The

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

term "proselyte" is an

anglicization Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

of , as used in the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

for "stranger", i.e. a "newcomer to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

"; a "sojourner in the land", and in the

Novum Testamentum Graece (''The New Testament in Greek'') is a critical edition of the New Testament in its original Koine Greek published by ''Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft'' (German Bible Society), forming the basis of most modern Bible translations and biblical crit ...

for a first-century convert to Judaism. It is a translation of or ''

ger toshav ''Ger toshav'' (, ''ger'': "foreigner" or "alien" + ''toshav'': "resident", lit. "Alien (law), resident alien") is a Halakha, halakhic term used in Judaism to designate the legal status of a Gentile#Judaism, Gentile (non-Jew) living in the La ...

''. "Proselyte" also has the more general meaning in English of a new convert to any particular religion or doctrine.

History of the proselyte in Israel

The

Law of Moses The Law of Moses ( ), also called the Mosaic Law, is the law said to have been revealed to Moses by God. The term primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Heb ...

made specific regulations regarding the admission into Israel's community of such as were not born Israelites. The

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

makes mention of proselytes in

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s. The name ''proselyte'' occurs in the New Testament only in Matthew and Acts. 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". On the historical meaning of the Greek word, in chapter 2 of the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, roughly dated between 150 to 400, Annas and

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD) was the High Priest of Israel during the first century. In the New Testament, the Gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John indicate he was an organizer of ...

define "proselyte" for Pilate:

In Judaism

There are two kinds of proselytes in

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...

: ''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 ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...

who has converted to Judaism, is bound to all the doctrines and precepts of Judaism, and is thus a Jew. The proselyte immerses in a

mikveh A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

to effect the conversion formally; a male proselyte must also be circumcised before the immersion can occur ('' mila leshem giur'') A "gate proselyte" is a

resident alien In law, an alien is generally any person (including an organization) who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ across legal systems. Lexicology The term "alien" is derived from the L ...

who lives in the Land of Israel and follows some Jewish customs. They are not required to be circumcised nor to comply with the whole of the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

. They are bound only to conform to the

Seven Laws of Noah In Judaism, the Seven Laws of Noah (, ''Sheva Mitzvot B'nei Noach''), otherwise referred to as the Noahide Laws or the Noachian Laws (from the Hebrew pronunciation of "Noah"), are a set of universal moral laws which, according to the Talmud, ...

(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 world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatology, eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the World (theology), current world or Dispensation (period), current age is flawed or cursed and will be r ...

In early Christianity

The "religious proselytes" spoken of in

early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

such as Acts 13:43 were likely righteous proselytes rather than gate proselytes. There is some debate however as to whether God-fearers (''Phoboumenoi'') and/or Worshippers (Sebomenoi), who were

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

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.Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, trans. Geoffrey Bromiley, volume VI p742.

References

External links

BeJewish.org
* * *
AskNoah.org - United Noahide AcademiesNoahide.org - Institute of Noahide LawBneiNoach.org - Noachide Resource CenterNoachide.org.uk - Bnai Noach in the UKFree Online Book: 'The Path of the Righteous Gentile'Gentiles and CircumcisionGodfearers in the City of Love
Biblical Archaeology Review {{Authority control Beginners and newcomers Christian terminology Cultural assimilation Early Christianity and Judaism Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible Jewish courts and civil law New Testament Greek words and phrases Noahides Religious conversion Septuagint words and phrases

History of the proselyte in Israel

In Judaism

In early Christianity

See also

References

External links