גּוֹי
nation
‘nation’ is one of 4 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
74 verses where H1471 appears in the Absolute state in the Book of Jeremiah. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 1:5 לַ/גּוֹיִ֖ם prep det + n c mp Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.
- Jeremiah 1:10 הַ/גּוֹיִם֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp behold, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.
- Jeremiah 2:11 גּוֹי֙ n c ms Has a nation changed [its] gods, which yet are no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
- Jeremiah 3:17 הַ/גּוֹיִ֛ם ptcl def.art + n c mp At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Yahweh; and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
- Jeremiah 3:19 גּוֹיִ֑ם n c mp But I said, How I will put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, You shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.
- Jeremiah 4:2 גּוֹיִ֖ם n c mp and you shall swear, As Yahweh lives, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
- Jeremiah 4:7 גּוֹיִ֔ם n c mp A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place, to make your land desolate, that your cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 4:16 לַ/גּוֹיִ֗ם prep det + n c mp make you mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, [that] watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
- Jeremiah 5:9 בְּ/ג֣וֹי prep + n c ms Shall I not visit for these things? says Yahweh; and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
- Jeremiah 5:15 גּ֧וֹי גּ֣וֹי גּ֤וֹי גּ֚וֹי n c ms n c ms n c ms n c ms Behold, I will bring a nation on you from far, house of Israel, says Yahweh: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don't know, neither understand what they say.
- Jeremiah 5:29 בְּ/ג֣וֹי prep + n c ms Shall I not visit for these things? says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
- Jeremiah 6:18 הַ/גּוֹיִ֑ם ptcl def.art + n c mp Therefore hear, you nations, and know, congregation, what is among them.
- Jeremiah 6:22 וְ/ג֣וֹי conj + n c ms Thus says Yahweh, Behold, a people comes from the north country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
- Jeremiah 7:28 הַ/גּוֹי֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms You shall tell them, This is the nation that has not listened to the voice of Yahweh their God, nor received instruction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
- Jeremiah 9:9 בְּ/ג֣וֹי prep + n c ms Shall I not visit them for these things? says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
- Jeremiah 9:16 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֔ם prep det + n c mp I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.
- Jeremiah 9:26 הַ/גּוֹיִם֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners [of their hair] cut off, who dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
- Jeremiah 10:2 הַ/גּוֹיִם֙ הַ/גּוֹיִ֖ם ptcl def.art + n c mp ptcl def.art + n c mp Thus says Yahweh, "Don't learn the way of the nations, and don't be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them.
- Jeremiah 10:7 הַ/גּוֹיִ֔ם הַ/גּוֹיִ֛ם ptcl def.art + n c mp ptcl def.art + n c mp Who should not fear you, King of the nations? for to you does it appertain; because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is none like you.
- Jeremiah 10:10 גוֹיִ֖ם n c mp But Yahweh is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King: at his wrath the earth trembles, and the nations are not able to abide his indignation.
- Jeremiah 10:25 הַ/גּוֹיִם֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp Pour out your wrath on the nations that don't know you, and on the families that don't call on your name: for they have devoured Jacob, yes, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
- Jeremiah 12:17 הַ/גּ֥וֹי ptcl def.art + n c ms But if they will not hear, then will I pluck up that nation, plucking up and destroying it, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 14:22 הַ/גּוֹיִם֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? or can the sky give showers? Aren't you he, Yahweh our God? therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things.
- Jeremiah 16:19 גּוֹיִ֤ם n c mp Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, [even] vanity and things in which there is no profit.
- Jeremiah 18:7 גּ֖וֹי n c ms At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it;
- Jeremiah 18:8 הַ/גּ֣וֹי ptcl def.art + n c ms if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do to them.
- Jeremiah 18:9 גּ֖וֹי n c ms At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
- Jeremiah 18:13 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֔ם prep det + n c mp Therefore thus says Yahweh: Ask you now among the nations, who has heard such things; the virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing.
- Jeremiah 22:8 גּוֹיִ֣ם n c mp Many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Why has Yahweh done thus to this great city?
- Jeremiah 25:9 הַ/גּוֹיִ֥ם ptcl def.art + n c mp behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says Yahweh, and [I will send] to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants of it, and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
- Jeremiah 25:11 הַ/גּוֹיִ֥ם ptcl def.art + n c mp This whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
- Jeremiah 25:12 הַ/גּ֨וֹי ptcl def.art + n c ms It shall happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, says Yahweh, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate forever.
- Jeremiah 25:13 הַ/גּוֹיִֽם ptcl def.art + n c mp I will bring on that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.
