Proselytes to Judaism

Biblical Texts

The Greek word rendered "proselyte" occurs in four places in the New Testament.

• Matthew 23:15: In this passage Jesus rebukes the Pharisees. He says that they "compass sea and land to make one proselyte" and then make the convert worse than themselves.
• Acts 2:10: Among the crowd gathered in Jerusalem at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were "Jews and proselytes."
• Acts 6:5: When seven men were chosen to oversee the distribution of relief, Nicolas of Antioch is introduced as a proselyte.
• Acts 13:43: After Paul preached in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch, the crowd that followed Paul and Barnabas included "religious proselytes."

Background and Meaning of the Word

The Greek word prosēlytos means "one who has drawn near." The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, frequently used this word to render the Hebrew ger (sojourner, resident alien), a foreigner living among the Israelites. The Old Testament law commands that such people not be mistreated (Leviticus 19:33-34). It also stipulates that a resident alien who has received circumcision may eat the Passover meal (Exodus 12:48).

By the New Testament period, the word had come to designate a Gentile who accepted the law and became a member of the Jewish community. Later rabbinic literature reports that male proselytes were required to undergo circumcision and a purificatory immersion in water and, while the temple stood, to offer a sacrifice. By contrast, some Gentiles attended the synagogue and worshiped God without being circumcised. These are commonly classed separately as "God-fearers," and Cornelius is often cited as an example (Acts 10:2).

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

In the Old Testament, Ruth and Rahab are remembered as Gentiles who turned to the God of Israel. Isaiah 56:3-7 declares that foreigners who join themselves to the LORD will pray in His house. In Acts, proselytes serve as a bridge between Jews and Gentiles. The Council of Jerusalem decided not to require circumcision of Gentile believers (Acts 15:28-29), and as a result the church came to receive Gentiles without their first converting to Judaism.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Scholars differ on whether Second Temple Judaism actively sought converts. Some read Matthew 23:15 as evidence of such activity, while others see it as a hyperbolic rebuke of the zeal of certain Pharisees.
• Some have argued that the purificatory immersion of proselytes influenced the baptism of John the Baptist or Christian baptism. This claim remains disputed, however, because it is uncertain when the ritual began to be practiced.
• Some Church Fathers, including Irenaeus, are reported to have connected Nicolas with the "Nicolaitans" of Revelation 2:6 and 2:15. The text of Acts, however, says nothing of the kind, and some Church Fathers rejected the connection.
• Interpreters are also divided over whether the Ethiopian eunuch was a proselyte or a God-fearing Gentile.

Rendering in Korean Bibles

The Korean Revised Korean Version (New Revised Edition) renders this word with explanatory phrases meaning "one who has entered Judaism" and "one who has been admitted into Judaism." The Korean term for admission used here (ipgyo) refers to entering the Jewish community. It differs in meaning from confirmation, the rite in Korean Protestant churches in which a person baptized as an infant later makes a personal profession of faith.