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67-488: The festival celebrates the Jewish experience and explores Jewish identity . The NYJFF seeks to broaden perceptions of the Jewish experience from a multitude of perspectives and nationalities. It presents an opportunity to discover new and challenging films that are often otherwise hard to find. Key works and noteworthy presentations of the past few years have included: Additional noteworthy films have included: The birth of

134-452: A Jewish identity. While the absolute majority of people with this identity are of Jewish ethnicity, people of a mixed Jewish and non-Jewish background or gentiles of Jewish ancestry may still have a sense of Jewish self-identity. Jewish identity can be described as consisting of three interconnected parts: In classical antiquity , the Jewish people were constantly identified by Greek , Roman , and Jewish authors as an ethnos , one of

201-476: A Jewish mother are considered Jewish, regardless of personal beliefs or level of observance of Jewish law. Progressive Judaism and Haymanot Judaism in general base Jewishness on having at least one Jewish parent, while Karaite Judaism bases Jewishness only on paternal lineage. These differences between the major Jewish movements are the source of the disagreement and debate about who is a Jew . Jews who are atheists or Jews who follow other religions may have

268-444: A Jewish property should be excommunicated . The violation of Jewish women by gentile men was so frequent that the rabbis declared that a woman raped by a gentile should not be divorced from her husband, as Torah says: "The Torah outlawed the issue of a gentile as that of a beast." A gentile midwife was not to be employed for fear of the poisoning of the baby. The gentiles should be dealt with caution in cases of using them as witness in

335-617: A continuing partnership between The Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The festival includes feature-length and short films, documentaries, and animated and experimental films. The Festival has also featured sidebar presentations such as premieres of restored archival prints and screenings of rarely viewed films. The 2013 Festival hosted filmmaker brothers Josh and Benny Safdie, for an evening of conversation and presentation of five of their short films, followed by their 2009 film Daddy Longlegs . The festival also featured

402-645: A criminal or civil suit. The gentile does not honor his promises like that of a Jew. The laws of the Torah were not to be revealed to the gentiles, for the knowledge of these laws might give gentiles an advantage in dealing with Jews. Shimon ben Lakish wrote that "A gentile who observes Sabbath deserves death". Under rabbinic law , a modern-day gentile is only required to observe the Seven Laws of Noah , but Jews are required to observe Mosaic law . During periods of decreased animosity between Jews and gentiles, some of

469-547: A distinct ethnic union with a recognized political and legal status ( politeuma) , with Jerusalem being the colony's mother-city. The writings of Philo , a Jewish philosopher from Alexandria who flourished in the first half of the first century CE, reflect on Jewish identity in the diaspora during the late Second Temple period. At the time Philo lived, Jews had been present in the Diaspora, particularly in Alexandria, for

536-921: A distinctive religious culture, gradually shifted to that of a religious community that also identified as a nation. In the aftermath of the First Jewish–Roman War , the Fiscus Judaicus was imposed on all Jews in the Roman Empire, replacing the annual half-shekel tribute that Jews paid to the Temple in Jerusalem. It appears that the Romans chose to use Jewish religious behavior rather than Jewish ancestry to determine tax liability, and this Roman interference in Jewish tax-collection may have prompted this transformation in Jewish identity. The process

603-477: A gentile court are not valid for Jews. Rabbi Akiva believed that Israel's monotheism is far superior to the ever-changing beliefs of the gentiles. Jose the Galilean criticizes Israel for inconsistency compared to the faithfulness of the gentiles to their ancestral beliefs. He believed the good deeds of the gentiles will be rewarded as well. Rav Ashi believed that a Jew who sells a gentile property adjacent to

670-462: A homeland in a political sense because it was the site of a Jewish "colony," structured as a distinct ethnic union with a recognized political and legal status ( politeuma ), with Jerusalem being the colony's mother-city. Jewish identity underwent a significant shift in the centuries that followed the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. The initial conception of the Jews as an ethnos , albeit one with

737-590: A man who was a paid executioner for the Nazis; and Henry Lynn 's classic 1935 Yiddish melodrama, Bar Mitzvah , which features vaudeville jokes, songs, and dancing, and stars actor Boris Thomashefsky in his only film performance. Jewish identity Jewish identity is the objective or subjective sense of perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jewish . It encompasses elements of nationhood , ethnicity , religion , and culture . Broadly defined, Jewish identity does not rely on whether one

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804-590: A nation rather than just an ethnic group, eventually leading to the rise of Zionism and the establishment of Israel. In his works from the late Second Temple period, Philo of Alexandria made comments that reflected the features of Jewish identity in the diaspora. At the time Philo lived, Jews had been present in the Diaspora, particularly in Alexandria , for a very long time. Because his fellow nationals had lived there for many generations, he appears to have thought of Alexandria as his city. In an effort to explain

871-522: A people or nation." The development of the word to principally mean "non-Jew" in English is entwined with the history of Bible translations from Hebrew and Greek into Latin and English. Its meaning has also been shaped by Rabbinical Jewish thought and Christian theology . "Gentile" derives from Latin gentilis , which itself derives from the Latin gens , meaning clan or tribe. Gens derives from

938-517: A relationship with Israel and moving up to those closest to a relationship with Israel, seem to be: (1) the Amalekites; (2) the seven Canaanite nations; (3) the nations of the world; (4) the Samaritans; (5) slaves; (6) resident aliens; (7) proselytes." The Hebrew Bible does not show much concern for non-Israelites except insofar as they interact with the people of Israel. Nonetheless, because

1005-404: A sidebar presentation organized by the film critic and author J. Hoberman , which included clips from what he considers compelling Jewish horror movies, along with a screening of Edgar G. Ulmer 's 1934 classic The Black Cat . The 2011 Festival presented three restored films: Lies My Father Told Me (dir. Ján Kadár ), a 1975 film about a boy living in a Montreal Jewish community in the 1920s;

1072-406: A theoretical level, gentiles are discussed because, in order to define the people of Israel and its symbols and institutions, it was necessary to define who lay outside that group. Some Tannaim show a positive attitude towards the gentiles. Joshua ben Hananiah believed that there are righteous men amongst the gentiles who will enter the world to come. He believed that except for the descendants of

1139-418: A very long time. Because his fellow nationals had lived there for many generations, Philo appears to have regarded Alexandria as his city. To explain the status of the Jews in terms Greek readers would understand, Philo depicted them as immigrants who established "colonies" (Greek: apoikiai ), with Jerusalem serving as their "mother-city" ( metropolis ). According to Kasher, Alexandria could only be regarded as

1206-410: Is a "distinct possibility of finding premodern groups that meet the criteria for a nation (not just for ethnicity), with the Jews providing perhaps the clearest example". Agreeing with Smith, Goodblatt proposes dropping the qualifier "religious" in the definition of Jewish nationalism by Smith, noting that according to Smith himself, a religious component in national memories and culture is common even in

1273-503: Is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage , notably Mormons , have historically used the term gentile to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synonym for heathen , pagan . As a term used to describe non-members of a religious/ethnic group, gentile is sometimes compared to other words used to describe the "outgroup" in other cultures (see List of terms for ethnic out-groups ). In some translations of

1340-399: Is recognized as Jewish by others or by external religious, legal, or sociological standards. Jewish identity does not need to imply religious orthodoxy . Accordingly, Jewish identity can be ethnic or cultural in nature. Jewish identity can involve ties to the Jewish community. Orthodox Judaism bases Jewishness on matrilineal descent. According to Jewish law ( halakha ), all those born of

1407-402: Is the good and evil inclination. The soul of the gentiles comes from the three shells: wind, cloud and fire, all of them evil. Moses de León , presumed author of the main kabbalistic work Sefer Ha-Zohar , agrees with this assumption: You know that all of the gentiles (goyim) and all of their matters are in the category of the impure... you must know and discern that the gentiles come from

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1474-480: Is typically a branch of white supremacy: it traditionally conceives of Jews as a distinct race with intrinsic, undesirable qualities that must be exterminated from the population. Left-wing antisemitism , by contrast, frequently views Jews as members of the white race, an idea that is a precursor to the criticism of Zionism as a racist ideology, as well as the exclusion of Jews from goals of intersectionality. Gentiles Gentile ( / ˈ dʒ ɛ n t aɪ l / )

