PROSELYTE. - A believer of non-Israelite origin who had embraced the Mosaic religion (προσήλυτος "one who has come over, added"). Philo (v.) considers the Jewish law capable of making proselytes insofar as it is free from national limits: barbarians and Greeks convert to Judaism (De vita Mos.). Seneca corresponds: "Cum interim usque eo sceleratissimae gentis consuetudo valuit, ut per omnes iam terras recepta sit; victi victoribus leges dederunt." The proselytes, often called φοβούμενοι (or σεβόμενοι) τὸν θεόν (Acts 10:2; 13:16), are among the first followers of St. Paul. Flavius Josephus speaks of the expansion of Jewish proselytism, but also of its arrest, probably due to the fall of Jerusalem and the apostolate of St. Paul. Poppaea, wife of Nero, was favorable to the Jews. True proselytes were King Izates of Adiabene (Assyria) and his mother Helena.
Universalistic ideas are expressed in Ps. 36:6-8; 93; 95-100; 145, and in the wisdom literature. But from A.D. 70 onward national tendencies prevailed over universalistic ones in Judaism. Under Hillel (v.), who taught: "Love creatures and lead them to the Law," the verb gijjár is believed to have come into use (gér "stranger" dwelling in the land) meaning "to make someone a proselyte," that is, to convert him. A special blessing was instituted for proselytes and inserted into the "Eighteen Benedictions" (v. SEMONEH 'BAREH); but defections on the part of proselytes later cooled the enthusiasm for proselytism.
The act of conversion presupposes a course of religious instruction, the invitation to reflect on the importance of the step, the performance of the ritual bath under the eyes of witnesses, and for men the rite of circumcision. Since the proselyte did not have a Jewish father, he was designated "son of our patriarch Abraham" and considered a "proselyte of righteousness," as distinct from the interested or false proselyte. The "proselytes of righteousness" participated in the Passover banquet, could offer sacrifices by performing the rite of the imposition of hands, and were to be helped and loved; the "false proselytes" were considered a plague for Israel.
Bibliography3 works
Eugenio Zolli