Israel and Humanity - Status of Noachides after Scripture
III.
The proselytes of the gate.
§ 1.
LOCATION OF POST NOACHIDE WRITING.
If the Bible knew that the only class of converts completely assimilated, we have seen, the Israelites by birth, would suffice to prove the universality of Judaism. But Scripture, not least that the tradition has another class of proselytes, proselytes of the gate, which were not required to practice the Mosaic and were subjected to Noachism only.
There is no doubt that, after Moses is the law which in the days before his arrival, governed the Israelites as well as Gentiles. But if the legislature had Hebrew thought they would be like the Jews now subject to the law he brought, he would not speak explicitly of the new requirements of Torah , when He reproached the pagans and their manners guilty transgressions? And let no one say that in the eyes of Moses, Israel had now only to the exclusion of the Gentiles, and the fact of receiving proselytes [1] is the opposite. If the conversion of Gentiles to the Mosaic law had been required as to the Israelites, they could not explain this difference in language, since, according to the Pentateuch, the Divine Providence continues to be exercised for one as well as for others. This argument, while it is negative, do not fail to be conclusive, but direct and positive evidence abound.
We see for example that the Pentateuch permits and even encourages gher to do what so many centuries before the Christian apostles reluctant to allow it, that is to say, to make use of forbidden foods the Israelite. How can one claim after that he took the part of Paul and his school, an act of courage to break with Judaism on the issue of charges to be imposed on Gentile? The Church of Jerusalem, Peter, and Jacques full advantage of the Judaizers certainly do not deny that the Gentiles, according to Judaism, were not only subject to the law of Noah and not that of Moses, this was a doctrine too well established and too constant in the synagogue. He could not come to the other Paul's idea to challenge before Jesus hello for the Jew was obtained only by observing the Mosaic law and fidelity to Jesus after the same Act No. there was no obstacle. Discussions of Christians at that time on this important subject had rested simply, we can not overemphasize this point, on an unfortunate confusion of the two laws, their economy and their respective destinations. The Mosaic Law was never and should never be the priestly law of the Jews and all those who wanted to freely join unions, and similarly the Noachism and must remain always a sufficient means for the Gentiles to make them hello, the Apostles were also wrong in wanting to make uniform the general ambit of one or two times, the true universal religion being on the contrary in harmonious coexistence of one and another.
Nevertheless, Judaism does not wait for the interview [2] to allow the use of food Gentile defended the Jew. Not only did he allow him, but he presented them to him, since he ordered the Israelites to donate to proselyte of the gate or at least sell them to the Gentile proselyte to the gift being, however, preferred to sale. "You shall not eat any [3] dead animal," said Moses, and hast given to proselyte ( gher ) that is within thy gates, that he eats or you give it unto the stranger ( nochri ) [4] This gift that Jewish law itself is at Noachide the animal unfit for food for the Israelites, proves the most obvious way that it considers to be relieved of the performance requirements which it is subject. There is also undoubtedly a charitable thought that it is useless to mitigate the alleged lack of value of the animal in question, since it still has enough to be sold abroad.
The description text mosaic: "The proselyte that is within thy gates " deserves special attention, precisely because the last words seem superfluous at first sight. Indeed, it excludes the one hand the proselyte of Justice stating that the only thing gher in question has in common with Israel, the homeland, on the other hand, it does not suggest whether the passing stranger in Palestine, either because it would duplicate the term nochri , abroad, that we read at the end of the verse, either because The term does not apply to any Gentile who does not reside in the country and is not there accidentally. We see that in Leviticus three classes of men are mentioned in connection with the duty free loan: the Israelite ( Achicha , your brother), the proselyte ( gher ) and the simple inhabitant of the country ( thoschab ) [5]. Onkelos and Rashi, highly traditionalist commentators, make gher and thoschab two types of foreign quite distinct. The text itself also takes care to warn us that these brothers, as that is certainly not lavish nice idolatrous, and is not it a miracle of charity to see attributed to men who are Jewish or race, or religion and only after Natural Religion? Also, if they persisted in seeing foreign national who is the true polytheist, Jewish universalism would be all the more remarkable, since it would thereby prove that nice idolater is regarded by the Jew as a brother and he is entitled to all benefits of the Jewish charity.
This is not, moreover, the first time that the Gentile is called brother in Scripture. This name is given in Deuteronomy [6] the Edomites [7]. It is true that there was an original link between them and Israel, but no affinity for religion. However, as religious ties were so incomparably stronger than blood, the Israelites were much less qualified brothers who, while not observing the practices of the Mosaic law, were accepting at least the basic principles However, without attaching himself to the race, or nationality of Israel. On the other hand, since, despite religious differences, we took into account the Edomites of the community of origin, should not be a very considerable effort of imagination to trace the original idea of kinship of all men that Israel was perhaps the only place in the number of its most respectable beliefs. We have already discussed this topic about the worldview according to Judaism is that of a family whose common Father in heaven and on earth son with a first-born because Israel and that we have seen that if the Edomite is called brother because of Esau, Sodom is also called the sister of Jerusalem, and in general people are considered children of the same family.
But in the verse before us it is not any aliens, although the benevolent treatment which is prescribed did nothing, you see, that is perfectly consistent with the spirit of Judaism. This, we repeat, two special classes of Gentiles Moses speaks in this circumstance, the gher or proselytizing and thoschab or simply living. It is important to specify the value of these terms.
