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προσήλυτος

prosḗlytos

G4339 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A person who has come or drawn near from another people group, specifically one who has joined a new community—especially, in Hellenistic and Roman contexts, a non-Israelite or non-Judean who has attached themselves to the Israelite/Judean people and adopted their customs and religious practices. The term most frequently designates a full 'convert' to the Judean community, often through ritual processes such as circumcision and acceptance of the Torah. In wider use, it can also refer generally to one who joins or affiliates with a new group or faith community, but in Jewish and early Christian literature it is focused on non-natives who have become part of the Judean religious-ethnic community.

Semantic Range

a newcomer, a stranger or foreigner who has joined a community; a non-Israelite/Judean who formally joins the Judean people, a full convert to Judaism/Judeanism, an adopter of the customs and faith of the Judean community, sometimes used more generally for any religious convert

Root / Etymology

Formed from the prefix προσ- ('toward, to') and the verb ἥκω ('to have come, be present'), occurring as an alternative form of προσέρχομαι ('to approach, come to'). The literal sense is 'one who has come toward' or 'arriver.' The sense specialized in Hellenistic Judean contexts to mean a Gentile who becomes a member of the Judean (Jewish) community. The term may preserve elements from Septuagint Greek translating Hebrew גֵּר (gēr, resident alien/sojourner).

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, προσήλυτος generally signifies 'one who has come over,' but only in Jewish and related Hellenistic texts does it attain the technical meaning of a Gentile who has converted to the Israelite/Judean community. In the Septuagint, προσήλυτος is commonly used to translate Hebrew גֵּר (gēr), which refers to a resident foreigner or sojourner living among Israelites, not necessarily a full 'convert.' By the time of the Second Temple period and in New Testament usage (e.g. Matthew 23:15; Acts 2:10), προσήλυτος usually refers to someone who, though born a non-Judean, has fully joined the Judean religious community (sometimes called a 'proselyte' in English), distinguished from non-convert 'God-fearers' (φοβούμενοι τὸν θεόν). English 'proselyte' derives from this Greek term but later came to denote any convert in a religious sense. The biblical and Hellenistic usage remains more particular: it identifies a person who has undergone formal incorporation into the Judean community, especially in legal or ritual terms. The English term 'Jew' is sometimes used, but 'Judean' or 'convert to the Judean community' captures the historical specificity more accurately. The semantic field differs from related terms such as ἐθνικός (gentile, nation), ἀλλογενής (foreigner), and ξένος (stranger/guest). The status and rights of προσήλυτοι were often a subject of debate in later rabbinic tradition.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from the alternate of προσέρχομαι; an arriver from a foreign region, i.e. (specially), an acceder (convert) to Judaism ("proselyte"):--proselyte.

Root Family

προσήλυτος (prosēlytos) — one who has come toward, newcomer, convert, joined outsider

Root προσ-ηλυτ- to approach, to come toward, to be present

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G4339-02 προσήλυτον proseluton N ACC M SG a proselyte a community-joined foreigner a community-joined foreigner 3
G4339-01 προσήλυτοι proselutoi N NOM M PL proselytes joined newcomers proselytes 1

Occurrences in Scripture

4 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G4339-02 Matthew 23:15 προσήλυτον proseluton N ACC M SG proselyte a community-joined foreigner a community-joined foreigner
G4339-01 Acts 2:11 προσήλυτοι proselutoi N NOM M PL proselytes joined newcomers proselytes
G4339-02 Acts 6:5 προσήλυτον proseluton N ACC M SG a proselyte a community-joined foreigner a community-joined foreigner
G4339-02 Acts 13:43 προσηλύτων proseluton N GEN M PL proselytes a community-joined foreigner proselytes
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