Acts 15 question for you Greek scholars out there

[garysibio]

I was reading Acts 15 this afternoon. Verses 16 and 17 are quoting Amos 9:11-12. In Acts it uses the word ‘Gentile’ where Amos uses the word ‘nations.’ I understand that ‘nations,’ when used in the Old Testament, refers to the Gentiles. My question refers to the Septuagint. Does Greek have a different word for ‘nations’ and ‘Gentiles’ and, if so, which is used in Acts?

 

[Omyo12]

I was reading Acts 15 this afternoon. Verses 16 and 17 are quoting Amos 9:11-12. In Acts it uses the word ‘Gentile’ where Amos uses the word ‘nations.’ I understand that ‘nations,’ when used in the Old Testament, refers to the Gentiles. My question refers to the Septuagint. Does Greek have a different word for ‘nations’ and ‘Gentiles’ and, if so, which is used in Acts?

I’m no scholar but here’s my 2 cents :twocents:

The LXX uses the word ἔθνος
This is the same Greek word Luke uses in Acts 15:14

And no, as far as I know, the words “Gentile,” “pagan,” “nations” are all ἔθνος in the Greek New Testament

Some versions also translate Ἕλλην as “pagan” or “Gentile” but the word is literally “Greek” such as:

Romans 3:9 (RSV) “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all; for I have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin,”

Romans 3:9 (KJV) “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;”

 

[garysibio]

I’m no scholar but here’s my 2 cents :twocents:

The LXX uses the word ἔθνος
This is the same Greek word Luke uses in Acts 15:14

And no, as far as I know, the words “Gentile,” “pagan,” “nations” are all ἔθνος in the Greek New Testament

Some versions also translate Ἕλλην as “pagan” or “Gentile” but the word is literally “Greek” such as:

Romans 3:9 (RSV) “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all; for I have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin,”

Romans 3:9 (KJV) “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;”

Thanks

 

[DaveBj]

The Hebrew word in Amos 9:12 is goy, plural goyim, a word that should be familiar to anyone familiar with Jewish culture.

Aside: When we were expecting our first child (USAF, stationed in Japan), a Jewish friend asked Miss Bonnie, “Is it going to be a goy or a berle?”



DaveBj

 

[COPLAND_3]

As you can see below, both use the same word

Acts 15:17 οπως αν εκζητησωσιν οι καταλοιποι των ανθρωπων τον κυριον και παντα τα εθνη εφ ους επικεκληται το ονομα μου επ αυτους λεγει κυριος ο ποιων ταυτα παντα

Amos 9:12 ὅπως ἐκζητήσωσιν οἱ κατάλοιποι τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐφ’ οὓς ἐπικέκληται τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐπ’ αὐτούς λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ ποιῶν ταῦτα

so that the remnant of men, and all the nations upon whom My name is called, may earnestly seek Me, saith the Lord God who does all these things.

 

[patrick457]

I was reading Acts 15 this afternoon. Verses 16 and 17 are quoting Amos 9:11-12. In Acts it uses the word ‘Gentile’ where Amos uses the word ‘nations.’ I understand that ‘nations,’ when used in the Old Testament, refers to the Gentiles. My question refers to the Septuagint. Does Greek have a different word for ‘nations’ and ‘Gentiles’ and, if so, which is used in Acts?

This question is already superbly answered (yes, the word usually translated as “gentile” and “nation” in Greek and Latin and Hebrew are just one word!), but here’s a small clue: the word ‘gentile’ itself came from the Latin gentilis, meaning “belonging to a clan/tribe”! To put it in brief, Hebrew uses the word גוים goyim (“nations”), Greek uses ἔθνη ethnē, and Latin uses gentes. All these are usually rendered in our Bibles as “gentile” when referring to the non-Hebrew ‘nations’.