The Nations

Occurrences in Scripture

• Genesis: Genesis 10 records how the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth were divided into various families and nations. In chapter 12, God calls Abraham and promises, "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).
• Psalms: Psalm 2 portrays the nations setting themselves against God. Psalms 67 and 96 call on all nations to praise God.
• Isaiah: Isaiah 2:2–4 depicts many peoples streaming to the mountain of the Lord in the last days. Isaiah 49:6 declares that God will give His servant "for a light to the Gentiles," so that His salvation may reach "unto the end of the earth."
• New Testament: Jesus commands, "teach all nations" (Matthew 28:19). Revelation 7:9 describes a great multitude "of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues."

Terminology and Background

Yeolbang is a Sino-Korean compound of yeol (列, "to arrange in rows") and bang (邦, "nation"). The Hebrew term it chiefly renders is goyim, the plural of goy; the Greek term is ethnē. Depending on the translation and the context, Korean Bibles render these words as yeolbang, yeolguk ("the nations"), ibang ("Gentiles"), manguk ("all nations"), or modeun minjok ("all peoples"). When the same word refers to individuals, it is commonly translated as "Gentiles."

Goy was originally a neutral term meaning "people" or "nation" and could be applied to Israel as well; the "holy nation" of Exodus 19:6 is one example (Exodus 19:5–6). Over time, however, the plural form became an established designation for peoples other than Israel. Israel lay among great powers such as Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. Accordingly, the Old Testament presents the nations as a source of invasion and of the threat of idolatry, while also portraying them as subject to God's rule.

Significance Across the Bible

The Old Testament presents God's purpose in choosing Israel as making it a blessing to the nations (Abrahamic covenant). The prophetic books set oracles of judgment against the nations alongside scenes of the nations turning to God.

The New Testament carries this theme forward, beginning with Jesus' Great Commission. In Acts 13:47, Paul and Barnabas cite Isaiah 49:6 as the basis for their mission to the Gentiles. The Council of Jerusalem decided not to require circumcision of Gentile believers. Galatians 3:8 links the promise to Abraham with the justification of the Gentiles by faith. Revelation 21:24 brings the theme to its culmination with the nations walking in the light of the New Jerusalem.

Interpretation and Debate

• What constitutes a "nation": Interpreters differ on whether "all nations" in Matthew 28:19 refers to political states or to ethnic groups distinguished by language and culture. At the 1974 Lausanne Congress, Ralph Winter reportedly called attention to people groups not yet reached by the gospel. The concept of "unreached people groups" subsequently spread widely in missionary circles. Others, however, point out that the biblical ethnē does not necessarily correspond to the modern anthropological concept of an ethnic group.
• Israel and the nations: Dispensationalism distinguishes between Israel and the church and therefore regards some prophecies concerning the nations as being fulfilled together with the future restoration of national Israel. Covenant theology and the Reformed tradition hold that these promises are fulfilled in the church, in which Jews and Gentiles have been made one body in Christ.
• Traditions beyond the text: Counting the nations of Genesis 10 as seventy reflects a traditional Jewish reckoning; the text itself does not state the number. Some interpreters connect this number with the sending of the seventy in Luke 10, but this connection is an inference on their part.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, yeolbang is used chiefly in connection with missions. Expressions such as "toward the nations" and "missions to the nations" appear frequently at missions conferences and praise and worship gatherings, as well as in church mottos. Sermons on missionary themes often take Matthew 28:19, Isaiah 49:6, and Revelation 7:9 as their texts.