Earlier we shared that It’s okay to be a Gentile. Really. In the last entry on this subject, So, what is a “ger”? we talked a little about the different classifications of strangers or foreigners or sojourners in the Hebrew Bible. It’s easy for non-Hebrew speakers and readers to feel a sense of confusion when one non-Hebrew is allowed to do something and another isn’t and then there’s the whole “there shall be one law for the native and the sojourner” verse that just adds to the confusion. This Sabbath our family discussed some of the issues surrounding the ger and the zar.
As was discussed before, the “ger” (Strong’s # 1616) is a non-Hebrew who dwells in and among Israel as “ger” is often followed with “who sojourns among you” or “who dwells among you”. This class of people are poor because they have no land rights and therefore cannot provide for themselves by growing crops or raising flocks and herds. They are to be taken in as household servants & slaves but treated well. Maybe some were shopkeepers or something along those lines as time progressed from the days of the Torah. But the Torah has no provision for them to own HaShem’s land. These are ones whom HaShem says Israel is to be kind to because Israel, too, was once a stranger in Egypt. ”Ger” is closely related to the “toshav” (Strong’s # 8453) who is also a non-Hebrew who dwells among Israel. The two words are used very similarly but there is a distinction. Take a look at this verse:
| Lev 25:47 | And if a sojourner 1616 or stranger8453 wax rich 5381 by thee3027, and thy brother 251 [that dwelleth] by him wax poor 4134 , and sell 4376 himself unto the stranger 1616 [or] sojourner8453by thee, or to the stock 6133 of the stranger’s 1616 family 4940: |
Notice that the native Hebrew is not encouraged to sell himself to a zar or niechor, just the ger or toshav. I assume that this way, at least, he’ll still be in a Torah keeping home, at least to a certain extent. Why do I say this? Click on the above link for the Strong’s definitions and look at the verses that are given and see how the ger and toshav relates within Israel.
Now, what about the “zar” (Strong’s # 2114)? The zar is an outsider, one who is estranged or different, strange. If you look at the link for the Strong’s number, you’ll find that the zar is singled out the stranger/foreigner that is not allowed to have the holy oil applied to him, to eat of the holy things (along with the toshav), is not to try to enter the Tabernacle, to burn the holy incense, etc. ”Zar” is also used to speak of foreign gods, strange fire and strange incense. But the “zar” isn’t all bad, he’s just separate because he is “strange” (not unique, but estranged).
A quick glimpse at nochri/neichor (Strong’s # 5237) we find a foreigner that is opposed to and hostile toward HaShem and Israel, not at all seeking to serve the King of the Universe. The neichor is who the “foreign wives” are in Ezra that the men of Israel had married and were instructed to divorce, they are the people that meat of an animal that died on it’s own can be sold to (while it is to be given to the ger first, so maybe the ger turned it down often enough?). The niechor can be charged interest and sold things, but may never be installed as leader over the people, and for good reason as I’m sure you would agree. It is interesting to note that Ruth called herself nochri when speaking humbly with Boaz, her ultimate redeemer.
I do truly want to hear your thoughts on the subject as well (but please post it below as a comment), so I’ll start by sharing our thoughts as we have been discussing this subject lately. I think that many of us have assigned ourselves the title of “ger” or “toshav” when in truth we are really the “zar”. Years ago I spoke with a Rabbi who was flustered about our family and our decision to love the Torah and apply it to our lives even though we are not Jewish and we believe that Yeshua is the promised Messiah. At some point in the conversation I mentioned that we, at that time, viewed ourselves as the sojourner or the ger. He was shocked and annoyed and asked me, “So how is it that you sojourn with Israel? Do you live with Israel? Do you participate in the Jewish community? How can you justify being a ‘ger’?” To be honest, I didn’t have an answer and in hindsight and with more study I can see that he was totally correct and I was presumptuously foolish. We may want to be the ger and we may be on that trajectory, but in truth we do not dwell in the land of Israel and we do not participate with the Jewish community here in the States and how much, really, do we submit ourselves in humility to the ways of the people who were entrusted with the Word of G-d? It’s not that we don’t want to participate with the Jewish community, but at this point we are viewed with much suspicion in the local Reformed Jewish community and we don’t feel welcome when we have participated with them.
Looking objectively at the “zar” reveals that they may dwell in the land of Israel but they keep themselves distinct and separate. The zar may be the one who worships the G-d of Israel but in a way that reveals a certain disregard for the Scriptures or those to whom He has entrusted them. Jeremiah the Prophet castigates Israel for loving the zar and following after their ways and that it is the zar who would trample the land, the Temple, and the people. From last week’s prophet portion Isaiah it is the zar who overthrows and desolates the land of Israel. In today’s vernacular that may look like chrome tzit tzit (some of you know what I mean) – the attempt to reinterpret the Scriptures the way we want to with no regard for the traditions and customs of the Jewish fathers but with the arrogance to flaunt this new re-interpretation in the face of others with much condemnation. Remember that the zar was not the one who later became the proselyte, that was the ger. The zar seems to show no interest in becoming a proselyte. To my mind this resembles much (but not all) of the Christian and Messianic culture – worshiping the same G-d but doing it their own way and with their own customs, traditions and interpretations. Sometimes there is hostility and sometimes there isn’t, but they are distinctly different than Israel. Remember that the “foreigner” in Isaiah 61:5 is a zar. The zar does not dwell among Israel though they may even live in the land with them. I hope that distinction comes across clearly.
