What Does Numbers 15:15 Mean in the King James?
One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse ties the stranger’s identity to dwelling among the congregation, then places both under one ordinance before the LORD.
THE MEANING
Before the LORD, the congregation and the stranger dwelling among it share one ordinance. The verse places their standing in direct parallel: “as ye are, so shall the stranger be.”
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the assumption that an outsider remains under a lesser measure before the LORD.
THE ROOT
הַגָּר
haggār
GROWS FROM
גור
גּוּר (gūr) means to dwell or sojourn, especially as a resident outsider.
The verse places גֵּר (gēr, “stranger” or “resident sojourner”) beside הַגָּר (haggār, “the one dwelling or sojourning”), repeating the same root in the person’s designation and action. English separates “stranger” from “sojourneth”; Hebrew links the outsider to the act of dwelling among the congregation.
ALSO GROWS
lāgūr: To dwell or sojourn.
לָגוּר
This verbal form shows all three consonants of גור (gūr), making explicit the act named by הַגָּר (haggār).
gēr: A stranger or resident sojourner.
גֵּר
This noun comes from the weak root גור (gūr); its middle ו is not written in this form, linking the resident outsider’s designation to the act of dwelling.
megūrīm: Dwellings or sojournings.
מְגוּרִים
This form retains the root’s three consonants and extends the idea from a person who sojourns to the place or condition of dwelling.
THE PATTERN
Shared standing before God is expressed by placing insiders and resident outsiders under one measure.
One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.THE THREAD
One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.Exodus repeats the Hebrew pairing גֵּר (gēr, “stranger” or “resident sojourner”) and הַגָּר (haggār, “the one dwelling or sojourning”), linking the person to the act of dwelling among the community. Numbers makes the shared standing explicit: the stranger is before the LORD as the congregation is.
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