Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 23:7
Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites assembled on the plains of Moab, concluding the covenant laws before the conquest of Canaan. These instructions follow immediately after the prohibition against seeking peace with Ammon and Moab.
The words — תְתַעֵ֣ב (te.ta.'Ev) means "you will abhor" or "despise," and אָחִ֖י/ךָ ('a.Chi./kha) translates to "your brother" or "relative." These lexical items frame the prohibition as a direct command against maintaining hostile attitudes toward specific neighboring groups.
The thread — The rationale for restrained treatment of outsiders appears in Exodus 22:21, Deuteronomy 10:19, and Exodus 23:9. These passages consistently ground ethical conduct toward foreigners in Israel’s documented experience of foreign residency in Egypt.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to suspend contempt for Edomites and Egyptians based on recorded kinship and historical residency. It demands a practical restraint that distinguishes temporary political boundaries from permanent moral prohibitions.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.
Cross-references
- Exodus 22:21 You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 10:19 So you also must love the foreigner, since you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 23:9 Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Leviticus 19:34 You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
- Genesis 25:24 When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb.
- Genesis 25:30 He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
- Numbers 20:14 From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,
- Genesis 45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do as follows: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan.
- Genesis 46:7 Jacob took with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.
- Genesis 47:6 the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”