Charles Ellicott Commentary John 12:20

"Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast:" — John 12:20 (ASV)

And there were certain Greeks.—Compare the note on John 7:35, where we have the same word in the original, and Acts 6:1; Acts 9:29; and Acts 11:20. They were not Hellenists, i.e., Greek Jews, but Hellenes, i.e., Gentiles.

Among them that came up to worship at the feast.—The words imply that they were in the habit of going up to Jerusalem at the feasts, i.e., that though Greeks by birth, they had been admitted to the privileges of Judaism. They belonged to the class known as “Proselytes of the Gate.” (Compare the notes on Matthew 23:15 and Acts 8:27.)