Bible Dictionaries
Goiim

Holman Bible Dictionary

(gawi' ihm) Proper name meaning, “nation,” particularly a “Gentile, foreign nation.” 1. Land whose King Tidal joined the eastern coalition against a coalition from Sodom and Gomorrah. This action led to a war in which Abraham became involved (Genesis 14:1 ). To which nation the general term “Goiim” applies here is uncertain. Some would suggest the Hittites, since several Hittite kings between 1750,1200 B.C. were named Tudhaliya or Tidal. Others point to the Manda people, barbarian invaders who entered Mesopotamia about 2000 B.C. and had some association with Elamites. Goiim may mean a coalition of Hittite, Luvian, and/or other peoples. One Greek manuscript tradition points to Pamphylia, which means “rich in peoples.” 2. Joshua 12:23 lists a king of Goiim in Gilgal as one Joshua conquered. The earliest Greek translation reads “king of goiim of Galilee,” a reading many Bible students adopt since the immediate context refers to areas near Galilee and the copyist would easily write Gilgal since it plays such an important role in the early narratives of Joshua. Whatever the correct reading, we do not know the precise location or peoples referred to. 3. Isaiah 9:1 also refers to Galilee of the nations. This may represent the Hebrew way of referring to Assyria's governmental district which the Assyrians called Megiddo. Assyria controlled this region after its wars with Israel in 733 and in 722 B.C. 4. In Judges 4:2 Sisera's residence was in Harosheth of the Gentiles (KJV) or Harosheth-ha-goiim (NRSV). See Harosheth-hagoiim .