# Gentile

## Facts

A Gentile is a person who is not a descendant of Jacob or of his twelve sons. Gentiles, then, are people who are not Jews.

* In Scripture, Gentiles are occasionally referred to as the "uncircumcised" because many of them did not circumcise their male children as the Israelites did.
* Because God chose the Jews to be his special people, they thought of the Gentiles as outsiders who could never be God's people.
* The Jews were also called Israelites or Hebrews at different times in history. Everyone else was called a Gentile.
* Gentile could also be translated as "not a Jew" or "non-Jewish" or "not an Israelite" (Old Testament).
* Traditionally, Jews would not eat with Gentiles, which initially caused problems within the early church.