- Jeremiah 25:14 גּוֹיִ֣ם n c mp For many nations and great kings shall make bondservants of them, even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.
- Jeremiah 25:15 הַ/גּוֹיִ֔ם ptcl def.art + n c mp For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, to me: take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.
- Jeremiah 25:17 הַ/גּוֹיִ֔ם ptcl def.art + n c mp Then took I the cup at Yahweh's hand, and made all the nations to drink, to whom Yahweh had sent me:
- Jeremiah 25:31 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֔ם prep det + n c mp A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for Yahweh has a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 25:32 מִ/גּ֣וֹי גּ֑וֹי prep + n c ms n c ms Thus says Yahweh of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
- Jeremiah 27:7 הַ/גּוֹיִ֔ם גּוֹיִ֣ם ptcl def.art + n c mp n c mp All the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondservant.
- Jeremiah 27:8 הַ/גּ֜וֹי הַ/גּ֤וֹי ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms It shall happen, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says Yahweh, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
- Jeremiah 27:11 וְ/הַ/גּ֗וֹי conj + ptcl def.art + n c ms But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that [nation] will I let remain in their own land, says Yahweh; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
- Jeremiah 27:13 הַ/גּ֕וֹי ptcl def.art + n c ms Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
- Jeremiah 28:11 הַ/גּוֹיִ֑ם ptcl def.art + n c mp Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus says Yahweh: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two full years from off the neck of all the nations. The prophet Jeremiah went his way.
- Jeremiah 28:14 הַ/גּוֹיִ֣ם ptcl def.art + n c mp For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the animals of the field also.
- Jeremiah 29:14 הַ/גּוֹיִ֞ם ptcl def.art + n c mp I will be found by you, says Yahweh, and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says Yahweh; and I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive.
- Jeremiah 29:18 הַ/גּוֹיִ֖ם ptcl def.art + n c mp I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations where I have driven them;
- Jeremiah 30:11 הַ/גּוֹיִ֣ם ptcl def.art + n c mp For I am with you, says Yahweh, to save you: for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.
- Jeremiah 31:7 הַ/גּוֹיִ֑ם ptcl def.art + n c mp For thus says Yahweh, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations: publish you, praise you, and say, Yahweh, save your people, the remnant of Israel.
- Jeremiah 31:10 גּוֹיִ֔ם n c mp Hear the word of Yahweh, you nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd does his flock.
- Jeremiah 31:36 גּ֛וֹי n c ms If these ordinances depart from before me, says Yahweh, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.
- Jeremiah 33:24 גּ֥וֹי n c ms Don't you consider what this people has spoken, saying, The two families which Yahweh did choose, he has cast them off? thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
- Jeremiah 36:2 הַ/גּוֹיִ֑ם ptcl def.art + n c mp Take a scroll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.
- Jeremiah 43:5 הַ/גּוֹיִם֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, who were returned from all the nations where they had been driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah;
- Jeremiah 46:1 הַ/גּוֹיִֽם ptcl def.art + n c mp The word of Yahweh which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
- Jeremiah 46:12 גוֹיִם֙ n c mp The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry; for the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty, they are fallen both of them together.
- Jeremiah 46:28 הַ/גּוֹיִ֣ם ptcl def.art + n c mp Don't be afraid you, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh; for I am with you: for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you; but I will not make a full end of you, but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.
- Jeremiah 48:2 מִ/גּ֑וֹי prep + n c ms The praise of Moab is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation. You also, Madmen, shall be brought to silence: the sword shall pursue you.
- Jeremiah 49:14 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֣ם prep det + n c mp I have heard news from Yahweh, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, [saying], Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
- Jeremiah 49:15 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֑ם prep det + n c mp For, behold, I have made you small among the nations, and despised among men.
- Jeremiah 49:31 גּ֥וֹי n c ms Arise, go up to a nation that is at ease, that dwells without care, says Yahweh; that have neither gates nor bars, that dwell alone.
- Jeremiah 49:36 הַ/גּ֔וֹי ptcl def.art + n c ms On Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
- Jeremiah 50:2 בַ/גּוֹיִ֤ם prep det + n c mp Declare you among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and don't conceal: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is disappointed, Merodach is dismayed; her images are disappointed, her idols are dismayed.
- Jeremiah 50:3 גּ֜וֹי n c ms For out of the north there comes up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and animal.
- Jeremiah 50:9 גּוֹיִ֤ם n c mp For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain.
