Bible Strands
Numbers 15:16
The same law and the same ordinance will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing with you.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Lord addresses Moses and the Israelite assembly regarding the regulations for offerings and sacrifices. This declaration establishes permanent statutory equality during the wilderness journey.
The words — תּוֹרָה (to.Rah) denotes a governing law, while מִשְׁפָּט (mish.Pat) carries the literal sense of judgment or ordinance. Together they frame the legal standard that binds the community.
The thread — The identical statutory requirement appears in Numbers 15:15 and recurs in the wilderness legislation of Numbers 9:14 and Leviticus 24:22. These passages consistently extend covenant obligations to the גֵּר (sojourner).
Why it lands — The text demands that legal standards apply uniformly to the native-born and the resident foreigner. It requires the reader to recognize that covenant membership does not create a separate legal tier.
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
One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.