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As we get deeper into this study on the Gentiles, it wouldn’t be complete without a word study on the words “Gentile” and “Heathen” (coming soon). Much of what we believe concerning the Gentiles is a result of Europeanized teachings that have been passed down for generations. In almost every case, we can prove that these teachings are nothing more than deception, simply by studying scripture. The reason we need to understand the meaning of the word is because there are two very deceptive teachings being circulated:
- BHI Camps: Teach that Hebrews became Gentiles and therefore, the Gospel only applies to them. This false teaching attempts to exclude certain groups from salvation even though it requires a complete fabrication and twisting of scripture to maintain this belief.
- Mainstream Christianity: Teaches that goy or goyim refers to all non Hebrews. In my opinion, this is an attempt to draw attention away from prophecies that implicate Europe as kidnapping and enslaving God’s people. It’s also an attempt to distract from the punishment promised in Joel 3, but again, that’s my opinion.
As we progress throughout this study, we’ll discover why both of the above explanations can’t possibly be true, and we’ll do it using both scripture and actual historical discoveries.
The Commonly Accepted Interpretation
- Gentile: often capitalized : a person of a non-Jewish nation or of non-Jewish faith; especially : a Christian as distinguished from a Jew. – Merriam Webster
Many people correctly point out that the words translated as “nations” and “Gentiles” is goy (singular) and goyim (plural). The problem with that line of thinking is that while it is technically correct, it is only part of the story. The words goy and goyim often have different prefixes and suffixes attached to them, which is why they are translated differently in various places in scripture. Here are some examples:
- Ha-goy: 1 occurrence
- Be-gowyim: 1 occurrence
- Gowya-yik: 1 occurrence
- Gowyeka: 1 occurrence
- Gowyi: 1 occurrence
- Kegow: 1 occurrence
- Legoyehem: 1 occurrence
- Kag-gowyim: 2 occurrences
- Laggow: 2 occurrences
- Be-gowyehem: 3 occurrences
- Gowye: 11 occurrences
- Hag-gow: 28 occurrences
- Gow: 59 occurrences
- Hag-gowyim: 180 occurrences
Now that we have a more complete picture, we see that it’s not so cut and dry when it comes to simply applying one blanket definition to these words. These small variations allowed Hebrew speaking readers to easily differentiate between which words were being used to refer to which group of people.
The First Appearance of The Gowyim
The Bible often acts as it’s own dictionary. Outside of that, we can look at both history and culture. It is in the Old Testament that we first encounter haggowyim, the Gentiles. In almost all cases it is translated as a proper noun, unlike it’s counterpart gowyehem, which is always translated as the improper noun “nations”. The first time we ever see the gowyim mentioned is in the Genealogy in Genesis 10.
The Sons of Noah
In Genesis 10 we encounter the second genealogy in scripture. It is during this genealogy that we learn who the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth are. As we read through the chapter, the structure of it seems to indicate that it is important to separate the Gentiles (gowyim) from everyone else (gowyehem).
- After the genealogy each son, there is a verse that summarizes everything we’ve just read.
- The occurrence of haggowyim comes immediately after the genealogy of Japheth, but before the genealogies of Ham and Shem.
If we take the position that haggowyim is a reference to everyone before it, then it can only refer to Japheth and his descendants. If we take it as a references to everyone after it’s appearance, then we have to only include Ham and Shem, but not Japheth. Let’s look at the summary that appears after each son of Noah, and as always, make sure you read the entire chapter of Genesis 10 for context.
Japheth
“By these were the isles of the Gentiles (haggowyim) divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations (begowyehem).” – Genesis 10:5
This is the summary sentence for the genealogy of Japheth. Take note of the difference between gowyim and gowhehem. One is translated as a proper noun, while the other is translated as an improper noun. This presents a problem for both the BHI Camps and Mainstream Christianity:
- BHI Camps: Must either account for or dismiss the fact that the Gentiles did not include Hebrews or anyone from the lineage of Shem. Because the word gowyim is specific to Japehth, Hebrews can’t just agree to become Gentiles of their own free will, unless they agreed to have children fathered by Gentiles. In that case, their children would be born Gentile, and no longer Hebrew at all.
- Mainstream Christianity: Must account for the fact that no Hebrews existed in Genesis 10 and yet we have a group of people identified as Gentiles. The second problem is that Japheth’s line specifically is referred to as gowyim, and not all people as the commonly accepted definition teaches.
Let’s look at the summary of Ham to see if we can spot any similarities or differences.
Ham
“These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations (begowyehem).” – Genesis 10:20
Notice that in this summary, we see the descendants of Ham referred to as “the sons of Ham”. The word gowyim is also absent from his summary, unlike Japheth’s summary. What we do see is the improper noun gowyehem, which seems to indicate that it was written this way on purpose.
- Ham’s lineage is non Hebrew, and yet they are not called gowyim, even though mainstream Christianity teaches us that they are.
Let’s take a look at Japheth’s summary.
Shem
“These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations (legowyehem).” – Genesis 10:31
Again, the absence of the word gowyim in the summary stands out. Shem’s descendants are called “the sons of Shem”. Once we lay everything out we see that there are differences in how the words are used and which son they’re linked to. All of the nations in general are referred to as gowyehem, but only Japheth is referred to as gowyim. To summarize:
- The sons of Ham are called the sons of Ham, and not gowyim.
