Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terms, the concept of a "settler" is closely associated with the themes of land, inheritance, and divine promise. The Bible often depicts the journey and settlement of God's people as a central narrative, beginning with the patriarchs and continuing through the history of Israel.
Patriarchal SettlementsThe earliest settlers in the biblical narrative are the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God called Abraham to leave his homeland and settle in a land that He would show him.
Genesis 12:1-2 records God's command: "Go forth from your country and from your kindred and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing." Abraham's settlement in Canaan was not merely a physical relocation but a spiritual journey of faith and obedience to God's promise.
Israel's Settlement in CanaanThe most significant settlement event in the Old Testament is the Israelites' conquest and settlement of Canaan under Joshua's leadership. This event fulfilled God's promise to Abraham regarding the land.
Joshua 21:43 states, "So the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled there." The settlement in Canaan was both a divine gift and a responsibility, as the Israelites were to live according to God's laws and be a light to the nations.
Exile and ReturnThe theme of settlement is also evident in the context of exile and return. The Babylonian exile disrupted the Israelites' settlement in the Promised Land, but God promised restoration.
Jeremiah 29:14 declares, "I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile." The return from exile and the rebuilding of Jerusalem under leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah marked a renewed settlement and a reestablishment of covenantal identity.
Spiritual SettlementIn the New Testament, the concept of settlement takes on a spiritual dimension. Believers are described as settlers in a spiritual sense, with their citizenship in heaven.
Hebrews 11:9-10 speaks of Abraham's faith: "By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." This passage highlights the transient nature of earthly settlements and the eternal settlement believers anticipate in God's kingdom.
ConclusionThe biblical narrative of settlement underscores the faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promises and the call for His people to live in obedience and faith. Whether in the physical land of Canaan or the spiritual realm of God's eternal kingdom, the concept of settlement is deeply intertwined with the identity and mission of God's people.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) One who settles, becomes fixed, established, etc.
2. (n.) Especially, one who establishes himself in a new region or a colony; a colonist; a planter; as, the first settlers of New England.
3. (n.) That which settles or finishes; hence, a blow, etc., which settles or decides a contest.
4. (n.) A vessel, as a tub, in which something, as pulverized ore suspended in a liquid, is allowed to settle.
Greek
3351. metoikizo -- to cause to migrate... carry away, remove, exile to. From the same as metoikesia; to transfer as a
settler or captive, ie colonize or exile -- carry away, remove into.
...Library
The Heroic Women of Early Indiana Methodism.
... him to be absent from home three months at a time; and how he studied Latin and
Greek and Hebrew on horseback, or by the light of thesettler's fire, or of an...
Book iv. --Of Marcion's Antitheses.
... Ever, created by no Maker: heaven's,. Earth's, sea's, and the abyss's [1549]
Settler [1550] is. The Spirit; air's Divider, Builder, Author,....
Chatter xviii. The Great Immigration.
... It was "success that succeeded." The great emigration agent was the letter written
to his old home by the newsettler, in multitudes of cases inclosing funds...
Life at Herrnhut.
... permission from the Elders. If asettler desired to go on a journey, he must
first obtain permission from the Elders. If a man desired...
The Gentle Boy
... On the evening of the autumn day, that had witnessed the martyrdom of two men of
the Quaker persuasion, a Puritansettler was returning from the metropolis to...
Dream and Reality
... of power and kindness. Many an English traveller andsettler among rude
people has been similarly honoured. And in Lycaonia the...
The Fifty-First Psalm. January 22.
... Every form of human sorrow, doubt, struggle, error, sin"the nun agonising in the
cloister; thesettler struggling for his life in Transatlantic forests; the...
The King James Version --Its Influence on English and American...
... the new land with the Book. Thesettler may have his Shakespeare; he will
surely have his Bible. As the long wagon-train creeps...
You See by this what his Opinions are About Origen and Also About...
... It is addressed to Paulinianus, and is as follows."While I was an inhabitant of
Babylon, asettler in the land of the purple harlot, and lived under the law of...
The Freedom of the City.
... Thesettler in the Australian Bush keeps Christmas Day beneath the burning summer
sky exactly as he always kept it amid the snow and ice of an English winter....
Thesaurus
Settler (8 Occurrences)... Multi-Version Concordance
Settler (8 Occurrences). Genesis
... YLT). Exodus 12:45
A
settler and a hired servant shall not eat it. (DBY YLT).
...Hireling (17 Occurrences)
... (YLT). Leviticus 22:10 And no stranger doth eat of the holy thing; asettler of
a priest and an hireling doth not eat of the holy thing; (YLT)....
Settlements (27 Occurrences)
Proselyte (2 Occurrences)
... Septuagint uses paroikos (the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew toshabh, "asettler")
for ger when Israel or the triarchs are indicated (Genesis 15:13; Genesis 23...
Fleeing (38 Occurrences)
... Numbers 35:15 To sons of Israel, and to a sojourner, and to asettler in their midst,
are these six cities for a refuge, for the fleeing thither of any one...
Foreigner (99 Occurrences)
... for'-in-er" The translation of nokhri, "unknown," "foreign," frequently rendered
"stranger" (Deuteronomy 15:3 Obadiah 1:11); of toshabh, "asettler," "an alien...
Manservant (14 Occurrences)
... 6 And the sabbath of the land hath been to you for food, to thee, and to thy
man-servant, and to thy handmaid, and to thy hireling, and to thysettler, who are...
Products (9 Occurrences)
... the sabbath-produce of the land shall be for food for you: for thee, and for thy
servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and for thesettler by thy...
Claim (30 Occurrences)
... 8. (n.) The thing claimed or demanded; that (as land) to which any one intends
to establish a right; as asettler's claim; a miner's claim....
Settlers (4 Occurrences)
Resources
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