Original Word: Ἕλλην
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: Hellén
Pronunciation: hel'-lane
Phonetic Spelling: (hel'-lane)
KJV: Gentile, Greek
NASB: Greeks, Greek
Word Origin: [from G1671 (Ἑλλάς - Greece)]

1. a Hellen (Grecian) or inhabitant of Hellas
2. (by extension) a Greek-speaking person
3. (especially) a non-Jew, i.e. a Gentile

Gentile, Greek.

From Hellas; a Hellen (Grecian) or inhabitant of Hellas; by extension a Greek-speaking person, especially a non-Jew -- Gentile, Greek.

see GREEK Hellas

1672 Héllēn – an Hellene, i.e. a Greek. 1672/Hellēn ("Greek") originally referred to any native Greek and later became synonymous with any Greek-speaking person, i.e. anyone who followed Greek culture (and especially) spoke Greek.

Word Origin
from Hellas
Definition
a Greek, usually a name for a Gentile
NASB Translation
Greek (9), Greeks (17).

STRONGS NT 1672: Ἕλλην

Ἕλλην, Ἕλληνος, ὁ;

1. a Greek by nationality, whether a native of the main land or of the Greek islands or colonies: Acts 18:17 Rec.; Ἕλληνες τέ καί βάρβαροι, Romans 1:14.

2. in a wider sense the name embraces all nations not Jews that made the language, customs, and learning of the Greeks their own; so that where Ἕλληνες are opposed to Jews, the primary reference is to a difference of religion and worship: John 7:35 (cf. Meyer at the passage); Acts 11:20 G L T Tr (cf. B. D. American edition, p. 967); Acts 16:1, 3; (Acts 21:28); 1 Corinthians 1:22, 23 Rec.; Galatians 2:3 (Josephus, Antiquities 20, 11, 2); Ἰουδαῖοι τέ καί Ἕλληνες, and the like: Acts 14:1; Acts 18:4; Acts 19:10, 17; Acts 20:21; Romans 1:16; Romans 2:9, 10; Romans 3:9; Romans 10:12; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 10:32; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11. The word is used in the same wide sense by the Greek church Fathers, cf. Otto on Tatian, p. 2; (Sophocles' Lexicon, under the word). The Ἕλληνες spoken of in John 12:20 and Acts 17:4 are Jewish proselytes from the Gentiles; see προσήλυτος, 2. (Cf. B. D. under the word etc. (especially American edition).)

Identity and scope

Strong’s Greek 1672 refers to individuals identified as “Greeks” within the New Testament world—people shaped by Hellenistic language, culture, and worldview. Depending on context, the term may highlight ethnicity (native Greeks), culture (Greek-speaking non-Jews of many backgrounds), or simply the wider Gentile world as distinct from Israel. Because Hellenistic civilization permeated the eastern Mediterranean, the word often functions as a convenient shorthand for “Gentiles touched by Greek culture,” the largest mission field of the apostolic era.

Old Testament anticipation

Isaiah foresaw a day when the nations would “seek the Root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:10). Zechariah envisioned many peoples taking hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you” (Zechariah 8:23). By New Testament times, Greek language had become the primary conduit for those very nations to hear the oracles of God. Thus, the recurring contrast “Jew and Greek” in the New Testament embodies the prophetic expectation that the Messiah’s salvation would cross ethnic and cultural borders.

Greeks in the ministry of Jesus

The Fourth Gospel records a pivotal moment: “Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast. They came to Philip… and said, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’” (John 12:20–21). Their request prompts the Lord to declare that His impending death will draw “all people” to Himself (John 12:32). Earlier, uncertain opponents wondered, “Will He go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?” (John 7:35). Both passages underline that the good news was never intended for Israel alone.

Greeks and the birth of the church (Acts)

1. Early Mixed Congregations: In Antioch of Pisidia, “a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed” (Acts 14:1).
2. Thessalonica and Berea: Paul’s preaching persuaded “a large number of God-fearing Greeks” (Acts 17:4).
3. Corinth: Each Sabbath he “reasoned… trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:4).
4. Asia Minor: Paul spent two years in Ephesus “so that all who lived in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10).
5. Public reputation: The riot in Ephesus concluded with the city clerk affirming that “these men… neither blaspheme our goddess nor revile her” before Greeks and Jews alike (Acts 19:17).

Throughout Acts, the term underscores the multicultural texture of the early assemblies and the Spirit’s insistence that no ethnic wall should hinder the gospel.

