גּוּר

From the study of Isaiah 33:14

Range of meaning

To sojourn: to live as a gēr, a resident outsider who depends on the protection of the host or landowner. It can also mean to stay or dwell, especially as a guest. In worship language it means to be received as a guest in God's tent or house.

Against the English

“Dwell” (KJV, BSB, ESV) is acceptable but loses the guest-under-protection idea. “Live with” (WEB, NIV) can sound like “put up with” in modern English, which is not the point.

How it drifted

The modern idiom “who can live with X?” means “who can tolerate X?” That moves the question from “who is allowed to stay in God's presence?” to “who can survive or stand this?”

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 15:1, “YHWH, who may sojourn (mî-yāgûr) in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?”, uses the same opening words, mî yāgûr. Ps 61:5 (Heb.): “Let me sojourn (ʾāgûrâ) in your tent forever (ʿôlāmîm).” Ps 5:5 (Heb.): “evil may not sojourn (yəgurkā) with you.”

From the study of Psalm 15:1

Range of meaning

To live as a gēr: a resident outsider or protected client. Such a person lives in a household, clan or land that is not his own. He depends on the host's goodwill and is protected by the host's honour. The verb can also mean to stay for a while or to settle as an immigrant (Abraham in Gerar, Gen 20:1; Elimelech in Moab, Ruth 1:1). The idea is always living somewhere by another's permission.

Against the English

KJV and BSB 'abide', NIV and WEB 'dwell', NLT 'worship'. 'Abide' and 'dwell' sound like simply living somewhere, as if you had a right to be there. ESV and YLT 'sojourn' keep the guest idea but use a word most modern readers rarely hear.

How it drifted

No change in English meaning. Translators often use 'dwell' or 'abide' for both verbs of the pair, which hides the contrast between being a guest and settling down.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 61:5 (Heb.), 'Let me sojourn ('āgûrâ) in your tent forever'. Ps 5:5 (Heb.), 'evil cannot sojourn with you', the reverse of our verse. Ps 39:13 (Heb.), 'I am a gēr with you'. Lev 25:23, 'the land is mine; you are gērîm and tenants with me'. The Septuagint uses paroikēsei, 'will live as a resident alien', which keeps the sense. Phoenician and Punic personal names such as Gerʿashtart and Germelqart mean 'client (protégé) of the god'. So the idea of a person as a god's protected guest was common in the region (HALOT s.v. גור I).

From the study of Psalm 5:4

Range of meaning

To stay as a ger: a resident outsider without native land rights, living under the protection of a host household, clan or land. Also to stay as a guest. It suggests depending on a host's hospitality and being under the host's protection.

Against the English

BSB 'can dwell'; KJV 'shall... dwell'; WEB 'can't live'; ESV 'may not dwell'; YLT 'inhabiteth'; NIV 'are not welcome'. 'Dwell' and 'live' lose the guest/host picture. NIV's 'not welcome' gets the hospitality idea but drops the image of living there.

How it drifted

'Dwell' is now a formal or Bible-only word for simply living somewhere. The Hebrew is about who is received as a guest in someone's house, not just where someone lives.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 15:1: 'YHWH, who may sojourn (yagur) in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain?' This is an entrance liturgy listing the moral conditions for a guest in God's house. Psalm 61:4 (Hebrew v. 5): 'Let me sojourn in your tent forever.' Psalm 39:12 (Hebrew v. 13): 'I am a sojourner (ger) with you.' The ger is protected in Exodus 22:21 and Leviticus 19:33–34. Phoenician personal names built on gr plus a divine name ('client/guest of [the god]') show the same picture of a worshipper as a deity's protected guest.