ἀλλόφυλος (allophulos)
allophulos
foreign
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adjective allophulos denotes someone who is foreign or belongs to a different tribe or race. In the New Testament, it serves as a direct counterpart to a Jew, identifying a Gentile by ethnic distinction rather than religious belief alone. The term is constructed from words meaning "other" and "tribe," emphasizing a fundamental difference in lineage.
This word appears only once in the Greek New Testament, in Acts 10:28. Here, Peter explains why he entered the home of the Roman centurion Cornelius, noting that it was unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit an allophulos. The usage highlights the strict social and religious boundaries that existed between Jewish and non-Jewish communities in the first century.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word allophulos marks a deep social divide in the first century, separating Jews from Gentiles by lineage and custom. In Acts 10:28, Peter admits that associating with an allophulos was considered unlawful, reflecting the strict boundaries of his time.
Yet this boundary dissolves when divine guidance interrupts human tradition. The narrative shows that God does not respect these ethnic barriers. Instead, He opens doors where people once saw walls, inviting us to see others through His lens of grace rather than our own cultural filters.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- to [someone] foreign;1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἀλλοφύλῳ·1×
Key Verses
-
Acts 10:28
He said to them, “You yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another nation, but God has shown me that I shouldn’t call any man unholy or unclean.
Peter uses this term to acknowledge the legal and social prohibition against Jewish-Gentile association, which God then overrides in this pivotal moment.