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Goy (pl: goyim or goys) is a term for a gentile, a non-Jew, sometimes in a pejorative sense.[1][2][3] The word, of Hebrew origin, was adopted into English from Yiddish.[4] It carries a similar meaning in Modern Hebrew.[5]

The Biblical Hebrew word goy has been commonly translated into English as nation,[6][7] meaning a group of persons of the same ethnic family who speak the same language (rather than the more common modern meaning of a political unit).[8] In the Bible, goy is used to describe both the Nation of Israel and other nations.[9][6][7]

The meaning of the word goy in Hebrew evolved to mean "non-Jew" in the Hellenistic (300 BCE to 30 BCE) and Roman periods, as both Rabbinical texts and then Christian theology placed increasing emphasis on a binary division between Jews and non-Jews.

As a word principally used by Jews to describe non-Jews,[2] it is a term for the ethnic out-group.[10] In modern usage in English, the extent to which goy is derogatory is a point of discussion in the Jewish community.

The word "goy" is sometimes used by white supremacists to refer to themselves when signaling a belief in conspiracy theories about Jews.[11]

Hebrew Bible

[edit]
A page from Elia Levita's Yiddish-Hebrew-Latin-German dictionary (16th century) including the word goy (גוי), translated to Latin as ethnicus, meaning heathen or pagan.[12]

The word goy means "nation" in Biblical Hebrew.[13][14] In the Torah, goy and its variants appear 560 times in reference to both the Israelites and the non-Israelite nations.[15]

The first recorded usage of goyim occurs in Genesis 10:5 and applies to non-Israelite nations. The first mention of goy in relation to the Israelites comes in Genesis 12:2, when God promises Abraham that his descendants will form a goy gadol ("great nation").[16]

There are two exceptions where a "Kingdom of Goyim" is mentioned. One is in Genesis 14:1, where it states that the "King of Goyim" was Tidal. Bible commentaries suggest that the term may refer to Gutium. The other is in Joshua 12:23, where a "King of Goyim in Gilgal" is included in the list of kings slain by Joshua. In all other cases the meaning of goyim is 'nations.'[17][6]

In Exodus 19:6, the Israelites are referred to as a goy kadosh, a "holy nation".[13][18] One of the more poetic descriptions of the chosen people in the Hebrew Bible, and popular among Jewish scholars is goy ehad b'aretz, or "a unique nation upon the earth" (2 Samuel 7:23 and 1 Chronicles 17:21)[19]

Translations of 'goy' in English-language Christian Bibles

[edit]

In English language Christian bibles, nation has been used as the principal translation for goy in the Hebrew Bible, from the earliest English language bibles such as the 1530 Tyndale Bible and the 1611 King James Version.[20][21]

The King James Version of the Bible translates the word goy/goyim as "nation" 374 times, "heathen" 143 times, "Gentile" 30 times (see Evolution of the Term below) and "people" 11 times.[20] The New American Standard Bible translation uses the following words: "every nation" (2 times) Gentiles (1) Goiim (1), Harosheth-hagoyim* (3), herds (1), nation (120), nations (425), people (4).[22]

Evolution of the term

[edit]
See also: Gentile

While the books of the Hebrew Bible often use goy to describe the Israelites, the later Jewish writings of the Hellenistic Period (from approximately 300 BCE to 30 BCE) tended to apply the term to other nations.[13]

Goy acquired the meaning of someone who is not Jewish in the first and second century CE. Before that time, academics Adi Ophir and Ishay Rosen-Zvi have argued, no crystallized dichotomy between Jew and non-Jew existed in Judaism.[23] Ophir and Rosen-Zvi state that the early Jewish convert to Christianity, Paul, was key in developing the concept of "goy" to mean non-Jew:

This brilliant Hellenist Jew [Paul] considered himself the apostle of the Christian gospel "to the gentiles," and precisely because of this he needed to define that category more thoroughly and carefully than his predecessors. Paul made the conception that "goyim" are not "peoples," but rather a general category of human beings, into a central element of his thought [...] In the centuries that followed, both the Church and the Jewish sages evoked Paul's binary dichotomy.

