God-fearer

Common card · No. 404570

God-fearers (Hebrew: יראי השם, romanized: Yirei HaShem, lit. 'fearers [of] the Name'; Koine Greek: φοβούμενοι τὸν Θεόν, romanized: phoboumenoi ton Theon) or God-worshippers (Koine Greek: θεοσεβεῖς, romanized: Theosebeis) were a numerous class of Gentile sympathizers to Hellenistic Judaism that existed in the Greco-Roman world. The group observed certain rites and practices of Second Temple Judaism without becoming full converts to Judaism. The concept has precedents in the proselytes of the Hebrew Bible. Many of these Greco-Roman sympathizers to Hellenistic Judaism were worshippers of Caelus (the Roman equivalent to Yahweh). More generally, God-fearing has come to mean someone who is honestly religious.

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