Greek · G1484 · unreviewed

ἔθνος

Gentiles

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ἔθνος G1484

Pronunciation éthnos

What does ἔθνος (éthnos) mean in the Bible?

ἔθνος (éthnos) is a Greek word meaning "Gentiles". ἔθνος, -ους, τό, [in LXX chiefly for עַם ,גּוֹי ;] __1. Expands scope beyond Israel.

Full entry for ἔθνος (G1484) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

Gentiles

Extended definition

Singular form means a nation or people group; plural means non-Jewish peoples, the Gentiles.

1a multitude, a company, whether of beasts or men (Hom.).

2a nation, people: Mat.21:43 24:7, Mrk.13:8, Luk.22:25, Act.10:35, al.; in sing., of the Jewish people, Luk.7:5 23:2, Jhn.11:48, 50-53 18:35, Act.10:22 24:3, 10 26:4 28:19.

3In pl., as in OT, τὰ ἔ. (like Heb. הַגּוֹיִם), the nations, as distinct from Israel, Gentiles: Mat.4:15 6:32, Act.26:17, Rom.3:29 11:11 15:10, Gal.2:8, al.; of Gentile Christians, Rom.11:13 15:27 16:4, Gal.2:12, 14, Eph.3:1.

Synonymsλαός (see DCG, ii, 229; Cremer, 226).

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith

Why This Word Matters

Expands scope beyond Israel. Acts 15:12-21

Identifies the scope of God’s saving purpose. Acts 22:17-21

Highlights the global scope of the gospel.

Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Plural · Neuter Matt 6:32 · Matt 12:21 · Matt 25:32 · Luke 12:30 · Acts 4:25 · Acts 11:1 · Acts 13:48 · Acts 15:17 · Rom 2:14 · Rom 9:30 · Rom 15:11 · Rom 15:12 · Rom 15:27 · 1 Cor 12:2 · Gal 3:8 · Eph 2:11 25×

Nominative · Singular · Neuter Matt 24:7 · Mark 13:8 · Luke 21:10 · John 11:50 · John 18:35 · 1 Pet 2:9 6×

Genitive · Plural · Neuter Matt 4:15 · Matt 10:5 · Matt 20:25 · Matt 24:9 · Mark 10:42 · Luke 2:32 · Luke 21:24 · Luke 21:25 · Luke 22:25 · Acts 7:45 · Acts 9:15 · Acts 13:47 · Acts 14:2 · Acts 14:5 · Acts 15:3 · Acts 15:14 45×

Genitive · Singular · Neuter John 11:51 · John 11:52 · Acts 2:5 · Acts 10:22 · Acts 28:19 · Rev 5:9 · Rev 7:9 7×

Dative · Plural · Neuter Matt 10:18 · Matt 12:18 · Matt 20:19 · Matt 24:14 · Mark 10:33 · Mark 11:17 · Luke 18:32 · Acts 4:27 · Acts 11:18 · Acts 14:27 · Acts 15:12 · Acts 21:19 · Acts 26:20 · Acts 26:23 · Acts 28:28 · Rom 1:5 32×

Dative · Singular · Neuter Matt 21:43 · Acts 10:35 · Acts 24:2 · Acts 24:10 · Acts 26:4 · Rom 10:19 7×

Accusative · Plural · Neuter Matt 28:19 · Mark 13:10 · Luke 21:24 · Luke 24:47 · Acts 10:45 · Acts 13:19 · Acts 13:46 · Acts 14:16 · Acts 15:7 · Acts 18:6 · Acts 21:21 · Acts 22:21 · Rom 15:9 · Rom 15:16 · Gal 2:8 · Gal 2:9 25×

Accusative · Singular · Neuter Matt 24:7 · Mark 13:8 · Luke 7:5 · Luke 21:10 · Luke 23:2 · John 11:48 · Acts 7:7 · Acts 8:9 · Acts 17:26 · Acts 24:17 · Rev 13:7 · Rev 14:6 12×

Vocative · Plural · Neuter Rom 15:10 1×

Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses

Acts 15:12-21 Gentiles éthnos Nominative · Plural · Neuter

Nations or non-Jewish peoples.

Acts 22:17-21 Gentiles éthnos Accusative · Plural · Neuter

Nations or peoples.

Additional Occurrences

John 11:45-57 ἔθνος éthnos

nation, people group

Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Acts 11 — Jerusalem Recognizes God’s Grace to the Gentiles Acts 17 — The Gospel Reasoned from Scripture and Proclaimed to the Nations Acts 21 — Paul Goes to Jerusalem and Is Seized in the Temple Acts 22 — Paul’s Defense: Christ Appears, Sends, and Preserves His Witness Acts 28 — Paul in Rome: The Kingdom Proclaimed Without Hindrance John 11 — The Resurrection and the Life, the Raising of Lazarus, and the Plot to Kill Jesus Luke 21 — The Widow’s Gift, Jerusalem’s Fall, and Watchfulness before the Son of Man Luke 24 — The Risen Christ Opens the Scriptures, Commissions Witnesses, and Ascends in Blessing Mark 10 — The Way of the Servant King: Marriage, Children, Wealth, Cross, Ransom, and Sight Mark 11 — The King Comes to Jerusalem: Fig Tree, Temple Judgment, Faith, Forgiveness, and Authority Mark 13 — Watch and Endure: Temple Judgment, Gospel Witness, Tribulation, the Son of Man, and Readiness Matthew 10 — The Mission of the Twelve, Costly Witness, and Allegiance to Christ Matthew 12 — The Lord of the Sabbath, the Servant of the Lord, and the Crisis of Unbelief Matthew 20 — The First-Last Kingdom, the Ransom-Giving Son of Man, and Mercy for the Blind Matthew 21 — The King Enters Jerusalem, Judges Fruitless Religion, and Exposes Rejected-Son Leadership Matthew 24 — The Olivet Discourse: Temple Desolation, Coming Judgment, the Son of Man, and Watchful Readiness Matthew 25 — Readiness, Stewardship, and the Final Judgment of the Son of Man Matthew 28 — The Resurrection of Jesus and the Great Commission of the Risen King Matthew 4 — The Tested Son, the Kingdom Proclaimed, and the First Disciples Called Romans 11 — The Remnant, the Grafted Gentiles, and the Mercy of God Toward Israel Romans 15 — Bearing with the Weak, Welcoming One Another, and Paul’s Priestly Mission to the Gentiles Romans 9 — God’s Faithfulness, Sovereign Mercy, and Israel’s Stumbling Over Christ

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

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

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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