This has always been regarded by Eastern nations as a duty of the highest importance. Gen. 18: 1-5; Gen. 19: 1-3; Ex. 2: 20; Judg. 13: 15; Judg. 19: 20-21 tell of instances of the readiness with which hospitality was offered to strangers. Such hospitality was a necessity of desert life. A host was bound at all cost to protect the life and property of his guest, even though previously unknown to him. To taste another man's salt was to establish a claim on his protection. The N.T. enjoins the duty even more emphatically (e.g., Matt. 10: 42; Matt. 25: 43; Rom. 12: 13; 1 Tim 3: 2; Titus 1: 8; Heb. 13: 2; 1 Pet. 4: 9).