Gentile

• Gentile is derived from "gentilis," a Latin word meaning "from the same clan or tribe." English translations of the Bible use gentile for the Hebrew word "goy" and the Greek equivalent "ethne." Originally "goy" and its plural "goyim" simply meant nation and were used for Israelites and non-Israelites alike. However, several passages such as Deuteronomy 15:6, Deuteronomy 28:12 and Numbers 14:12 specifically used it for non-Israelite nations and it became another word for "stranger." The gentiles were any non-Israelites, such as Egyptians, Philistines and Assyrians.
  
  

Israelites

• The description of the Israelite relationship with gentiles varies throughout the Bible. For example, Leviticus 19:33 - 34 and Exodus 22: 21 remind the Israelites that they were once foreigners in Egypt and should treat foreigners as equals. Leviticus 24:22 commands the Israelites to have one law for both natives and foreigners. The books attributed to the prophets Micah and Zechariah describe people of every nation becoming worshipers of the one true God. However, the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah commanded the Israelites to divorce their gentile wives.
  
  

Jesus

• The Gospels generally depict Jesus as limiting his mission to the Israelites. For example, in the Gospel of Matthew, he tells his disciples to avoid preaching to gentiles in favor of the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." However, he doesn't avoid contact with gentiles altogether. For example, he heals both the daughter of a gentile woman and the servant of a Roman centurion. According to "A Dictionary of the Bible," Jesus' cleansing of the temple depicted in the Gospel of Mark took place in the Court of the Gentiles, which was separated from the rest of the temple by stairs and a wall. According to the Gospel, after driving out the moneychangers and merchants, Jesus reminded the crowd that the temple was intended for all nations. Jesus may have been concerned that the gentiles were confined to one area when they should have had full access to the temple.
  
  

Saint Paul

• Saint Paul, on the other hand, carried the Christian message into the wider gentile world. According to the Book of Acts, Paul visited many Mediterranean locations such as Athens, Salonica and Corinth in Greece, Philippi in Macedonia, Ephesus in present-day Turkey and the island nations of Malta and Cyprus. About 50 AD, a Christian council debated whether gentile Christians should be circumcised. This would have essentially kept Christianity a Jewish sect. Paul strongly opposed this idea and the council voted against it.