Jews & God-Fearers in Asia Minor

JEWS & GOD-FEARES IN ASIA MINOR

 

 

There is no specific information about when Jews first reached Asia Minor, also known as Anatolia, modern day Turkey, but it was probably not later than the 6th century BC. In 1965, three "Graeco-Persian tomb steles" were found, reused in a Byzantine tomb in the ancient Daskyleion in northwestern Anatolia. One of the three steles has an Aramaic inscription that dates back to 6th century BC, and it is considered the earliest evidence of Jews in Anatolia.

   How Jews came to this region? In 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, enslaved many Jews and brought them to Babylon. Many of those Jews never returned to Jerusalem; some stayed in Babylon and some of them went to Anatolia. Some of the Jewish settlements in Anatolia are believed to belong to the 3rd century BCE, when 2000 Jewish families from Babylonia and other countries were encouraged to settle in Phrygia and Lydia by the Seleucid King Antiochus III (223-187 BCE).

   There is an evidence in Joel (4:4-6) which probably refers to slave traders of the Phoenician coastal cities: “You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, taking them far from their own country!”

  In Isaiah (66:19), there is some evidence that Jews were living in certain regions of Asia Minor that were ‘’Greek not only by speech but also in spirit.’’

“I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations - to Tarshish (modern southern Turkey), Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal (modern northen Turkey), Javan (nations who settled in Asia Minor modern western Turkey), and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. So they will proclaim My glory among the nations.”

 

With the capacity of approximately 1000 persons, the Synagogue of Sardis is the most outstanding Jewish monument from antiquity in the entire region of Asia Minor. Sepharad mentioned in Obadiah (1:20) could have been Sardis, as its Lydian name is Sfard or Sward. During the excavations in Sardes an interesting bilingual – Aramaic and Lydian inscription from the 6th century BC was discovered. The Hebrew-Aramaic name of Sardis, סְפָרַד, found in lines 2 and (probably) 3, has been familiar from the Old Testament.

 Important evidence of the distribution of Jews in Asia Minor to the Hellenistic cities and states has been preserved in the Roman circular of 139 BC. It mentions Samos, Rhodes, Cyprus, Halicarnasus, Myndos,  Side,  Caria, Pamphylia, and Lycia as places of Jewish settlement (1 Macc 15:23). It is believed that in the 2nd century BC Jews were living in more than 50 cities in Anatolia. According to Roman tax documents in period 62-61. BC there were 45000 male Jewish citizens in Anatolia.

 

   The Jewish population in Anatolia is also mentioned in the New Testament: In Acts 14:1 a synagoue in Iconium (Konya) is mentioned: ‘’At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.’’ After Paul and Barnabas arrrived in Pisidian Antioch, they reached out to the Jewish community there. On the Sabbath, they entered the synagogue and sat down. (Acts 13:13)

  In Acts 18:19 Ephesus is mentioned as having a synagogue: “They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.’’ On the stairway, in front of the monumental Celsus Library, we can see a small menorah detail, which shows that there were Jews living in the city.

When we think about Paul's missionary strategy, as it is mentioned in Acts 17:2, when he goes to a new city, he always goes to synagogues first. Paul believed Jewish people were chosen to be his priests. Romans 1:16 ''l am not ashamed of the Gospel, it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.'' The reason he chose Asia Minor for his missionary trips was probably the existence of Jewish settlements in this region.

 

   In Hierapolis (Pamukkale), an ancient Roman city and World Heritage site we can see a mixture of pagan, Jewish and early Christian influences. The hot springs of Pamukkale were used as a popular spa since the 2nd century; people were going there for health reasons, when retired, and a lof of them died there, so the site has a large necropolis area with many sarcophagi. One specific sarcophagus, located near the remains of the Martyrium of St. Philip, has a very interesting inscription that reads:

"This grave and the burial ground beneath it together with the base and the surrounding area belong to Publius Aelius Glykon Zeuxianos Aelianus and to Aurelia Amia, daughter of Amianos the son of Seleukos. In it he will bury himself, his wife, and his children, but no one else is permitted to be buried here. He left behind 200 denarii as grave–crowning funds to the most holy presidency of the purple–dyers (porphyrabapheis), so that it would produce from the interest enough for each to take a share in the seventh month during the festival of Unleavened Bread. Likewise he also left behind 150 denarii as grave–crowning funds to the association (synedrion) of carpet–weavers (akairodapistai), so that the revenues from the interest should be distributed, half during the festival of Kalends on the eighth day of the fourth month and half during the festival of Pentecost. " (inscription translated by Philip A. Harland in 2012)

Another ancient city close to Hierapolis with a significant Jewich community is Laodicea, the important Christian centre. Cicero states that 20 talents of Jewish gold sent from Laodicea to the Temple of Jerusalem were confiscated by L. Valerius Flaccus in Laodicea in 61–60 BC. While walking in Laodicea, you can see many interesting details; one of them is a column with a menorah, cross and a shofar chiseled on it.

 

In the ancient city of Aphrodisias, there is a column with the list of the names of members of the local Jewish community. It is from late 4th century AD. The listed names are of men who either belonged to the local synagogue or made donations to it. There are some Biblical or names favoured by Jews, such as Benjamin, Judas, Joseph, Jacob, Samuel, Zachary and names such as Amantios (loving), Eusabathios (the good Sabbath). Beneath them comes a list of local councillors headed: “And the theosebeis” (godfearers). They have traditional Greek-Roman names such as Alexandros or Eutychos. The professions of ten Jews and seventeen of the godfearers are also listed; they are all tradesmen, painters, leather-workers, sculptors or builders.

There is another inscription found in the ancient city of Miletus, where Paul met the Ephesian elders, as he was finishing his 3rd missionary journey and was on his way to Jerusalem (Acts 20:17). The inscription is written in Greek: “Topos eioudeon ton kai theosebion”, and the translation would be: “Place for the Jews, who are also called God-fearers." So who were these people called God-fearers?

Josephus reports that the kindling of Sabbath lights was customary among Gentiles. Many attended synagogues on Sabbath and festivals. A movement of worshipers of the Supreme God, ‘’God-fearers’’, was very popular throughout Asia Minor, and many pagans worshipped the ‘’Supreme God’’ without renouncing their own religions.

In Turkey there are more than 300 Greek inscriptions which were dedicated to the ‘’Highest God’’, and one third of them refer to the highest God as Zeus. In the Hellenistic period some people in Anatolia no longer believed in Greek myths and Gods. They were Gentile monotheists who abandoned polyteism and believed there was only one God. Many of these Gentiles were going to synagogues together with Jews. The New Testament use of word God (theos, θεος) refers to the God of the Old Testament, Yahweh. However, in the Graeco-Roman world, theos was used to refer to divine figures and abstract concepts. An example of this confusion is in Acts 17:19. The Epicurean and Stoic philosophers misunderstood Paul’s teaching, believing him to be preaching two new deities: Jesus and Resurrection. It is difficult to know what God-fearers thought of the God of Israel, Yahweh. Did they consider him the only God, or just one of many deities? We do not have any definite answer, but we do know that God-fearers were passionate enough to defend the Jewish faith (Acts 13:50).

   Letter of Aristeas to his brother Philocrates, written in the early 2nd century BC, can give us idea about what God-fearers really believed in. Aristeas presented himself as a pagan admirer of Judaism who had a high position in the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. In his letter he mentions the monotheist Gentiles: ‘’These people worship the same God… We all have different names for him, such as Zeus.’’

   In the New Testament; the word ‘God-fearer’ is used to describe various people: women in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:50), Greeks from Thessaloniki (Acts 17:4), people found in synagogues in Athens (Acts 17:17), and a man from Corinth (Acts 18:7). They all have one thing in common: they were not ethnically Jewish, but revered the Jewish God. We do not know much about their position in Jewish community. They were not Proselytes who were fully commited to the requirements of Judaism. God-fearers expressed enough interest in Judaism to attend synagogue, but did not fully embrace its law.

   Many of the Godfearers in Acts were wealthy people who donated money to Jewish communities (Acts 10:2). They were among the first members of the early church, involved in its growth, hosting house churches, and providing shelter for missionaries (Acts 16:40). Their acceptance of Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:33–34) altered the church’s mission, opening the way for the Gospel to be preached to Gentiles.