— Haaretz journalist Tomer Persico discussing views of Ophir and Rosen-Zvi[14]

The Latin words gentes/gentilis – which also referred to peoples or nations – began to be used to describe non-Jews in parallel with the evolution of the word goy in Hebrew. Based on the Latin model, the English word "gentile" came to mean non-Jew from the time of the first English-language Bible translations in the 1500s (see Gentile).

The twelfth century Jewish scholar Maimonides defines goy in his Mishneh Torah as a worshipper of idolatry, as he explains, "Whenever we refer to a gentile [goy] without any further description, we mean one who worships false deities".[24] Maimonides saw Christians as idolators (because of concepts like the Trinity) but not Muslims who he saw as more strictly monotheistic.[25]

As a pejorative

[edit]

Goy can be used in a derogatory manner. The Yiddish lexicographer Leo Rosten in The New Joys of Yiddish defines goy as someone who is non-Jewish or someone who is dull, insensitive, or heartless.[26] Goy also occurs in many pejorative Yiddish expressions:

  • Dos ken nor a goy (דאָס קען נאָר אַ גױ) – Something only a goy would do or is capable of doing.[26]
  • A goy blabt a goy (אַ גױ בלאַבט אַ גױ) – "A goy stays a goy"
  • Goyisher kop (גױישער קאָפּ) – "Gentile head," someone who doesn't think ahead, an idiot.[26][27]
  • Goyishe naches (גױישע נחת) – Pleasures or pursuits only a gentile would enjoy.[28]
  • A goy! (!אַ גױ) – Exclamation of exasperation used "when endurance is exhausted, kindliness depleted, the effort to understand useless".[29]

Several authors have opined on whether the word is derogatory. Dan Friedman, executive director of The Forward in "What 'Goy' Means, And Why I Keep Using It" writes that it can be used as an insult but that the word is not offensive.[30] He compares it to the word "foreigners" which Americans can use dismissively but which isn't a derogatory word.[30] Similarly, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) has stated that "goy" is "Not an insult, just kinda sounds like it."[31]

Rebecca Einstein Schorr argues that the word has an established pejorative overtone. She refers to the observation "the goyishe groomsmen were all drunk and bawdy; of course, you'd never see that at a Jewish wedding" and "goyishe kop" where the word is used in a pejorative sense. She admits that the word can have non-pejorative uses, such as "goyishe restaurant" – one that doesn't serve kosher food – but contends that the word is "neutral, at best, and extremely offensive, at worst." She advocates that the Jewish community stop using the word "goy."[27] Andrew Silow Carroll writes:[28]

But the word "goy" has too much historical and linguistic baggage to be used as casually as "non-Jew" or "gentile." It starts with the obvious slurs – like "goyishe kopf," or gentile brains, which suggests (generously) a dullard, or "shikker iz a goy," a gentile is a drunkard. "Goyishe naches" describes the kinds of things that a Jew mockingly presumes only a gentile would enjoy, like hunting, sailing and eating white bread.

Nahma Nadich, deputy director of the Jewish Community Relations of Greater Boston writes:

I definitely see goy as a slur — seldom used as a compliment, and never used in the presence of a non-Jew.

adding[28]

That's a good litmus test: if you wouldn't use a word in the presence of someone you're describing, [there is a] good chance it's offensive.

In antisemitism

[edit]

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, white supremacists have ironically used the term "goy" in reference to themselves as a signal of their belief in conspiracy theories about Jews.[11] For example, a Hungarian antisemitic motorcycle association refers to themselves as the Goyim riders,[32] and in 2020 Kyle Chapman tried to rename the far-right group the Proud Boys to the Proud Goys.[33]

In a similar vein, the far-right American Traditionalist Worker Party, in 2017, created the crowdfunding platform called GoyFundMe, a wordplay on the popular crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.[34]

The Goyim Defense League (GDL) and its website, GoyimTV, are another example.[35][36][37][38][39][40]

Europol's 2021 report on Terrorism Situations and Trends discusses the German Goyim Partei Deutschland ('Goyim Party Germany'), "a right-wing extremist organisation" founded in 2016 which "used its website to publish antisemitic and racist texts, pictures and videos."[41]

