Conversion to Judaism.pdf

Conversion to Judaism

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Abstract and Keywords

This chapter traces conversion processes within the history of Judaism. Even in early

periods of Jewish history, the resident alien (ger) was allowed to become a member of the

and individualism, thus the possibility of personal choice and thus conversion. Jewish

conversion were characterized by long periods of education and training; whereas

Christians during the same period emphasized the possibility of rapid conversions, often

accompanied by mystical experiences.

Keywords: Hellenization, circumcision, proselytes, God-fearers, cosmopolitanism, individualism, Ruth, Paul,

Josephus, resident alien (ger)

The Idea of Conversion in Biblical Religion

CONVERSION is a post-exilic phenomenon in Judaism. It was born in the Persian period,

in response to a whole new style of Israelite life, and it flourished in the culturally plural,

cosmopolitan, and individualistic world of the Hellenistic Mediterranean. Religious

Conversion to Judaism

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stands to reason, for conversion demands a mobile population who have the right and the

ability to make choices, and it also demands a variety of thought available to make those

choices. Such a condition only existed in broad form in the Hellenistic world, as we shall

see. But there are significant forerunners to the phenomenon in First Temple times.

times.

Although the religion of Israel primarily concerned people who were born into Israel, the

Bible in the First Temple period also speaks of Gentile strangers or sojourners (gērı’m)

among the people. Indeed, it is this word that is chosen to express “converts” in the post-

Second Temple period. They are restrained from participating in some of the formal

rituals of Israel’s religious life (Exod. 12:43–45), but they may offer sacrifices to God. A

Gentile man may participate in the Passover sacrifice, provided that he has been

circumcised (Num. 14:13–15; Exod. 12:48–49). The book of Deuteronomy tells us that

female war captives are not to be considered slaves or sexual concubines but are to be

offered the possibility of marrying the captor (Deut. 21:10‒14). She is asked to go

Israel to return (šûb) to the Lord. Israel will find mercy and pardon (Jer. 3:12–13; Isa.

55:1–9). What is necessary is that the people sincerely repent and return to God in truth

and justice (Jer. 4:1–4), a move that itself requires God’s strengthening of Israel (Jer. 3:22)

and that will in turn lead to a renewed relationship with God.

Of course, the Bible is mostly concerned with the Children of Israel and their biological

descendants. But anyone who knows the Bible can think of several exceptions, the most

important of which is the story of Ruth that is recounted in its own small and beautiful

book. She was a Moabitess, a widow of an Israelite living East of the Jordan, who followed

her mother-in-law Naomi back to Judah and, when she found a husband in Boaz, became

not just a Judean but an actual ancestor of David:

Conversion to Judaism

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that preceded the rise of kingship in Israel. In fact, it follows the book of Judges in the

Protestant order of the Bible. But the book itself is written in very mature and quite late

Hebrew. There is no doubt that it comes from much later in the history of the country,

most likely in the post-exilic Persian period that stretched from 538 B.C.E. to the

arrival of the Greeks around 331 B.C.E. It was the effects of the early post-exilic centuries

to which the book of Ruth spoke eloquently.

Then, too, there were the people who were added on, after the return from Babylon. The

impurity of the land after the conquest was apparently matched by the anomalous nature

of some of the people. The covenant-swearing ceremony contained instructions for those

who were “separated from the peoples of the lands” or “attached to the Lord”:

Conversion to Judaism

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Nilvim, those who accompanied the returning exiles, as well as the eunuchs among Israel,

were enjoined to abide by the Torah of the Lord and so could be said to have crossed over

into full Judaic identity, though there is not enough evidence to understand how or when

(Isa. 56:3; Ezra 6:21; Neh. 10:29, 13:3; Esther 9:27; Zech. 2:15):

who were willing to practice Israelite religion. The corresponding antithesis is just as

present in the Book of Ruth and in the openness of the religious leaders to these who

are like Ruth. Women and men could be added to the people of Israel if they

desired to be included and decided to observe the Torah. They could be fully socialized

into the people and they could marry and flourish within it. Actually, some socially

acceptable identity change was already available in First Temple times (1000 B.C.E. to

587 B.C.E.).

Hellenization

In 333 B.C.E., the huge Persian Empire, the largest empire the world had seen, fell into

the hands of Alexander, the young conqueror from Macedonia. Alexander had little

Conversion to Judaism

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actually means to learn the Greek language. It was the Greek language that served as the

medium for business exchange and, even more, for unprecedented cultural exchange

between the various states conquered by Alexander.

Alexander’s incessantly feuding generals. It took a long time to find out who was the

Israel was no exception. The Davidic king had not ruled during the Persian period; the

priests ruled instead. They were the first to Hellenize. Their positive attitude toward

Greece and Hellenistic institutions continued unabated from the fourth century for the

next century and a half, while Judea was ruled peacefully by the Ptolemaic dynasty,

lovely uninhabited island in the middle of the Nile. Each scholar worked individually and,

miraculously, produced the exact same translation of the Bible into Greek.

Anyone who knows academia knows that this is a greater miracle than crossing the Red

Sea on dry ground. No doubt, the story was meant to underline that the translation had

Hellenization in Israel was also a colonial phenomenon. Like all colonialism, it did not