Covenant Keepers | By Suzie Hartwright

Posted November 12, 2015

What Is A Gentile?

In Genesis chapter 10 God tells us how all the continents (isles) of the world were divided up into the nations.  He describes that all the nations got their origins, structure and organization from the descendents of Noah.  The LORD goes on to teach us that He called them Gentiles and says they were separated out by the land they inhabited, by thier family lineage and by thier languages.

This is the first usage of the word “Gentile” in the Bible.  God calls the children and descendents of Noah Gentiles. God said these children were organized and divided into nations after their languages, after their families.

Genesis 10:1-5
“Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.  And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.  And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.”

Again God is showing the structure of the organization of the nations according to the generations (family line) of the children of Noah:

Genesis 10:20

“These are the sons of Ham,

after their families,

after their tongues,

in their countries,

and in their nations.

Then God sums it up at the end of the chapter.

Genesis 10:32
“These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.”