The Role Of The Non-Jew In The Congregation Of G-D

G-dfearers, who are they and what was their function? Although these people have been spoken of for well over 35 years, if you were to ask the average person in the Church, including Pastors and Ministers, they would be at a complete loss as to what explanation they should give. Those that would make an attempt at explaining it would simply say that a G-dfearer is a person that has a reverent fear of G-d. This is somewhat accurate but falls far short of explaining the function of these very important people in the congregation of G-d.

In this article I will attempt to explain who these people were and what their function was, and for that matter is, in the congregation of G-d. We will now look in depth at the G-dfearers. In 1986 there was a series of articles in Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) about the G-dfearers. Theses articles are from several different perspectives. One of the first real stories written about the G-dfearers was in a German reference work in 1962.

This article is being written in December 2004 and after 42 years the Christian community is, for the most part, completely oblivious to the G-dfearers. The question is, Why? The answer is that even those pastors and ministers that do know of them do not speak of them because they fly in the face of Christian doctrine.

The G-dfearers were the primary converts to the belief that Yeshua is the Messiah. According to Acts, Sha’ul (Paul) taught in the Synagogue everywhere he went. In those synagogues he taught both Jews and G-dfearers. The G-dfearers were called by several different names in the English, “devout men,” “those that fear G-d.”

The Greek for G-dfearers is, Phobeomenoi, G-dfearers, also known as, Sebomenoi, Devout Ones. These were not simply ones who feared G-d but were instead, a distinct class or group of people. It is true that they feared G-d but it was more of a title than a description. This group of people will be the major problem that the believers will have to contend with in the first and second centuries of the common era.

There have always been G-dfearers throughout the life of the Jewish people. They were at Mt. Sinai, which was the birth of the nation of Israel.¹ They were part of the nation as it was ruled by King David.² You will find them in the days of Isaiah³ and they continued with the nation into the First Century common era.⁴ To put it simply, a G-dfearer was a non-Jew that lived with the Jewish people, yet remained a non-Jew, but did follow the parts of the Torah that applied to them. These people were known as Gerim, strangers. There will be several classes of Gerim (non-Jews) and to help in your understanding, I have included the following list:

1. Ger Toshav - Stranger in the Land (of Israel)

2. Ger ha-Shaar - Stranger in the Gate (of the Jewish People)

3. Ger Tzaddik - Stranger (Proselyte - Convert to Judaism)

It is somewhat easy to get these Gerim mixed up. The Encyclopedia Judaica CD-Rom Edition, Article on Strangers and Gentiles has this to say about the Ger Toshav:

Whereas, as stated, the word ger in the Bible was taken to refer to the proselyte, the ger toshav, the “resident stranger,” was regarded as belonging to a different and special character. He was a non-Jew who accepted some, but not all of the commandments of the Torah, as a result of which he was permitted to reside in the land of Israel and enjoy many of the privileges of citizenship. Various views are expressed by the rabbis as to the qualifications which entitle the resident gentile to be accepted as a ger toshav, ranging from the renunciation of idolatry to one who accepts the whole of the discipline of the Torah with the exception of the dietary laws (Av. Zar. 64b). The halakhah was decided that it applies to the person accepting the seven “Noahide Laws” (Maim. Yad, Issurei Bi'ah 14:7; Sh. Ar., YD 124:1). The laws, privileges, and restrictions of the ger toshav are exhaustively dealt with in the Talmud.

The Soncino Talmud CD-Rom Edition in the tractate Baba Kama 113b says: …

The Ger Toshav therefore, was any non-Jew who wished to worship the G-d of Israel and live in the land of Israel. It follows then that during the time of the dispersion of the nation of Israel that there was also no Ger Toshav. This does not mean however, that this group of people disappeared. All during the time of the nation of Israel there were also the G-dfearers known as the Ger ha-Shaarim. These were non-Jews who worshipped the G-d of Israel, but did not live in the land of Israel. The only difference between the Ger Toshav and the Ger ha-Shaar, was where they lived.⁵

There is one other difference. As mentioned in the article from The Encyclopedia Judaica, a Ger Toshav took upon himself the parts of the Torah that applied to him. There were some commandments that would apply only if one was in the land of Israel. Some of the commandments that the Ger Toshav had to observe did not apply to the Ger ha-Shaar. One may go from a Ger Toshav to a Ger ha-Shaar and back again many times during their lives. This would most certainly be the case for a Roman soldier who could be stationed in many different places. As he would move in and out of the land of Israel his status would change as well as the requirements that were on him. If one was in the land, one was a Ger Toshav and had to keep the commandments that applied to a Ger living in the land. If one was living any place in the world other than Israel then one would be considered a Ger ha-Shaar and kept the commandments that applied to a Ger outside the land of Israel.

