the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Grecians Greeks
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or These two terms correspond respectively to the Greek words Ἑλληνισταί and Ἔλληνες. The term Ἔλληνες is properly the name applied by the inhabitants of Greece to themselves, which the Romans rendered by the word Grœci (Eng. ‘Greeks’). In the NT the term is correctly used of those who are of Greek descent (Acts 16:1; Acts 18:4, Romans 1:14), although we also find it used as a general designation for all who do not belong to the Jewish race. Thus the foreigners who came desiring to see Jesus at the Passover are referred to as Greeks (John 12:20); so the Apostle Paul divides mankind into two classes when he says (Romans 10:12): ‘There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek’ (cf. Romans 1:16, Galatians 3:28). In these passages the term is practically equivalent to ‘Gentile’ (q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] ). See also article Greece.
The term ‘Grecians’ (Ἑλληνισταί), on the other hand (Acts 6:1; Acts 9:29), is applied to Greek-speaking Jews as opposed to the Jews of Palestine, who spoke Aramaic and are designated Hebrews. From the days of Alexander the Great onwards, large numbers of Jewish emigrants were to be found all over the known world. In Alexandria in particular a great number had settled, but in all the cities of the West, in all the centres of trade, Jews found a home. Many of these Jewish settlers acquired great wealth, and adopted Greek speech, manners, and customs. They read the Greek poets, and many of them studied Greek philosophy, while at the same time they adhered to the Jewish hopes and regarded Jerusalem as the centre of their life and worship. They were free from the narrowness and provincialism of the native Jews of Palestine, and the message of the Christian missionaries found much more willing hearers among this class than among the prejudiced and exclusive Palestine Jews.
A question of considerable interest has been raised regarding the proper reading in Acts 11:20. Are we to read here ‘Grecians’ or ‘Greeks’? Were those to whom the men of Cyprus and Cyrene preached Jews or Gentiles, Grecians or Greeks? Internal evidence and the mass of manuscript authority seem to conflict. The reading Ἑλληνιστάς of TR [Note: Textus Receptus, Received Text.] is upheld by B D2 L and indirectly by א*, and has the support of almost all the cursives. It is also retained by Westcott-Hort’s Greek Testament . On the other hand, internal evidence seems to demand the reading Ἔλληνες of א3 A D, which is accepted by Scrivener, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, and the text of the Revised Version . Why call attention to the fact that the men of Cyprus and Cyrene preached to Grecians when that had already been done? If the writer intends to refer to a new departure in missionary enterprise, the context seems to demand the reading ‘Greeks’ (cf. F. H. A. Scrivener, Introd. to Criticism of NT4, 1894, ii. 370f.; for the other point of view see Westcott-Hort, Introd. to Gr. NT, 1882, Appendix p. 93f.).
W. F. Boyd.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Grecians Greeks'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/g/grecians-greeks.html. 1906-1918.