The slur is also featured in the far-right catchphrase or meme The Goyim Know, Shut It Down associated with Neo-Nazis on online forums like the 4chan and 8chan. In this context, the "speaker" assumes the role of a "panicking Jew" who reacts to an event that would reveal Jewish "manipulations" or Jewish "deceitfulness".[42]

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the antisemitic meme first appeared on 4chan in 2013.[42] Einstein Schorr called the meme an instance of "linguistic appropriation" whereby Neo-Nazis cynically incorporated "pseudo-Yiddish phrases" into their vocabulary to ridicule Jews. Schorr describes that as a way to propagate the "anti-Semitic myth that we are a cabal with our own secret language and agenda."[27][43]

The Anti-Defamation League further deciphers the catchphrase,[44]

The language is typically used in references to antisemitic conspiracy theories depicting Jews as malevolent puppet-masters, manipulating the media, banks, and even entire governments to the benefit of themselves but to the detriment of other peoples.

See also

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Goy

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from Grokipedia
(Hebrew: גּוֹי, plural goyim; Yiddish: גוי) is a term derived from meaning "" or "people," originally applied to any ethnic or national group, including the themselves. In the , it appears over 550 times to denote nations, as in Genesis 12:2 where God promises Abraham that his descendants will become a "great goy." Adopted into among Ashkenazi Jewish communities, the word evolved in usage to primarily signify non-Jews or Gentiles, reflecting a distinction between the Jewish people and other nations without inherent intent in its linguistic root. While some contemporary discussions debate its tone in informal English contexts—arguing it carries historical baggage akin to ethnic othering—scholarly and traditional Jewish sources maintain it is neutral, equivalent to "foreigner" or "member of another ," and not equivalent to a slur. This evolution underscores broader patterns in Jewish linguistics where biblical terms adapt to cultural separation amid historical exiles and interactions.

Origins and Biblical Context

Etymology in Hebrew

The Hebrew noun goy (גּוֹי), with plural goyim (גּוֹיִם), fundamentally denotes "nation" or "people," referring to a sociopolitical collective bound by shared customs, territory, and destiny. This term appears 556 times in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), where it encompasses both Israelite and non-Israelite groups without initial connotation of otherness or inferiority. For instance, in Exodus 19:6, God describes Israel as a goy kadosh ("holy nation" or "holy people"), equating the term directly with the covenant community. Etymologically, goy functions as a primitive noun in , lacking a clear triconsonantal root derivation typical of many Semitic verbs-turned-nouns, though some linguistic analyses propose connections to Proto-Semitic forms implying a "body" of persons or , such as links to gaw- (back or body) or roots denoting rising/exalting, evoking a gathered multitude. These suggestions align with broader Semitic cognates where similar terms describe ethnic or tribal aggregates, but no consensus exists on a precise proto-form, as the word's usage predates detailed morphological analysis in extant texts. In , it retains the neutral sense of "nation" while increasingly specifying non-Jews, reflecting contextual shifts rather than semantic evolution. The term's application in Hebrew scriptures underscores a descriptive rather than evaluative framework, paralleling synonyms like am ("people") or le'om ("ethnic group"), with goy often emphasizing national sovereignty or foreign powers, as in Genesis 10:5 for post-Flood nations. This biblical foundation prioritizes empirical collective identity over individualistic or pejorative overlays, grounding later interpretive developments in its original polysemous neutrality.

