TR: gowy → ethnos (Nation / Gentiles)

The Chain

Hebrew OT              LXX (Greek OT)            Greek NT
──────────             ──────────────            ────────
גּוֹי (gowy)       →   ἔθνος (éthnos)        →   ἔθνος (éthnos)
H1471, 511x in OT      LXX co-occ: 469x           152x in NT
"nation, Gentile"      PMI score: 31.34            "Gentiles, nations"

The LXX translation is remarkably consistent: H1471 gowy is rendered ἔθνος in ~92% of LXX occurrences (469/511). The NT inherits this equation directly, using ethnos in the same dual register — neutral ethnopolitical group and specifically non-Jewish outsider.

OT Usage (Hebrew — H1471 גּוֹי)

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary KJV
H1471	גּוֹי (gowy)	511	nations (168vv), the heathen (96vv), nation (92vv), Gentiles (30vv)

Root uncertain; possibly from גֵּו (gēw, body, back) — a people grouped together, a body politic.

Key OT passages: - Gen 10:5 — "By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations" — ethnos first appears as the Table of Nations - Lev 18:24 — "Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you" — nations as morally other - Deu 4:6 — "Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations" — Israel's law as witness to the nations

Library status: H1471-gowy.md

LXX Bridge

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
gowy (H1471)	ἔθνος (G1484)	469x	31.34	Primary — overwhelming
gowy (H1471)	χώρα (G5561)	29x	11.59	"land/country" when gowy = territory
gowy (H1471)	διασπείρω (G1289)	16x	10.40	"scatter/disperse" — nations scattering or being scattered
gowy (H1471)	διασκορπίζω (G1287)	11x	8.79	"scatter abroad" — similar diaspora contexts

Semantic shift: The Hebrew gowy is purely ethno-national (no moral loading in itself). The LXX preserves this with ethnos, but the increasing use of ethnos as a contrast to "the circumcision" in Jewish literature gave the word a secondary religious valence by the NT era. The NT thus uses ethnos in both registers — neutral (all peoples) and loaded (pagan outsiders).

NT Usage (Greek — G1484 ἔθνος)

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary KJV
G1484	ἔθνος (éthnos)	152	Gentiles (62vv), nations (35vv), nation (22vv)
G1482	ἐθνικός (ethnikós)	3	heathen, heathen man
G1483	ἐθνικῶς (ethnikōs)	1	after the manner of Gentiles

Key NT passages: - Luke 2:32 — "A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel" — citing Isa 42:6 (gowy → ethnos chain active) - Acts 13:47 — "I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles" — citing Isa 49:6 directly - Rom 15:9–12 — Four OT quotations stacked to prove Gentiles are destined to glorify God (Ps 18:49; Deut 32:43; Ps 117:1; Isa 11:10) - Rev 21:24 — "the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it" — eschatological nations entering the New Jerusalem

Direct OT→NT Quotations (gowy/ethnos chain active)

NT Verse	Quotes OT	Shared Word	Significance
Luke 2:32	Isa 42:6	gowy → ethnos	"light to the Gentiles" as fulfillment
Acts 13:47	Isa 49:6	gowy → ethnos	Paul's Gentile mission mandate
Acts 4:25–27	Ps 2:1	gōyim → ethnē	"Why did the heathen rage" — fulfilled in crucifixion
Rom 15:9	Ps 18:49	gōyim → ethnē	Gentiles glorifying God in Christ
Rom 15:10	Deut 32:43	gōyim → ethnē	"Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people"
Rev 2:26–27	Ps 2:8–9	gōyim → ethnē	Christ ruling the nations with iron rod

Continuity and Shifts

What stays the same: - The word refers to ethno-national groups throughout both testaments - Israel is distinct from the nations (gōyim/ethnē) — this binary persists from Genesis to Revelation - The nations can be objects of both judgment and redemption (prophetic dual vision in Isaiah, Psalms → fulfilled in Acts, Romans, Revelation)

What shifts: - In the OT, gowy is primarily a neutral descriptor; moral/religious loading comes from context - By NT times, ethnos has acquired a technical religious sense ("those without the Law/circumcision") that operates semi-automatically in Paul - The NT's most significant move: ethnos-peoples are now included in the covenant people rather than perpetually outside it (Eph 3:6 — "fellowheirs") - Revelation redeems the eschatological nations entirely — from angry enemies (Rev 11:18) to healed, worshipping peoples (Rev 21:24–26; 22:2)

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Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source, --lookup) Last updated: 2026-04-01