What Does Numbers 15:16 Mean in the King James?
One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
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 stranger is named by the very act of living among you, and the same instruction and judgment apply to you both.
THE MEANING
One instruction and one measure address you and the stranger who lives among you. The verse gives neither a separate standard: both stand within the same shared order.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that someone from elsewhere must remain a lesser or exceptional case within the community. Here the resident stranger receives the same instruction and judgment as you.
THE ROOT
גֵּר
gēr
GROWS FROM
גּוּר
g-w-r
To reside as a sojourner or outsider.
“stranger / sojourneth” in this verse is gēr. English makes stranger and sojourneth sound like separate facts; Hebrew repeats the root g-w-r: the gēr is the one who gār among you. The verse names the stranger through the very act of residing among the people, then places that person under the same instruction and judgment.
ALSO GROWS
gēr: A foreigner or outsider residing among a people.
גֵּר
This is the person named in the verse; the root ties their place in the community to living among it.
gūr: To stay or live among others as a sojourner.
גּוּר
The verb behind sojourneth shares the seed of gēr, joining the person’s name to the act of residing among you.
תּוֹרָה
tōrāh
GROWS FROM
יָרָה
y-r-h
To direct, point, or instruct.
“law” in this verse is tōrāh. Torah carries the sense of instruction and direction. Because the verse calls it one Torah for both, the resident stranger and the community share the same guidance.
ALSO GROWS
yārāh: To direct or teach.
יָרָה
This verbal root shows the instructional force carried by Torah.
mōreh: One who teaches or directs.
מוֹרֶה
The teacher is another branch of the instructing root, making Torah part of a shared path of guidance.
מִשְׁפָּט
mishpāṭ
GROWS FROM
שָׁפַט
sh-p-ṭ
To judge or render a ruling.
Manner carries the force of mishpat: an ordered judgment or ruling. The verse makes that measure one for both the community and the stranger residing among it.
ALSO GROWS
shāphaṭ: To judge or decide a case.
שָׁפַט
This verb reveals the judgment within mishpat; the verse shares that measure across native and resident status.
shōphēṭ: A person who judges or governs.
שֹׁפֵט
The judge is another branch of the root, showing that mishpat names the ruling or order under which both stand.
THE PATTERN
Within a shared covenantal life, the resident stranger receives the same instruction and measure as the native community.
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 pairing of one law with the stranger who sojourns among the people, using the same root family for stranger and sojourneth. It makes the shared measure unmistakable: the homeborn person and the resident stranger receive one law.
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