The term "Grecians" in the Bible refers to individuals of Greek origin or those who adopted Greek culture and language. This term is particularly significant in the context of the Hellenistic period, following the conquests of Alexander the Great, which led to the widespread dissemination of Greek culture and language across the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East.

Old Testament Context

In the Old Testament, the influence of Greek culture is not directly mentioned, as the primary focus is on the Israelites and their interactions with neighboring nations such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Persians. However, the prophetic books, such as Daniel, allude to the rise of Greek power. Daniel 8:21 identifies the "shaggy goat" as the "king of Greece," a prophecy concerning the rise of Alexander the Great and the subsequent Hellenistic influence.

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, the term "Grecians" is often used to describe Hellenistic Jews—Jews who spoke Greek and were influenced by Greek culture. This is distinct from the "Hebrews," who were Jews adhering more closely to traditional Jewish customs and the Hebrew language. The distinction between these groups is evident in Acts 6:1 : "In those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews began to grumble against the Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food."

The spread of the Gospel in the Hellenistic world is a significant theme in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul, a Roman citizen and a Jew, was particularly effective in ministering to both Jews and Gentiles in Greek-speaking regions. His missionary journeys, as recorded in the Book of Acts, took him to many Greek cities, including Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus, where he engaged with both Jews and Gentiles.

Cultural and Religious Influence

The Hellenistic influence on Jewish culture and religion was profound. The translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, known as the Septuagint, was a crucial development during this period. This translation made the Hebrew Scriptures accessible to the Greek-speaking world and played a significant role in the spread of Judaism and later Christianity.

The Grecian influence also posed challenges to Jewish religious identity, as seen in the Maccabean Revolt, which was a response to the forced Hellenization under the Seleucid Empire. This tension between maintaining Jewish identity and engaging with Greek culture is a recurring theme in Jewish history during the Second Temple period.

Theological Implications

The presence of Grecians in the early Christian community highlights the universal nature of the Gospel message. The early Church's ability to bridge cultural and linguistic divides is a testament to the transformative power of the Gospel. The inclusion of Grecians and other Gentiles into the faith community underscores the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that "all nations on earth will be blessed" through his offspring (Genesis 22:18).

The Apostle Paul's writings further emphasize the breaking down of cultural barriers in Christ. In Galatians 3:28 , Paul declares, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." This unity in diversity is a foundational principle of the Christian faith, reflecting the inclusive nature of God's redemptive plan.Hellenists, Greek-Jews; Jews born in a foreign country, and thus did not speak Hebrew (Acts 6:1; 9:29), nor join in the Hebrew services of the Jews in Palestine, but had synagogues of their own in Jerusalem. Joel 3:6 =Greeks. GRECIANS; GREEKS

gre'-shanz, greks: In the Old Testament the word "Grecians" occurs but once (Joel 3 (4):6). For references to Greece in the Old Testament see JAVAN. In the King James Version of the Old Testament Apocrypha "Grecians" and "Greeks" are used without distinction, e.g. 1 Maccabees 1:10; 6:02; 8:09; 2 Maccabees 4:15, 36. Thus, in 1 Maccabees 1:1, Alexander the Great is spoken of as king of Greece, and in 1 Maccabees 1:10 the Macedonian empire is called "the kingdom of the Greeks" (basileia Hellenon). In 2 Maccabees 13:2 the army of Antiochus, king of Syria, is called "Grecian" (dunamis Hellenike), and in 2 Maccabees 6:8 the "Greek cities" (poleis Hellenides) are Macedonian colonies. Reference is made in 2 Maccabees 6:1 to an aged Athenian who was sent by Antiochus the king charged with the duty of Hellenizing the Jews; in 2 Maccabees 9:15 Antiochus vows that he will make the Jews equal to the Athenians; in 1 Maccabees 12-14, reference is made to negotiations of Jonathan, the high priest, with the Spartans, whom he calls brethren, seeking the renewal of a treaty of alliance and amity against the Syrians. With the spread of Greek power and influence, everything not specifically Jewish was called Greek; thus in 2 Maccabees 4:36; 11:02; 3 Maccabees 3:3, 1 the "Greeks" contrasted with the Jews are simply non-Jews, so called because of the prevalence of Greek institutions and culture, and "Greek" even came to be used in the sense of "anti-Jewish" (2 Maccabees 4:10, 15; 6:09; 11:24).

