A Hellen (Grecian) or inhabitant of Hellas; by extension a Greek-speaking person, especially a non-Jew
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Hellen means Greek, often referring to Greeks or Greek-speaking Gentiles in contrast with Jews. The New Testament uses the word in mission, gospel priority, universal sin, equal access to salvation, and unity in Christ.
Reader summary
Full entry for Ἕλλην (G1672) · Open the biblical lexicon
Hellen means Greek, often referring to Greeks or Greek-speaking Gentiles in contrast with Jews. The New Testament uses the word in mission, gospel priority, universal sin, equal access to salvation, and unity in Christ.
The BSB source-word alignment has 25 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Greeks (15), a Greek (3), Greek (3), for the Greek (2), to [the] Greek (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 7:35. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (9), Romans (6), 1 Corinthians (4), John (3).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Hellen means Greek, often referring to Greeks or Greek-speaking Gentiles in contrast with Jews. The New Testament uses the word in mission, gospel priority, universal sin, equal access to salvation, and unity in Christ. Some Greeks come to worship at the feast in John 12. Paul says the gospel is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and then to the Greek.
He also says Jews and Greeks are alike under sin, that there is no difference because the same Lord is Lord of all, and that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek as a basis for spiritual superiority. The word therefore helps readers see both historical distinction and gospel-unified access.
Hellen usually marks Greeks or Greek-speaking Gentiles, often paired with Jews. The word helps the New Testament express the movement of the gospel across ethnic and cultural lines while preserving the order of promise, the universality of sin, and equal salvation in Christ.
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast.
Greeks are among those who come to worship at the feast. Their presence near Jesus' hour hints at the wider reach of His death.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
Paul says the gospel is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The word marks Gentile inclusion without erasing salvation-historical order.
What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.
Paul charges both Jews and Greeks as under sin. The word helps establish universal need before the righteousness of God is announced.
For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
There is no difference between Jew and Greek because the same Lord is Lord of all. Equal access rests in the Lord's generosity to all who call.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Paul says there is neither Jew nor Greek in Christ Jesus. The word supports unity of status in Christ, not the erasure of all creaturely distinction.
Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
In the renewed community Christ is all and in all, beyond Greek and Jew and other dividing identities. The word serves a new-creation identity argument.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. a Hellen (Grecian) or inhabitant of Hellas; by extension a Greek-speaking person, especially a non-Jew
:-- Gentile, Greek.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 27 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read versea Hellene, a Greek
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 7 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 25 lexical occurrence verses.
Ἕλλην is built from this root:
Hellen helps readers see how the gospel crosses real historical and cultural boundaries without pretending those boundaries never existed. Paul can say the gospel comes to the Jew first and also to the Greek, because salvation history has order. He can also say Jews and Greeks alike are under sin, because human need is universal. Then he can say there is no difference in access to the one Lord, because Christ saves all who call on Him.
Galatians and Colossians press the point into church identity: Greek and Jew cannot be used as ranks of superiority in Christ. The word therefore supports mission, humility, and gospel unity.
Rom.1.16
Hellen can mean Greek by ethnicity, culture, language, or as a representative Gentile category. In many New Testament contexts it is paired with Jew to express the gospel's movement across the Jew-Gentile divide.
The Old Testament promise that the nations would be blessed through Abraham prepares for the New Testament mission to Greeks and other Gentiles. Hellen language is one way the apostolic writings show the nations being addressed by Israel's Messiah.