who under Hobab a< mpanied the Israelites in their
wanderings, and ultimately settled in Canaan, were probably the most conspicuous (Judg. i, l«'ii. The pres- ence of the class was recognised in the solemn decla- ration of blessings and curses from Ebal and Gerizim (Josh.viii, 33).
The period after the conquest of Canaan was not fa- vorable to the admission of proselytes. The people had no strong faith, no commanding position. The Gibeonites (ch. ix | furnish the only instance of a con- version, ami their condition is rather that of slaves compelled to conform than that ol free proselytes. See Nktiiimm.
:'>. 'I'h: Period of the Monarchy. — With the introduc- tion of royalty, ami the consequent fame and influence of the people, there was more to attract stragglers from the neighboring nations, and we meet accordingly with many names which suggest the presence of men of an- other race conforming to the faith ol Israel. Doeg the Edomite (1 Sam. xxi. 7). Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam. xi. 8), Arauuali the Jebusite {xxiv. 2:'. >, Xclek the Am- monite (xxiii, 37), Ithmah the Moabite (1 Citron, xi, 46)— these two in spile of an express law to the con- trary (Deut xxiii, 3)— and at a later period Shebnah the scribe (probably | COmp. Alexander on Isa. xxii, 15),
and Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian (Jer. xxxviii. 7), are examples that such proselytes might rise even to high offices aboul the person of the king. The Cherethiles and Pelethites (q. v.) consisted probably of foreigners who had been attracted to the service of David, and were content for it to adopt the religion of their master (F.wald. Gesch. i. 330; iii. 183). The vision in Psa. Ixxxvii oi a lime in which men of Tyre, Egypt, Ethio- pia, l'hili-tia. should all he registered an g the citi- zens of Zion, can hardly fail to have had its starting- point in some admission of proselytes within the mem-
ory of the writer (Ewald and De Wette, ad loc). A convert of another kind, the type, a- ii has been thought. of the later proselytes of the -.■itc (see below), is found in Naamau the Syrian (2 Kings v. 15, 1«) recognising Jehovah as his God, yet not binding himself to any rigorous observance ol the law.
The position of the proselytes during this period ap- pears to have undergone considerable changes. < >n the one hand, men rose, as we have seen, to power and for- tune. The case for which the law provided (Lev. xxv, 17) might actually occur, and they might he the crcd- itors of Israelites a- di btors, i he mash rs of Israelites as ! slaves. It might well be a sign of the times in the later days of the monarchy that they became " very high," the " head" and not the " tail" of the people ( Deut. xxviii. 13, II'. The pi. -lure had. however, another side. They were treated by David ami S lornon as a subject class, brought (like Periceci, almost like Helots) under a sys- tem of compulsory labor from which others were ex- empted (1 Chron. xxii. 2: 2 Chron. ii. 17. is.. The statistics of this period, taken probably for that pur- pose, give their number i i. e. apparently the number of adult working males i at 153,600 (ibid.). Tiny were subject at other limes to wanton insolence and outrage (I'sa. xciv, 6). As some compensation for their Buffer- ings they became the special objects of the care and sympathy of the prophets. < hie after another of the "goodly fellowship" pleads the cause of the proselytes as warmly as that of the widow and the fatherless (Jer. \ ii, 6; xxii. :!: Ezek. xxii. 7. 29; Zech. \ ii. 10; .Mai. iii, 5). A large accession of converts enters into all their hopes of the divine kingdom (Isa. ii. 2: xi. 10; lvi, 3-6; Mic. iv, 1). The sympathy of one of them goes still further. He sees, in the far future, the vision ofa time when the last remnant of inferiority shall he removed, and the proselytes, completely emancipated, shall be able to hold and inherit land even as the Is- raelites ( Ezek. xhii. 22).
4. From tin Babylonian Captivity t,, tht Destruction of Jerusalem. The proselytism of this period assumed a different character. It was for the most part the con- formity, not ofa subject race, hut of willing adherents. Even as early as the return from Babylon we have tra.es of those who were drawn to a faith which they recognised as holier than their own. and had "separated
themselves" unto the law of Jehovah I Nell. X, 28). The presence of many foreign names among the Nelhinim (vii, 46-59) leads us to believe that many of the new converts dedicated themselves specially to the s. rvice of the new Temple. With the conquests of Alexandi r. the wars between Egypt and Syria, the struggle under the Maccabees, the expansion of the Roman empire, the Jews became mote widely known, and their power to proselytize increased. They had suffered for their re- ligion in the persecution of AntiochtlS, and the spirit of martyrdom was followed naturally by propagandises. Their monotheism was rigid and unl.eii.iin-. Scattered through the East and West, a marvel and a portent, wondered at and scorned, attracting ami repelling, they presented, iii an age of shattered creeds and corroding doubts, the spectacle of a faith, or at least a dogma. which remained unshaken. The influence was somc- times obtained well, ami exercised for good. I