In Isaiah 9:12 the Septuagint reads tous Hellenas, for Pelishtim, "Philistines"; but we are not therefore justified in assuming a racial connection between the Philistines and the Greeks. Further light on the ethnography of the Mediterranean

basin may in time show that there was actually such a connection; but the rendering in question proves nothing, since "the oppressing sword" of Jeremiah 46:16 and 50:16 is likewise rendered in the Septuagint with "the sword of the Greeks" (machaira Hellenike). In all these cases the translators were influenced by the conditions existing in their own day, and were certainly not disclosing obscure relations long forgotten and newly discovered.

In the New Testament, English Versions of the Bible attempts to distinguish between (Hellenes), which is rendered "Greeks," and (Hellenistai), which is rendered "Grecians" or "Grecian Jews," or in the Revised Version, margin "Hellenists," e.g. Acts 6:1; Acts 9:29. These latter were Jews of the Dispersion, who spoke Greek (see HELLENISM; HELLENIST), as distinguished from Palestinian Jews; but since many of the latter also spoke Greek by preference, the distinction could in no sense be absolute. Indeed in John 7:35, "the Dispersion among (the Revised Version, margin, Greek "of") the Greeks," can hardly refer to any but "Grecian Jews" (Hellenistai), although Hellenes is used, and in John 12:20 the "Greeks" (Hellenes) who went up to worship at the feast of the Passover were almost certainly "Grecian Jews" (Hellenistai). Thus, while English Versions of the Bible consistently renders Hellenes with "Greeks," we are not by that rendering apprised of the real character of the people so designated. This difficulty is aggravated by the fact, already noted in connection with the Old Testament Apocrypha, that, in consequence of the spread of Hellenism, the term Hellenes was applied not only to such as were of Hellenic descent, but also to all those who had appropriated the language of Greece, as the universal means of communication, and the ideals and customs collectively known as Hellenism. The latter were thus in the strict sense Hellenists, differing from the "Grecians" of English Versions of the Bible only in that they were not of Jewish descent. In other words, Hellenes (except perhaps in John 7:35 and 12:20, as noted above) is, in general, equivalent to ta ethne, "Gentiles" (see GENTILES). The various readings of the manuscripts (and hence the difference between the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American)) in 1 Corinthians 1:23 well illustrate this. There is consequently much confusion, which it is quite impossible, with our limited knowledge of the facts in particular cases, to clear up. In general, it would seem probable that where "Greeks" are comprehensively contrasted with "Jews," the reference is to "Gentiles," as in Acts 14:1; Acts 17:4; Acts 18:4; 19:10, 17; 20:21 Romans 1:16; Romans 10:12 1 Corinthians 1:22-24 (the Revised Version (British and American) "Gentiles," representing ethnesin; Galatians 3:28 Colossians 3:11. In Mark 7:26 the woman of Tyre, called "a Greek (the Revised Version, margin "Gentile") a Syrophoenician," was clearly not of Hellenic descent. Whether Titus (Galatians 2:3) and the father of Timothy; (Acts 16:1, 3) were in the strict sense "Greeks," we have no means of knowing. In Romans 1:14, "I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians," there is an undoubted reference to Greeks strictly so called; possibly, though by no means certainly, the "Greeks" of Acts 21:28, alluding to Trophimus the Ephesian (Acts 21:29), are to be taken in the same sense. References to the Greek language occur in John 19:20 (Luke 23:38 is properly omitted in the Revised Version (British and American)); Acts 21:37 Revelation 9:11.

