John 7:35

Εἶπον οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι πρὸς ἑαυτούς, Ποῦ οὗτος μέλλει πορεύεσθαι ὅτι ἡμεῖς οὐχ εὑρήσομεν αὐτόν; Μὴ εἰς τὴν διασπορὰν τῶν Ἑλλήνων μέλλει πορεύεσθαι, καὶ διδάσκειν τοὺς Ἕλληνας;

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 2036; Eipon; Εἶπον; I/they said; V-AIA-3P

Strongs 3767; oun; οὖν; therefore; Conj

Strongs 3588; hoi; οἱ; the; Art-NMP

Strongs 2453; Ioudaioi; Ἰουδαῖοι; Casters; Adj-NMP

Strongs 4314; pros; πρὸς; toward; Prep

Strongs 1438; heautous; ἑαυτούς; themselves; RefPro-AM3P

Strongs 4226; Pou; Ποῦ; Where; Adv

Strongs 3778; houtos; οὗτος; this one; DPro-NMS

Strongs 3195; mellei; μέλλει; is destined; V-PIA-3S

Strongs 4198; poreuesthai; πορεύεσθαι; to lead across; V-PNM/P

Strongs 3754; hoti; ὅτι; because/that; Conj

Strongs 1473; hēmeis; ἡμεῖς; we; PPro-N1P

Strongs 3756; ouch; οὐχ; not; Adv

Strongs 2147; heurēsomen; εὑρήσομεν; will find; V-FIA-1P

Strongs 846; auton; αὐτόν; himself; PPro-AM3S

Strongs 3361; mē; μὴ; not; Adv

Strongs 1519; eis; εἰς; into; Prep

Strongs 3588; tēn; τὴν; the; Art-AFS

Strongs 1290; Diasporan; Διασπορὰν; Dispersion; N-AFS

Strongs 3588; tōn; τῶν; the; Art-GMP

Strongs 1672; Hellēnōn; Ἑλλήνων; Greeks; N-GMP

Strongs 3195; mellei; μέλλει; is destined; V-PIA-3S

Strongs 4198; poreuesthai; πορεύεσθαι; to lead across; V-PNM/P

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 1321; didaskein; διδάσκειν; to teach; V-PNA

Strongs 3588; tous; τοὺς; the; Art-AMP

Strongs 1672; Hellēnas; Ἕλληνας; Greeks; N-AMP

RBT Hebrew Literal:

Ἕλληνας - Greeks, Pagans, Heathen, Outsiders

Therefore the Casters said toward their own selves, "Where is this one destined to lead over, because we, ourselves are not finding himself? He's not destined to lead over into the Scattering of the Outsiders and teach the Outsiders!^79c

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
Then said the Jews among themselves, Where is he about to go, that we shall not find him? is he not about to go to the dispersion of the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

LITV Translation:
Then the Jews said amongst themselves, Where is this one about to go that we will not find him? Is he about to go to the Dispersion of the Greeks, and to teach the Greeks?

ESV Translation:
The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?

Footnotes

79c

To the Highways and Byways

Ἕλλην (Hellēn) acquired the religio-cultural meaning of ‘outcast/gentile’ within certain Second Temple and early Christian contexts, especially in Hellenistic Jewish and early Christian literature. 

1. Original Ethnic Meaning:

In archaic and classical Greek, Ἕλλην referred strictly to Greeks—initially a tribe from Thessaly, then all Greek-speaking peoples united by language, religion, and culture.

2. Religious and Cultural Reframing (LXX and NT):

In Septuagint (LXX) and New Testament Greek, Ἕλληνες came to mean Gentiles, i.e., non-Jews. This reflects not merely an ethnic, but a religio-cultural binary:

• Ἕλληνες vs. Ἰουδαῖοι (Jews) "Casters"

  • Isaiah 9:12 LXX: "The Syrians from the east and the Hellenes from the west..."

  • 1 Maccabees 1–2: Hellenistic customs are associated with apostasy and cultural betrayal.

  • Romans 1:16: "To the Jew first and also to the Gentiles/Greek [Ἕλλην]” – here signifying non-Jews, i.e., pagans.

This binary acquired a moral-religious dimension: The Ἕλλην is not just an outsider ethnically, but spiritually alien, often associated with idolatry, licentiousness, or philosophical pride in early Christian polemic.

3. The Sense of "Outcast/Outsider"

While Ἕλλην was once a title of cultural prestige, in Jewish and early Christian thought, it would carry connotations of foreignness and alienation from divine covenant and moral distance from Jewish law or Christian gospel. In some Christian fathers: "Hellene" = unbeliever, pagan, idolater, to be distinguished from the "community of the faithful."

Thus, in this religious reconfiguration, Ἕλλην functioned semi-synonymously with:

• ἔθνη (the nations)

• ἀλλόφυλος (foreign tribes)

• ἀνόσιος (unholy)

Overall, it religiously and culturally marked a person as “outside” the "elect community."