Nations
Revelation 2:26. “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations”
The Hebrew word usually translated ‘nations’ is gôy, singular, or gôyim, plural. While this word is used more often of the other nations as opposed to Israel, it is used many times in reference to Abraham‘s seed in general and to Israel and Judah in particular. In the following instances gôy is used of the descendants of Abraham:
Genesis 12:1- “I will make of thee a great nation.”
17:4, 5“A father of many nations.”
17:6- “I will make nations of thee.”
17:16“And she (Sarah) shall be a mother of nations.”
48:19- Thy seed shall become a multitude of nations,” (cited in Romans 4:17-18).
The following speaks of the nation(s) descended from Jacob:
Genesis 25:23: “Two nations are in thy womb.” (i.e. Jacob and Esau.)
Specifically of Israel: Exodus 19:6- “A kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.”
The following seem to speak of other peoples of the world:
Genesis 18:8; 22:18; 26:4- “The nations of the earth shall be blessed.”
Exodus 34:24-“I will cast out the nations before thee.”
It also refers to Abraham‘s seed in: Genesis 18:13; 35:11; 46:3. It is also used in Exodus of the nation of Israel: Exodus 26:5; 33:13; as also in Deuteronomy 4:6; Joshua 3:17; 4:1; 5:8; and 10:13; Psalms 33:12, 83:5; Isaiah 26:2, 15; 58:2; 60:11; Jeremiah 31:36; 33:24; and Micah 4:7.
It is therefore in line with the usage in the Old Testament to interpret the word ‘nations’ in the book of Revelation as referring to the ‘nations’ of the tribes of Israel. The word ‘nations’ is also used in Revelation 4:11; 5:12, 13; 7:9, 12; 11:3, 6, 17; 12:5; 15:4; 19:1, 15; 21:24-26; 22:2.
From the above references it is clear that the words gôy and gôyim do not only mean foreign nations but include the nations descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob also. Yet Strong‘s Concordance gives the definition of gôy as: “…a foreign nation; hence a Gentile; also (fig.) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts: – Gentile, heathen, nation, people.”
Why does Strong give this biased definition? The evidence of the Scriptures does not support it. The reason probably lies in the usage now current among the modern Pharisees who use the word as an epithet for “Gentiles” as opposed to “Jews.” This is only one example of the potential for distortion of meaning that comes about through the imposing of the modern definitions of Biblical Hebrew words upon the ancient writings. New Testament definitions should follow the Old Testament Scriptural usages and meanings, not the anachronistic modern usages.
Brown, Driver, Briggs’ Lexicon shows that gôy and gôyim are used variously: specifically of the descendants of Abraham; definitely of Israel; and as nations other than Israel with the opposition specified, for example, as “those nations which I cast out before thee.” In Joel 1:6 it seems to speak of a swarm of locusts, but this is probably also intended as a metaphor of invading armies. In Zephaniah 2:14 it may speak of species of beasts, or metaphorically, of unredeemed Mankind.
We have an example of the use of a synonym for gôy in Genesis 48:4 which refers to the event already described in Genesis 35:9-12. In 35:9-12 the Lord has promised Jacob: “A nation (gôy) and a company of nations (qâhâl) shall be of thee.” (KJV) This is recited in 48:4: “I will make of thee a multitude (qâhâl) of people.”
The word qâhâl is defined by Strong as: “ assemblage…congregation, multitude.”
In Genesis 48:19 Jacob blesses Ephraim by saying: “His seed shall become a multitude, (məlôw), of nations (gôyim).” (KJV) Məlôw is defined by Strong as: “…fullness…multitude.” It is this word that Paul had in mind in Romans 11:12 when he speaks of the “fullness” of the Jews coming into the Church. It is also and as a coordinate of verse 12 the same word behind the “fullness of the Gentiles” spoken of in verse 25: “Until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” Through this double use of the word Paul is stressing the fact that the Church cannot be complete, full, without either group, the Jews or the Gentiles.
The New Testament writers, inspired by the Holy Ghost, recognized that the Old Testament promises were not only to the nations descended physically from Abraham, but were also to all of the nations of the whole world in their order. The exclusivism of modern Judaism, as if they are exclusively “chosen of God,” is an invention of the Pharisees since the New Testament era. It is not a Biblical fact.
When “the nations” are spoken of in the book of Revelation it can be interpreted as the nations descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or specifically of Israel, or, alternately, it can be interpreted as all of the nations of the whole world. The words ‘tribe’ and ‘nation’ are interchangeable in some contexts. Revelation 1:6, (“a kingdom of priests”), is a direct reference to Exodus 19:6 which was a promise to the covenant people, Israel. In the New Testament this promise is specifically designated for those in covenant with Christ, both in Revelation 1:6 and in 1 Peter 2:9, showing that they are now the nation called “the Israel of God”.
The descendants of Ishmael are named in Genesis 25:13-15 and are called “Twelve princes according to their ’ûmmâh”. ’Ûmmâh is translated ‘tribes’ by the RSV and ‘nations’ by the KJV. The word is from the root ’êm, which means, according to Strong, “…a mother (as the bond of the family).” The sense of this word in distinction to gôy is probably that of the language or dialect which is naturally that of the mother. The nations of Ishmael probably spoke the tongue of Ishmael’s mother, Hagar, the sojourner, an alien to the household of Abraham.