What makes one gentile and what makes one Jew according to preferably Tanach , not restricting authoritative rabbanic sources.
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closed as not a real question by Monica Cellio♦ Mar 3 at 18:20
It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.
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as the word "gentile" doesn't appear in the Tanach, it would be difficult to trace its meaning to the Tanach. If you read through the various dictionaries for the etymology of the word, you will see that it develops from a Latin root employed by those who later translated the bible from the Hebrew, such as the KJV, as a word used when the text refers to "nations" which are not the "in group" -- because the label for this "in group" developed over time, the exact non-ness developed. As the wiki page demonstrates, when there were only the "Hebrews" the term "gentile" referred to a "non-Hebrew" when it was used as a translation for an exclusive label. As time passed, and the common language was influenced by the choice of the word "gentile" in the translation of the gospels from the Greek, it was used to exclude those who were not of the Children of Israel. The wiki page goes on to discuss how the word developed (after the 17th century) to mean non-Jew (and often Christian and less "pagan"). It also explains how the Mormons, because they view themselves as "Israelites" have coopted the term and use it to mean "non-Mormons." Of course, the Minnesota Twins can call themselves "Israelites" and therefore use the term to refer to the rest of the American League. |
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