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User-Posted Comments on John 3:16
Yes, most of the time they refer to the lost sheep of Israel, scattered abroad. Paul didn`t spread the good news to some random people, but to his brethen. Gentile should NOT even be in the Bible, it`s a latin word, but still, it means (same)race or nation, not aliens, like the universalists wants us to believe.
"'Goy' is usually translated gentile, heathen, nation, people or another, according to Strong's. The Hebrew word 'goy' is a collective noun meaning nation or sometimes a collective body of people. Actually, there is no such thing as 'a gentile' as it is always plural and never an individual person. 'Goy' has been translated 375 times in the OT as nation(s) compared to 30 times as gentile(s); less than 10% of the time, signifying that it is not the primary use of the word."
"It can be easily shown that the use of the word 'goy' (#1471) i.e. gentile and nation, are not interchangeable and in its first appearance in Genesis 10:5 we see an obvious inconsistency. It reads, "By these were the isles of the Gentiles [1471] divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families in their nations [1471]." It wouldn't make much sense to say "in their Gentiles" and it would make much more sense to say "the isles of the nation". It should also be pointed out that if the word 'gentile' means a non-Jew or non-Israel, it should not appear in Scripture at this point in history, because Jacob-Israel is several generations away from being born."
"Try 'Gentile' in Gen. 17:4-5, "And thou [Abraham] shall be a father of many Gentiles [or is it nations?]… for a father of many Gentiles [or is it nations?] have I made thee." 'Goy' is not necessarily Israelite nations, it just means nations. When God told Hagar that He would make her son a great nation [goy #1471], indeed Ishmael would be the progenitor of the Arab world. Exodus 34:24 has God casting out nations (goy #1471) in Israel to enlarge her borders. "Learn not the way of the heathen [nations - goy #1471]" Jer. 10:2."
"The words gentile (which is truly not even an English word), heathen and nation in the New Testament in most cases are used to represent the Greek word ἔθνος, which is primarily a nation in the sense of ethnicity. Here and elsewhere (Romans 15:9-11) it is evident that by translating ἔθνος into these various words indiscriminately, it is rather easy to create FALSE doctrines and to pervert the interpretation of the promises to Abraham and the other patriarchs."
- Paal (12/1/2013 5:49:26 AM)
I, like Paul, think that a better word such as "people", "nation", or a similar word, would have been a more sensible choice, especially in light of Matthew 15:24. Jesus said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Therefore, it seems (even remotely) that the "World" in John 3: 16, 17 and the "Lost Sheep" of the House of Israel, are one and the same. Furthermore, I'm wondering if the following words are possibly synonymous with "World": Gentiles, Strangers, Heathen, Foreigners, Peoples, Nations, Lost Sheep of Israel. I, too, believe that many words, lost in Greek/English mistransliteration and mistranslation, resulted in perpetual misinterpretation. Gross errors leading to false doctrine. However, I think, even at the risk of turning Christianity, as we know it, up-side down, the truth will surely be revealed. Especially in light of the steadily growing population of sincere and honest theological scholars, and Bible Students, who are accepting the Aramaic/Hebrew-English versions. We need to be aware of ancient Semitic cultural concepts, idioms, to help comprehend and make simple, the whole plan of the Great God of Israel, to reconcile all the nations of the House of Israel, descendants of Abraham. However, in innocent ignorance, it seems both contemporary Orthodox and Messianic Jews have been influenced, and for whatever reason, duped, by so-called western Christianity, and consequently, have indeed been in a "dark age", for centuries! BUT, I think we are beginning to see the Light at the end of the tunnel. At last! So be it!
- Jewel (11/30/2013 10:08:27 PM)
Society is probably a better word
- Paal (11/28/2013 6:07:56 AM)
Society is probably a better word
- Paal (11/28/2013 5:07:14 AM)
It should be nations, not the world. He only loves the Israelite Nations. And Adam was also His son. It`s pathetic how the the Bible contradicts itself over and over, because of bad translations or people with agendas. Most misused verse in the Bible
- Paal (11/27/2013 1:22:12 PM)
Nice verse.