Paul’s theological framework

Paul employs “Greek” 13 times to affirm the universality of salvation:
• Romans 1:16: “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and then to the Greek.”
• Romans 10:12: “For there is no difference between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord of all.”
• 1 Corinthians 1:24: “to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

In Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11, the apostle pushes beyond mere inclusion to proclaim full equality: “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Here “Greek” represents the entire Gentile sphere; any lingering ethnic privilege is dissolved in the new creation community.

Mission strategy and cultural adaptation

Paul’s own pattern—first the synagogue, then the Greeks—shows strategic sensitivity. He honored the chronological priority of Israel while recognizing the providential spread of Greek culture as a ready vehicle for the gospel. His bilingual upbringing (Tarsus and Jerusalem) equipped him to bridge Torah exposition and Hellenistic rhetoric, enabling engaged dialogue in marketplaces, lecture halls, and private homes.

The wisdom-power contrast

“Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:22-23). For Paul, the intellectual curiosity of Greeks is neither vilified nor flattered; it is confronted and fulfilled by the deeper wisdom of the cross. The same mindset appears in Acts 17 where Paul cites Greek poets to expose idolatry and direct hearers to the resurrected Lord.

Ecclesial life and unity

In mixed congregations, potential friction surfaced over food, days, and conscience. Paul therefore urges the Corinthians to avoid giving offense “to Jews or Greeks or the church of God” (1 Corinthians 10:32). Christian conduct must commend the gospel to every cultural block. Likewise, “whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free,” all were baptized by one Spirit into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). The ordinance of baptism signified a plowing under of ethnic divisions.

Historical ripple effects

Within one generation, churches existed in every major Greek center of the eastern empire. The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) and the Greek New Testament supplied a unified Scripture in the lingua franca of the age, facilitating catechesis, liturgy, and mission. Greek vocabulary—ekklesia, evangelion, baptisma, charis—became the permanent theological lexicon of the church, demonstrating how redemption reclaims cultural tools for divine purposes.

Pastoral and missional implications today

1. Cultural fluency: As Paul harnessed Hellenistic forms, modern ministry must learn the languages and symbols of surrounding cultures without diluting truth.
2. Gospel universality: “Jew and Greek” continues to rebuke ethnocentrism; no demographic is outside God’s saving intent.
3. Congregational unity: The cross abolishes hierarchies rooted in race or heritage. The church must display this reality sacramentally (baptism, Communion) and practically (shared leadership, mutual care).
4. Apologetic engagement: Like Paul at Athens, believers should commend the gospel by both affirming common grace insights (“as some of your own poets have said”) and confronting idolatries.

Related terms and contrasts

• Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios, Jew): Paired with “Greek” to stress comprehensiveness.
• Ἑλληνιστής (Hellenistes, Acts 6:1): “Hellenists,” Greek-speaking Jews, distinct from ethnic Greeks.
• ἔθνος (ethnos, nation): Broader term for Gentiles in general.

Conclusion

Strong’s 1672, while a single word, traces the arc of redemptive history from Israel alone to Israel plus the nations. Whether in the curiosity of festival-going Greeks who “wish to see Jesus,” or in the philosophical searchers on Mars Hill, or in the mixed assemblies of the Pauline mission, the presence of Greeks in Scripture proclaims that Jesus Christ is Lord of all and that the gospel speaks powerfully into every culture, calling all peoples to faith, repentance, and new life in Him.

Ελλην Ἕλλην Ελληνας Ἕλληνας Ελληνες Ἕλληνες Ἕλληνές Ελληνι Ἕλληνι Ελληνος Ἕλληνος Ελληνων Ἑλλήνων Ελλησιν Ἕλλησιν Ἕλλησίν Ellen Ellēn Ellenas Ellēnas Ellenes Ellēnes Elleni Ellēni Ellenon Ellēnōn Ellenos Ellēnos Ellesin Ellēsin Hellen Hellēn Héllen Héllēn Hellenas Hellēnas Héllenas Héllēnas Hellenes Hellēnes Héllenes Héllenés Héllēnes Héllēnés Helleni Hellēni Hélleni Héllēni Hellenon Hellēnōn Hellḗnon Hellḗnōn Hellenos Hellēnos Héllenos Héllēnos Hellesin Hellēsin Héllesin Héllesín Héllēsin HéllēsínInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts