|
DIRECTORY
Home
General LDS Information
Basic LDS Beliefs
LDS Videos
Critics' Questions
Submitted Questions
Scriptures/LDS Literature
Genealogy/Family
LDS Temples
Missionary
Music and Arts
LDS Online Stores
Priesthood, Humor, Miscel.
Site Map
Suggest a Site
Now accepting banner ads!
|
|
JOHN - I have been listening to Ludlow's talk on the Middle East and he talks of the genealogy of the arib nations back to Abraham. We know that the African & Egyptions came through Noah's son Ham, what son did the "Gentiles" come from?
JOEL - The definition of what a Gentile is depends on who you are takling to and during what period of earths history you are refering to.
The descendants of Noah's oldest son Japheth were called Gentiles:
"Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations." (Gen. 10:1-5).
And in this sense the descendants of Shem (ancestor of Abraham) and Ham (ancestor of the black race) would not be Gentiles.
Later on however if you asked Abraham who a Gentile was, he would have said anyone who had not descended from him.
In the days of ancient Israel, those not of the lineage of Jacob were considered to be Gentiles, although the Arabs and other races of Semitic origin who traced their lineage back to Abraham would not have been Gentiles in the strict Abrahamic use of the word.
After Israel was destroyed and the ten tribes were led away into captivity, the kingdom of Judah (the Jews), decided that anyone who was not a Jew was a Gentile.
And in our day, if you asked a Mormon he would say that a Gentile was anyone(including Jews) who is not a Mormon :-)
But if you want an answer in terms of the sons of Noah then it would have to be those who were descendants of his eldest son Japheth as I explained above.
If you use Abraham's definition in the blessing the Lord gave to Abraham he extended favors even to the Gentiles:
"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;
And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their Father."(Abraham 2:9-10.)
So anyone who receives the Gospel can be adopted into the House of Israel and would no longer be considered a Gentile.
|
|
|
