The Law of Moses made specific regulations regarding the admission into Israel's community of such as were not born Israelites.[4]
The New Testament makes mention of proselytes in synagogues.[5] The name proselyte occurs in the New Testament only in Matthew and Acts.[6] The name by which they are commonly designated is that of "devout men", or men "fearing God", or "worshipping God", "fearers of Heaven" or "God-fearers".[7][8][9][10]
On the historical meaning of the Greek word, in chapter 2 of the apocryphal gospel Acts of Pilate (roughly dated from 150 to 400 CE), Annas and Caiaphas define "proselyte" for Pilate:
And Pilate, summoning the Jews, says to them: You know that my wife is a worshipper of God, and prefers to adhere to the Jewish religion along with you. ... Annas and Caiaphas say to Pilate: All the multitude of us cry out that he [Jesus] was born of fornication, and are not believed; these [who disagree] are proselytes, and his disciples. And Pilate, calling Annas and Caiaphas, says to them: What are proselytes? They say to him: They are by birth children of the Greeks, and have now become Jews.
There are two kinds of proselytes in Rabbinic Judaism: ger tzedek (righteous proselytes, proselytes of righteousness, religious proselyte, devout proselyte) and ger toshav (resident proselyte, proselytes of the gate, limited proselyte, half-proselyte).
A "righteous proselyte" is a gentile who has converted to Judaism, is bound to all the doctrines and precepts of the Jewish religion, and is considered a full member of the Jewish people. The proselyte is circumcised as an adult (milah l'shem giur), if male, and immerses in a mikvah to formally effect the conversion.
A "gate proselyte"[12] is a resident alien who lives in the Land of Israel and follows some of the Jewish customs.[10] They are not required to be circumcised nor to comply with the whole of the Torah. They are bound only to conform to the Seven Laws of Noah[10] (do not worship idols, do not blaspheme God's name, do not murder, do not commit fornication (immoral sexual acts), do not steal, do not tear the limb from a living animal, and do not fail to establish rule of law) to be assured of a place in the world to come.
The "religious proselytes" spoken of in Early Christian writings[13] were likely righteous proselytes rather than gate proselytes.[14] There is some debate however as to whether proselytes known as God-fearers (Phoboumenoi)[15] and/or Worshippers (Sebomenoi),[16] who were baptized but not circumcised, fall into the righteous or gate category. The New Testament uses the word four times, exclusively referring to converts to Judaism, and never referring to conversion to Christianity.[17]
^Marcus, Ralph (1952). "The Sebomenoi in Josephus". Jewish Social Studies. Indiana University Press. 14 (3): 247–250. JSTOR 4465081. We know from Pagan, Christian and Jewish sources that during the Hellenistic and early Roman periods some Gentiles were so strongly attracted to Judaism that they became converts and undertook to observe Jewish laws and customs in the same manner as did the Jews themselves. [...] It is also commonly assumed that there were some Gentiles who did not go so far as to become converts but indicated their belief in monotheism and gave up the worship of Pagan gods. How far they went in openly dissociating themselves from Paganism and in associating themselves with Judaism we do not know. These Gentile sympathizers are commonly thought to be referred by the terms sebomenoi or phoboumenoi ton theon and metuentes in Greek and Latin sources, and yir᾿ê shamayim "fearers of Heaven" (i.e. God-fearers) in some early Rabbinic passages.
Proselytes ad God-fearers.-Many scholars see a parallel between the "God-fearers" in rabbinic literature and the "God-fearers" in the NT. In rabbinic literature the ger toshab was a Gentile who observed the Noachian commandments but was not considered a convert to Judaism because he did not agree to circumcision. [...] some scholars have made the mistake of calling the ger toshab a "proselyte" or "semiproselyte." But the ger toshab was really a resident alien in Israel. Some scholars have claimed that the term "those who fear God" (yir᾿ei Elohim/Shamayim) was used in rabbinic literature to denote Gentiles who were on the fringe of the synagogue. They were not converts to Judaism, although they were attracted to the Jewish religion and observed part of the law.
— Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1986, Fully Revised Edition), p. 1010, Vol. 3, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids: Michigan, ISBN0-8028-3783-2.
^"Gospel of Nicodemus: Acts of Pilate (ANF text)". earlychristianwritings.com.
Jacobs, Joseph; Hirsch, Emil G. (1905). "Proselyte". The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. pp. 220–224.
AskNoah.org - United Noahide Academies
Noahide.org - Institute of Noahide Law
Noachide.org.uk - Bnai Noach in the UK
Biblical Archaeology Review
April 28, 2023
proselyte, this, article, about, biblical, term, proselyte, general, religious, conversion, proselytism, biblical, term, proselyte, anglicization, koine, greek, term, προσήλυτος, proselytos, used, septuagint, greek, testament, stranger, newcomer, israel, sojou. This article is about the biblical term proselyte For general religious conversion see Proselytism The biblical term proselyte is an anglicization of the Koine Greek term proshlytos proselytos as used in the Septuagint Greek Old Testament for stranger i e a newcomer to Israel 1 a sojourner in the land 2 and in the Greek New Testament 3 for a first century convert to Judaism generally from Ancient Greek religion It is a translation of the Biblical Hebrew phrase גר תושב ger toshav 3 Proselyte also has the more general meaning in English of a new convert to any particular religion or doctrine Contents 1 History of the proselyte in Israel 2 In Judaism 3 In early Christianity 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory of the proselyte in Israel EditThe Law of Moses made specific regulations regarding the admission into Israel s community of such as were not born Israelites 4 The New Testament makes mention of proselytes in synagogues 5 The name proselyte occurs in the New Testament only in Matthew and Acts 6 The name by which they are commonly designated is that of devout men or men fearing God or worshipping God fearers of Heaven or God fearers 7 8 9 10 On the historical meaning of the Greek word in chapter 2 of the apocryphal gospel Acts of Pilate roughly dated from 150 to 400 CE Annas and Caiaphas define proselyte for Pilate And Pilate summoning the Jews says to them You know that my wife is a worshipper of God and prefers to adhere to the Jewish religion along with you Annas and Caiaphas say to Pilate All the multitude of us cry out that he Jesus was born of fornication and are not believed these who disagree are proselytes and his disciples And Pilate calling Annas and Caiaphas says to them What are proselytes They say to him They are by birth children of the Greeks and have now become Jews Roberts Translation 11 In Judaism EditThere are two kinds of proselytes in Rabbinic Judaism ger tzedek righteous proselytes proselytes of righteousness religious proselyte devout proselyte and ger toshav resident proselyte proselytes of the gate limited proselyte half proselyte A righteous proselyte is a gentile who has converted to Judaism is bound to all the doctrines and precepts of the Jewish religion and is considered a full member of the Jewish people The proselyte is circumcised as an adult milah l shem giur if male and immerses in a mikvah to formally effect the conversion A gate proselyte 12 is a resident alien who lives in the Land of Israel and follows some of the Jewish customs 10 They are not required to be circumcised nor to comply with the whole of the Torah They are bound only to conform to the Seven Laws of Noah 10 do not worship idols do not blaspheme God s name do not murder do not commit fornication immoral sexual acts do not steal do not tear the limb from a living animal and do not fail to establish rule of law to be assured of a place in the world to come In early Christianity EditSee also Circumcision controversy in early Christianity The religious proselytes spoken of in Early Christian writings 13 were likely righteous proselytes rather than gate proselytes 14 There is some debate however as to whether proselytes known as God fearers Phoboumenoi 15 and or Worshippers