ἔθνος

ἔθνος — éthnos

ἔθνος, ἔθνους, τό:

1. a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together; a company, troop, swarm: ἔθνος ἑταίρων, ἔθνος Ἀχαιων, ἔθνος λαῶν, Homer, Iliad; ἔθνος μελισσαων, 2, 87; μυιαων ἐθνεα, ibid. 469.

2. "a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus (τό ἔθνος τό θῆλυ ἤ ἀρρεν, Xenophon, oec. 7, 26): πᾶν ἔθνος ἀνθρώπων, the human race, Act 17:26 (but this seems to belong under the next entry).

3. race, nation: Mat 21:43; Act 10:35, etc.; ἔθνος ἐπί ἔθνος, Mat 24:7; Mar 13:8 : οἱ ἄρχοντες, οἱ βασιλεῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν, Mat 20:25; Luk 22:25; used (in the singular) of the Jewish people, Luk 7:5; Luk 23:2; Joh 11:48; Joh 11:50-53; Joh 18:35; Act 10:22; Act 24:2,;.

4. (τά ἔθνη, like הַגויִם in the O. T., foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles, (cf. Trench, § xcviii.): Mat 4:15 (Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν),; (3Jn 1:7 R G; cf. Rev 15:3 G L T Tr WH marginal reading after Joh 10:7), and very often; in plain contradistinction to the Jews: Rom 3:29; Rom 9:24; (1Co 1:23 G L T Tr WH): Gal 2:8, etc.; ὁ λαός (τοῦ Θεοῦ, Jews) καί τά ἔθνη, Luk 2:32; Act 26:17; Act 26:23; Rom 15:10.

5. Paul uses τά ἔθνη even of Gentile Christians: Rom 11:13; Rom 15:27; Rom 16:4; Gal 2:12 (opposite Gal 2:13 to οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, i. e. Jewish Christians), Gal 2:14; Eph 3:1, cf. Eph 4:17 (Winers Grammar, § 59, 4 a.; Buttmann, 130 (114)).