ἐθν-ικός G1482
Gentile; a pagan or non-Jewish person, one belonging to the nations outside Israel's covenant
This adjective-turned-substantive designates someone who belongs to the nations (ethne) rather than to Israel. Jesus uses it in the Sermon on the Mount to describe patterns of behavior his followers should transcend: even the Gentiles greet their own (Matt 5:47) and heap up empty phrases in prayer (Matt 6:7). In Matthew 18:17 it becomes the strongest category of social distance -- 'treat him as a Gentile and a tax collector.' The Spanish 'gentil' and French 'paien' both carry the sense of outsider-to-the-covenant.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A person of non-Jewish identity; someone outside Israel's covenant community, often carrying connotations of ignorance of God's law or pagan religious practice. In Matthew 5:47 and 6:7 Jesus cites Gentile behavior as a negative benchmark for his disciples. Matthew 18:17 employs the term as the ultimate category of exclusion in church discipline. In 3 John 1:7 the term denotes pagans from whom traveling missionaries refuse support. Translations consistently mark the ethnic-religious boundary: spa 'gentil/gentiles,' fra 'paien,' eng 'Gentile.' 4×
AR["أُمَمِ", "الأُمَمُ-أَيْضًا", "الأُمَمِ", "الوَثَنِيِّ"]·ben["অ-যিহূদী", "অন্যজাতিদের", "অযিহুদীরা", "পরজাতীয়রা;"]·DE["ἐθνικοί", "ἐθνικοὶ", "ἐθνικὸς", "ἐθνικῶν"]·EN["Gentile", "Gentiles", "nations"]·FR["païen"]·heb["גּוֹי", "גּוֹיִם"]·HI["अन्यजति", "अन्यजाति", "अन्यजातियों।"]·ID["orang-kafir", "orang-orang-kafir"]·IT["ethnikoi", "ethnikos", "ethnikōn"]·jav["tiyang-kapir"]·KO["이방인과", "이방인들"]·PT["gentílicos", "gentílicos."]·RU["язычник", "язычники", "язычников"]·ES["gentil", "gentiles"]·SW["mpagani", "wapagani", "watu-wa-mataifa"]·TR["putperest", "putperestler", "putperestlerden."]·urd["غیر-قوم-والا", "غیر-قوموں۔", "غیر-قومی"]
Related Senses
H5971a 1. people, nation (1836×)H5973a 1. accompaniment, together with (956×)H0854 1. with (accompaniment) (665×)H1471a 1. nations, peoples (plural/collective) (466×)G3326 1. with (368×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)H1616 1. sojourner, resident alien (92×)H0567 1. Amorite (people group) (87×)H3064 1. Jew, Jewish person (81×)H3669a 1. Canaanite (ethnic designation) (70×)G1122 1. scribe / expert in the Law (63×)H2114a 1. stranger, foreigner (person) (54×)H5608b 1. scribe, royal secretary (48×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐθν-ικός, ή, όν, national, συστάσεις Refs 5th c.BC+ __II foreign, gentile, NT adverb -κῶς, opposed to ἸουδαϊκῶςNT __II.b in the Roman Empire, provincial, Codex Just.Refs __III Grammars, indicating nationality, Refs 2nd c.BC+ adverb -κῶς, παραχθένRefs 1st c.BC+ __III.2 dialectal, ἔθος Refs 2nd c.AD+ __IV ἐθνικός, ὁ, tax-collector, Refs 6th c.AD+