- published: 28 Jan 2013
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A God-fearer or Godfearer was a class of non-Jewish (gentile) sympathizer to Second Temple Judaism mentioned in the Christian New Testament and other contemporary sources such as synagogue inscriptions in Diaspora Hellenistic Judaism. The concept has precedents in the proselytes of the Hebrew Bible.
In the Hebrew Bible there is some recognition of monotheistic non-Jewish worship as being to the same God. This forms the category of yir'ei Hashem (God-fearers, cf. Psalm 115:11). This was developed in later rabbinical writings into the concept of uncircumcised Noahides, Gentiles following the "seven laws" which rabbinical writings assigned to Noah, on the basis that Genesis records Noah distinguishing "clean" and "unclean" foods before the covenant of circumcision with Abraham and the regulations of the Law of Moses.
There are various Greek forms of this term:
The word may also be related to terms in other languages such as Neo-Persian Tarsàkàn[citation needed]
The terms are found in synagogue inscriptions in Aphrodisias. Judging from the distinctions in the Book of Acts it is thought that they did not become full Proselytes to Judaism, which required circumcision, though the evidence across the centuries varies widely and the meaning of the term may have included all kinds of sympathetic Gentiles, proselytes or not. There are also around 300 text references 4th C BCE - 3rd C CE to a sect of Hypsistarians some of whom practised Sabbath and which many scholars see as sympathizers with Judaism related to God fearers.
Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow (born 23 September 1976, Sydney, New South Wales), is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. After fronting Sydney-based band Acquiesce from the mid-1990s, Blasko developed her solo career from 2002. In 2007, she won the 'Best Pop Release' for What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have at the ARIA Music Awards. Her latest album, As Day Follows Night, won the 'Best Female Artist' at the 2009 ARIA Awards.
Blasko was born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1976, soon after her family returned from French-speaking Réunion where both parents were Christian missionaries. Upon return to Australia her parents often changed churches, with Blasko singing alongside her mother, and settled at a Pentecostal church in Sydney which later became Hillsong. Her mother was a nurse and her father a teacher from Hungarian/German background. While in high school, Blasko and her older sister Kate formed a jazz-blues group. By the age of 15, Blasko was concerned she "wouldn't make it", being mindful of the apocalyptic message of the End of the World and Christ's Return. She eventually left the church in her last year at school, declaring that its emphasis on material success "just didn't fit" with her or her interpretation of the scriptures. However, she thinks she still believes in God, despite her perception that it is an unpopular admission in Australia. She had no formal singing lessons until aged 19 and started playing guitar. At university, Blasko completed a degree in English literature and film.