Original Word: יְוָנִי
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: Yvaniy
Pronunciation: yeh-vah-NEE
Phonetic Spelling: (yev-aw-nee')
KJV: Grecian
NASB: Greeks
Word Origin: [patronymically from H3121 (יָוֵן - mire)]

1. a Jevanite, or descendant of Javan

Grecian

Patronymically from yaven; a Jevanite, or descendant of Javan -- Grecian.

see HEBREW yaven

Word Origin
from Yavan
Definition
desc. of Javan
NASB Translation
Greeks (1).

[יְוָנִי] adjective, of a people only with article as proper name, of a people: וּבְנֵי יְרוּשָׁלַםִ מְכַרְתֶּם לִבְנֵי הַיְּוָנִ֑ים Joel 4:6 (ᵐ5 Ἕλληνες) and the sons of Jerusalem ye have sold to the sons of the Ionians (compare יָוָן Ezekiel 27:13). — See Sta^ib.

יוֺסֵף, יוֺסִפְיָה see below יסף.

יוֺעֵאלָה see below יעל.

יוֺעָשׁ see below 'יהוה; יוּעַם see II. עמם

Hoph`al.

יוֺרָה see below ירה.

יוּשַׁב חֶ֫סֶד see below שׁוּב.

יוֺשָׁה, יְשַׁוְיָה see below ישׁה.

יזה (√ whence first element of following; perhaps compare Arabic congregatus, conglomeratus fuit., Frey).

Meaning in Context

יְוָנִי designates “Greeks” as a people group, highlighting a distinct Gentile nation known in Scripture for maritime trade, cultural influence, and later imperial power. In Joel 3:6 the term functions ethnically rather than geographically, underscoring the identity of those who purchased Judean captives.

Occurrence in Scripture

Joel 3:6 is the sole Old Testament verse using יְוָנִי. The prophet indicts Tyre and Sidon for trafficking Judah’s children “to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland” (Joel 3:6). Parallel references to Javan (3121) in Isaiah 66:19, Ezekiel 27:13, and Daniel 8:21 show the same people group under a slightly different spelling, enriching the biblical portrait of Greece’s interaction with Israel.

Historical Background

During the ninth–eighth centuries B.C. Phoenician merchants reached Aegean ports where Greek city-states—especially the Ionians—were emerging as formidable traders. Slavery was common currency, and Phoenicia’s coastal cities acted as middlemen. Joel’s denunciation fits that milieu: Israelites were kidnapped in border skirmishes or raids and sold across the Mediterranean. Though Greece had not yet become the global empire portrayed in Daniel, the prophetic text already recognizes its presence in world affairs.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Justice. Joel 3 employs יְוָנִי to prove God’s meticulous accounting of every national wrong. The Lord who keeps covenant with Judah also judges Gentile nations that exploit His people (Joel 3:4–8).
2. Universal Sovereignty. Mention of Greeks anticipates later prophetic visions where Yahweh’s rule spans “coastlands” (Isaiah 66:19) and even the Hellenistic powers symbolized by the goat (Daniel 8:21).
3. Foretaste of Gentile Inclusion. The same ethnic group first pictured as buyers of Hebrew slaves later becomes a recipient of the gospel (John 12:20; Acts 17:4). Joel thus contributes to the larger biblical trajectory: God disciplines nations yet ultimately extends salvation to all peoples.

Prophetic Implications

The judgment promised in Joel 3 finds partial historical fulfillment when Alexander the Great reverses the power dynamics—Greeks dominate the Near East instead of merely trading there. Yet the prophecy reaches beyond military events to the eschatological “Valley of Jehoshaphat” (Joel 3:2), where every nation, Greek or otherwise, is summoned before the righteous Judge.

Practical and Ministry Insights

• Guarding Human Dignity: Joel’s censure of human trafficking challenges contemporary believers to oppose modern slavery and value every image-bearer of God.
• Hope for the Oppressed: The text assures victims that injustices committed—even across oceans—do not escape divine notice.
• Mission Focus: The early church’s ministry to Greeks (Acts 20:21) shows how God turns former oppressors into fellow heirs of grace. Proclamation must therefore cross cultural boundaries with confidence that “the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

הַיְּוָנִ֑ים היונים haiyevaNim hay·yə·wā·nîm hayyəwānîmInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts