{
  "id": "dict_005347",
  "term": "sojourn",
  "slug": "sojourn",
  "letter": "S",
  "entry_type": "biblical_term",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "To sojourn is to live temporarily in a place that is not one’s permanent home. In Scripture it often describes both literal residence as a foreigner and, by extension, the believer’s temporary life in this world.",
  "simple_one_line": "To sojourn is to live temporarily as a stranger or resident alien.",
  "tooltip_text": "To sojourn means to dwell for a time in a place that is not one’s permanent home.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "alien",
    "stranger",
    "exile",
    "pilgrim",
    "resident alien",
    "inheritance"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Abraham",
    "Israel in Egypt",
    "Exile",
    "Pilgrim",
    "Foreigners and strangers"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "In Scripture, to sojourn means to live in a place for a time without permanent ownership or final belonging. The word is used both in ordinary historical settings and as a fitting picture of God’s people living in this world as pilgrims.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Temporary dwelling in a place where one does not yet have permanent status, inheritance, or settled home.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Often describes patriarchs, Israel, and resident aliens",
    "Can be literal or covenantal in context",
    "Also serves as a biblical image for the believer’s earthly pilgrimage."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "In the Bible, to sojourn means to reside for a time as a stranger, alien, or temporary resident. The term is used of Abraham and Israel living in lands not yet their own, and it can also express the believer’s sense that this present age is not the final home of God’s people. The basic idea is temporary dwelling under God’s care.",
  "description_academic_full": "To sojourn in Scripture is to dwell temporarily in a land or setting where one does not possess permanent status or inheritance. The meaning appears in the lives of the patriarchs, in Israel’s experience in Egypt, and in laws that protect the foreigner or resident alien. The theme can also be applied spiritually: God’s people live in the present world as those whose lasting inheritance is ultimately from the Lord and fulfilled in his promises. That broader theological use should be stated carefully, since the term is first an ordinary biblical word for temporary residence and only then a fitting image for the believer’s earthly pilgrimage.",
  "background_biblical_context": "The Bible uses sojourning language for people living away from their settled inheritance. Abraham sojourned in foreign lands, Israel sojourned in Egypt, and later biblical writers used the same idea to describe the faithful as people whose true home is with God and in his promised future.",
  "background_historical_context": "In the ancient world, travelers, migrants, and resident aliens commonly lived without permanent land ownership. Biblical usage reflects that reality and also highlights the protection and obligations associated with living among another people.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In Israel’s law, the sojourner or resident alien was not simply a passing visitor but often a temporary or non-native dweller within the covenant community. The Torah repeatedly calls Israel to remember their own experience as sojourners and to treat the outsider justly.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Genesis 12:10",
    "Genesis 23:4",
    "Leviticus 25:23",
    "Psalm 39:12",
    "Hebrews 11:9-16",
    "1 Peter 2:11"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Genesis 47:4",
    "Exodus 22:21",
    "Leviticus 19:33-34",
    "Deuteronomy 10:19",
    "1 Chronicles 29:15"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The Old Testament commonly uses Hebrew gūr (גור) and related terms for dwelling as a stranger or alien. The New Testament uses Greek terms such as paroikeō, paroikos, and parepidēmos for temporary residence and pilgrim-like status.",
  "theological_significance": "Sojourning language supports the biblical theme that God’s people live by promise before possession. It points to trust, pilgrimage, and hope in God’s final inheritance, especially in texts that describe believers as strangers and exiles in the present age.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "Sojourning expresses contingency, non-finality, and dependence. A sojourner lives with borrowed status and future-oriented hope, which fits the biblical picture of human life under God before the final fulfillment of his promises.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not turn every occurrence into a spiritual allegory. In many passages the word has a straightforward literal sense. Also distinguish sojourning from exile, which can overlap but is not identical in every context.",
  "major_views_note": "Interpreters generally agree on the basic literal sense. The main question is how directly New Testament believers’ language of sojourning should be applied to Christians today, and the safest reading keeps the literal meaning primary while allowing the theological image where the context supports it.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "The term supports humility, pilgrimage, and hope, not escapism or contempt for earthly responsibilities. It should not be used to deny stewardship, hospitality, or the goodness of God’s creation, and it should not erase the distinct covenant setting of Israel’s land promises.",
  "practical_significance": "Sojourn reminds believers to live lightly in this world, practice hospitality, endure hardship with hope, and remember that lasting inheritance comes from God rather than present status or possession.",
  "meta_description": "Sojourn in Scripture means temporary dwelling as a stranger or resident alien, and by extension the believer’s present life as a pilgrim.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/sojourn/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/sojourn.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}