The distinction drawn between ' the proselyte of the gate' (nys'n 13, 3^iri la), who accepted the ' Seven Noachian Laws ' (ERE iv. 245"), and ' the proselyte of righteousness ' (p'jv -la, n"!?ri la), who by complete adoption of Israel's laws became incorpor- ated with the covenant people (HDB ii. 157"), belongs to Rabbinicar Judaism (ERE vii. 592''), and is not found in Scripture. It had its preced- ents, however, in the differences of religious stand- ing observable among the D-ia in Israel ; whUe the ire/36/neTOi rhv Bebv mentioned by Josephus (Ant. XIV. vii. 2), and frequently in Acts, may roughly repre- sent the ' proselytes of the gate ' of the Gemara. It has been suggested that tne mn- -x-i; of Ps 22=^ 115"- " 118^ 135-" are identical with the (po^ov/Meyot rbv de6v of Ac 13'*- ^, but A. B. Davidson has shown that the general usage of the OT is against the identification (ExpT iii. 491). While Bertholet and others maintain th.at wpod-qKvToi, oi 0o/3oi''/aevoi rbv dedv and oi cre^o/xevoc rbf Bedy are synonj'mous (EBi iii. 3904), the view of Schurer (HJP II. ii. 314 ff. ) that the first term means proselytes in the technical sense, and the other two those who, without having submitted to the rite of circum- cision, joined in Jewish worship, has gained a wider acceptance. The adherence of Gentiles to Judaism in the centuries immediately preceding and following the fall of Jerusalem ' ranged over the entire gamut of possible degrees,' depending upon ' the difierent degrees in which the cere- monial precepts of the Law were observed ' (Harnack, The Mission and E.rpansion of Christi- anity'^, i. 12, 10). The following passage from Theodore Eeinach well illustrates this :
•Judaism possessed the prudence and tact not to exact (rom its adepts [converts) at the outset full and complete adop- tion of the Jewish Law. The neophyte was at first simply a " friend " to the Jewish customs, observing the least enthralhng ones— the Sabbath and the lighting of a Are on the previous evening ; certain fast-days ; abstention from pork. His sons frequented the synagogues and deserted the temples, studied the Law, and contributed their oboli to the treasury of Jeru- salem (cf. Neh 103-f-, ERE vii. m'i<^]. By degrees habit accom- plished the rest. At last the proselyte took the decisive step : he received the rite of circumcision, took the bath of purity . . ., and offered, doubtless in money, the sacrifice which signalized his definitive entrance into the bosom of Israel. Occasionally, in
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order to ftccentuate liis conversion, he even adopted a Hebraic name, ... In the tliird generation, accordin"? to Dent. x.\iii. ,S, there existed no distinction between the Jew by race and the Jew by adoption ' {J E \\\ 570).
' The bath of purity ' here .'^pokeii of refers to the baptism of proselytes. This is described by W. Biiindt (ERE ii. 4t)8) as 'a practice of ceremonial ablution altogether new,' which 'we may safely assume . . . was not of later orijjin than C'lnist inn baptism.' It is not mentioned in the (_)T, and the traces of it found by Talmuilic scholars in (in 3.5'-', Ex 19'" are quite imaginary. It is referred to by Epictetus (who taught till A.D. 94) in his conversa- tions as a matter of common knowledge : ' When a man,' he says, ' takes upon himself the arduous life of the baptized and the elect (roO pefiaixixivou Kal ■fiprifiivov), then lie is really what he calls himself, a Jew ' (Arrian, Diss. Epictcti, ii. 9). The Baby- lonian Talmud reports that about the end of the 1st cent, two famous Kabbis disputed with one another as to its necessity, which shows that at that period it was not universally regarded as indispensable. It was designated in later times ' the immersion of proselytisni,' and the manner of its administration was as follows : ' The individual who desired to become a .lew was conducted to the b'ath, and there immersed himself in the presence of the Rabbis, who recited to him portions of the Law ' {cf. Plummer, art. ' Baptism,' in HDB i. 239 f. for other references).
2. NT passages referring to proselytes.— (1) Mt 23". Griitz's conjecture that this verse refers to an- actual incident, the voyage of R. Gamaliel, K. Eliezer, R. Joshua, and R. Akiba to Rome, where they converted Flavins Clemens, the cousin of Domitian (cf. EBE vii. 592''), would imply that the saying is not justly attributed to our Lord. It is probable, as Adolf Jellinek, the famous Austrian Rabbi and scholar (1821-1893), suggested, that what is here condemned is the Pliarisees' practice of winning over every year at least one proselyte each (E. G. Hirsch, JE x. 221). (2) There were proselytes among the multitude who witnessed the miracle of Pentecost (Ac 2'°), .some of whom may have been added to the Cliurch ; the selection of ' Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch ' (6") as one of the seven deacons indicates that there was a certain proportion of men of his class in the primitive Christian community. (3) In Ac IS^'riii' aefiofiivuiv TTpo<n]\vTuiv is perhaps a conflate reading (EBi iii. 3902), but the phrase appears to be a popular designation of ' God-fearing proselytes ' — the same whom St. Paul twice appeals to (13'*- ^) as oi (po;iovt-Lffoi rbv Sebv. (4) Ac 8-'. The chamber- lain of Candace is included by Reinach among the 'distinguished recruits' of tlie Jewish faith (JE iv. 570''). (5) Cornelius was one of the ^o/SoiVf""' Tbi/ dedv (Ac 10=- "• 35) ; note that in v.'* St. Peter's words liave not the breadth often assigned to them — he only goes the length of recognizing the mani- fest signs of God's acceptance of a Gentile who 'feareth him, and worketh righteousness.' (6) Lydia (Ac 16'^), Titus Justus (IS'), and the <re/3- 6p.evoi of Thessalonica and Atliens (17''- ") illustrate the important aid that members of this class gave to St. Paul in his travels. He did not, however, always find the a-e^Sfieuai yvfaiKes favourable to the gospel (13"'). It was partly owing to the fact of the Christian faith having found so many ad- herents among the tye^o^eifoL top 6e6v that the class of 'half-proselytes' or ' half-converts ' came to be regarded by Rabbinical teachers with doubtful approval.