Strong's Greek: 4339. προσήλυτος (prosélutos) -- Proselyte, convert

Strong's Lexicon

prosélutos: Proselyte, convert

Original Word: προσήλυτος
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: prosélutos
Pronunciation: pro-SAY-loo-tos
Phonetic Spelling: (pros-ay'-loo-tos)
Definition: Proselyte, convert
Meaning: (lit: that has come to), a proselyte, that is a non-Jew, who has been circumcised and has adopted the Jews' religion.

Word Origin: Derived from the Greek verb προσέρχομαι (proserchomai), meaning "to come to" or "to approach."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: The Hebrew equivalent is גֵּר (ger), which also means "sojourner" or "stranger," often used in the Old Testament to describe a foreigner living among the Israelites who has embraced their faith and customs.

Usage: The term "prosélutos" refers to a person who has converted from one religion or belief system to another, specifically a Gentile who has converted to Judaism. In the New Testament context, it often denotes those who have embraced the Jewish faith and customs.

Cultural and Historical Background: In the ancient Jewish context, a proselyte was a Gentile who had fully converted to Judaism, including undergoing circumcision (for males), observing the Sabbath, and adhering to Jewish dietary laws. This conversion was significant as it allowed Gentiles to participate in the religious and communal life of Israel. The process of becoming a proselyte was rigorous and involved a deep commitment to the Jewish faith and way of life.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from proserchomai
Definition
one who has arrived (at Judaism), a proselyte
NASB Translation
proselyte (2), proselytes (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 4339: προσήλυτος

προσήλυτος, προσηλύτου, ὁ (from προσέρχομαι, perfect προσελήλυθα, cf. Buttmann, 74 (64); (Winer's Grammar, 24, 26, 97 (92)));

1. a newcomer (Latinadvena; cf. πρός, IV. 1); a stranger, alien (Schol. ad Apoll. Rhod. 1, 834; the Sept. often for גֵּר (cf. Philo de monarch. 1, 7 at the beginning)).

2. a proselyte, i. e. one who has come over from a Gentile religion to Judaism (Luther, Judengenosse): Matthew 23:15; Acts 2:11 (); . The rabbis distinguish two classes of proselytes, viz. הַצֶּדֶק גֵּרֵי proselytes of righteousness, who received circumcision and bound themselves to keep the whole Mosaic law and to comply with all the requirements of Judaism, and הַשַּׁעַר גֵּרֵי, proselytes of the gate (a name derived apparently from Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14; (); (), ()), who dwelt among the Jews, and although uncircumcised observed certain specified laws, especially the seven precepts of Noah (as the rabbis called them), i. e. against the seven chief sins, idolatry, blasphemy against God, homicide, unchastity, theft or plundering, rebellion against rulers, and the use of flesh with the blood thereof. (Many hold that this distinction of proselytes into classes is purely theoretical, and was of no practical moment in Christ's day; cf. Lardner, Works, 11:306-324; cf. vi. 522-533; Schürer in Riehm as below.) Cf. Leyrer in Herzog xii., p. 237ff (rewritten in edition 2 by Delitzsch (xii. 293ff)); Steiner in Schenkel iv., 629f; (BB. DD.); Schürer, Neutest. Zeitgesch., p. 644 ((whose views are somewhat modified, especially as respects classes of proselytes, in his 2te Aufl. § 31 V., p. 567, and his article 'Proselyten' in Riehm, p. 1240f)) and the books he refers to.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

proselyte.

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

see GREEK proserchomai

Forms and Transliterations

προσέθλιψεν προσηλυτοι προσήλυτοι προσηλύτοις προσηλυτον προσήλυτον προσήλυτος προσηλύτου προσηλύτους προσηλύτω προσηλυτων προσηλύτων προσηνές πρόσθεμα πρόσθεσις προσκατέστησαν proselutoi prosēlutoi proseluton prosēluton prosēlutōn proselytoi prosēlytoi prosḗlytoi proselyton proselýton prosēlyton prosēlytōn prosēlýtōn prosḗlyton

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