Usage in the Hebrew Bible

In the , the term goy (גּוֹי), often translated as "nation" or "people," refers to a collective body bound by , , or shared identity, appearing 561 times across the Tanakh. This usage is consistently neutral, denoting organized groups without implying inferiority or moral judgment, and applies equally to the and foreign peoples. The word derives from a suggesting or body, evoking a geopolitical or ethnic entity rather than individuals. goy frequently describes the nation of in promissory or covenantal contexts. In Genesis 12:2, tells Abraham, "I will make of you a great nation (goy gadol), and you will be a ," the Israelite people's as a distinct entity. Exodus 19:6 further designates as "a kingdom of and a holy nation (goy kadosh)," underscoring their elected status amid surrounding peoples. Other instances include Isaiah 1:4, labeling a "sinful nation (goy choteh)" in rebuke, and Psalm 33:12, praising the nation (goy) whom has chosen as His inheritance. These applications highlight goy as a descriptor of Israel's collective identity under divine purpose, parallel to its use for others. For non-Israelite groups, goy or the plural goyim (גּוֹיִם) identifies nations, often in genealogical or prophetic lists. Genesis 10 enumerates the goyim descending from Noah's sons, cataloging post-flood ethnic divisions. Deuteronomy 4:6 instructs to observe laws "before the eyes of the nations (goyim)," positioning them as witnesses to surrounding peoples. Prophetic texts like :10 envision a root of Jesse as "an ensign for the nations (goyim)," signaling future inclusion or judgment of foreign entities. Biblical notes that this maintains , treating as one goy among goyim, without hierarchical inherent to the term itself.

Translations in Non-Jewish Scriptures

In the , the of the produced between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE and extensively used in early Christian communities, the Hebrew goy (גּוֹי) is primarily rendered as ethnos (ἔθνος), denoting a "" or ethnic . This preserves the term's original neutral sense of a people united by shared descent, territory, or customs, frequently applying it to non-Israelite groups while distinguishing Israel as laos (λαός), or "chosen people." Such rendering reflects a Hellenistic emphasis on ethnic categorization, influencing subsequent Christian where ethnos extended to usages for Gentiles. Jerome's Vulgate, the late 4th-century CE Latin Bible that became the standard for Western Christianity until the Reformation, translates goy most often as gens (clan or nation by birth) or natio (birth-group or people), aligning with Roman conceptualizations of kinship-based polities. These equivalents underscore collective identity without inherent negativity, though contextual application to foreign nations introduced undertones of otherness in patristic interpretations. For instance, in Genesis 10:5, describing post-flood peoples, the Vulgate uses gentes for goyim, paralleling the Septuagint's ethnē. Vernacular translations for non-Jewish readerships further diversified the term. The King James Version (1611) renders goy as "nation" in 374 cases, "heathen" in 143 (emphasizing paganism, as in Psalm 2:1), and "Gentile" in 30, with the latter drawing from Latin gentilis to evoke non-Jewish status. Similar patterns appear in the Douay-Rheims (1582–1610), a Catholic English version faithful to the , using "nation," "people," or "Gentiles" to convey ethnic or covenantal distinction. These choices, while rooted in philological fidelity, occasionally amplified perceptions of separation in Christian polemics against .

Historical Development

In Rabbinic and Talmudic Literature

In , the term goy (plural goyim) undergoes a semantic consolidation, shifting from its biblical flexibility—where it could denote any nation, including —to a primary designation for non-Israelites, establishing a stark between Jew (Yisrael) and (goy). This development, traced by scholars Ishay Rosen-Zvi and Adi , reflects the rabbinic effort to delineate clear identity boundaries amid Roman imperial pressures and internal communal needs, homogenizing diverse non-Jewish peoples into a singular "Other" category absent in earlier biblical texts that distinguished subgroups like or Canaanites. By the Mishnaic period (circa 200 CE), goy appears over 100 times alongside synonyms like nokhri (foreigner), often in legal contexts without ethnic specificity, treating it as a functional halakhic term rather than a debated ethnic descriptor. In halakhic texts such as the and , goy functions as a technical category for applying laws to non-Jews, rooted in biblical precedents but systematized for rabbinic . For instance, Kiddushin 4:1 lists ten ancestral groups from , implicitly reinforcing the Jew/goy dichotomy by excluding hybrid lineages, while tractates like and use goy in civil disputes, such as rules on returning lost property (e.g., 113b permits withholding from a goy under certain conditions, though later authorities debate this). Prohibitions in (e.g., against commerce with goyim near festivals due to risks) underscore goy as presumptively idolatrous, binding non-Jews to Noahide laws—prohibitions on , , and —while exempting them from full observance. These rulings prioritize Jewish communal integrity, with distinctions like the "" (a non-Jew performing minimal labor on , per Shabbat 1:5 interpretations) allowing pragmatic exceptions but prohibiting direct benefit derivation to avoid violating rest commandments. Aggadic passages in the further elaborate goy theologically, often portraying non-Jews as outside the covenantal framework, yet not uniformly negatively; 13:2 affirms that righteous goyim earn a portion in through Noahide adherence, countering blanket derogation. This binary, however, eliminates biblical gradations (e.g., resident aliens), subsuming them under goy to enforce exclusivity, as analyzed in rabbinic ethnicity studies. Such usage informed later codes like ' (circa 1180 CE), where goy equates to idolaters, though Talmudic sources predate this by centuries and focus on practical demarcation rather than inherent supremacy. Scholarly examinations, drawing from analyses, highlight this as a discursive for survival in , not mere prejudice, though halakhic asymmetries (e.g., stricter penalties for harming than goyim in 57a) reflect covenantal priorities over egalitarian ideals.

