Genovesi, Antonio, an Italian metaphysician, was born at Castiglione Nov. 1, 1712. He studied the- olog}^ at Salerno, and was ordained priest in 1736. He lectured on philosophy at Naples with great reputa- tion for some time, but at length he was attacked I13' numerous enemies for puldishing his metaphysics, in ■which he recommended the works of Galileo, Grotius, and Newton. He was protected by the archbishop of Tarentum, and by the king of Naples, who made him professor of moral philosoijhy, and even of theology', in the Neapolitan university. In 1754 the chair of political economj'' was founded for him., and he contin- ued to teach this science until his death in 1769. He •was the author of Eltmcnlu Metaphysirce (Naples, 1744, et sq., 5 vols. 8vo) : — Element, art. logico-cnticie (1745, 8vo). In these books he followed D'Alembert and Helvetius. He published also Ekmenta Theahgim (Na- ples, 1751), which caused him to be interdicted by the Church from teaching theology. A historical eulogy of Genovesi was published \>\ Galanti (Venice, 1774, 8vo). — Iloefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, xix, 932.
Genoveva. See Genevikve.
Geiiovevans. See Genevikve, Orders of.
Gentile (usuall}' in the plur. Cl'IS, goyim'; Sept. and N. T. t^vii). The Hebrew word "^15, a people, is derived from the obsolete verb ri^5, to floiv together, as a croird, and was originalh' used in a general sense of any nation, including the Jews themselves, both in the singular (Gen. xii, 2; Deut. xxxii, 28; Isa. i, 4), and in the plural (Gen. xxxv, 11). It is also used po- etically (like the Gr. tOvia, Hom. //. ii, 87; Od. xiv, 73, and the Latin gentcs,Yirir. Georg. iv, 430) of insects and animals (Joel i, 6 ; Zeph. ii, 14).
But as the sense of a peculiar privilege dawned on the minds of the Jewish people, they began to confine the word C^ir; to other nations (Neh. v, 8), and al- though at first it did not connote anj' nnjileasant asso- ciations, it began gradually to acquire a hostile sense, which never attached itself tp the other terms, nSIU.'?, tongues (Isa. Ixvi, 18), or W''!ZV'n, the peoples. In pro- portion as the Jews began to pride themselves upon
being "the first-born of God" (Exod. iv, 22), "the people of the covenant," "a hoh^ nation, and a king- dom of priests" (Exod. xix, 4), they learned to use the indifferent expression Goy'im to imply that all oth- er nations were more or less barbarous (Psa. ii, 1, 8; ix, 7; x,16; cvi, 47), profane (Jer. xxxi, 10; Ezek. xxiii, 30), idolatrous, uncircumcised, and unclean (Isa. Hi, 1 ; Jer. ix, 26). Thus age after age the word be- came more invidious, and acquired a significance even more contemptuous than that of the Greek jianjiapog, which, being an onomatopoeia to imitate the strange sound of foreign tongues, is paralleled by the Hebrew T^]3, 5^'?, a stammerer, applied to foreigners in Psa. cxiv, 1 ; Isa. xxviii, 11 ; xxxiii, 19. The word C^ia gains its last tinge of hatred as applied b^- Jews to all Christians. Other expressions, intended to point out the same distinction, are used with a shade less of scorn ; such, for instance, as D^2"ji^nri (see Buxtorf, Ler. col. 723), o't tt(.j, those without, which is Hebrais- tically used in the N. T. (1 Tim. iii, 9. See Otho, Lex. Rah. p. Ill ; Schottgen, Ilor. Ilehr. in 1 Cor. v, 12. In Mark iv, 11 it is applied to the incredulous Jews them- selves); and T'^zh'Z'C,, kingdoms (1 Chron. xxix, SO). The Jews applied the terms m^^S, lands, and, ac- cording to some Rabbis, C'll Ti'i'lp, region of the sea, to all countries except Palestine, just as the Greeks dis- tinguished between Hellas and »'/ j3cipi3apog (2 Chron. xiii, 9 ; xvii, 10 ; Ezra ix, 1 ; Luke xii, 30 ; Lightfoot, Centitria Chorcgr. i, ad init.). Although the Jews thus separated between themselves and other nations, they hesitated as little as the Romans did to include them- selves in the Greek term ftanjioaoc (Josephus, Ant. xi, 7, 1 ; comp. Justin Mar. Ajwl. i, 46), See B.\KnAuiAN.
In the N. T, 'iQvi] (although sometimes used in the singular of the Jewish nation, Acts x, 22 ; Luke vii, 5) is generallj' opposed to Israel (jiji Xatij Qioi'), God's people (Luke ii, 32). But the term most frequently thus rendered is (not t6i'j;,but)"EAX»;j'fc, which is dis- tinguished from ' E\\i]i'ir7Tai (Acts vi, 1), and, although literally meaning Greeks (as in Acts xvi, 1, 3; xviii, 17 ; Rom. i, 14), yet usually denotes any non-Jews, be- cause of the general prevalence of the Greek language (Rom. i, 16, and passim ; 1 Cor. i, 22 ; Gal. iii, 28, etc.). Thus Timothy, who was of Lystra, is called "EWrjv (Acts xvi, 1, 3), and a Syrophoenician woman 'EXX?;- j'/'c (Mark vii, 26), and the Jews of the Dispersion, ?/ ciaaiTopa tmv 'EXXijvwv (John vii, 35). This usage is even found in the a])ocryphal writings, where f'XXj/j'icr- J.WQ is made a s^-nonym to aXXo^vXicrpoc (2 Mace, iv, 13), and ru iXXijviKu t9i] are pagan morals (vi, 9); and even so early as the Sept. version of Isa. ix, 12, eXXiivic is adopted as a rendering of CFl w?2, Philis- tines. In the Greek fathers 'EXX>j1'((t/(oc is used for the pagan, in contradistinction to the Christian Avorld (Justin jMart. Resp. ad Qiiast. 42, etc.), and they call their Apologies Adyoi Trpog'EXXijj'ag, or Kara EXXr;- VW7' (Schleusner, -Ze.r. N. T. ii, 759). See Gueek.