Gentiles
in Scripture, all the nations of the world, excepting the Jews. In the Old Testament it is the rendering of the Hebrew word goim=peoples, nations, the plural of goi a nation, a people. At first it was used as a mere ethnological word, and quite respectfully, but as the Jews became more conscious of their privileges they employed it more and more scornfully of the nations around (Gen. x: 5; Isa. lxvi: 19; Jer. xiv: 22). In the New Testament Gentiles is the rendering of the Greek ethne the plural of ethnos a number of people living together, a nation. St. Peter, moved by a vision, was the first of the Twelve to preach to the Gentiles (Acts x.), but the apostle of the Gentiles was St. Paul (Gal. ii: 8).