Greece

Biblical References

In the Old Testament, 'Greece' renders the Hebrew word Yavan. The New Korean Revised Version translates this word as 'Javan,' the son of Japheth, in Genesis 10:2, but as 'Greece' (Hella) in the prophetic passages below.

• Daniel 8: In Daniel's vision, the ram represents the kings of Media and Persia, and "the rough goat is the king of Grecia" (Daniel 8:20-21).
• Daniel 10:20 and 11:2: "The prince of Grecia" and "the realm of Grecia" are mentioned.
• Joel 3:6: Judah is charged with having had its children "sold unto the Grecians."
• Zechariah 9:13: A prophecy declares that the sons of Zion will be raised up "against thy sons, O Greece."

In the New Testament, the name is used as a regional designation in Acts 20:2. After passing through Macedonia, Paul "came into Greece" and stayed there three months. This took place during his third missionary journey. Elsewhere the name appears frequently in the terms 'Greeks' and 'Greek' (the language) (John 12:20; 19:20; Acts 21:37; and elsewhere).

Background

The Korean term Hella derives from Hellas, the name the Greeks used for their own land. In New Testament times, this area was divided into the Roman provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. The 'Greece' of Acts 20:2 is commonly understood to be the southern region of Achaia, including Corinth. According to a widely held view, Paul stayed in Corinth at this time and wrote the Epistle to the Romans there.

After Alexander the Great conquered Persia in the fourth century BC, the Greek language and culture spread throughout the eastern Mediterranean. As a result, during the intertestamental period the Old Testament was translated into Greek (the Septuagint), and the New Testament was likewise written in Greek (Koine), the common language of the day (see Languages of the Bible).

Significance in the Bible as a Whole

In the Old Testament, Greece appears as a distant people to the west, portrayed as a kingdom God would raise up in the course of history. In the New Testament, 'Greek' often refers not only to the Greek people but to all non-Jews, that is, the Gentiles. Examples include Romans 1:16, "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek," and Galatians 3:26-29, "There is neither Jew nor Greek." These expressions reflect the New Testament theme that the gospel transcends ethnic boundaries. The Syrophoenician woman is likewise described as "a Greek" (Mark 7:26). The early church also included Greek-speaking Hellenistic Jews (Acts 6:1).

Interpretation and Debate

• The goat in Daniel: Traditionally, the goat's great horn has been read as referring to Alexander the Great, and the four horns that came up after it as the successors who divided his empire. Conservative scholars regard this text as prophecy written in the sixth century BC. Many critical scholars hold that the Book of Daniel was completed around the time of the Seleucid persecution in the second century BC. Both views are represented in scholarship.
• 'Greek thought' and 'Hebrew thought': Sermons often set these two ways of thinking against each other. Some scholars criticize this distinction as an oversimplification. The distinction is not something the biblical text itself states.

In the Korean Church

The Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version use the older forms Hella (Greece), Hellain (Greek), and Hella-eo (the Greek language). The New Korean Standard Version generally uses Geuriseu (Greece) and Geuriseu saram (Greek person). The Korean church's practice of calling the original language of the New Testament Hella-eo stems from this biblical usage. Seminaries teach the original-language course under the name Hella-eo, and sermons often include explanations beginning "In the original Greek (Hella-eo)…" The phrase "the Greeks seek after wisdom" from 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 is also frequently quoted in sermons.