Biblical Hebrew Forum

["K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Seth:

GWY refers to a nation as a body politic, used of Israel as well, e.g.
Exodus 19:5. In the plural and in context, because Israel was one
nation, it refers either to all nations or to the nations other than
Israel (context tells the difference).

(M refers to a people as what we today would call an ethnic grouping.

I hope this helps.

Karl W. Randolph.

On 10/6/06, Seth Knorr <ftbaccounts AT yahoo.com> wrote:
> My question is in regards to "am" (cf. Daniel 8:24) and "goee" (cf. Leviticus 
> 25:44).
>
> These both seem to denote people or nation.
>
> However, in the KJV "am" is generally translated as (men, nation, people), where as 
> "goee" in the KJV is generally translated as (Gentile, heathen, nation, people).
>
> In the Tenach I read, "goee" is almost always translated generically and as 
> far as I saw, is never translated Gentile or heathen.
>
> Is the KJV adding to the meaning of "goee" when it uses words like "Gentile" or 
> "Heathen"? Or is the meaning based solely on the context.
>
> My main question is this, is "am" generally in reference to Israel, where as 
> "goee" is generally used in reference to non-Israelites or gentiles. Is this correct or 
> wrong?
>
> It seems like that is generally the case, but is this just a coincidence or 
> on purpose?
>
> Thanks for any feedback,
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Seth Knorr