The Relationship of Jewish and Gentile Believers to the Law Between A.D. 30 and 70 in the Scripture

82 continually (10:2), influenced those around him toward Yahweh (10:7, 24, 44), and was therefore "well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews" (10:22). 82 Yet because he had not taken the final step of proselytization, i.e. circumcision, he was still a Gentile and therefore unclean. 83 Whether he observed the Sabbath, and kept the kosher laws, though possible and perhaps likely, is not made clear by Luke. Peter's Vision: The Possibilities of Meaning Luke records that the original vision left Peter "greatly perplexed" and "at a loss" as to what to think (10: 17). He has not been alone in his bewilderment. The point of greatest confusion is that while the vision deals with foods, Peter and the Jerusalem believers understand it to refer to people. 84 If (1) the vision had involved people and Peter applied it to people or (2) if the unclean animals of the vision were applied to Peter's eating of unclean foods then the application would easily flow from the vision. The mixture of foods and people, however has caused Conzelmann and others to assert that 82 "These individuals, 'God-fearers,' worshiped Yahweh only, practiced imageless worship, attended the synagogue, observed the Sabbath and food laws , and conformed to other basic elements of Jewish law and tradition" Scott , "The Cornelius Incident in the Light of its Jewish Setting," 478 , n . 14. 83 E. Haenchen, The Acts of the Apostles: A Commentary, trans. Ba il Blackwell (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press , 1971), 346. Cf. also Lake, "Pro elyte and God– fearers," 74-96 . Kuhn quotes from the Mishnah and then put the place of the "god-fearer" in per pective, "' A goy who keeps the Torah is of much greater value in God' ight e en than the high-prie t him elf' ( . Lv . , 18, 5 etc .) .. . . Neverthele , the predominant e luation of the D ntv ~~-, in Rabbinic Judaism i unfavourable" G. Kuhn, ' npoatjAuToc;, " TDNT, 6:741. al o G. . Moore, Judaism, 323-53 . t 10.9-16 i y n, or hu In ident in th Li ht it