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.
57 verses where H1471 appears in the Absolute state in the Book of Psalms. 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.
Psalms
- Psalms 2:1 גוֹיִ֑ם n c mp Why do the nations rage, And the peoples plot a vain thing?
- Psalms 2:8 ג֭וֹיִם n c mp Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, The uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
- Psalms 9:5 ג֭וֹיִם n c mp You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
- Psalms 9:15 ג֭וֹיִם n c mp The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made; In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
- Psalms 9:17 גּ֝וֹיִ֗ם n c mp The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, Even all the nations that forget God.
- Psalms 9:19 ג֝וֹיִ֗ם n c mp Arise, Yahweh! Don't let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in your sight.
- Psalms 9:20 גוֹיִ֑ם n c mp Put them in fear, Yahweh. Let the nations know that they are only men. Selah.
- Psalms 10:16 ג֝וֹיִ֗ם n c mp Yahweh is King forever and ever! The nations will perish out of his land.
- Psalms 18:43 גּוֹיִ֑ם n c mp You have delivered me from the strivings of the people. You have made me the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
- Psalms 18:49 בַ/גּוֹיִ֥ם prep det + n c mp Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations, And will sing praises to your name.
- Psalms 22:27 גּוֹיִֽם n c mp All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
- Psalms 22:28 בַּ/גּוֹיִֽם prep det + n c mp For the kingdom is Yahweh's. He is the ruler over the nations.
- Psalms 33:10 גּוֹיִ֑ם n c mp Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
- Psalms 33:12 הַ֭/גּוֹי ptcl def.art + n c ms Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh, The people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.
- Psalms 43:1 מִ/גּ֥וֹי prep + n c ms Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.
- Psalms 44:2 גּוֹיִ֣ם n c mp You drove out the nations with your hand, But you planted them. You afflicted the peoples, But you spread them abroad.
- Psalms 44:11 וּ֝/בַ/גּוֹיִ֗ם conj + prep det + n c mp You have made us like sheep for food, And have scattered us among the nations.
- Psalms 44:14 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֑ם prep det + n c mp You make us a byword among the nations, A shaking of the head among the peoples.
- Psalms 46:6 ג֭וֹיִם n c mp The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He lifted his voice, and the earth melted.
- Psalms 46:10 בַּ֝/גּוֹיִ֗ם prep det + n c mp "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth."
- Psalms 47:8 גּוֹיִ֑ם n c mp God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne.
- Psalms 59:5 הַ/גּוֹיִ֑ם ptcl def.art + n c mp You, Yahweh God of hosts, the God of Israel, Rouse yourself to punish the nations. Show no mercy to the wicked traitors. Selah.
- Psalms 59:8 גּוֹיִֽם n c mp But you, Yahweh, laugh at them. You scoff at all the nations.
- Psalms 66:7 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֣ם prep det + n c mp He rules by his might forever. His eyes watch the nations. Don't let the rebellious rise up against him. Selah.
- Psalms 67:2 גּ֝וֹיִ֗ם n c mp That your way may be known on earth, And your salvation among all nations,
- Psalms 72:11 גּוֹיִ֥ם n c mp Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him.
- Psalms 72:17 גּוֹיִ֥ם n c mp His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed.
- Psalms 78:55 גּוֹיִ֗ם n c mp He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them for an inheritance by line, And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
- Psalms 79:1 גוֹיִ֨ם n c mp God, the nations have come into your inheritance. They have defiled your holy temple. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
- Psalms 79:6 הַ/גּוֹיִם֮ ptcl def.art + n c mp Pour out your wrath on the nations that don't know you; On the kingdoms that don't call on your name;
- Psalms 79:10 הַ/גּוֹיִם֮ ב/גיים בַּ/גּוֹיִ֣ם ptcl def.art + n c mp prep det + n c mp prep det + n c mp Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let it be known among the nations, before our eyes, That vengeance for your servants' blood is being poured out.
- Psalms 80:8 גּ֝וֹיִ֗ם n c mp You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it.
- Psalms 82:8 הַ/גּוֹיִֽם ptcl def.art + n c mp Arise, God, judge the earth, For you inherit all of the nations.
- Psalms 83:4 מִ/גּ֑וֹי prep + n c ms "Come," they say, "and let's destroy them as a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more."
- Psalms 86:9 גּוֹיִ֤ם n c mp All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name.
- Psalms 94:10 גּ֭וֹיִם n c mp He who disciplines the nations, won't he punish? He who teaches man knows.
- Psalms 96:3 בַ/גּוֹיִ֣ם prep det + n c mp Declare his glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples.
- Psalms 96:10 בַ/גּוֹיִ֨ם prep det + n c mp Say among the nations, "Yahweh reigns." The world is also established. It can't be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.
- Psalms 98:2 הַ֝/גּוֹיִ֗ם ptcl def.art + n c mp Yahweh has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
- Psalms 102:15 ג֭וֹיִם n c mp So the nations will fear the name of Yahweh; All the kings of the earth your glory.
- Psalms 105:13 מִ/גּ֣וֹי גּ֑וֹי prep + n c ms n c ms They went about from nation to nation, From one kingdom to another people.
- Psalms 105:44 גּוֹיִ֑ם n c mp He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession,
- Psalms 106:27 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֑ם prep det + n c mp That he would overthrow their seed among the nations, And scatter them in the lands.
- Psalms 106:35 בַ/גּוֹיִ֑ם prep det + n c mp But mixed themselves with the nations, And learned their works.
- Psalms 106:41 גּוֹיִ֑ם n c mp He gave them into the hand of the nations. Those who hated them ruled over them.
- Psalms 106:47 הַ/גּ֫וֹיִ֥ם ptcl def.art + n c mp Save us, Yahweh, our God, Gather us from among the nations, To give thanks to your holy name, To triumph in your praise!
- Psalms 110:6 בַּ֭/גּוֹיִם prep det + n c mp He will judge among the nations. He will heap up dead bodies. He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
- Psalms 111:6 גּוֹיִֽם n c mp He has shown his people the power of his works, In giving them the heritage of the nations.
- Psalms 113:4 גּוֹיִ֥ם n c mp Yahweh is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens.
- Psalms 115:2 הַ/גּוֹיִ֑ם ptcl def.art + n c mp Why should the nations say, "Where is their God, now?"
- Psalms 117:1 גּוֹיִ֑ם n c mp Praise Yahweh, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples!
- Psalms 118:10 גּוֹיִ֥ם n c mp All the nations surrounded me, But in the name of Yahweh, I cut them off.
- Psalms 126:2 בַ/גּוֹיִ֑ם prep det + n c mp Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "Yahweh has done great things for them."
- Psalms 135:10 גּוֹיִ֣ם n c mp Who struck many nations, And killed mighty kings,
- Psalms 135:15 הַ֭/גּוֹיִם ptcl def.art + n c mp The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands.
- Psalms 147:20 גּ֗וֹי n c ms He has not done this for just any nation. They don't know his ordinances. Praise Yah!
- Psalms 149:7 בַּ/גּוֹיִ֑ם prep det + n c mp To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples;
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.
