God-fearers (Greek: ?????????? ??? ????, Phoboumenos ton Theon) or God-worshipers (Greek: ????????, Theosebes) were a numerous class of gentile sympathizers to Hellenistic Judaism, which observed certain Jewish religious rites and traditions without becoming full converts to Judaism. The concept has precedents in the proselytes of the Hebrew Bible.
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Overview
History, status and diffusion
Over the last 50 years a growing number of scholars of Judaic studies and history of Judaism became interested in the subject of God-fearers and their relationship with Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity. According to most scholars, Jews that lived in the Greco-Roman world during the Hellenistic and Roman period probably were not involved in active missionary efforts of proselytism among Pagans, although some others disagree.
As Jews emigrated and settled in the Roman provinces of the Empire, Judaism became an appealing religion to a large number of Pagans, for many reasons; God-fearers and proselytes that underwent full conversion were Greeks or Romans, and came from all social classes: they were mostly women and freedmen (liberti), but there were also artisans, soldiers and few people of high status, like patricians and senators.
The class of God-fearers existed between the 1st and the 3rd century CE. They are mentioned in Latin and Greek literature, Flavius Josephus' and Philo's historical works, rabbinic literature, early Christian writings, and other contemporary sources such as synagogue inscriptions from Diaspora communities (Palestine, Rome and Asia Minor).
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Hebrew Bible
In the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), there is some recognition of gentile monotheistic worship as being directed toward the God of the Jews. This forms the category of yir'ei HaShem/yir'ei Shamayim (Hebrew: ???? ????, meaning "Fearers of the Name"/"Fearers of Heaven", "the Name" being a Jewish euphemism for Yahweh, cf. Psalm 115:11). This was developed by later rabbinic literature into the concept of Noahides, gentiles that follow the seven laws of Noah, which rabbinic writings assigned to the Noahic Covenant.
In inscriptions, texts and papyri
The Greek terms that refer to God-fearers (theosebeis, sebomenoi, phoboumenoi, metuentes) are found in ancient literature (Greek, Roman, and Jewish) and synagogue inscriptions discovered in Aphrodisias, Panticapaeum, Tralles, Sardis, Venosa, Lorium (in Rome), Rhodes, Deliler (Philadelphia) and Miletus.
Judging from the distinctions in the Acts of the Apostles it is thought that they did not become gerim tzedekim, which required circumcision, although the evidence across the centuries varies widely and the meaning of the term may have included all kinds of sympathetic gentiles, proselytes or not. There are also around 300 text references (4th century BCE to 3rd century CE) to a sect of Hypsistarians, some of whom practiced Sabbath and which many scholars see as sympathizers with Judaism related to God-fearers.
In early Christian writings
God-fearers is used of those pagans who attached themselves in varying degrees to Judaism without becoming total converts, and are referred to in the Christian New Testament's Acts of the Apostles, which describes the Apostolic Age of the 1st century.
So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: "Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen."
Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.
Role in Pauline Christianity
God-fearers are considered to be of significant importance to the growth of the Early Christian movement. They represented a group of gentiles who shared religious ideas and practices with Jews, to one degree or another. However, they were not converts, but a separate gentile community, engaged in certain Jewish religious rites and traditions. Actual conversion to Judaism would require adherence to all of the Laws of Moses, which includes various prohibitions (kashrut, circumcision, Shabbat observance etc.) that were generally unattractive to would-be gentile (largely Greek) converts. The rite of circumcision was especially unpopular in Classical civilization because it was the custom to spend an hour a day or so exercising in the nude in the gymnasium, and males did not want to be seen in public deprived of their foreskins. Hellenistic and Roman culture both found circumcision to be cruel and repulsive.
The message of Paul of Tarsus in his letters stressed that faith in Christ constituted a "new covenant" with God, a covenant which essentially provides a "free gift" of salvation from the harsh edicts of the Mosaic Law for gentiles that didn't require circumcision (see Christian liberty). The Law of Moses was considered therefore to have little relevance to the Pauline Christian communities, which mostly consisted of Roman and Greek converts (see Pauline passages supporting antinomianism), as the sacrifice of the Christ was seen as a liberation from the demand that a person follow the Jewish Law without deviation (see also Abrogation of Old Covenant laws). This message was taken up by many God-fearers, who already represented a sizable group of people within the synagogue. The most well-known God-fearers that were converted to Christianity by Paul are Cornelius the Centurion, Lydia of Thyatira and the Ethiopian eunuch.
In Paul's message of salvation through faith as opposed to works, many God-fearers found an essentially Jewish group to which they could belong without the necessity of their accepting Jewish Law. Aside from earning Paul's group a wide following, this view was generalized in the eventual conclusion that converts to Christianity need not first accept all Jewish Law (see Apostolic Decree), a fact which was indispensable to the popularity of the early Christian movement and which would eventually lead to the distinction between Judaism and Christianity as two separate religions.
See also
Notes and references
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Proselyte mentions "fearers of God"
- Louis H. Feldman, "The Omnipresence of the God-Fearers", Biblical Archaeology Review 12, 5 (1986), Center for Online Judaic Studies
- A. Chaniotis, "Godfearers in the City of Love", Biblical Archaeology Review 36, 3 (2010), Biblical Archaeology Society
- A. Guttmacher, "Fear of God" (1906), Jewish Encyclopedia
Source of article : Wikipedia
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