Encyclopedia > Gentile

  Article Content

Gentile

A Gentile refers to a non-Jew; it is a word of Latin origin and often employed in the plural. Christian translators of the Bible use this word to collectively designate the peoples and nations distinct from the Jewish people. Jewish people use this term to refer to non-Jews, but this word does not appear in English translations of the Hebrew Bible. Jews also use the word "goy" to mean the same thing, but it is sometimes considered derogatory.

The term is sometimes used as a synonym to heathen and pagan. Also, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints use this term for those who are not members of their church.



All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

 
  Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!
 
 
  
  Featured Article
Jamesport, New York

... householder with no husband present, and 28.1% are non-families. 24.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 27.1 ms