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Gentile () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term gentile to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synonym for heathen, pagan. As a term used to describe non-members of a religious/ethnic group, gentile is sometimes compared to other words used to describe the "outgroup" in other cultures See for example a discussion of the similarity to the Japanese term gaijin in (see List of terms for ethnic out-groups).
In some translations of the Quran, gentile is used to translate an Arabic word that refers to non-Jews and/or people not versed in or not able to read scripture.
The English word gentile derives from the Latin language word , meaning "of or belonging to the same people or nation" (). Archaic and specialist uses of the word gentile in English (particularly in linguistics) still carry this meaning of "relating to a people or nation." The development of the word to principally mean "non-Jew" in English is entwined with the history of Bible translations from Hebrew and Greek into Latin and English. Its meaning has also been shaped by Rabbinic Judaism thought and Christian theology.
In Saint Jerome's Latin version of the Bible, the Vulgate, gentilis was used along with gentes, to translate Greek and Hebrew words with similar meanings when the text referred to the non-Israelite peoples. The most important of such Hebrew words was goy (, plural, goyim), a term with the broad meaning of "people" or "nation" which was sometimes used to refer to Israelites, but with the plural form goyim tending to be used in the Bible to refer to non-Israelite nations. Other words translated in some contexts to mean "gentile/s" in the modern sense were the Biblical Hebrew word nokhri ( – often otherwise translated as 'stranger') and for the New Testament Greek word Ethnic group (ἔθνος). The first English translators followed this approach, using the word "gentile" to refer to the non-Israelite nations (and principally using the word "nation(s)" to translate goy/goyim in other contexts). See the "Christianity" section.
These developments in Bible translation practice were related to developments in Jewish Rabbinical and Christian thinking which – in the centuries after the Old and New Testament were written – created an increasingly clear binary opposition between "Jew" and "non-Jew".Online abstract published for The Hebrew word "goy" went through a change in meaning which parallels the journey of "gentilis/gentile" – both words moving from meaning "nation" to "non-Jew" today. The word "Goy" is now also used in English, principally by Jewish people – see goy.
The Hebrew Bible does not have a word which directly corresponds to the modern concept of a gentile (see etymology above). Instead, the Bible views different groups of gentiles in different ways. Novak states that, "The biblical categories of Gentiles, beginning with those farthest removed from a relationship with Israel and moving up to those closest to a relationship with Israel, seem to be: (1) the Amalekites; (2) the seven Canaanite nations; (3) the nations of the world; (4) the Samaritans; (5) slaves; (6) resident aliens; (7) proselytes."
The Hebrew Bible does not show much concern for non-Israelites except insofar as they interact with the people of Israel. Nonetheless, because the God of Israel is a universal God, there must be some relationship between gentiles and God. Accordingly, Novak observes, gentiles as well as Israelites are enjoined in the book of Psalms to "ascribe to the Lord glory and strength" ().
Christine E. Hayes states that gentiles in the Hebrew Bible were generally Ger toshav (resident aliens). They were not necessarily converts, whether in the modern or rabbinic sense, but were still given many rights and privileges. They were also allowed to keep their distinct ethnic identities. But after Ezra-Nehemiah, many Israelites believed there was an impermeable ritual and genealogical boundary between themselves and gentiles. However, other scholars argue that the boundary is rooted in religious factors.
Saul Oylan argues that gentiles automatically became Israelite when they lived in one of their tribal territories, which was believed to reflect 'early practices' ().
Troy W. Martin believes Jewishness is defined by adherence to covenantal circumcision, regardless of ancestry (). Thus, even an uncircumcised Jew could be a gentile despite his biological descent from Abraham. He believes this view was extended to the New Testament, where membership in God's chosen people was based on religious adherence rather than ancestry ().
It was this rabbinic literature of the first centuries CE that developed the concept of the gentile as we understand it today - as "any individual who is not a Jew, erasing all ethnic and social differences among different others".
However, the attitudes of the Rabbis to gentiles were not simple or uniform. Porton argues that the Mishnah-Tosefta discusses gentiles for two quite different reasons: firstly, practically, to guide the relations between Israelites and gentiles who were living alongside each other in Palestine. Secondly, at a theoretical level, gentiles are discussed because, in order to define the people of Israel and its symbols and institutions, it was necessary to define who lay outside that group.
Some Tannaim show a positive attitude towards the gentiles. Joshua ben Hananiah believed that there are righteous men amongst the gentiles who will enter the world to come. He believed that except for the descendants of the , the rest of the gentiles will adopt monotheism and the righteous among them will escape Gehenna.
Other rabbinical writings show more hostility towards gentiles which needs to be understood in the context of frequent persecution of the Jews in this period. The most famous and extreme of the anti-gentile teachers is Simeon bar Yochai. He is often quoted by antisemites in his sayings: "The best among the Gentiles deserves to be killed", "The most pious woman is addicted to sorcery" and "The best of snakes ought to have its head crushed". Such extreme views can be explained by the sage's life experience: he witnessed his teacher being tortured to death, and became a fugitive after speaking out against Roman oppression. Later commentators have limited this teaching to idolators and only at times of war.
Eliezer ben Hurcanus writes that the mind of every gentile is always intent upon idolatry. He believed that gentiles only perform animal sacrifice to make a name for themselves. He further believed that gentiles have no share in the world to come.
Eleazar of Modi'im wrote that Jews, when guilty of the same sin as gentiles, will not enter hell whereas the gentiles will. Eleazar ben Azariah believed that the rulings performed by a gentile court are not valid for Jews. Rabbi Akiva believed that Israel's monotheism is far superior to the ever-changing beliefs of the gentiles. Jose the Galilean criticizes Israel for inconsistency compared to the faithfulness of the gentiles to their ancestral beliefs. He believed the good deeds of the gentiles will be rewarded as well.
