Nation is a distinct people united by a common identity, history, and heritage under God's sovereign ordering.
In Scripture, a nation is primarily a people rather than a political state. Nations arise as God orders humanity into distinct peoples with their own identities, languages, and histories. Governments may rise and fall, borders may change, and kingdoms may be conquered, yet a nation may continue to exist because its identity rests in its people rather than its political power. Israel is the preeminent covenant nation in Scripture, while the church is described as a holy nation—not a political kingdom, but a people set apart to God from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.
See in Scripture: Genesis 10:32; Genesis 11:1–9; Deuteronomy 32:8; Acts 17:26; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 7:9