1541-746: Is why Gentiles were created. These remarks by Yosef were sharply criticized by many Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and American Jewish Committee . Those who hold these views do not necessarily support any sort of harm to non-Jews. Rav Ovadia Yosef, himself, condemned those who vandalized Arab property, as did the vast majority of Orthodox leaders. Many Orthodox schools have expressed more humanistic views. Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshivah of Gush, for example, strongly opposed what he saw as racist attitudes among certain segments of Religious Zionism. Jewish philosopher and professor Menachem Kellner criticizes

1608-481: The Amaleks , the rest of the gentiles will adopt monotheism and the righteous among them will escape Gehenna . Other rabbinical writings show more hostility towards gentiles which needs to be understood in the context of frequent persecution of the Jews in this period. The most famous and extreme of the anti-gentile teachers is Simeon bar Yochai . He is often quoted by antisemites in his sayings: "The best among

1675-650: The Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis , meaning birth or production. The original meaning of "clan" or "family" was extended in post-Augustan Latin to acquire the wider meaning of belonging to a distinct nation or ethnicity. Later still, the word came to refer to other nations, 'not a Roman citizen'. In Saint Jerome 's Latin version of the Bible, the Vulgate , gentilis was used along with gentes , to translate Greek and Hebrew words with similar meanings when

1742-579: The Quran , gentile is used to translate an Arabic word that refers to non-Jews and/or people not versed in or not able to read scripture. The English word gentile derives from the Latin word gentilis , meaning "of or belonging to the same people or nation" (from Latin gēns  'clan, tribe, people, family'). Archaic and specialist uses of the word gentile in English (particularly in linguistics) still carry this meaning of "relating to

1809-517: The kabbalists on whether gentiles access the mystical knowledge ( Daat ). Isaac Luria , prominent kabbalist, wrote: Israel possesses the three levels of soul, nefesh, ruah, neshamah,—from holiness... the gentiles possess only the level of nefesh from the feminine side of the shells... for the souls of the nations (gentiles), come from the Qlippoth , are called evil and not good' since they are created without knowledge (Daat). The animal soul of man

1876-523: The 1956 film Singing in the Dark (dir. Max Nosseck ), one of the first American feature films to dramatize the Holocaust, starring Moishe Oysher as a concentration camp survivor; and the 1930 Tevye (dir. Maurice Schwartz ), restored with new English subtitles. The 2010 Festival presented N.Y. premieres of restored prints of Falk Harnack's The Axe of Wandsbek (based on Arnold Zweig's novel) about

1943-504: The Gentiles deserves to be killed", "The most pious woman is addicted to sorcery" and "The best of snakes ought to have its head crushed". Such extreme views can be explained by the sage's life experience: he witnessed his teacher being tortured to death, and became a fugitive after speaking out against Roman oppression. Later commentators have limited this teaching to idolators and only at times of war. Eliezer ben Hurcanus writes that

2010-569: The God of Israel is a universal God, there must be some relationship between gentiles and God. Accordingly, Novak observes, gentiles as well as Israelites are enjoined in the book of Psalms to "ascribe to the Lord glory and strength" ( Psalms 96:7 ). Christine E. Hayes states that gentiles in the Hebrew Bible were generally gerim (resident aliens). They were not necessarily converts, whether in

2077-599: The Greek word ethnos is used for peoples or nations in general, and is typically translated by the word "people", as in John 11:50. ("Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.") The translation "gentiles" is used in some instances, as in Matthew 10:5–6 to indicate non-Israelite peoples: These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into

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2144-399: The Jews of the late Second Temple period provide "a closer approximation to the ideal type of the nation [...] than perhaps anywhere else in the ancient world." He adds that this observation "must make us wary of pronouncing too readily against the possibility of the nation, and even a form of religious nationalism , before the onset of modernity." Historian David Goodblatt writes that there

2211-581: The KJV restricts the translation to "gentile" when the text is specifically referring to non-Jewish people. For example, the only use of the word in Genesis is in chapter 10, verse 5, referring to the peopling of the world by descendants of Japheth , "By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations." In the New Testament ,

