Goy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Goy (Hebrew: גוי, plural goyim גוים) is a transliterated Hebrew word which translates as "nation" or "people", but often used to describe one who is not a Jew.
Goyim in Genesis 14:1 is left untranslated in some translations, and treated as the proper name of a country. This is incorrect. The word means "ethnic groups," "nations," "peoples." The "King of Goyim" was Tidal (Bible King).
[edit] Etymology
In the Hebrew Bible, goy and its variants appear over 550 times in reference to Israelites and to Gentile peoples. The first recorded usage of goy occurs in Genesis 10:5 and applies to non-Israelite nations. The first mention in relation to the Israelites comes in Genesis 12:2, when God promises Abraham that his descendants will form a goy gadol ("great nation"). While the earlier books of the Hebrew Bible often use goy to describe the Israelites, the later ones tend to apply the term to other nations.
[edit] Modern usage
In modern Hebrew and Yiddish, the word goy is a standard term that refers to members of the Gentile nations. In Yiddish it is the only proper term used to say 'Gentile' and many bilingual English and Yiddish speakers do use it dispassionately. In English however, the use of the word goy can be controversial. Like other common (and otherwise innocent) terms, it may be assigned pejoratively to non-Jews (as well as to Jews who are perceived by other Jews to lack religious commitment to Judaism). To avoid any perceived offensive connotations, writers may use the English terms "Gentile" or "non-Jew".
