“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother … If he refuses to listen … let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matt. 18:15,17).
What is the meaning of Gentile here? Anyone who is not an Israelite?
Great question, Chris! This comment has to be read in the historical context in which it was written. The Jews of Jesus’ day didn’t associate with Gentiles or with tax collectors, and would be considered unclean if they did. Gentiles were pagans who worshipped false gods; tax collectors were known to be cheats, to extort money out of people above and beyond what the actual owed taxes were. Therefore, the Jews of the first century A.D., to retain their purity, didn’t keep company with them.
Thanks for the response. What I don’t understand is when you refer to the Jews of the 1st century. The word “Jew”was first used in 1775. There were talmudists, judean’s, israelites, but no Jews at that time. So basically gentile = pagan.
We have to be careful about getting into cognitive details rather than details of the heart and spirit—which are the points of this teaching. However, Jewish people were referred to far before 1775. The word “Jew” is a shortened version of the word yehudi, which denotes a member of the clan of Judah/Yehud. "After the Second Temple period, Judah/Yejud became the heart of Israel, therefore yehudim became a term for all members of the people of Israel." This word is used as early as 2 Kings 16:6, as well as in so many other places in the OT, and in the NT — so far before 1775, when the anti-semitism scholars sought to disrespect the Jewish history and religion. I’ve written an article about that topic, because it’s so crucial. So much perversion has taken place within Biblical scholarship since the perversion of the 18th century, culminating in Wellhausen and all the rest … But that’s too much to write here. Perhaps this article may help your research:
This clarifies a lot, and makes forgiveness easier to understand and do !
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother … If he refuses to listen … let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matt. 18:15,17).
What is the meaning of Gentile here? Anyone who is not an Israelite?
Great question, Chris! This comment has to be read in the historical context in which it was written. The Jews of Jesus’ day didn’t associate with Gentiles or with tax collectors, and would be considered unclean if they did. Gentiles were pagans who worshipped false gods; tax collectors were known to be cheats, to extort money out of people above and beyond what the actual owed taxes were. Therefore, the Jews of the first century A.D., to retain their purity, didn’t keep company with them.
Thanks for the response. What I don’t understand is when you refer to the Jews of the 1st century. The word “Jew”was first used in 1775. There were talmudists, judean’s, israelites, but no Jews at that time. So basically gentile = pagan.
We have to be careful about getting into cognitive details rather than details of the heart and spirit—which are the points of this teaching. However, Jewish people were referred to far before 1775. The word “Jew” is a shortened version of the word yehudi, which denotes a member of the clan of Judah/Yehud. "After the Second Temple period, Judah/Yejud became the heart of Israel, therefore yehudim became a term for all members of the people of Israel." This word is used as early as 2 Kings 16:6, as well as in so many other places in the OT, and in the NT — so far before 1775, when the anti-semitism scholars sought to disrespect the Jewish history and religion. I’ve written an article about that topic, because it’s so crucial. So much perversion has taken place within Biblical scholarship since the perversion of the 18th century, culminating in Wellhausen and all the rest … But that’s too much to write here. Perhaps this article may help your research:
https://www.hartman.org.il/how-did-the-word-jew-become-identified-with-the-jewish-people/
Even from secular sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jew_(word)
I hope this helps with clarification! Your questions and inquiry are all wonderful, and I thank you for your feedback!
Thank you for your thoughtful and articulate response 🙏🏻