Transition to Yiddish and Diaspora Usage

As developed as their vernacular language starting in the region around the 9th to 10th centuries CE, Hebrew terms from biblical and rabbinic sources, including "goy," were directly borrowed without alteration. In this Germanic-Hebrew fusion language spoken by communities across medieval , "goy" (plural "goyim" or "goylem") consistently denoted a non-Jew, mirroring its post-biblical semantic shift while adapting to everyday distinctions in minority Jewish life amid Christian majorities. This integration reflected the practical needs of diaspora existence, where , numbering over 100,000 by the 12th century in the and later migrating eastward to Poland-Lithuania by the 14th-15th centuries, required a concise term for the surrounding populations in trade, law, and social interactions. The word's usage permeated Yiddish folklore, proverbs, and legal texts, such as references to "goyish" customs or individuals, emphasizing separation without inherent valuation until later contexts. By the , as evolved into the primary tongue of approximately 11 million by 1939 across and beyond, "goy" solidified as the standard descriptor for Gentiles in literature and , facilitating cultural preservation amid migrations to the and elsewhere from the onward. Compounds like "shabes goy"—a non-Jew performing tasks—exemplify its embedded role in religious accommodations within host societies, a practice documented in since at least the . This adaptation preserved the term's utility for identity demarcation, grounded in historical segregation rather than novel invention.

Semantic Shifts in Modern Times

Neutral and Descriptive Applications

In modern Yiddish-influenced Jewish vernacular, "goy" functions as a neutral descriptor for non-Jews, employed to denote ethnic or religious distinction without implied superiority or contempt, much like "" in broader English usage. This application appears in casual speech among Orthodox and Hasidic communities to clarify social contexts, such as discussing intermarriage eligibility or ritual participation restrictions under . For example, a speaker might refer to a non-Jewish acquaintance as "a goy" when explaining family dynamics or community boundaries, prioritizing factual categorization over evaluative judgment. A prominent neutral instantiation is the phrase "" (or ""), which designates a non-Jew who assists with otherwise prohibited labors on the , such as lighting fires or carrying items—tasks permitted when performed by outsiders under Jewish law. This role, documented in historical and contemporary accounts from Eastern European Jewish shtetls to urban American settings, reflects pragmatic reliance on non-Jews rather than , with the term appearing in contexts as a matter-of-fact label for cooperative neighbors as late as 2016. Linguistic analyses affirm that such usages retain the word's descriptive core, absent intent unless contextually amplified. In English-language Jewish media and literature, "goy" surfaces descriptively in analyses of cultural or interfaith interactions, distinguishing non-Jewish participants without normative freight. For instance, discussions of assimilation or holiday observances may use it to delineate "goyishe" () customs, as in references to trees or consumption, serving ethnographic precision over critique. This mirrors its adoption as a in since the early , where it conveys neutral otherness in sociological observations of life.

