Abstract

In the Bible, particularly in the Prophets, hospitality is closely linked to foreignness. The dynamics are complex, as prophetic literature shows in its own way. This presentation aims to bring to the fore — thematically and mainly synchronically — how this biblical corpus considers hospitality reserved to foreigners. This will be done along the following three lines : 1) following the Torah’s position on the subject, a foreigner must be welcomed and respected ; 2) the foreigner — whom Israel sometimes wishes to resemble — appears as an enemy who manages to bring Israel down but who will eventually be brought down by Israel ; 3) the contrast between Israel’s exclusive status in the eyes of its god, Yhwh, and the kind of welcome Yhwh gives the Nations.