- Jeremiah 50:12 גּוֹיִ֔ם n c mp your mother shall be utterly disappointed; she who bore you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
- Jeremiah 50:23 בַּ/גּוֹיִֽם prep det + n c mp How is the hammer of the whole earth cut apart and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
- Jeremiah 50:41 וְ/ג֤וֹי conj + n c ms Behold, a people comes from the north; and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
- Jeremiah 50:46 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֥ם prep det + n c mp At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles, and the cry is heard among the nations.
- Jeremiah 51:7 גוֹיִ֔ם גוֹיִֽם n c mp n c mp Babylon has been a golden cup in Yahweh's hand, who made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
- Jeremiah 51:20 גּוֹיִ֔ם n c mp You are my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with you will I break in pieces the nations; and with you will I destroy kingdoms;
- Jeremiah 51:27 בַּ/גּוֹיִם֙ גּוֹיִ֔ם prep det + n c mp n c mp Set up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm.
- Jeremiah 51:28 גוֹיִם֙ n c mp Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors of it, and all the deputies of it, and all the land of their dominion.
- Jeremiah 51:41 בַּ/גּוֹיִֽם prep det + n c mp How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
- Jeremiah 51:44 גּוֹיִ֑ם n c mp I will execute judgment on Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more to him: yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“nation” is the headline sense of the Hebrew word גוי (gôwy). One archaism survives in the King James Version — “heathen” — where modern Bibles read “nations”; see the renderings breakdown. It turns up in 511 verses across 34 books, one of the most common footprint. Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 10:5. Its meaning spans more than one sense — see its full sense range. See the sense tree, 511-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H1471 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 511
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 511 distinct verses.
- 34 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 34 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #87
- by frequency
- Top 100 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 87 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 511 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 511 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 333 verses · 65%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 96 verses · 19%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 82 verses · 16%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 3 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Nations 145×, Heathen 77×, Nation 76×
- American Standard Version†: Nations 212×, Nation 68×, Among the nations 54×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Nations 330×, Nation 107×, Among the nations 63×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Nations 311×, Nation 108×, Among the nations 51×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H1471 across 558† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 88 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H1471 across 559† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 115 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H1471 across 553† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 28 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 8 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H1471 across 563† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 42 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 6 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. nation, people Gn 10:5(×2), 20, 31, 32(×2) (all P) +; Is 2:2, 4(×2) = Mi 4:2, 3(×2); †Jb 12:23(×2); 34:29†; Pr 14:34; כֹּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ Gn 18:18; 22:18; 26:4 (all J) Dt 28:1. e.g. Genesis 10:5
