leviticus 24:22

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

You shall have one kind of law, for the foreigner as well as the native-born: for I am Yahweh your God.'"

World English Bible · Public Domain

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כָּאֶזְרָ֖ח

ʼezrâch

H249

“like/as the · native”

Preposition, Determined + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute

Appears 17× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Exodus 12:19

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H2224 (in the sense of springing up)

TWOT: 580b

a native (one rising from the soil) - of man, native Israelites - of tree, native (to Israel)

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

11: words
9: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is כָּאֶזְרָ֖ח native H249 — appearing just 17 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

כָּאֶזְרָ֖ח native H249 occurs in 17 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

2 verbs
5 nouns
1 adjective
1 pronoun
1 preposition
1 conjunction

Verb forms

יִהְיֶ֣ה Qal · Imperfect
יִהְיֶ֑ה Qal · Imperfect

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

יִהְיֶ֣ה to be H1961 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 21 words from the Hebrew and 18 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 11 Hebrew tokens and 15 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Leviticus 24:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Exodus 12:49 One law shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you."
Numbers 9:14 If a foreigner lives among you, and desires to keep the Passover to Yahweh; according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its ordinance, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the foreigner, and for him who is born in the land.'"
Numbers 15:15–16 For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner [with you], a statute forever throughout your generations: as you are, so shall the foreigner be before Yahweh.
Leviticus 19:34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.
Numbers 15:29 You shall have one law for him who does anything unwittingly, for him who is home-born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them.
Leviticus 17:10 "'Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Leviticus 24:22 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

מִשְׁפַּ֤ט אֶחָד֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם כַּגֵּ֥ר כָּאֶזְרָ֖ח יִהְיֶ֑ה כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם

You shall have one kind of law, for the foreigner as well as the native-born: for I am Yahweh your God.'"

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Leviticus 24:22 Septuagint · lemma form

δικαίωσις εἷς εἰμί ὁ προσήλυτος καί ὁ ἐγχώριος ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμί κύριος ὁ θεός σύ

There shall be one judgment for the stranger and the native, for I am the Lord your God.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

דִינָא חֲדָא יְהֵי לְכוֹן כְּגִיוֹרָא כְּיַצִיבָא יְהֵי אֲרֵי אֲנָא יְיָ אֱלָהֲכוֹן

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

דִינָא חֲדָא יְהֵי לְכוֹן כְּגִיוֹרָא כְּיַצִיבָא יְהֵי אֲרוּם אֲנָא יְיָ אֱלָהָכוֹן

One judgment shall you have for the stranger and for the native; for I am the Lord your God.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Leviticus 24:22 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Joseph Benson's Commentary

Lev 24:22-23. One law — That is, in matters of common right, but not as to church privileges. Stone him with stones — This blasphemer was the first that died by the law of Moses. Stephen, the first that died for the gospel, died by the abuse of the law. The martyr and the malefactor suffered the same death; but how vast the difference between them!

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Tyndale Open Resources

24:22 Although foreigners were not citizens, they were human beings entitled to equal justice under the law (see 16:29, 31).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 22. Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger as for one of your own country] Equal laws, where each individual receives the same protection and the same privileges, are the boast only of a sound political constitution. He who respects and obeys the laws has a right to protection and support, and his person and property are as sacred in the sight of justice as the person and property of the prince. He who does not obey the laws of his country forfeits all right and title to protection and privilege; his own actions condemn him, and justice takes him up on the evidence of his own transgressions. He who does what is right need not fear the power of the civil magistrate, for he holds the sword only to punish transgressors. Universal obedience to the laws is the duty of every citizen; none can do more, none should do less: therefore each individual in a well regulated state must have equal rights and privileges in every thing that relates to the safety of his person, and the security of his property. Reader, such was the Mosaic code; such IS the BRITISH CONSTITUTION.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(22) Ye shall have one manner of law.—Not in the case of blasphemy (see Lev_24:16), but in all the instances just adduced, the same penal statutes apply to the non-Israelite and stranger.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And Moses spake unto the children of Israel,.... As the Lord had commanded him:

that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones; which were the instructions God had given to Moses upon inquiring his mind and will about this matter:

and the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses; they took the blasphemer, and led him out of the camp, put their hands on him, and stoned him with stones till he died.

Next: Leviticus Chapter 25

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Stranger. The Jews improperly restrain this law to those nations only which have embraced their religion. God requires that the judges shall not shew more favour to their countrymen, than to others who may dwell among them. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

One manner of law, to wit, in matters of common right, but not as to church privileges.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

22. One manner of law — The Hebrew is more definite and concise — one mishpat, verdict or judgment. Thus the amenability of foreigners to all the penalties of the Hebrew criminal law is emphasized with the utmost distinctness.

The stranger — Since many strangers were slaves, it follows from Lev_24:17 that the wilful murder of a slave entailed the same punishment as in the case of a freeman.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

As it had been a stranger who had on this occasion been the offender, the law, Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country, with the sanction, I am the Lord your God, is emphatically repeated (see chapter 19:34).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

One law - That is, in matters of common right, but not as to church privileges.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

carried out the command

"obeyed the command"

translationWords

law, laws

alien

Israel

Yahweh

God

Moses

curse

stone

command

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

‎'אני ה אלהיכם I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD — your God — the God of all of you. Just as I attach My Name to you, so do I attach it to the strangers.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Leviticus, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 11 words (9 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is ʼezrâch (“native”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word ʼezrâch carries the sense “native.” How does it shape the verse?
Exodus 12:19 shares the word «native» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“to be” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
The verb «יִהְיֶ֣ה» is Qal Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Joseph Benson's Commentary and Tyndale Open Study Notes read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 11 Hebrew ↔ 15 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 16 words in this verse.
“to be” occurs 2× in this single verse.
9 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 11 words in this verse.