Sebomenoi 16 who were baptized but not circumcised fall into the righteous or gate category The New Testament uses the word four times exclusively referring to converts to Judaism and never referring to conversion to Christianity 17 See also EditAnusim Gerim Noahidism Sons of NoahReferences Edit 1 Chronicles 22 2 Exodus 12 48 20 10 22 21 a b Genesis 1 1 KJV Blue Letter Bible Exodus 20 10 23 12 12 19 12 48 Deuteronomy 5 14 16 11 14 etc Acts 10 2 7 13 42 50 17 4 18 7 Luke 7 5 Matthew 23 15 Acts 2 10 6 4 13 43 Louis H Feldman 1992 Sympathizers with Judaism In Attridge Harold W Hata Gohei eds Eusebius Christianity and Judaism Detroit Wayne State University Press pp 389 395 ISBN 0 8143 2361 8 Feldman Louis H Reinhold Meyer eds 1996 Sympathizers God fearers Jewish Life and Thought among Greeks and Romans Edinburgh T amp T Clark pp 137 145 ISBN 0 567 08525 2 Marcus Ralph 1952 The Sebomenoi in Josephus Jewish Social Studies Indiana University Press 14 3 247 250 JSTOR 4465081 We know from Pagan Christian and Jewish sources that during the Hellenistic and early Roman periods some Gentiles were so strongly attracted to Judaism that they became converts and undertook to observe Jewish laws and customs in the same manner as did the Jews themselves It is also commonly assumed that there were some Gentiles who did not go so far as to become converts but indicated their belief in monotheism and gave up the worship of Pagan gods How far they went in openly dissociating themselves from Paganism and in associating themselves with Judaism we do not know These Gentile sympathizers are commonly thought to be referred by the terms sebomenoi or phoboumenoi ton theon and metuentes in Greek and Latin sources and yir e shamayim fearers of Heaven i e God fearers in some early Rabbinic passages a b c Proselytes ad God fearers Many scholars see a parallel between the God fearers in rabbinic literature and the God fearers in the NT In rabbinic literature the ger toshab was a Gentile who observed the Noachian commandments but was not considered a convert to Judaism because he did not agree to circumcision some scholars have made the mistake of calling the ger toshab a proselyte or semiproselyte But the ger toshab was really a resident alien in Israel Some scholars have claimed that the term those who fear God yir ei Elohim Shamayim was used in rabbinic literature to denote Gentiles who were on the fringe of the synagogue They were not converts to Judaism although they were attracted to the Jewish religion and observed part of the law Geoffrey W Bromiley The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia 1986 Fully Revised Edition p 1010 Vol 3 Eerdmans Grand Rapids Michigan ISBN 0 8028 3783 2 Gospel of Nicodemus Acts of Pilate ANF text earlychristianwritings com bible verse Exodus 20 9 10 Deut 5 13 14 Deut 14 20 29 Deut 16 10 14 Deut 24 13 14 Deut 26 11 12 Deut 31 11 12 Acts 13 43 The Bauer lexicon calls it a mixed expression Luke 1 50 18 2 4 Acts 10 2 10 22 10 35 13 16 13 26 1 Pet 2 17 Rev 14 7 19 5 Acts 13 43 13 50 16 14 17 4 17 17 18 7 Josephus Ant 14 7 2 Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Gerhard Kittel Gerhard Friedrich trans Geoffrey Bromiley volume VI p742 External links Edit Look up proselyte in Wiktionary the free dictionary BeJewish org Abrahams Israel 1911 Proselyte Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 22 11th ed pp 455 456 Driscoll James F 1911 Proselyte Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 12 Jacobs Joseph Hirsch Emil G 1905 Proselyte The Jewish Encyclopedia Vol 10 pp 220 224 AskNoah org United Noahide Academies Noahide org Institute of Noahide Law HaMikdash com The Responsibilities of the Gentiles BneiNoach org Noachide Resource Center Noachide org uk Bnai Noach in the UK Free Online Book The Path of the Righteous Gentile Gentiles and Circumcision Godfearers in the City of Love Biblical Archaeology Review Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Proselyte amp oldid 1107036605, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
