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Goy is a Hebrew word meaning "nation" or "people". The first use of Goy (plural, Goyim) in the Hebrew Bible is in Genesis 10:1, in reference to non-Israelite nations. Its first use in reference to Israelites is in Genesis 12:2, where Abraham is promised that his descendants will form a goy gadol or great nation. The word (in its various forms) is used over 550 times in the Hebrew Bible; in the earlier books it more often refers to the Israelites, but in the later books it more often refers to non-Israelite nations. As a result, in Hebrew and Yiddish goy has come to refer to a member of the Gentile (i.e. non-Jewish) nations. While its use in Hebrew and Yiddish is neutral, its use in English is usually considered derogatory, and many Hebrew and Yiddish speakers have come to see it that way in those tongues as well. As a result, it has somewhat fallen out of favour, and in recent decades written works in Hebrew and Yiddish have begun using circumlocutions which generally translate as "non-Jew" instead.
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