What does ἐθνικός (ethnikós) mean in the Bible?
ἐθνικός (ethnikós): Describes Gentile character and pagan behavior, not merely ethnic status or position
Greek · G1482
ἐθνικός
Gentile-like
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ἐθνικός G1482
Pronunciation ethnikós
What does ἐθνικός (ethnikós) mean in the Bible?
ἐθνικός (ethnikós): Describes Gentile character and pagan behavior, not merely ethnic status or position
Full entry for ἐθνικός (G1482) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1482?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Gentiles (2), pagan (1), pagans (1).
Where does ἐθνικός (ethnikós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:47. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (3), 3 John (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It Gentiles 2× Matthew 5:47, 3 John 1:7
pagan 1× Matthew 18:17
pagans 1× Matthew 6:7
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:47
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 2
Matthew 3 3 John 1
Source forms
ἐθνικοί 1x ethnikoi Matthew 6:7
ἐθνικοὶ 1x ethnikoi Matthew 5:47
ἐθνικὸς 1x ethnikos Matthew 18:17
ἐθνικῶν 1x ethnikōn 3 John 1:7
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural 2x Matthew 5:47, Matthew 6:7
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural 1x 3 John 1:7
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Matthew 18:17
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Describes Gentile character and pagan behavior, not merely ethnic status or position
Strong's G1482
Lexical occurrences 4 verses Greek text appearances 2 times Word forms 3 forms 4 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Matthew 5:47 Source Gloss
Gentile-like
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Describes Gentile character and pagan behavior, not merely ethnic status or position
1national (Polyb.).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 6:7 Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
ἐθνικοί· eqnikoi
pagan, heathen, gentile; a Gentile, non-Jew
Read verse Matthew 18:17 Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐθνικὸς eqnikov
pagan, heathen, gentile; a Gentile, non-Jew
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 3 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 3 Aligned forms 4 Case pattern Nominative (3) Number pattern Plural (3)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Matt 5:47 · Matt 6:7 2×
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 18:17 1×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine 3 John 1:7 1×
Where It Appears in Scripture
Where this word appears in Scripture: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Biblical Witnesses
Non-believers or pagans as a contrasting moral example, describing character
Pagan non-believers characterized by empty repetition in prayer, not mere position
Non-believer or outsider treated as socially separated, describing character category
Non-believers from whom missionaries received no support, foreign in faith
Word Origins
ἐθνικός is built from this root:
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain