Yohanes 12:20

Seekers

12:20 Now some Greeks ¹  were among those who had gone up to worship at the feast.

Kisah Para Rasul 17:4

17:4 Some of them were persuaded ²  and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group ³  of God-fearing Greeks ⁴  and quite a few ⁵  prominent women.

[12:20]  ¹ sn These Greeks (῞Ελληνές τινες, {ellhne" tine") who had come up to worship at the feast were probably “God-fearers” rather than proselytes in the strict sense. Had they been true proselytes, they would probably not have been referred to as Greeks any longer. Many came to worship at the major Jewish festivals without being proselytes to Judaism, for example, the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:27, who could not have been a proselyte if he were physically a eunuch.

[17:4]  ² tn Or “convinced.”

[17:4]  ³ tn Or “a large crowd.”

[17:4]  ⁴ tn Or “of devout Greeks,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Luke frequently mentions such people (Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:17; 18:7).

[17:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).