Acts 10 introduces us to a very controversial person, Cornelius, a Roman centurion in the Italian Regiment. He was referred to as a devout man and one who feared G-d. We have commonly thought that he was just a very good person and feared the G-d of Heaven. The wording here means much more than that. The term “one who fears G-d,” is more like a title than a description of how one relates to G-d.

The Greek word for fears G-d is, Phobeomenoi.⁶ Another term that is used interchangeably is, Sebomenoi,⁷ devout one or worshipers. This is not the same word used in Acts 10 where it refers to Cornelius as a devout man. The word used in Acts 10.2 is, eusebes, which means a pious person. Phobeomenoi and Sebomenoi will be referred to many times in different places, both will be referring to the same group of people. In Hebrew, they are known as, Yireh ha-Shamayim, A Fearer of Heaven.

Yireh ha-Shamayim were non-Jews that were on their way to becoming a proselyte, but had not yet reached that status. The Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion refers to the Yireh ha-Shamayim as half-proselytes that are on their way to becoming full proselytes. This was the thought that was in place during the First Century, that all non-Jews or G-dfearers had to become Jewish to be saved.

To most, in the Jewish community the Yireh Shamayim were not yet in the Kingdom of G-d but were on their way. They were allowed to stay at the hinder parts of the synagogue to watch and learn. They were not allowed to have an active part in the services. This was due to the fact that they had not yet gained enough knowledge to participate in a service with all its intricate details and nuances.

It should be pointed out at this time that a Yireh Shamayim, we will henceforth refer to them as G-dfearer, was not a pagan. That is to say that he did not worship as the other nations worshipped their gods. He believed in the one G-d of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). He had not however, been circumcised according to the Law of Moses. That would not happen until he had completed his conversion which would take at least two years.

When his time of learning was at an end, he would then be circumcised and would take hold of the mitzvot (commandments) He would at this time be considered a full Jew with all the responsibilities and honors thereof. His title would then be a, Ger Tzaddik, a proselyte, but his children would be considered Jewish.

Up until this time the G-dfearer would have departed from all aspects of paganism. He would have kept the Noahide Covenant, Sabbath, all Festivals, Kosher and any of the other commandments in the Torah that applied to him. He was considered Torah observant in every respect if he kept the commandments that applied to him. This was all anyone had to do to claim the title “Torah Observant.”

In Christianity it has been said that if one wishes to keep the commandments, then one must keep all the commandments to be saved. There are 613 mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. No one, not even Yeshua, kept all 613 commandments. For example, the High Priest had to apply the blood on the Holy Ark in the Holiest of the Holies. This was a commandment that applied to him only. No one except the, Cohein Gadol, High Priest, could fulfill this commandment. Yeshua never went into the Holiest of the Holies while on earth, yet we all know that he never broke a commandment. There is a difference between not keeping a commandment and breaking one.

One can only break a commandment that applies to them. No man can break a commandment that applies to a woman and no woman can break a commandment that applies to a man. No Levite can break a commandment that applies to a priest and no priest can break a commandment that applies to a High Priest.

One can, however, commit a sin by attempting to perform a commandment that does not apply to him. This has happened several times in the history of Israel. King Uzziah wanted to burn incense to the L-rd,⁸ some Levites, not of the House of Aaron, wanted to be priests.⁹ One is to be satisfied in the place that G-d has placed him. If one is a member of the House of Levi, but not of the House of Aaron, then that person should not attempt to be a priest. This applies to the non-Jew as well, they should not attempt to be Jewish.

The rules and regulations of the G-dfearers have for the most part been left in a blurred ancient past. We are just starting to unveil the truths and facts of this group. This much we do know, they…

1. Kept the Noahide Commandments¹⁰

2. The Sabbath¹¹

3. The Festivals¹²

4. Kosher¹³

And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”
Acts 16.20-21

The word for customs is, ethos, and means the customs of the Jewish people. The customs were known as the, halakhah, which means “the way one lives his life” or “the way one is to walk.

”The halakhah which the Rabbis imposed upon the G-dfearers is to this day somewhat vague. We do know that there were halakhah attached to them, as this was the charge brought against Sha’ul in Acts 16.20-21.

Today this group of believers are making a comeback. However, for the most part many non-Jews are at a complete loss as to their identity. Most are drawn toward the Messianic movement which, for the most part, falls far short of the mark that believers should be aiming for.

The Messianic movement has several associations, the largest being the Messianic Jewish Association of America (MJAA).