- a. specif. of descendants of Abraham, גּוֹי גָּדוֹל Gn 12:2 cf. 18:18 (both J), גּוֹיִם 17:6, הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם 17:4, 5 (all P); of Sarah גּוֹיִם 17:16 (P); of Ishmael גּוֹי 21:13, גּוֹי גָּדוֹל v 18 (both E), גּוֹי גָּדוֹל 17:20 (P); of Jacob גּוֹי וּקְהַל גּוֹיִם Gn 35:11 (P), גּוֹי גָּדוֹל 46:3 (E); of Ephraim מְלֹא הַגּ׳ 48:19 (J); of Moses גּוֹי גָּדוֹל Ex 32:10 (J) cf. Nu 14:12 (J) Dt 9:14; of Jacob and Esau as two nations Gn 25:23 (J). e.g. Genesis 12:2
- b. definitely of Israel Ex 19:6 (גּ׳ קָדוֹשׁ) 33:13 (both JE), Dt 4:6 (הַגּוֹי הַגָּדוֹל הַזֶּה, said by heathen cf. v 7, 8) v. also v 34, 26:5 cf. ψ 33:12, ψ 83:5 (said by enemies) Je 31:36; 33:24 Ez 27:22; in narrative Jos 3:17; 4:1; 5:8 (JE), v 6 (D), 10:13 (poet., no art.); of Israel and Judah as two nations Ez 35:10 (said by heathen) 37:22; of Judah Is 26:2, 15(×2) cf. 58:2; 60:22 Mi 4:7; once my people Zp 2:9 (‖ עַם); thy people ψ 106:5 (i.e. of י׳), cf. also Ez 36:13, 14 (read Kt); especially of Israel and (or) Judah as sinful, rebellious Dt 32:28 Ju 2:20 Is 1:4; 10:6 Je 5:9, 29; 7:28; 9:8; 12:17 Ez 2:3 (del. 𝔊 Co) Hg 2:14 Mal 3:9.—Note. This definite ref. to Israel and (or) Judah is comparatively rare; in Hex not P (yet v. Gn 17:4, 5, 6, 16; 35:11 P); seldom in exile & post-exile proph.; not Chr.— e.g. Exodus 19:6
- c. usually of non-Heb. peoples Ex 9:24; 34:10 (JE) Lv 25:44 (H) Nu 14:15 (J) Dt 15:6(×2) 1 K 5:11 1 Ch 14:17; 16:20 Is 11:10, 12 + often; opp. Israel as עם י׳ 2 S 7:23 1 Ch 17:21(×2) ect., v. עם, cf. also Nu 23:9; note especially גְּלִיל הַגּוֹיִם Is 8:23 circle or district of the nations (v. גָּלִיל); also חֲרֹשֶׁת הַגּ׳ Ju 4:2, 13, 16 Charosheth of the nations, & מֶלֶךְ גּוֹיִם לְגִלְגָּ֖ל Jos 12:23 king of nations (peoples, tribes) belonging to Gilgal (𝔊 Di to the district, i.e. ‘Galilee’); especially of these peoples as heathen: idolatrous Lv 8:24, 28 (P) 20:23 (H) 1 K 14:24 2 K 17:8, 11, 15, 26, 29(×2) 2 Ch 28:3; 32:13 +, Ezr 6:21 Ez 5:6 +; hostile Gn 15:14 (J) Lv 26:33; 38, 45 (H) Dt 4:27; 9:4, 5; 18:9 1 Ch 16:35 Je 5:15 Ez 4:13 + often Je Ez, etc.; in simile Ez 20:32; 25:8; sometimes ‖ עַם ψ 33:10, 12 Is 11:10 Je 6:18, v. also Is 2:2, 4 comp. with Mi 4:1, 3. e.g. Exodus 9:24
- 2. fig. of swarm of locusts Jo 1:6; of all species of beasts Zp 2:14. e.g. Joel 1:6
- 3. גּוֹיִם Gn 14:1, 9 prob. mutilated n.pr. v. infr. e.g. Genesis 14:1
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.m. Gn 12:2 nation, people (NH id. Gentiles, Ph. גו community, ܓܰܘܳܐ, Sab. גו id., DHMZMG 1883, 348)—ג׳ Gn 12:2 + 121 times; sf. i s. גּוֹיִ Zp 2:9, גּוֹיֶ֑ךָ ψ 106:5, גּוֹיֵךְ Kt Ez 36:13, 14, 15 (Qr wrongly גּוֹיַיִךְ cf. Co, who del. v 15); pl. גּוֹיִם Gn 10:5 + 410 times + Qr Gn 25:23 ψ 79:10 (Kt גיים) + 6 times Ez (var. emend. Co); cstr. גּוֹיֵי Gn 18:18 + 8 times, גּוֹיֵ 2 Ch 32:13 Ezr 6:21 (cf. Baer’s notes); sf. גּוֹיֵהֶם Gn 10:5, 20, 31, 32;—
I. n.pr.gent. Gn 14:1, 9, in phr. תִּדְעָל מֶלֶךְ גּוֹיִם Tidʿal king of Goim; prob. a Babylonian (Elamitic, etc.) name corrupted; H. Rawlinson proposes Gutî, a people NE. of Babylonia, COT on Gn 14:1; also KGF 258 al.; cf. also DlPa 233 f.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from גוה (gêvâh) (H1465) — back.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
גּוֹי
- crowd, people, nation; pl. גּוֹיִם gentiles, fr. which גּוֹי = נָכְרִי or עכו"ם, gentile, idolator. Tosef. Ab. Zar. III, 4 sq.; Y. ib. IV, 41ᵃ top contrad. to כותי (Bab. ib. 29ᵃ נכרי); a. v. fr.—Pl. גּוֹיִים, גּוֹיִם. Ab. Zar. I, 1 sq. in Y. ed. ג׳ (Bab. ed. נכרים, עכו"ם, Mish. עכומ"ז, נכרים indiscriminately); a. v. fr.—Fem. גּוֹיָה gentile woman. Y. Yeb. II, 4ᵃ top ואין בנך מן הג׳ וכ׳ thy son from a gentile is not called thy son but her son (Bab. ib. 23ᵃ נכרית); a. fr.—Pl. גּוֹיוֹת. Y. ib. IV, 6ᵃ bot. [Y. Gitt. I, 43ᵇ top, a. e. גויים לוקין, v. גַּיּוּס.]
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 166 distinct written forms H1471 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 106 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H1471, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 472 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 511 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 10:5
- Exodus 9:24
- Leviticus 18:24
- Numbers 14:12
- Deuteronomy 4:6
- Joshua 3:17
- Judges 2:20
- 1 Samuel 8:5
- 2 Samuel 7:23
- 1 Kings 11:2
- 2 Kings 6:18
- 1 Chronicles 14:17
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
