You must treat this foreigner and love him as one of your own, for you too were foreigners in Egypt!

In the Old Testament, hospitality was a fundamental practice, often associated with sacred duties and a strong sense of justice and protection for foreigners. In Deuteronomy (10:17-19), the deity is defined as "a God who shows no partiality nor is bought with gifts [...] he is a friend to the foreigner, giving them food and clothing. Therefore, be friends with the foreigner, because you too were once foreigners in Egypt." (I use the 1995 translation from Difusora Bíblica in this text.)

In Leviticus (19:33-34), the same idea is repeated: "You shall not oppress a foreigner who has come to reside in your land. You shall treat that foreigner and love him as one of your own, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt." In this case, besides the insistence on direct or indirect experience (remember that you or your ancestors have also been through this), there is also a New Testament resonance: the foreigner must not only be treated well, but also loved.

It's true that violence is very present in many biblical books, but it's not demagoguery to assert that the ontological dictates regarding the Other are clear and permeate several texts. They are conducts that require no more interpretation than a literal reading, or close to it.

This approach to hospitality, still recognized today in many cultures and communities, is not, and was not, restricted to the Pentateuch/Torah . Xenia (ξενία) is a central concept in Homer's Odyssey and refers to sacred or ritual hospitality (an etymon we use in words like "xenophilia" or "xenophobia," to give two contrasting examples). Xenia was a moral and religious norm in Ancient Greece that regulated behavior between hosts and guests or strangers. In the Odyssey , it is presented as one of the pillars of Greek civilization and a clear criterion for judging the character of characters (human or otherwise). Both gods and mortals expected strangers to be treated well, offering them food, baths, shelter, and gifts before even asking their name or origin (a behavior we find in several biblical episodes).

On the contrary, the violation of these elementary ethical rules was a typical example of barbarity: in the Odyssey , the Cyclops Polyphemus devoured his guests. Instead of feeding them, he devoured them. I think even the most literal-minded reader will have no difficulty interpreting this episode and finding its political and social implications: it is not the stranger who devours the Cyclops, but the opposite (by the way, through acts perpetrated by a giant with unique vision, symbolized by a single eye). But if an unambiguous passage is needed, I return to this: "Do not oppress the stranger who comes to reside in your land. You must treat that stranger and love him as one of your own, for you too were strangers in Egypt!"