The Greeks (Hellenists) in the Gospel of John are Greek-Speaking Jews (not Gentiles)
To hear this podcast click here. I used to think that the “Greeks” mentioned in a couple of places in the Gospel of John were Gentiles. But some comments by a friend got me thinking about the possibility that the “Greeks” in the Gospel of John were Greek-speaking Israelites who grew up outside of the land of Israel. The Gospel of John is using the word “Greeks, Hellenes” in a cultural and linguistic sense, not in an ethnic sense. The two passages in the Gospel of John which mention these “Greeks” are 7:35 and 12:20-24. The word used in these passages translated as “Greeks” is the plural form of the word Hellene Ἕλλην . Hellene is the Greek way to say “Greek”. Some standard biblical Greek lexical definitions of Ἕλλην – Hellene: Gingrich, Greek NT Lexicon : a Greek, a Gentile (Rom. 1:4, Gal. 3:28). But also: proselytes (Gentiles who adopted the Jewish faith), “God-fearers” or people in sympathy with Israel's heritage (Acts 17:4). Friberg, Greek Analyti