Bar-Chayim further quotes Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935), founder of the yeshiva and the first Ashkenazi Jews chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine:
Similar anti-gentile remarks have been expressed by the late chief Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, in which he stated in a sermon in 2010 that "The sole purpose of Gentiles is to serve Jews". He said that gentiles served a divine purpose: "Why are Gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat. That is why Gentiles were created. These remarks by Yosef were sharply criticized by many Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and American Jewish Committee.
Those who hold these views do not necessarily support any sort of harm to non-Jews. Rav Ovadia Yosef, himself, condemned those who vandalized Arab property, as did the vast majority of Orthodox leaders.
Many Orthodox schools have expressed more humanistic views. Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshivah of Gush, for example, strongly opposed what he saw as racist attitudes among certain segments of Religious Zionism.
Jewish philosopher and professor Menachem Kellner criticizes the assumption of some Orthodox Jews that there is an "ontological divide between Jews and Gentiles", which he believes is contrary to what the Torah teaches.
Other descriptions of the soul add two more levels Chaya and Yechida.
There has been debate among the on whether gentiles access the mystical knowledge (Daat). Isaac Luria, prominent kabbalist, wrote:
Moses de León, presumed author of the main kabbalistic work Sefer Ha-Zohar, agrees with this assumption:
The following passage in the Zohar reaffirms this idea:
The view that gentiles only possess bestial souls was more popularized by the main kabbalistic text of hasidic movement, the Tanya (or Likkutei Amarim). Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad hasidic dynasty, claims that Jews like gentiles possess a vital animal soul, but the animal soul of the Jew comes from the fourth husk (Qlippoth nogah), while the animal soul of the gentiles comes from the three lower impure husks (Qlippoth Tumaot). Thus nothing gentiles do can elevate them to the level of holiness, their soul remains trapped in the unholy world of the impure Qlippoth. Does Judaism condone violence?Holiness and ethics in the Jewish tradition, Alan L. Mittleman, Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 72
However, other Kabbalists like Abraham Abulafia believed that higher levels of soul are to some extent accessible to gentiles. The Serpent Kills or the Serpent Gives Life: The Kabbalist Abraham Abulafia's Response to Christianity, Robert J. Sagerman, Brill, 2011, p. 70
With the ministry of Paul the Apostle the gospel began to be spread among the non-Jewish subjects of the Roman empire. A question existed among the disciples whether receiving the Holy Spirit through Proselyte would be restricted to Israelites or whether it would include the gentiles as in :
Within a few centuries, some Christians used the word "gentiles" to mean non-Christians. The alternative pagani was felt to be less elegant. Alan Cameron, The Last Pagans of Rome (Oxford University Press 2010 ), p. 16
In the New Testament, the Greek word ethnos is used for peoples or nations in general, and is typically translated by the word "people", as in John 11:50. ("Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.") The translation "gentiles" is used in some instances, as in Matthew 10:5–6 to indicate non-Israelite peoples:
Altogether, the word is used 123 times in the King James Version of the Bible,Did a search for "Gentile" in KJV. Used BibleGateway.com . It returned 123 results of the word "gentile". Retrieved 11 Feb 2007. and 168 times in the New Revised Standard Version.Kohlenberger, John. The NRSV Concordance Unabridged. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1991.
Thus, in such usage, Jewish people may be gentiles because they are not members of the LDS Church.
Beyond this Scriptural usage, gentile was widely used by Mormons in day-to-day life in the nineteenth century, with such usage declining through the twentieth century. As with the binary Jew/gentile distinction, the Mormon/gentile distinction arose as Mormons were socially excluded and ostracised: according to John L. Needham of Utah State University: Needham goes on to say that today Mormons have "outgrown the term".
The word ummi occurs six times in the Quran. Pickthall only uses the word gentile once in the above passage and translates other occurrences as illiterate. However many other western scholars of the Quran came to similar conclusion that the word ummi is equal to the Hebrew word Goyim. Edward Henry Palmer used the word gentile in his translation of the Quran several times including in the following verse: Palmer like Pickthall did not translate all instances of the word ummi as Gentiles, but his comment on chapter 3 verse 19 shows his opinion : John Medows Rodwell in his translation of the Quran comments similarly in a note on chapter 52 verse 157 that the word ummi is equivalent to the Greek and the Hebrew goyim, and was applied by Jews to those who did not know scripture. Elwood Morris Wherry wrote that almost certainly Some Muslim scholars also agreed with this idea: a French translation of the Quran by Muhammad Hamidullah uses the expression 'gentile prophet' in Sura 7 verse 157–158. Moucarry, C. G. (2001). Faith to Faith: Christianity & Islam in Dialogue. United Kingdom: Inter-Varsity.P. 226 Muhammad Shahrur also believed that ummi prophet means gentile prophet in his book Al-Kitab wa-L-Quran (The Book and the Quran). Moucarry, C. G. (2001). Faith to Faith: Christianity & Islam in Dialogue. United Kingdom: Inter-Varsity. p. 229 Abul A'la Maududi similarly translated the following instance as gentile. Maududi clarifies in notes on this verse that the reason this verse has been sent is because Jews looked down on Arabs as gentiles and did not believe that a prophet can rise from their kind.Mawdudi, S. A. A. (2016). Towards Understanding the Qur'an: English Only Edition. United Kingdom: Kube Publishing Limited. p. 852 However vast majority of Islamic scholars and translations made by Muslims are of the idea that ummi means illiterate.
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