2278-611: The LDS Church, since members regard themselves as regathered Israelites. The LDS Church's website states this about the meaning of gentile in Scripture (including the Book of Mormon), "As used in the scriptures, gentiles has several meanings. Sometimes it designates people of non-Israelite lineage, sometimes people of non-Jewish lineage, and sometimes nations that are without the gospel, even though there may be some Israelite blood among

2345-775: The NYJFF was linked to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the break-up of the Soviet Union . On the heels of liberation, a torrent of cinematic work—new films by young directors as well as long-suppressed older works—flooded into the West. Recognizing an extraordinary opportunity to bring untold stories to New York audiences for the first time, the New York Jewish Film Festival was launched in January, 1992 in

2412-472: The U.S.; policy decisions (in areas such as funding, programming, etc.) have been shaped in part due to studies on Jewish identity. According to the social-psychologist Simon Herman, antisemitism plays a part in shaping Jewish identity. This view is echoed by religious leaders such as Rabbi Jonathan Sacks who writes that modern Jewish communities and the modern Jewish identity are deeply influenced by antisemitism . Right-wing antisemitism , for example,

2479-619: The United States with the publication of Marshall Sklare 's "Lakeville studies". Among other topics explored in the studies was Sklare's notion of a "good Jew". The "good Jew" was essentially an idealized form of Jewish identity as expressed by the Lakeville respondents. Today, sociological measurements of Jewish identity have become the concern of the Jewish Federations who have sponsored numerous community studies across

2546-481: The academic David Novak wrote, with limited exceptions, "The Bible can be seen as one long discussion of what differentiates Israel from all the other peoples of the world." The Hebrew Bible does not have a word which directly corresponds to the modern concept of a gentile (see etymology above). Instead, the Bible views different groups of gentiles in different ways. Novak states that, "The biblical categories of Gentiles, beginning with those farthest removed from

2613-446: The assumption of some Orthodox Jews that there is an "ontological divide between Jews and Gentiles", which he believes is contrary to what the Torah teaches. Some Kabbalistic writings suggest a distinction between the souls of the gentiles and the souls of the Jews. These writings describe three levels, elements, or qualities of soul: Other descriptions of the soul add two more levels Chaya and Yechida. There has been debate among

2680-451: The centuries after the Old and New Testament were written – created an increasingly clear binary opposition between "Jew" and "non-Jew". The Hebrew word "goy" went through a change in meaning which parallels the journey of "gentilis/gentile" – both words moving from meaning "nation" to "non-Jew" today. The word "Goy" is now also used in English, principally by Jewish people – see goy . In 2006,

2747-515: The circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? Within a few centuries, some Christians used the word "gentiles" to mean non-Christians. The alternative pagani

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2814-417: The difference in the first case is one of essential quality. Similar anti-gentile remarks have been expressed by the late chief Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef , in which he stated in a sermon in 2010 that "The sole purpose of Gentiles is to serve Jews". He said that gentiles served a divine purpose: "Why are Gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat. That

2881-644: The fifth century, after being rejected by both orthodox Judaism and orthodox Christianity. With the ministry of Paul the Apostle the gospel began to be spread among the non-Jewish subjects of the Roman empire. A question existed among the disciples whether receiving the Holy Spirit through proselytization would be restricted to Israelites or whether it would include the gentiles as in Acts 10:34–47 : And they of

2948-452: The inclusion of non-Jews and the applicability of the Law of Moses , including circumcision . Over a few centuries, this led to a split between Jewish Christians , who followed Jesus but also Mosaic Law, and Pauline Christianity (also known as Gentile Christianity) which abandoned Mosaic Law and eventually became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Jewish Christian beliefs died out around

3015-459: The laws of the Temple, capital laws or others. Even one who is not an erudite Torah scholar is obligated to recognize this simple fact; it cannot be erased or obscured ... One who carefully studies the sources cited previously will realize the abysmal difference between the concepts "Jew" and "Gentile" -- and consequently, he will understand why Halacha differentiates between them. Bar-Chayim further quotes Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935), founder of