Emergence of Pejorative Undertones

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as Yiddish-speaking emigrated en masse from to urban centers like New York—numbering over 2 million arrivals between 1880 and 1924—the term "goy" increasingly acquired undertones in usage, often connoting cultural , unreliability, or inferiority relative to Jewish norms. This shift reflected the insularity of immigrant enclaves amid pervasive and economic competition, where internal slang emphasized out-group differences, as seen in theater and depicting "goyim" as coarse or untrustworthy figures. Scholarly analyses trace these connotations to a broader rabbinic legacy of categorizing non-Jews as "goy" in halakhic texts from the medieval period onward, evolving from neutral "nation" to a marker of ritual and ethical otherness, though explicit derogation intensified in colloquialism rather than formal literature. Expressions like "goyishe kop" (literally "gentile head," implying dullness or poor judgment) illustrate this modern pejoration, appearing in Yiddish prose and humor by authors such as (1859–1916), where non-Jews are lampooned for embodying traits antithetical to Jewish wit and resilience. Such usages were typically confined to in-group speech, contrasting with public adoption of "" to avoid offense, a distinction noted in early 20th-century American Jewish . While not universally derogatory—retaining descriptive neutrality in religious contexts—the term's baggage from centuries of minority status under Christian dominance contributed to its loaded tone, as acknowledged in Jewish cultural commentary. This emergence parallels other ethnic slurs born of survivalist , grounded in empirical patterns of and pogroms rather than inherent , though critics from both Jewish and non-Jewish perspectives have debated its implications for .

Controversies and External Perceptions

Claims of Inherent Derogation or Supremacism

Critics contend that the term "goy," as employed in to denote non-Jews, inherently embeds by framing gentiles as an undifferentiated category inferior to the Jewish elect, thereby underpinning distinctions in law and theology. Ishay Rosen-Zvi and Adi Ophir trace the rabbinic emergence of "goy" as a binary "category of difference" lacking intrinsic content beyond defining through exclusion, yet note its association in aggadic texts with gentiles as "" to or akin to non-viable entities, implying ontological . This categorization, they argue, crystallized in tannaitic sources post-70 CE, shifting from biblical neutrality to a universalized non-Jewish "Other"—primarily the idolatrous pagans of the surrounding Roman world—subject to ritual and ethical separation. Halakhic applications amplify these claims, with Talmudic and medieval codes applying disparate rules to goyim, such as exemptions from returning lost gentile property or prioritizing Jewish life in moral dilemmas, interpreted as codifying lesser status. , citing primary sources like ' Mishneh Torah (Laws of Murderers 2:11), documents rulings where killing a goy incurs no capital penalty equivalent to killing a Jew, and Talmudic entries on "goy" affirm unequal protections, positing this as reflective of a supremacist treating non-Jews as outside full humanity. Similarly, passages like 57a, equating goy birth to that of a wild animal in legal valuation, are invoked to argue inherent . Proponents of these interpretations, including Shahak—a Hebrew University professor and advocate—maintain that such terminology and laws derive from a classical Jewish prioritizing covenantal exclusivity, fostering attitudes of inferiority amid historical insularity, rather than mere survival responses. These claims persist in critiques highlighting how rabbinic binaries enable discriminatory praxis, such as wartime leniencies toward goyim or restrictions on by non-Jews ( 59a), viewed as supremacist barriers. While mainstream Jewish scholarship often contextualizes these as relics of or idolatry-specific, and includes positive references to righteous gentiles who observe the Noahide laws as meriting a share in the world to come (Sanhedrin 105a), the textual asymmetry—absent reciprocal obligations—fuels assertions of embedded derogation, with institutional defenses potentially influenced by sensitivities to antisemitic exploitation.