- The sons of Shem are called the sons of Shem, and not gowyim.
- The descendants of Japheth are called gowyim, and not “the sons of Japheth”.
The presence and absence of words leads me to believe that this was done on purpose, in order to identify exactly who the gowyim are throughout scripture. Once we understand this, the easier it is to fill in the missing pieces.
Overall Genealogy Summary
If there is one weak point in the argument that Europeans are gowyim, then it is found in the summary verse when we look at the Hebrew. At least it appears that way at first.
“These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations (begowyehem): and by these were the nations (haggowyim) divided in the earth after the flood.” – Genesis 10:32
This is a rare circumstance where we see a proper noun translated as an improper noun. Similar to elohim being translated as God sometimes and gods at others. However, what is interesting about the word gowyim appearing here is that it precedes the story of The Tower of Babel.
Genesis 10 describes divisions based on nationality, family, and language. The first half of Genesis 11 uses the story of The Tower of Babel to explain the “how” and “why” the earth ended up divided based on language and lineage.We can know for certain that Babel is an explanation because of how the story starts out:
“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.” – Genesis 11:1
After the story of The Tower of Babel, something new takes place. We’re presented with Shem’s genealogy once again, but Shem and Ham’s descendants aren’t separate. Towards the end of the chapter, Abraham’s father moves them out of the Babylonian city of Ur, which was founded by the Cushite we know as Nimrod.
“And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.” – Genesis 11:31
Abraham then moves to the land of Canaan, who are descendants of Ham. What we’re seeing is interaction between the lineages of Shem and Ham, but a complete absence of the gowyim (descendants of Japheth). In fact, after this post flood division that occurred at Babel, we see the gowyim referenced in prophecy, but we don’t see any of the following through the Old Testament:
- No marriages occur between the lines of Japheth and Shem.
- No marriages occur between the lines of Japheth and Ham.
- No war or interaction of any kind occurs with Japheth.
In fact, other than in a completely prophetic capacity, Japheth is barely mentioned at all in the Old Testament. 99% of the interlineage interactions occur between Ham and Shem.
Philistia is in the wrong color and should be orange, but other than that, Japheth is basically separated from both Ham and Shem, but Ham and Shem overlap in the “Middle East”. Let’s look at further evidence of the European link to the gowyim.
Harosheth of The Gentiles
Harosheth is the only settlement in the Old Testament that is referred to as being “of the Gentiles” or belonging to the Gentiles. First let’s look at the verse:
“And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles (haggowyim).” – Judges 4:2
Harosheth was located in the land of Canaan, which seems to be in opposition to my theory that the gowyim are Europeans. Why would a European settlement be located in Canaan? While we do not have 100% of the story, archaeologists discovered Harosheth in the late 19th century and point out that it appears to be of European construct, and is attributed to The Sea People, who were basically European pirates. Here are a few links to help get you started on Harosheth of The Gentiles and The Sea People
Suggested Reading
DNA Determines Hebrews and Gentiles
The BHI camp claim that Hebrews somehow became Gentiles is in direct conflict with scripture, which tells us that lineage is traced through the father. This doesn’t suddenly change simply because some don’t want to acknowledge that salvation is available to every human on earth. Here are the verses that prove this teaching to be false:
Hebrews By Nature
“We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles…” – Galatians 2:15
The Greek word translated as “nature” is phusis, which means nature, race, origin. or birth. There is nothing in the Bible or in science that says anyone can make a choice to change any of those factors. Those are determined by the family we are born into. Even if someone decided that they were now Gentiles, it wouldn’t matter because that doesn’t change their nature, and they’re still Jews by birth.
Gentiles In The Flesh
“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;” – Ephesians 2:11
The Greek word translated as “flesh” is sarx, which refers to the flesh as translated. There is no indication that these Gentiles were anything other than Gentiles prior to obtaining salvation. The false teaching that Gentiles only refers to scattered Hebrews is nothing more than hate doctrine disguised as Biblical teaching.
The Breakdown
Part of being awake is refusing to let other people dictate what we believe without investigating it for ourselves. For far to long, humanity as a whole has been lied to. Because of this, we need to question everything just as Acts 17:11 encourages us to do. I’ll leave you with the following challenges, even if you’re still on the fence about who the Gentiles are:
- Reread the Old Testament verses that mention the Gentiles.
- Ask yourself if the context fits dispersed Hebrews.
- Ask yourself if the contexts fits Europeans.
- Ask yourself if the context fits all non Hebrews.
Once we understand that Europeans are mentioned in prophecy, more of prophecy begins to line up. Answer the following questions as you read and see what conclusions you come to.
- What did Jesus really mean when he said that Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled?
- Where did the people in Israel now come from?
- What did Paul really mean when he said blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles is come in?
- Who’s eyes are being opened to the truth about scripture on a daily basis?
- Will Gentiles stop coming to Christ after this awakening happens?
- What knowledge would suddenly cause Europeans to stop coming to Christ?
In my opinion, the BHI camps and those that adhere to mainstream Christianity really need to do some research into their claims. It seems as though both groups are being told what to believe, but few are actually verifying it within scripture.
Not only are the prophecies concerning the Gentiles 100% clear that they will be judged, but they’re also clear that there was ALWAYS a plan in place for their salvation and redemption. Even more importantly, it would be the Gentiles that would ultimately bring the good news of Christ to the world.
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and then