What is a Gentile?

[Man-ofGod]

What does the root symbolize? Some assert that it is Israel (or "spiritual Israel" or "the commonwealth of Israel"). Some assert that it is Jesus Christ. What do you think?

BFA

In my observation of scripture, the root is Jesus.

John 15:1
[ The True Vine ] “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.


But the branches who make up the gentiles and jews in the psychical sense, are a spiritual Israel or a one people (no longer recognized as jews nor gentiles).

Concerning end times:
Isaiah 27:12-13:
And you will be gathered one by one,
O you children of Israel.
13 So it shall be in that day:
The great trumpet will be blown;
They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria,
And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt,
And shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

and


Hosea 1:10
“ Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea,Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, ‘ You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘ You are sons of the living God. ’

 

[ricker]

I'm not feeling that answer.

Jew also refers to someone from Judah/Judea, so a gentile could very well be a Jew by citizenship.


Do you think that could be referring to geography?

Do you tink Jesus was speaking in geographical terms in this exchange?

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." 24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26And he answered, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs." 27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat(the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table." 28Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly

 

[TrustAndObey]

Do you tink Jesus was speaking in geographical terms in this exchange?

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." 24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26And he answered, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs." 27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat(the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table." 28Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly

You didn't cite the book and chapter. Was Jesus in Jerusalem when He said that?

No, I'd say that's pretty literal. HOUSE of Israel is the dead give-away!

 

[ricker]

You didn't cite the book and chapter. Was Jesus in Jerusalem when He said that?

No, I'd say that's pretty literal. HOUSE of Israel is the dead give-away!

Sorry, Matthew 15

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

simple definition. Gentile = non Jew

That is a common meaning. That is not the definition. As I pointed out, Gentiles simply means "nations". It is often used to mean "the foreign nations", so Gentile would simply mean "foreigner". In the context of Scripture, this generally means "the non-Israelite nations", but this is by context, it's not inherent in the meaning of the word. A Greek could use the word "Gentile" to mean "non-Greek". Ever wonder why Mormons refer to non-Mormons as "Gentiles"?

No, I'd say that's pretty literal. HOUSE of Israel is the dead give-away!

You know what, in the Old Testament, "house of Israel" is used to refer to the ten tribes that composed the northern kingdom, not the Jews. The Jews, the southern kingdom of Judah, is called "the house of David".

 

[TrustAndObey]

You know what, in the Old Testament, "house of Israel" is used to refer to the ten tribes that composed the northern kingdom, not the Jews. The Jews, the southern kingdom of Judah, is called "the house of David".

Right on. But at all times, all twelve tribes were referred to as the children of Israel.

This is from Wikipedia (let’s pick it apart and see if it’s a good description, biblically):

Excerpts:

The Kingdom of Judah was one of the successor states to the "United Monarchy" often known as the Kingdom of Israel. It is often referred to as the Southern Kingdom to distinguish it from the Northern Kingdom (of Israel).

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Kingdom of Judah first emerged after the death of Saul the King, when the tribe of Judah elevated King David to rule over them. The tribe of Judah was Biblically initially the only one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel to follow the house of David to found the Southern Kingdom. Soon after, the tribe of Benjamin joined the tribe of Judah. According to the 2 Samuel (5:6&7), Jerusalem became the capital of the new kingdom.

After the death of Saul's son Ish-bosheth, David came to rule the other tribes of Israel, creating a united Kingdom of Israel. David's grandson Rehoboam was rejected by ten of the twelve Tribes of Israel during the disruption at Shechem, leaving only the Kingdom of Judah ruled by the Davidic line. The Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrian Empire c. 720 BCE but the Kingdom of Judah survived until it was conquered in 586 BCE by the Babylonian Empire under Nebuzar-adan, captain of Nebuchadnezzar's body-guard.(2 Kings 25:8-21). This event coincided with the destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem and with the Babylonian Captivity.


I have never been a big fan of genealogy (or history for that matter), but I have to admit that this subject is fascinating to me. I guess because it’s so important when trying to understand scripture.

It’s looking more and more like Jesus was talking to a geographical people when He addressed them as “Jews” and not necessarily a religious people.

“House of David” is only used once in the New Testament (that I can find anyway).

Luke 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

Mary was a Levite so the only thing that would’ve made her a Jew was geography.

How did Jesus get labeled the “King of the Jews”? Should the sign have said “King of the Judeans”?

It’s pretty significant, in my opinion, when “house” is mentioned, because then we’re talking about bloodline and not just geography.