GOD-FEARERS

Two associated Greek words found in the Book of Acts are proselytos (proselytes, or Gentile converts to Judaism) and “God-fearers,” expressed by the Greek terms phoboumenos or sebomenos ton theon. Vine treats the term proselytos as equivalent to the Hebrew term ger (aliens, sojourners, or strangers living among the Jews in OT times – see Exodus 22:21; 23:9; Deuteronomy 10:19). Thus, the Septuagint translates ger as proselytos. At that time, Marshall says, “It was taken for granted that proselytes were circumcised.”

The word proselytos only appears four times in the New Testament, three of the occurrences in Acts (at 2:10; 6:5; and 13:43). There is general agreement that these Gentiles were full converts to Judaism who followed all the minutia of the Jewish law including, for men, being circumcised. The only reference outside of Acts is found in Matthew 23:15 where Jesus talks about the Pharisees moving heaven and earth to gain one convert. There have been doubts that such widespread commitment to Jewish evangelism actually existed in Roman times, but Bietenhard explains that in the previous Greek period “the rabbis zealously took up missionary work, sometimes with considerable success in making proselytes...Above all Hellenistic Judaism engaged with zeal in propaganda and apologetics. From A.D. 135 on, proselyting by Jews was prohibited by the Romans.”

Then we encounter the “God-fearers” in Acts also (see 13:16,26; 13:43). In addition, Marshall feels that additional personages who might also meet the same description are found in Acts 10:2,22; 14:1; 16:14; and 18:4,7. God-fearers are generally felt to be Gentiles who were attracted to Judaism's moral and theological teachings and attended the synagogue services. Trebilco adds, “The presence of God-fearers of some social standing also suggests Jews were respected group (e.g., Acts 13:16, 48-50; 14:1). However, the God-fearers stopped short of following all the details of the law and (for the men) had not been circumcised. As such, they presented a logical and sympathetic audience for the message of Paul and others when they taught in the synagogues.

As a fuller description of God-fearers, McKnight says, “In the Acts of the Apostles the term Godfearer is used for Gentiles who honor God in various ways (including almsgiving and synagogue participation) who are distinguished from run-of-the-mill Gentiles, and the term seems to be nearly synonymous with 'proselyte' or a category of proselytes; that is, for Luke the Godfearer is a quasi-official sympathizer with Judaism.” Note that for McKnight there is little distinction between a God-fearer and a proselyte. Others would certainly disagree with that statement, and the Aphrodisias stele discovered in 1976 appears to distinguish between the two terms.

That 6-foot high marble pillar was found in a Jewish synagogue. It has engraved writing on both sides and dates to approximately A.D. 210. It contains a listing of donors to some charitable cause, perhaps a sort of food pantry or a burial society that would cover the cost of funerals for those who could not afford it. On one side are the names of Jews who contributed to this charity while the reverse side contains two listings: the Greek names of three proselytes and two God-fearers. This find clearly distinguishes between the two categories of people.

Thus, Trebilco notes: “Although some scholars argue that the title God-fearers here means the Gentiles concerned have simply expressed their support for the Jews as fellow townspeople, it seems much more likely that the term indicates that these Gentiles were aligned in some formal way to the Jewish community without being proselytes.”

Another piece of archeological evidence for the existence of God-fearers even predates that find. It is an inscription on theater seats in the 2^nd century Roman town of Milatus. It reads, “Place of the Jews, who are also called Godfearers.” Apparently, for whomever carved that inscription, there was really little distinction between the God-fearers and the Jews as a whole.