Antisemitic Interpretations and Reappropriations

Antisemitic interpretations frequently depict "goy" as a derogatory label implying the or subhuman status of non-Jews, often asserting that the term equates gentiles with animals or —including unfounded etymological myths purporting a linguistic connection to words meaning "cattle"—to justify exploitation or dominance. This view draws from selective Talmudic citations, such as fabricated or out-of-context passages purportedly permitting harm to non-, which antisemitic propagandists link directly to the word's usage. For example, Nazi-era posters claimed refer to non-Jews as "goy" precisely because they regard them as rather than humans, framing the term as proof of inherent Jewish contempt. These interpretations, disseminated in works like The Talmud Unmasked (1892) by , rely on mistranslations and forgeries to allege systemic , ignoring the Hebrew root goy meaning "nation" without pejorative connotation in biblical or classical contexts. Reappropriations of "goy" and "goyim" by antisemitic groups invert the term to symbolize gentile awakening and resistance against perceived Jewish influence. The (GDL), a neo-Nazi network founded in 2018 by , explicitly adopts "goyim" in its name to "defend" non-Jews from alleged conspiracies, conducting stunts like banner drops and flyer campaigns with and slurs targeting synagogues and Jewish individuals. The group has escalated activities, including a 2023 San Diego incident where members shouted antisemitic epithets from a van adorned with hate symbols. Online far-right communities further reappropriate the term through memes like "The Goyim Know, Shut It Down," which originated on platforms such as around 2013 and portrays stereotypical panicking over gentiles uncovering supposed plots for control, implying Jewish conspiracies being exposed to non-Jews ("goyim"). This phrase, often paired with images of alarmed Jewish figures, reinforces narratives of hidden agendas, appeared on signs at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, and has proliferated on sites like , amplifying claims of "goy" as a supremacist insider term. Such usages, while claiming empowerment, perpetuate distortions that misrepresent Jewish textual traditions to fuel broader antisemitic ideologies.

Jewish Defenses and Internal Debates

Many Jewish authorities maintain that "goy" is a neutral biblical term denoting "nation," applicable even to the Jewish people themselves, as in Exodus 19:6, where is described as a "goy kadosh" (holy nation). This etymology underscores its descriptive rather than derogatory function, distinguishing it from slurs by lacking inherent malice or dehumanization; rabbinic texts, including the , employ it to refer to non-Jews without implying inferiority, though contextually emphasizing ritual or covenantal differences. Defenders, such as Orthodox commentators, argue that equating "goy" with ethnic slurs ignores its scriptural parity—Jews are called a "goy gadol" (great nation) in Genesis 12:2—and reflects external misinterpretations rather than Jewish intent. In response to accusations of supremacism, Jewish writers have asserted that the term's persistence in vernacular and Hebrew serves practical identification, akin to "," without promoting exclusion; for example, phrases like "" historically denoted non- aiding observant Jews on the , often positively. Critics of deeming it offensive, including columnists in Jewish outlets, contend that yielding to antisemitic reclamations—such as white self-applying "goy" in conspiratorial memes—cedes linguistic ground unnecessarily, as the word's core meaning remains benign and biblically rooted. Internal Jewish discourse reveals divisions, particularly between traditionalists who view "goy" as unproblematic and more assimilationist or voices wary of its potential to alienate. Orthodox and Haredi communities routinely use it descriptively in and daily speech, seeing critiques as over-sensitized to gentile perceptions. Conversely, some progressive Jews and interfaith advocates argue it carries exclusionary undertones in modern contexts, potentially marginalizing converts, patrilineal Jews, or mixed families by implying perpetual outsider status; a 2019 analysis noted concerns that "goy" could "weaponize" identity boundaries, prompting calls for alternatives like "non-Jew" to foster inclusivity. These debates often intersect with broader tensions over Jewish particularism versus , with defenders prioritizing textual fidelity over contemporary offense risks.