- Jonathan (4/8/2011 3:00:57 PM)
"'Goy' is usually translated gentile, heathen, nation, people or another, according to Strong's. The Hebrew word 'goy' is a collective noun meaning nation or sometimes a collective body of people. Actually, there is no such thing as 'a gentile' as it is always plural and never an individual person. 'Goy' has been translated 375 times in the OT as nation(s) compared to 30 times as gentile(s); less than 10% of the time, signifying that it is not the primary use of the word."
"It can be easily shown that the use of the word 'goy' (#1471) i.e. gentile and nation, are not interchangeable and in its first appearance in Genesis 10:5 we see an obvious inconsistency. It reads, "By these were the isles of the Gentiles [1471] divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families in their nations [1471]." It wouldn't make much sense to say "in their Gentiles" and it would make much more sense to say "the isles of the nation". It should also be pointed out that if the word 'gentile' means a non-Jew or non-Israel, it should not appear in Scripture at this point in history, because Jacob-Israel is several generations away from being born."
"Try 'Gentile' in Gen. 17:4-5, "And thou [Abraham] shall be a father of many Gentiles [or is it nations?]… for a father of many Gentiles [or is it nations?] have I made thee." 'Goy' is not necessarily Israelite nations, it just means nations. When God told Hagar that He would make her son a great nation [goy #1471], indeed Ishmael would be the progenitor of the Arab world. Exodus 34:24 has God casting out nations (goy #1471) in Israel to enlarge her borders. "Learn not the way of the heathen [nations - goy #1471]" Jer. 10:2."
"The words gentile (which is truly not even an English word), heathen and nation in the New Testament in most cases are used to represent the Greek word ἔθνος, which is primarily a nation in the sense of ethnicity. Here and elsewhere (Romans 15:9-11) it is evident that by translating ἔθνος into these various words indiscriminately, it is rather easy to create FALSE doctrines and to pervert the interpretation of the promises to Abraham and the other patriarchs."
- Paal (12/1/2013 5:49:26 AM)
I, like Paul, think that a better word such as "people", "nation", or a similar word, would have been a more sensible choice, especially in light of Matthew 15:24. Jesus said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Therefore, it seems (even remotely) that the "World" in John 3: 16, 17 and the "Lost Sheep" of the House of Israel, are one and the same. Furthermore, I'm wondering if the following words are possibly synonymous with "World": Gentiles, Strangers, Heathen, Foreigners, Peoples, Nations, Lost Sheep of Israel. I, too, believe that many words, lost in Greek/English mistransliteration and mistranslation, resulted in perpetual misinterpretation. Gross errors leading to false doctrine. However, I think, even at the risk of turning Christianity, as we know it, up-side down, the truth will surely be revealed. Especially in light of the steadily growing population of sincere and honest theological scholars, and Bible Students, who are accepting the Aramaic/Hebrew-English versions. We need to be aware of ancient Semitic cultural concepts, idioms, to help comprehend and make simple, the whole plan of the Great God of Israel, to reconcile all the nations of the House of Israel, descendants of Abraham. However, in innocent ignorance, it seems both contemporary Orthodox and Messianic Jews have been influenced, and for whatever reason, duped, by so-called western Christianity, and consequently, have indeed been in a "dark age", for centuries! BUT, I think we are beginning to see the Light at the end of the tunnel. At last! So be it!
- Jewel (11/30/2013 10:08:27 PM)
Society is probably a better word
- Paal (11/28/2013 6:07:56 AM)
Society is probably a better word
- Paal (11/28/2013 5:07:14 AM)
It should be nations, not the world. He only loves the Israelite Nations. And Adam was also His son. It`s pathetic how the the Bible contradicts itself over and over, because of bad translations or people with agendas. Most misused verse in the Bible
- Paal (11/27/2013 1:22:12 PM)
Nice verse.
- Jonathan (4/8/2011 3:00:57 PM)
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