In Acts 11:20 the manuscripts vary between Hellenistas, and Hellenas (the King James Version "Grecians," the Revised Version (British and American) "Greeks"), with the preponderance of authority in favor of the former; but even if one adopts the latter, it is not clear whether true Greeks or Gentiles are intended.

William Arthur Heidel

The Seven Deacons
... In those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring
of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were ...
/.../white/the acts of the apostles/lesson 9 the seven deacons.htm

The Institution of Deacons, and the History of Stephen.
... "And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose
a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture viii the institution of.htm

Caesarea. Strato's Tower.
... She was a goad, sticking in Israel, in the days of the Grecians. But when the
kingdom of the Asmonean family prevailed, it overcame her, &c. ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 57 caesarea stratos tower.htm

The Mystery of Iniquity
... Here was a manifest breach of brotherly love in the Hebrews; a sin both against
justice and mercy: Seeing the Grecians, as well as the Hebrews, had "sold all ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 61 the mystery of.htm

The Calamities and Slaughters that came Upon the Jews.
... in assisting him against the Egyptians, and as a reward for such their assistance,
gave them equal privileges in this city with the Grecians themselves; which ...
/.../chapter 18 the calamities and.htm

The Foundation of the Church among the Jews
... The first schism.] And now came the first division in the body, "a murmuring
of the Grecians against the Hebrews[38].". [Sidenote ...
/.../blunt/a key to the knowledge of church history/chapter i the foundation of.htm

The Progress of the Gospel from the Death of Christ to the Death ...
... At an early period complaints were made respecting the distribution of this charity,
and we are told that "there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/chapter iv the progress of.htm

The Jewish World in the Days of Christ - the Jewish Dispersion in ...
... former, as we know from the New Testament, commonly bore in Palestine the name of
the dispersion of the Greeks,' [25] and of Hellenists' or Grecians.' [26] On ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter i the jewish world.htm

The Mediaeval Church in Great Britain and Ireland
... Simon Magus the author of, 22, 51 """ at Corinth, 40 """ at Ephesus, 51 Gospels,
Holy, great reverence shown to them, 54 "Grecians," Who meant by ...
/.../a key to the knowledge of church history/chapter xii the mediaeval church.htm

Book 1.
... a plain sign that our nation is of a late date, because they are not so much as
vouchsafed a bare mention by the most famous historiographers among the Grecians ...
//christianbookshelf.org/josephus/against apion/book 1.htm

Grecians (4 Occurrences)
... Joel 3:6 =Greeks. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. GRECIANS; GREEKS.
gre'-shanz, greks: In the Old Testament the word "Grecians" occurs ...
/g/grecians.htm - 14k

Greeks (22 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia GRECIANS; GREEKS. gre'-shanz, greks: In
the Old Testament the word "Grecians" occurs but once (Joel ...
/g/greeks.htm - 19k

Grecian (3 Occurrences)
... Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there
arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows ...
/g/grecian.htm - 7k

Jevanim (1 Occurrence)
... Joel 3:6 and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem unto
the sons of the Grecians, that ye may remove them far from their border; (See ...
/j/jevanim.htm - 6k

Greek (19 Occurrences)
... The word "Grecians" in Acts 11:20 should be "Greeks," denoting the heathen Greeks
of that city, as rendered in the Revised Version according to the reading of ...
/g/greek.htm - 13k

Multiplied (109 Occurrences)
... Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there
arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows ...
/m/multiplied.htm - 38k

Ministration (33 Occurrences)
... Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there
arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows ...
/m/ministration.htm - 15k

Murmuring (14 Occurrences)
... Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there
arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows ...
/m/murmuring.htm - 11k

Antiochians
... under him lost courage to "serve any more at the altar, but despising the temple
and neglecting the sacrifices, hastened" to ally themselves with the Grecians. ...
/a/antiochians.htm - 10k

Slay (189 Occurrences)
... (KJV ASV WBS YLT). Acts 9:29 And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. (KJV WBS). ...
/s/slay.htm - 38k

Who were the Hellenistic Jews in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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