Wikipedia's first sentence called it “those jews who have abandoned judaism and have joined another religion”. Today it says “rejection of judaism and possible conversion to another religion by a jew”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Rejection of Judaism and possible conversion to another religion”. It now reads “Formal disaffiliation from the Jewish religion”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Jews in apostasy are those Jews who have abandoned Judaism and have joined another religion .1The term apostasy is derived from Greek ἀποστάτης, meaning "political rebel", as applied to rebellion against God, its law and the faith of Israel (in Hebrew מרד) in the old testament.2Other expressions for apostate as used by rabbinical scholars are "momer" (מומר, literally "the one that changes") and "poshea israel" (פושע ישראל, literally, "transgessor of Israel"), or simply "kofer" (כופר, literally "denier").3Other terms used are meshumad , meaning one who has abandoned his faith, or min and apikorus which denote the "negation" of God and Judaism implying atheism .4The first recorded case of apostasy in Judaism is referred to in the words of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. xxxii, 23,24) about Jason and Melenaus who deserted their religion and their nation to the horror and hatred of their contemporaries. In the Talmud , Elishah Ben Abuyah (known as Aḥer, the other) is singled out as an apostate and epicurean by the Pharisees . During the Spanish inquisition , a systematic conversion of Jews to Christianity took place, some of which under threats and force. These cases of apostasy provoked the indignation of the Jewish communities in Spain. Several notorious Inquisitors, such as Juan Torquemada , and Don Francisco the archbishop of Coria, were descendants of apostate Jews. Other apostates, that made their mark in history by attempting the conversion of other Jews in the 1300s , include Juan de Valladolid and Astruc Remoch .5
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16460451.
The opening as it stood in 2010 8 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Apostasy in Judaism refers to the rejection of Judaism by a Jew and defection to another religion. The term apostasy is derived from Greek ἀποστάτης, meaning "political rebel", as applied to rebellion against God and Judaism ( Hebrew מרד ). Expressions for apostate that are used by rabbinical scholars include mumar (מומר, literally "the one that changes"), poshea Yisrael (פושע ישראל, literally, "transgressor of Israel"), and kofer (כופר, literally "denier").Similar terms are meshumad (משומד), one who has abandoned his faith, and min (מין) or apikorus (אפיקורוס), which denote the negation of God and Judaism, implying atheism .Apostasy is defined as " renunciation of a religious faith ", in this case, Judaism .See apostasy for further clarification." Apostasy and Apostates from Judaism ." Jewish Encyclopedia .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369858149.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
In Judaism , apostasy refers to the rejection of Judaism and possible defection to another religion by a Jew.The term apostasy is derived from , meaning "rebellious" ( . ) Equivalent expressions for apostate in Hebrew that are used by rabbinical scholars include mumar (מומר, literally "the one that was changed"), poshea Yisrael (פושע ישראל, literally, "transgressor of Israel"), and kofer (כופר, literally "denier").Similar terms are meshumad (משומד, lit."destroyed one"), one who has abandoned his faith, and min (מין) or epikoros (אפיקורוס), which denote the negation of God and Judaism, implying atheism . Apostasy is defined as " renunciation of a religious faith ". Apostasy and Apostates from Judaism .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 652808375.
The opening as it stood in 2020 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
In Judaism , apostasy refers to the rejection of Judaism and possible defection to another religion by a Jew. The term apostasy is derived from , meaning "rebellious" ( . ) Equivalent expressions for apostate in Hebrew that are used by rabbinical scholars include mumar ( , literally "one who is changed" [out of his faith]), poshea Yisrael ( , literally, "transgressor of Israel"), and kofer ( , literally "denier").Similar terms are meshumad ( , lit."destroyed one"), and min ( ) or epikoros ( ), which denote the negation of God and Judaism, implying atheism . Apostasy is defined as " renunciation of a religious faith ". Apostasy and Apostates from Judaism .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 958288547.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Rejection of Judaism and possible conversion to another religion Apostasy in Judaism is the rejection of Judaism and possible conversion to another religion by a Jew .The term apostasy is derived from , meaning "rebellious" ( . ) Equivalent expressions for apostate in Hebrew that are used by rabbinical scholars include mumar ( מומר , literally "one who is changed" [out of his faith]), poshea Yisrael ( פושע ישראל , literally, "transgressor of Israel"), and kofer ( כופר , literally "denier").Similar terms are meshumad ( משומד , lit."destroyed one"), and min ( מין ) or Epikoros ( אפיקורוס ), which denote heresy and the negation of God and Judaism, implying atheism . Apostasy is defined as " renunciation of a religious faith ".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1171789546.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Rejection of Judaism and possible conversion to another religion Apostasy in Judaism is the rejection of Judaism and possible conversion to another religion by a Jew . The term apostasy is derived from Ancient Greek : ἀποστάτης , meaning "rebellious" ( Hebrew : מורד . translitterally Mored ). Equivalent expressions for apostate in Hebrew that are used by rabbinical scholars include mumar ( מומר , literally "one who is changed" [out of their faith]), poshea Yisrael ( פושע ישראל , literally, "transgressor of Israel"), and kofer ( כופר , transliterally Koffer ). Similar terms are meshumad ( משומד , lit. "destroyed one"), and min ( מין ) or Epikoros ( אפיקורוס ), which denote heresy and the negation of God and Judaism, implying atheism . Apostasy is defined as " renunciation of a religious faith ".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297521714. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “those jews who have abandoned judaism and have joined another religion”. Today it says “rejection of judaism and possible conversion to another religion by a jew”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Rejection of Judaism and possible conversion to another religion”. It now reads “Formal disaffiliation from the Jewish religion”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
those jews who have abandoned judaism and have joined another religion
Now
rejection of judaism and possible conversion to another religion by a jew
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
