Gentile

Any person who is not Jewish (the term ‘non-Jew’ is usually preferred now). In the Hebrew Bible the Gentiles are included in the future promised for Israel, which is seen as leading all nations to God, but the word was sometimes used to indicate ‘heathen’, and the Talmud contains warnings and restrictions on dealings with Gentiles.

Jewish teaching has varied about the extent to which the Law should be applied to non-Jews. One of the main fears of modern Jews is that the distinctive Jewish identity, preserved for centuries, will be lost or diluted by marriage with Gentiles, and it is therefore strongly discouraged. In the early years of Christianity there was much debate about the status of Gentiles, since all the first Christians were Jews.

St Paul was influential in establishing the principle that salvation through Jesus Christ was open to Jews and non-Jews alike, and is thus known as ‘the apostle to the Gentiles’.