Hospitality in the Bible

• Love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in EgyptExod 22:21, Exod 23:9, Lev 19:33–34, Deut 10:19
  The verses

  Exod 22:21You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

  Exod 23:9Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

  Lev 19:33–34When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him. 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.

  Deut 10:19So you also must love the foreigner, since you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
• Bring the poor and homeless into your homeIsa 58:7
  The verses

  Isa 58:7Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
• Invite the poor, crippled, lame and blind to your banquetLuke 14:12–14
  The verses

  Luke 14:12–14Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid. But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
• Beware a stingy host who counts the cost of every biteProv 23:6–8
  The verses

  Prov 23:6–8Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies; for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
• “Practice hospitality” — without complainingRom 12:13, 1 Pet 4:9
  The verses

  Rom 12:13Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.

  1 Pet 4:9Show hospitality to one another without complaining.
• Some have entertained angels without knowing itHeb 13:2
  The verses

  Heb 13:2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
• Church leaders must be hospitable1 Tim 3:2, Titus 1:8
  The verses

  1 Tim 3:2An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

  Titus 1:8Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
• A widow known for entertaining strangers and washing feet1 Tim 5:10
  The verses

  1 Tim 5:10and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.

Examples

• Melchizedek brings Abram bread and wineGen 14:18
  The verses

  Gen 14:18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of God Most High—
• Abraham runs to meet three strangers and serves them a mealGen 18:1–8
  The verses

  Gen 18:1–8Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. “My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. After that, you may continue on your way.” “Yes,” they replied, “you may do as you have said.” So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.” Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and he set them before the men and stood by them under the tree as they ate.
• Lot takes two visitors into his house at SodomGen 19:1–3
  The verses

  Gen 19:1–3Now the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them, bowed facedown, and said, “My lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant; wash your feet and spend the night. Then you can rise early and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” But Lot insisted so strongly that they followed him into his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
• Abimelech to Abraham: “Settle wherever you please”Gen 20:14–15
  The verses

  Gen 20:14–15So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him. And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.”
• Laban prepares a house and a place for the camelsGen 24:31–33
  The verses

  Gen 24:31–33“Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” said Laban. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of his companions. Then a meal was set before the man, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I came to say.” So Laban said, “Please speak.”
• Laban runs out to meet Jacob and brings him homeGen 29:13–14
  The verses

  Gen 29:13–14When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him all that had happened. Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
• Isaac prepares a feast for Abimelech and his menGen 26:26–30
  The verses

  Gen 26:26–30Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. “Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.” “We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you that you will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only good to you, sending you on your way in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.” So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
• Joseph dines with his brothers in EgyptGen 43:31–34
  The verses

  Gen 43:31–34Then he washed his face and came back out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.” They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them. They were seated before Joseph in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.
• Pharaoh gives Jacob’s family the best of the landGen 45:17–20, Gen 47:11–12
  The verses

  Gen 45:17–20Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do as follows: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan. Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat from the fat of the land.’ You are also directed to tell them: ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your young children and your wives, and bring your father and come back. But pay no regard to your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

  Gen 47:11–12So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.
• Jethro: “Invite him to have something to eat”Exod 2:20
  The verses

  Exod 2:20“So where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”
• Rahab hides the two spies on her roofJosh 2:1–6
  The verses

  Josh 2:1–6Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. And it was reported to the king of Jericho: “Behold, some men of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the whole land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I do not know which way they went. Pursue them quickly, and you may catch them!” (But Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had laid out there.)
• An old man of Gibeah takes in a traveling LeviteJudg 19:16–21
  The verses

  Judg 19:16–21That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field. When he looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where have you come from?” The Levite replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house of the LORD; but no one has taken me into his home, even though there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and the maidservant and young man with me. There is nothing that we, your servants, lack.” “Peace to you,” said the old man. “Let me supply everything you need. Only do not spend the night in the square.” So he brought him to his house and fed his donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank.
• Pharaoh gives the young Hadad a house and land1 Kgs 11:17–19
  The verses

  1 Kgs 11:17–19But Hadad, still just a young boy, had fled to Egypt, along with some Edomites who were servants of his father. Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men from Paran with them and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food. There Hadad found such great favor in the sight of Pharaoh that he gave to him in marriage the sister of Queen Tahpenes, his own wife.
• The widow of Zarephath shares her last flour and oil with Elijah1 Kgs 17:10–16
  The verses

  1 Kgs 17:10–16So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.” But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.” “Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’” So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household. The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.
• A woman of Shunem builds a room for Elisha2 Kgs 4:8–10
  The verses

  2 Kgs 4:8–10One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to have a meal. So whenever he would pass by, he would stop there to eat. Then the woman said to her husband, “Behold, now I know that the one who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Please let us make a small room upstairs and put in it a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.”
• Elisha has captured Aramean soldiers fed and sent home2 Kgs 6:22–23
  The verses

  2 Kgs 6:22–23“Do not kill them,” he replied. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and then return to their master.” So the king prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. And the Aramean raiders did not come into the land of Israel again.
• Job: “My door has been open to the traveler”Job 31:32
  The verses

  Job 31:32but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler—
• Martha welcomes Jesus; a dinner for him at BethanyLuke 10:38, John 12:1–2
  The verses

  Luke 10:38As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.

  John 12:1–2Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him.
• A Pharisee invites Jesus to dineLuke 11:37
  The verses

  Luke 11:37As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.
• Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus joyfullyLuke 19:5–6
  The verses

  Luke 19:5–6When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.” So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully.
• Peter stays with Simon the tanner in JoppaActs 9:43, Acts 10:6
  The verses

  Acts 9:43And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.

  Acts 10:6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
• Peter invites Cornelius’s messengers in as his guestsActs 10:23
  The verses

  Acts 10:23So Peter invited them in as his guests. And the next day he got ready and went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.
• Lydia persuades Paul and his companions to stay at her houseActs 16:15
  The verses

  Acts 16:15And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
• Malta: islanders light a fire; Publius hosts them three daysActs 28:2, Acts 28:7
  The verses

  Acts 28:2The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.

  Acts 28:7Nearby stood an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days.
• Onesiphorus often refreshed Paul2 Tim 1:16
  The verses

  2 Tim 1:16May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains.
• Gaius welcomes traveling believers who were strangers to him3 John 1:1, 3 John 1:5–8
  The verses

  3 John 1:1The elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth:

  3 John 1:5–8Beloved, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, and especially since they are strangers to you. They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out on behalf of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
• Rahab and her family are spared at Jericho, as promisedJosh 6:22–25
  The verses

  Josh 6:22–25Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.” So the young spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel. Then the Israelites burned up the city and everything in it. However, they put the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house. And Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho. So she has lived among the Israelites to this day.