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Gentile

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A non-Jewish person or nation. In biblical writing, the word often contrasts with Israel.

Detailed Definition
Gentile is a biblical term for peoples outside the Jewish community, especially in religious or scriptural contexts. Byron uses it here to give the poem a solemn, scriptural sweep as he describes the downfall of an empire.
Example
Example in poetry:
“And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword” uses the biblical term for a non-Jewish people or nation; in biblical translations, “Gentiles” commonly contrasts with Israel; “The prophet calls the Gentile kings from beyond the sea” imitates scriptural diction without using the term as insult; “A modern poem may examine how the old division of Jew and Gentile shaped inheritance and exile” supplies historical context
Additional Notes
The word in the quoted line is a religious-historical term that may not be familiar to all readers.; Found in the poem, The Destruction of Sennacherib by Lord Byron
Also Known As
non-Jew outsider foreigner
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