Hellenists

Hellenists
A group of Jews who read the scriptures in the LXX translation rather than in Hebrew and who spoke Greek rather than Aramaic. For nearly two centuries there had been an uneasy relationship between Jews who welcomed Hellenistic culture and those who defended conservative Hebrew customs and distinctions. In NT times Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem may have had their own synagogue (Acts 6:9) and possibly Stephen was a member who succeeded in converting some of them to Christianity. They were probably already inclined to interpret the law less rigorously than the ‘Hebrews’ (Acts 6:1) and were persuaded by Stephen to look beyond Moses and the Temple. Thus such a group of Hellenists could have proved a point of growth for the Church as it spread beyond its Jewish origins into the Greek-speaking Gentile [[➝ Gentiles]] world.

Dictionary of the Bible.

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  • HELLENISTS —    originally Jews who would fain have seen Jewish thought and life more or less transformed in spirit as well as fashion after a Greek pattern; eventually those who by contact with Greek civilisation became Grecianised, and were open to learn as …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • hellenists — Hel·len·ist || helɪnɪst n. one influenced by Hellenism (especially in ancient times); Greek scholar, one who admires or studies Greek civilization …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Grecians —    Hellenists, Greek Jews; Jews born in a foreign country, and thus did not speak Hebrew (Acts 6:1; 9:29), nor join in the Hebrew services of the Jews in Palestine, but had synagogues of their own in Jerusalem. Joel 3:6 =Greeks …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • History of Christianity — Church history redirects here. For the journal, see American Society of Church History#Church History. For the magazine, see Christianity Today#Christian History. Church historian redirects here. For LDS official church historian, see Church… …   Wikipedia

  • Canon of the Old Testament — • Signifies the authoritative list or closed number of the writings composed under Divine inspiration, and destined for the well being of the Church Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Canon of the Old Testament      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • The Machabees —     The Machabees     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Machabees     (Gr. Hoi Makkabaioi; Lat. Machabei; most probably from Aramaic maqqaba= hammer ).     A priestly family which under the leadership of Mathathias initiated the revolt against the… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Deacon —    Anglicized form of the Greek word diaconos, meaning a runner, messenger, servant. For a long period a feeling of mutual jealousy had existed between the Hebrews, or Jews proper, who spoke the sacred language of palestine, and the Hellenists,… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • MENELAUS — (d. c. 162 B.C.E.), high priest in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. Menelaus was the brother of Simeon and Lysimachus, both mentioned in II Maccabees. According to II Maccabees 3:4, Simeon and Menelaus belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Pharisees — The word Pharisees (lat. pharisæ|us , i ) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush , meaning separated [Ernest Klein Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language ] . The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a… …   Wikipedia

  • Hasmonean — Infobox Former Country native name = conventional long name = Hasmonean Kingdom common name = continent = Asia region = Levant country = era = Hellenistic Age status = Jewish theocracy government type = Jewish theocracy with priestly king year… …   Wikipedia

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