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[the Antiochian Jews] were constantly attracting to their religious ceremonies
multitudes of Greeks, and these they had in some measure incorporated with themselves
(Josephus, BJ 7.45)
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This quotation, which follows Josephus' mention of a synagogue in Antioch, relates that
Gentiles who were not full converts frequently attended the "religious
ceremonies" of the Jews in that city.
But no one need wonder that there was so much wealth in our temple, for all the
Jews throughout the habitable world, and fearers of God, even those from Asia and Europe,
had been contributing to it for a very long time (Josephus, Ant. 14.110).
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Josephus here states that God-fearers from around the world contributed to the wealth
of the Jerusalem temple. Such contributions were commonly
made within the diaspora synagogues.
The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the
word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy;
and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. Then both Paul and Barnabas
spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken
first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we
are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have set you
to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'
" When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the
word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became
believers (Acts 13:44-48).
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The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews
and Greeks became believers (Acts 14:1).
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On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where
we supposed there was a synagogue; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had
gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God,
was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth (Acts
16:13-14a).
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After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to
Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And
Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the
scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to
rise from the dead, and saying, "This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to
you." Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as
did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women (Acts
17:1-4).
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That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea; and when they
arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. These Jews were
more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and
examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, including not a few Greek women and men
of high standing (Acts 17:10-12).
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While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that
the city was full of idols. So he argued in the synagogue with the
Jews and the devout persons, and also in the marketplace every day with those who
happened to be there (Acts 17:16-17).
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Every sabbath [Paul] would argue in the synagogue and would
try to convince Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia,
Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was
Jesus. When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes
and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will
go to the Gentiles." Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named
Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue (Acts 18:4-7).
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In this series of passages, the author of Acts presents Greek God-fearers as being
common fixtures within the diaspora synagogues. |