Question about Gentiles?

Question

I'm not trying to be offensive to anyone, this is a serious question. From my reading of the Old Testament of the Bible, not all Israelites are considered Jews (just the ones from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah). The other ten tribes were still referred to as Israelites. Does this make the other ten tribes Gentiles, or are Gentiles anyone not of Israelite/Jewish descent?

Answer 1

Yes and no. The word "gentile" comes from the Latin "gens", meaning people. The original Hebrew word "goyim" also means "people" or "nations". The idea is that the nations of the world are the "goyim". Much later (well after the ten tribes of Northern Israel were conquered by Assyria and destroyed), the notion of "goyim" began to refer to non-Jews. So the concept of Gentile or Jew never came up in the days of the twelve tribes.

Also, it's important to note that in toda'ys world, the notion of "gentile" really refers to non-Jews, either by descent or by conversion. Since it is possible to convert to Judaism, one can by of full-blooded Irish descent (as an example) and not be a Gentile.

Answer 2

All of the "tribes" that you are referring to are considered Israelites. Those not decended from those tribes are Gentiles. And there is a very common misconception that only the Jews are Israelites. Jews is the shortened term for the tribe of Judah, the other tribes migrated over time. The "lost" tribes of Israel are still in existence today, the Bible gives some very good indication about them. "The Isles afar off" The British Isles? Did you know that whenever a King or Queen is crowned they sit over a stone called Jacob's Pillar Stone? (Jacob was renamed Israel) And another name for it is The Stone of Destiny. And from what I've read, England's royal family can trace their line back to King David! Now I think that is highly interesting when looking for the "lost tribes". :)

Answer 3

I don't think its that clear cut. Does the word gentile always refer to the other nations. Check The Strongs Concordance and the old Hebrew language. I know the Kingdom is divided until the second coming, so when they say to the Jew first and then to the gentiles what does that mean? What about the northern kingdom? His Word says that he is going to put the nation of Israel back together again Ezk 37. Also, his word talks about the destruction of the gentile nations. Ez 39:21, Ps 110:6 Jer 51:19-22. The Bible from begining to end is about God, his Word and his chosen people. A lot of churches like to preach doctrines pleasing to the ear and not the truth. That's why he is going to come like a thief in the night. There is no spiritual Israel. Remember the word says "For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matt. 5:18). There is only physical descendant Israel and the strangers (gentiles) that sojourn among them.

Answer 4

I think most of the pure Jews according to blood that exist today are from the three tribes Benjamin and Judah and Levites. I think descendants from the other 10 tribes of Israel intermarried with their captors so eventually no pure bloods remain today from those 10 tribes.

I am not sure what a gentile by blood who converts to the religion of the Jews would be called, Jew or Gentile?

Answer 5

Gentiles are anyone not of Israelite/Jewish descent.

Answer 6

it refers to the 2 kingdoms after Israel broke apart - Northern & Southern kingdoms. A gentile is anyone who's not of Jewish descent.

Answer 7

gentiles are those not of Israelite descent, meaning descending from the patriarch Israel-which is another name for Jacob. they're all Jews

Answer 8

It does not make the other ten tribes Gentiles.

Answer 9

This refers to the two kingdoms (Israel-Northern Kingdom and Judah-Southern Kingdom) after Israel split. After Solomon's reign, the northern tribes rebelled, leaving only Judah and Benjamin. See I Kings 12.

Answer 10

NOT of the Faith Of Abraham, and had a Jewish mother