Looking at the ger and the toshav in the concordance it is clear that these people dwell among Israel, not just simply live in their general vicinity. These are people who are afforded a unique status as non-Jews in the community. They are to be cared for, protected, treated well. But they are also to live according to the same standards and abide by the same judgements as the Hebrew. It is the ger who attach themselves to Israel, according to Isaiah the Prophet, and they cleave to the house of Jacob – the Jews. The ger willingly learns from the ones to whom the Torah was given and abides by the rulings of the elders. The ger is a part of the family, a part of the community. It is the ger to whom the Prophet Ezekiel says inheritance in the land will be given in the Messianic Era. Many of us decide on our own that we are the ger, but where is the humility in that? The life of the ger in the concordance seems to betray a deep humility where the life of the zar seems to betray an arrogance and pride. Looking at the classifications and deciding for ourselves who we are, with no input from the people we are supposed to be grafted into is not humble, it is arrogant, and that is a sign (in my mind anyway) of a zar. Notice that the ger remains a ger, his identity as a ger remains intact, and that’s okay!
Our family feels that we are on the trajectory toward one day becoming a ger, but for now we are squarely rooted in the position of the zar. We’d like to hear your thoughts as you, too, as you too are working out your salvation with fear and trembling. Please use the comment feature below to share your thoughts instead of sending private messages. (It’s okay, really. We don’t bite and neither do the others!)
See the next entry, More About The Ger and The Zar
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Hello and thank you for your THOUGHTS. I was wondering then if you believe that we as Zar, Is the Torah a command or or something that is nice for us too do?
Hello Leon ~
This week my kids are showing at the fair, so I don’t have much time. We’re putting together another entry in this series of thoughts that will touch on your comment. I think that if we’re on the trajectory toward becoming a ger, we would have a deep appreciation for the mitzvot and a willingness to make them part of our lives, but not based on our own interpretations alone. We would do well to look at how the mitzvot have been kept for the past 4,000 years and honor those traditions.
What do you think?
wow, I have read your posts about the ger and the zar and I am still confused.
there is so much information, you could make a whole book out of it. From what I understand, a zar was one who was against Torah and was not wanted by Israel, so how can you say christians who love Israel and the Jewish people are zar? If a ger remains a ger then what is a proselyte? How does one change from a zar to a ger? Thank you.
Hello Kerri ~
I know it’s a lot to think on, we’ve been discussing these things and thinking on them for some time. Having others join the conversation is a very welcome thing!!
Yes, the issue of the Zar can be a difficult one. At times the zar is Israel’s antagonist and at other times they are friendly and dwelling peacefully side-by-side, the zar even being the willing servant of the Israelite. From what we understand so far, the zar is one who is separate and distinct from Israel, he is not included in Israel proper. This seems to fit well with the Christians of the past two millennia in our view. Christians have chosen not to become one with Israel, but have remained separate and distinctly different from Israel. Israel and Christians serve the same G-d, yet they do it very differently for the most part. With regard to Torah, Christians keep much of it but there is also much that they disregard. This seems to fit with the zar description in our minds, where they may choose to serve the G-d of Israel but only to a certain extent so they are forbidden from participating in specific Tabernacle/Temple worship activities. Being a zar doesn’t have to be a bad thing, it’s just a different thing. Being excluded from specific activities isn’t uncommon in Judaism. Only the priests have specific duties and even the High Priest is the only one with specific duties. Even so, there are things that the common Israelite can do and the High Priest cannot. It’s just a distinction, not a “lower class”.
Christians who love and support Israel may be heading toward becoming ger, but the majority are currently still zar. The majority of us do not dwell in the land or within a local Jewish community (meaning, the Christian is an accepted participant in the Jewish community). The majority of us do not hold Jewish Tradition in high regard (which would be a requirement to be a welcome participant in the Jewish community). The majority of us still hold to Christian traditions and interpretations that are different than Judaism, making us different.
In early days there wasn’t a specific category for the proselyte, there was just the ger. Consider Rahab, Ruth, Uriah, etc. By the first century the ger had developed into the category of proselyte. So, in a way, they are one and the same. However, once someone has converted to Judaism he is no longer a non-Jew but a Jew in every way so he would no longer be a ger. This throws a monkey-wrench into combining the two. In the days of the Apostles there were different classes of people keeping Sabbath in the synagogues. There were Jews, proselytes (sons of Abraham) and others who were referred to as “G-d fearers”. Consider Paul’s message in Acts 13:26, “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.” Do you see the three categories of people there? “Brothers” – the Jewish people. “Sons of Abraham” – the proselyte (and the ger, in our opinion). “[those] among you who fear G-d” – the zar (in our opinion, mind you). What Paul was doing that got him in so much trouble was to include all three categories of people together and say that it is by our faith that HaShem accepts every one of them – together. While there still is a distinction, there is a corporate acceptance.
So how does one change status from a zar to a ger? It is our thought, and remember that these are our family discussions so they are a work in progress, that as a pagan hears of the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that he will have a natural progression toward the Light of the World. He will see that Israel has a Great G-d and will want to serve Him. As they turn from their pagan ways they will begin to walk more and more according to the Torah. This is the path from nochrei to zar and eventually to ger. Where one is along that path doesn’t necessarily have to be permanent. Many non-Jews have chosen to dwell with Israel and have been accepted as a welcome member of the community. We think that for almost two millennia, the Christians have been stuck in the position of the zar with some continuing on toward the position of the ger here and there, but A LOT more in recent years than ever before.
I’m very curious as to your thoughts.