Gentile

Biblical Occurrences

The New Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) renders the same original-language terms, depending on context, as ibang, ibangin ("Gentile"), yeolbang ("the nations"), minjok ("people, nation"), and similar words. In the Old Testament, God calls Abraham and promises, "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). Isaiah 49:6 says that God will give his servant "for a light to the Gentiles." The Old Testament also includes Gentiles who received God's grace, such as Ruth, Rahab, Naaman, and the people of Nineveh who repented after hearing the message proclaimed by Jonah.

In the New Testament, Jesus commends the faith of the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30), and after his resurrection he commands his disciples to "teach all nations" (Matthew 28:18-20). The Acts of the Apostles records how Peter witnessed the Holy Spirit falling on Gentiles in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10), as well as the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). Paul calls himself "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans 11:13).

Terminology and Background

The Hebrew word goy originally meant "nation." It could therefore refer to Israel itself (Genesis 12:2, "a great nation"), but it gradually became established as a term for the nations outside Israel. The Septuagint translated this word with the Greek ethnos. Paul also uses the term "Greek" in contrast to "Jew" (Romans 1:16). The principal markers distinguishing Jews from Gentiles were circumcision, the dietary laws, and Sabbath observance. The Temple in Jerusalem of the Herodian period had an outer court that Gentiles could enter, and Greek inscriptions warning them not to proceed farther inward are reported to have been discovered.

From the Old Testament to the New

The New Testament understands the salvation of the Gentiles as the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (Galatians 3:8). The Council of Jerusalem decided not to require circumcision of Gentile believers, asking them to observe only a few requirements (Acts 15:28-29). Ephesians states that Christ "hath broken down the middle wall of partition" between Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14-17). Galatians 3:26-29 likewise declares that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek.

Interpretation and Debate

Interpretations differ regarding the olive tree metaphor in Romans 11:17-24 and "the fulness of the Gentiles" (Romans 11:25). Dispensationalism distinguishes between Israel and the church and holds that future promises remain specifically for the nation of Israel. Covenant theology emphasizes that Israel and Gentile believers together form one people of God. Even within covenant theology, however, some read "all Israel" in Romans 11:26 as referring to a future large-scale conversion of the Jewish people, while others read it as referring to the church as a whole.

In everyday Korean, ibangin means "stranger" or "outsider." In the Bible, by contrast, the term denotes an ethnic and covenantal distinction and thus carries a different meaning.

In the Korean Church

Sermons in Korean churches frequently emphasize that Korean believers were themselves originally Gentiles who received the gospel. This theme often leads to exhortations to obey the call to mission and the Great Commission. The term is also used to describe the way of life of unbelievers, on the basis of passages such as "use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do" (Matthew 6:7) and "after all these things do the Gentiles seek" in Matthew 6:24-34.