3082-411: The level of holiness, their soul remains trapped in the unholy world of the impure Qlippoth. However, other Kabbalists like Abraham Abulafia believed that higher levels of soul are to some extent accessible to gentiles. The Greek ethnos where translated as "gentile" in the context of early Christianity implies non-Israelite. In the years after the ministry of Jesus , there were questions over

3149-671: The like are classified merely as gentiles, goyim or nokrim " "The rabbis... had one term for all non-Israelites, whether idolaters or farmers, liars or trustworthy, Greek or Roman." However, the attitudes of the Rabbis to gentiles were not simple or uniform. Porton argues that the Mishnah-Tosefta discusses gentiles for two quite different reasons: firstly, practically, to guide the relations between Israelites and gentiles who were living alongside each other in Palestine. Secondly, at

3216-591: The main kabbalistic text of hasidic movement, the Tanya (or Likkutei Amarim). Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi , the founder of the Chabad hasidic dynasty, claims that Jews like gentiles possess a vital animal soul, but the animal soul of the Jew comes from the fourth husk (Qlippoth nogah), while the animal soul of the gentiles comes from the three lower impure husks (Qlippoth Tumaot). Thus nothing gentiles do can elevate them to

3283-413: The mind of every gentile is always intent upon idolatry . He believed that gentiles only perform animal sacrifice to make a name for themselves. He further believed that gentiles have no share in the world to come . Eleazar of Modi'im wrote that Jews, when guilty of the same sin as gentiles, will not enter hell whereas the gentiles will. Eleazar ben Azariah believed that the rulings performed by

3350-495: The model of ancient Israel found in the Hebrew Bible, provided the world with the original concept of nationhood which later influenced Christian nations. However, following Jerusalem's destruction in the first century CE, Jews ceased to be a political entity and did not resemble a traditional nation-state for almost two millennia. Despite this, they maintained their national identity through collective memory, religion and sacred texts, even without land or political power, and remained

3417-542: The modern era. This view is echoed by political scientist Tom Garvin , who writes that "something strangely like modern nationalism is documented for many peoples in medieval times and in classical times as well," citing the ancient Jews as one of several "obvious examples", alongside the classical Greeks , the Gauls and the British Celts . Adrian Hastings argued that Jews are the "true proto-nation", that through

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3484-491: The modern or rabbinic sense, but were still given many rights and privileges. They were also allowed to keep their distinct ethnic identities. But after Ezra-Nehemiah , many Israelites believed there was an impermeable ritual and genealogical boundary between themselves and gentiles. However, other scholars argue that the boundary is rooted in religious factors. Saul Oylan argues that gentiles automatically became Israelite when they lived in one of their tribal territories, which

3551-756: The modern sense were the Biblical Hebrew word nokhri ( נכרי ‎ – often otherwise translated as 'stranger') and for the New Testament Greek word éthnē ( ἔθνη ). The first English translators followed this approach, using the word "gentile" to refer to the non-Israelite nations (and principally using the word "nation(s)" to translate goy/goyim in other contexts). See the "Christianity" section . These developments in Bible translation practice were related to developments in Jewish Rabbinical and Christian thinking which – in

3618-493: The notion that their faith is meant to be spread throughout all of humanity, regardless of nationality. However, Jewish identity is firmly intertwined with Jewish ancestry dating back to the historical Kingdom of Israel , which was largely depopulated by the Roman Empire c. first century CE, leading to what is known as today as the Jewish Diaspora . Jewish identity began to gain the attention of Jewish sociologists in

3685-413: The people. This latter usage is especially characteristic of the word as used in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants." Thus, in such usage, Jewish people may be gentiles because they are not members of the LDS Church. Beyond this Scriptural usage, gentile was widely used by Mormons in day-to-day life in the nineteenth century, with such usage declining through the twentieth century. As with

3752-538: The rabbinic laws against fellowship and fraternization were relaxed; for example, Maimonides was the personal physician of Saladin . Even though most contemporary rabbinic schools are not as hostile to Gentiles as Medieval rabbinic schools were , some Orthodox rabbinic schools hold extremely xenophobic views. For example, scholars from the Zionist HaRav Kook yeshiva are schooled in the doctrine that Jews and gentiles have different kinds of souls. One of