References

  1. https://www.jewfaq.org/attitudes_toward_gentiles
  2. https://www.balashon.com/2016/06/am-goy-leom-and-uma.html
  3. https://www.ou.org/life/inspiration/jewish-n-word/
  4. https://jel.jewish-languages.org/words/202
  5. https://www.jta.org/2019/04/22/culture/is-goy-a-slur
  6. http://biblehub.com/hebrew/1471.htm
  7. https://bam.sites.uiowa.edu/RTL/goy
  8. https://www.etymonline.com/word/goy
  9. https://academic.oup.com/book/25492/chapter/192709956
  10. https://jewishlink.news/hebrew-words-for-nation-people-part-ii-am-and-goy/
  11. https://godsverse.org/goyim-in-the-bible/
  12. https://academic.oup.com/book/25492/chapter/192713363
  13. https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/studies-interpretation/jews-the-greeks-and-the-gentiles-who-are-they.htm
  14. https://www.franknelte.net/article.php?article_id=174
  15. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1471/kjv/wlc/0-1/
  16. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1471.htm
  17. https://academic.oup.com/book/25492/chapter/192716731
  18. https://humanities.tau.ac.il/segel/adiophir/files/2015/08/Rosen-Zvi-and-Ophir-Goy-Toward-a-Genealogy.pdf
  19. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.4159/9780674293717-021/html
  20. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/327/oa_edited_volume/chapter/2630773
  21. https://www.etzion.org.il/en/philosophy/issues-jewish-thought/rabbinic-thought/talmudic-attitudes-gentiles-2
  22. https://www.ancientjewreview.com/read/2019/2/18/why-goy
  23. https://thetalmud.blog/2018/12/12/ophir-and-rosen-zvis-goy/
  24. https://www.ancientjewreview.com/read/2019/2/25/ethnic-and-cultural-identities-in-the-rabbinic-goy-discourse
  25. https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=47985
  26. https://brill.com/display/book/9789004525214/BP000001.xml
  27. https://www.yivo.org/Good-Goy-Bad-Goy
  28. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/386368828_YIDDISH_FOOTPRINTS_THE_SILENT_INFLUENCE_ON_AMERICAN_ENGLISH_STANDARD_JAPANESE_REGIONAL_POLISH_AND_ARGENTINIAN_SPANISH
  29. https://dokumen.pub/a-goy-who-speaks-yiddish-christians-and-the-jewish-language-in-early-modern-germany-9780804782821.html
  30. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/jacob-esau/esau-the-goy-jewish-and-german-ethnic-myths-18911945/7E7C663D8B8990AE255B5B9432123309
  31. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/goy
  32. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377467673_Words_at_the_Boundaries_An_Exploration_of_Derogatory_Terms_for_Outsiders_in_World_Religions
  33. https://beyondbt.com/2013/08/13/using-the-g-word-in-reference-to-non-jews/
  34. https://forward.com/news/335842/when-being-a-good-shabbos-goy-is-great-for-business/
  35. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/what-is-the-correct-term-for-someone-who-is-not-jewish/
  36. https://forward.com/life/380684/goyim-origin-goy-usage/
  37. https://momentmag.com/jewish-word-gentile/
  38. https://www.academia.edu/34824925/_The_Complicated_Goy_in_Classical_Rabbinic_Sources_in_Perceiving_the_Other_in_Ancient_Judaism_and_Early_Christianity_Mohr_Siebeck_2017_pp_147_167
  39. https://en-law.tau.ac.il/sites/law-english.tau.ac.il/files/media_server/Law/LAW%2520REVIEWS/DINI%2520ISRAEL/Publications-%252026-29/28/eng/28-en-Goy.%2520Toward%2520A%2520Genealogy.%2520Ishay%2520Rosen-Zvi%2520and%2520Adi%2520Ophir.pdf
  40. https://library.yctorah.org/2016/07/unequal-justice-does-halakha-tolerate-unethical-behavior-towards-the-other-part-2-acts-against-property/
  41. https://matzpen.org/english/1981-10-10/the-jewish-religion-and-its-attitude-to-non-jews-appendix-israel-shahak/
  42. https://www.fisheaters.com/shahak5.html
  43. https://vocal.media/journal/the-dark-side-of-talmud
  44. https://www.connexions.org/CxLibrary/Docs/CxP-Shahak_Israel.htm
  45. https://www.jcrelations.net/articles/article/antisemitism-a-view-from-within-the-rabbinic-legal-tradition.html
  46. https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/2011-2020/Hammer%2520Teshuvah%2520Final.pdf
  47. https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.105a
  48. https://ohpi.org.au/antisemitism-based-on-the-talmud/
  49. https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1069706
  50. https://extremism.gwu.edu/goyim-defense-league-gdl
  51. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/goyim-defense-league
  52. https://www.isdglobal.org/explainers/goyim-defense-league-gdl/
  53. https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/goyim-knowshut-it-down
  54. https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/the-goyim-know
  55. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6969635/jewish/What-Does-Goy-Mean.htm
  56. https://forward.com/life/381035/why-i-wont-stop-using-the-term-goy/
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