Difference between revisions of "Nation"

<p> <em> Gôy </em> ( '''''גֹּי''''' , Strong'S #1471), “nation; people; heathen.” Outside the Bible, this noun appears only in the [[Mari]] texts (Akkadian) and perhaps in Phoenician-Punic. This word occurs about 56 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. </p> <p> <em> Gôy </em> refers to a “people or nation,” usually with overtones of territorial or governmental unity/identity. This emphasis is in the promise formulas where God promised to make someone a great, powerful, numerous “nation” (Gen. 12:2). [[Certainly]] these adjectives described the future characteristics of the individual’s descendants as compared to other peoples (cf. Num. 14:12). So <em> gôy </em> represents a group of individuals who are considered as a unit with respect to origin, language, land, jurisprudence, and government. This emphasis is in Gen. 10:5 (the first occurrence): “By these were the isles of the [[Gentiles]] divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.” Deut. 4:6 deals not with political and national identity but with religious unity, its wisdom, insight, righteous jurisprudence, and especially its nearness to God: “Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” Certainly all this is viewed as the result of divine election (Deut. 4:32ff.). Israel’s greatness is due to the greatness of her God and the great acts He has accomplished in and for her. </p> <p> The word <em> ‘am </em> , “people, nation,” suggests subjective personal interrelationships based on common familial ancestry and/or a covenantal union, while <em> gôy </em> suggests a political entity with a land of its own: “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people” (Exod. 33:13). <em> Gôy </em> may be used of a people, however, apart from its territorial identity: “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Exod. 19:6). </p> <p> <em> Gôy </em> is sometimes almost a derogatory name for non-Israelite groups, or the “heathen”: “And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword …” (Lev. 26:33). This negative connotation is not always present, however, when the word is used of the heathen: “For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations” (Num. 23:9). Certainly in contexts dealing with worship the <em> gôyim </em> are the nonIsraelites: “They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence” (2 Kings 17:33). In passages such as Deut. 4:38 <em> gôyim </em> specifically describes the early inhabitants of [[Canaan]] prior to the [[Israelite]] conquest. Israel was to keep herself apart from and distinct from the “heathen” (Deut. 7:1) and was an example of true godliness before them (Deut. 4:6). On the other hand, as a blessing to all the nations (Gen. 12:2) and as a holy “nation” and kingdom of priests (Exod. 19:6), Israel was to be the means by which salvation was declared to the nations (heathen) and they came to recognize God’s sovereignty (Isa. 60). So the [[Messiah]] is the light of the nations (Isa. 49:6). </p>

<div> '''1: '''''Ἔθνος''''' ''' (Strong'S #1484 — Noun Neuter — ethnos — eth'-nos ) </div> <p> originally "a multitude," denotes (a) "a nation" or "people," e.g., &nbsp;Matthew 24:7; &nbsp;Acts 10:35; the Jewish people, e.g., &nbsp;Luke 7:5; &nbsp;23:2; &nbsp;John 11:48,50-52; &nbsp;Acts 10:22; &nbsp;24:2,10,17; in &nbsp;Matthew 21:43 , the reference is to Israel in its restored condition; (b) in the plural, "the nations" as distinct from Israel. See Gentiles. </p> <div> '''2: '''''Γένος''''' ''' (Strong'S #1085 — Noun Neuter — genos — ghen'-os ) </div> <p> "a race:" see KIND (Noun). </p> <div> '''3: '''''Ἀλλόφυλος''''' ''' (Strong'S #246 — Adjective — allophulos — al-lof'-oo-los ) </div> <p> "foreign, of another race" (allos, "another," phulon, "a tribe"), is used in &nbsp;Acts 10:28 , "one of another nation." </p> &nbsp;Philippians 2:15Age.

<p> [[Nation]] n. to be born </p> 1. A body of people inhabiting the same country, or united under the same sovereign or government as the English nation the French nation. It often happens that many nations are subject to one government in which case, the word nation usually denotes a body of people speaking the same language, or a body that has formerly been under a distinct government, but has been conquered, or incorporated with a larger nation. Thus the empire of [[Russia]] comprehends many nations, as did formerly the Roman and [[Persian]] empires. Nation, as its etymology imports, originally denoted a family or race of men descended from a common progenitor, like tribe, but by emigration, conquest and intermixture of men of different families, this distinction is in most countries lost. 2. A great number, by way of emphasis.

<p> This word in the Auth. Ver. generally represents the Heb. '''''גּוֹי''''' , i.e., ''The Nation As A Body Politic;'' in plur. '''''גּוֹיַם''''' , esp. of foreign nations, the GENTILES (See Gentiles) (q.v.); usually in the Sept. '''''Ἔθνος''''' , '''''Ἔθνη''''' , Vulg. ''Gens, Gentes.'' Sometimes it represents the Heb. '''''עָם''''' , which means esp. ''The'' PEOPLE (See [[People]]) (q.v.), Sept. '''''Λαός''''' ; in poetry, '''''לְאֹם''''' </p> <p> '''''לְאֻמַּים''''' ; and in Chald. '''''אֻמָּה''''' . It means sometimes all the inhabitants of a particular country (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 4:34), the country or kingdom itself (&nbsp;Exodus 34:10; &nbsp;Revelation 7:9); sometimes countrymen, natives of the same stock (&nbsp;Acts 26:4); sometimes the father, head, or original of a people (&nbsp;Genesis 25:23). In the prophets the term "nations" is often used as a general name for the heathen or Gentiles (&nbsp;Isaiah 9:2; comp. &nbsp;Matthew 4:15). (See [[Ethnology]]). </p>