3819-513: The rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah , from approximately 10–220 CE. It was this rabbinic literature of the first centuries CE that developed the concept of the gentile as we understand it today - as "any individual who is not a Jew, erasing all ethnic and social differences among different others". "Mishnah-Tosefta makes no clear distinction among the various types of non-Israelites. Romans, Greeks, Syrians, Egyptians, and

3886-465: The several ethne living in the Greco-Roman world . Van Maaren utilizes the six attributes that co-ethnics share, as identified by Hutchinson and Smith, to show why ancient Jews may be considered an ethnic group in modern terminology. Those include: Anthony D. Smith , an historical sociologist considered one of the founders of the interdisciplinary field of nationalism studies , wrote that

3953-523: The side of impurity, for the souls of the gentiles derive from the side of impurity The following passage in the Zohar reaffirms this idea: Said Rabbi Hiyya: If this is true (that neshamah is acquired through following the Torah) is it so that gentiles have no neshamah, only the living nefesh? Rabbi Yohannan said: That is correct. The view that gentiles only possess bestial souls was more popularized by

4020-422: The status of the Jews in words that Greek readers would understand, Philo depicted them as immigrants who laid the groundwork for "colonies" ( Greek : apoikiai ), with Jerusalem serving as their "mother-city" ( metropolis) . According to Kasher, Alexandria in this circumstance could only be regarded as a homeland in the political sense because it was the site of the establishment of a Jewish "colony," structured as

4087-404: The text referred to the non-Israelite peoples. The most important of such Hebrew words was goy ( גוי ‎, plural, goyim ), a term with the broad meaning of "people" or "nation" which was sometimes used to refer to Israelites, but with the plural form goyim tending to be used in the Bible to refer to non-Israelite nations. Other words translated in some contexts to mean "gentile/s" in

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4154-630: The way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Altogether, the word is used 123 times in the King James Version of the Bible, and 168 times in the New Revised Standard Version. In the terminology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the word "gentile" can be used to refer to people who are not members of

4221-416: The yeshiva and the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine : The difference between the Jewish soul, in all its independence, inner desires, longings, character and standing, and the soul of all the Gentiles, on all of their levels, is greater and deeper than the difference between the soul of a man and the soul of an animal, for the difference in the latter case is one of quantity, while

4288-419: The yeshiva's scholars, David Bar-Hayim , published a paper in 1989 in which he explained the doctrine, entitled "Yisrael Nikraim Adam" (Israel Gentiles Man). In his conclusion, Bar-Hayim writes: There is no escaping the facts: the Torah of Israel makes a clear distinction between a Jew, who is defined as "Man," and a Gentile. This distinction is expressed in a long list of Halachic laws, be they monetary laws,

4355-757: Was accelerated by the Christianization of the Roman Empire. In Christian theology , ethnic identity held little significance, and Jews were primarily valued for their religious heritage, seen as foundational to the development of the new covenant . This ideological framework further influenced perceptions of Jewish identity, emphasizing religious rather than ethnic or national aspects. Jewish identity can be cultural , religious, or through ancestry. There are religious, cultural, and ancestral components to Jewish identity due to its fundamental non-proselytizing nature, as opposed to Christian or Muslim identity which are both "universal" religions in that they ascribe to

4422-485: Was believed to reflect 'early practices' ( Ezekiel 47:21–23 ). Troy W. Martin believes Jewishness is defined by adherence to covenantal circumcision, regardless of ancestry ( Genesis 17:9–14 ). Thus, even an uncircumcised Jew could be a gentile despite his biological descent from Abraham. He believes this view was extended to the New Testament , where membership in God's chosen people was based on religious adherence rather than ancestry ( Galatians 3:28 ). Tannaim were

4489-599: Was felt to be less elegant. In the King James Version , "gentile" is only one of several words used to translate goy or goyim . It is translated as "nation" 374 times, "heathen" 143 times, "gentiles" 30 times, and "people" 11 times. Some of these verses, such as Genesis 12:2 ("I will make of thee a great nation") and Genesis 25:23 ("Two nations are in thy womb") refer to Israelites or descendants of Abraham . Other verses, such as Isaiah 2:4 and Deuteronomy 11:23 are generic references to any nation. Typically,

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