WORLD (IN THE BIBLE)

In the Old Testament there is no special Hebrew word for world in the sense of the ordered universe that the Greeks called the cosmos (κόσμος). The author of Genesis states that God created "the heavens and the earth" (haššāmayim w ^ehā’āreṣ: Gn 1.1). Elsewhere the universe is considered as consisting of the heavens, the earth, and the sea (Ex 20.4), or the heavens, the nether world, the earth, and the sea (Jb 11.8–9). For the Israelites the earth was the center of the universe, and the words tēbel and ’ereṣ, both meaning earth, are often translated as "world" [Ps 9A.9; 17 (18).16; 18 (19).5]. Also, the terms hakkōl, "everything" [Jer 10.16; Ps 102 (103).19] or kōl, "all" (poetic, as in Is 44.24; Ps 8.7) are sometimes synonymous with world. The physical world was described by the Israelites according to the appearances of things, resembling those notions of the universe common to the West-Semitic milieu of the 2d and 1st millennia b.c.; for details, see cosmogony (in the bible).

In the deutero-canonical books of the Old Testament that were originally written in Greek and in Jewish centers influenced by Hellenistic philosophy, the word κόσμος (world) in the sense of universe often occurs, replacing the phrase "the heavens and the earth" of Gn 1.1 (Wis 7.17; 9.9; 11.17, 22; 13.2; 16.17; 2 Mc 7.23; 8.18; 13.14).

In the New Testament the word κόσμος (world) occurs frequently in the sense of the material universe created by God (Mt 25.34; Jn 17.5, 24; Acts 17.24; Rom 1.20; Eph 1.4). In Heb 11.3 the Greek word αἰών (aeon, period of time, age) refers to the material world; the corresponding Hebrew word 'ôlām was sometimes used of the material world in post-Biblical Hebrew.

In many passages "the world" is the earth, the dwelling place of mankind (Mk 14.9; Jn 12.25; 16.21; 1 Cor 5.10; 1 Tm 6.7), in contrast to heaven, the dwelling place of God, whence Christ came (Jn 1.9; 3.17; 6.14; 10.36; 13.1; 1 Tm 1.15; 3.16; Heb 10.5). see heaven (in the bible). The things of "this world" are often contrasted with those of heaven (Mt 16.26; Mk 8.36; Lk9.25; 1 Cor 7.31, 33), and what are earthly or worldly realities with heavenly or spiritual ones (Mt 16.26; Mk8.36; Lk 9.25; Jn 3.31; 1 Cor 7.31, 33; Heb 8.5; 9.1, 23; 1 Jn 2.15; 3.17; Ti 2.12). In Lk 12.30 the phrase "the nations of the world" refers to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish world (Rom 11.12, 15). Sometimes "the world" means mankind itself (Mt 5.14; 18.7; Jn 1.29; 3.17; Rom3.6, 19; 1 Cor 1.27), especially those who are the objects of God's love (Jn 3.16; 6.33, 51; 12.47).

Finally, in the Johannine and Pauline writings a new moral significance of this word developed, whereby "the world," i.e., mankind, becomes involved in God's plan of salvation. In this sense "the world" often stands for all that is hostile to God and His salvific plan.

In the Johannine writings, "the world," i.e., "mankind," is indeed generally presented as the object of Christ's saving mission rather than as opposed to His Kingdom; God loves it (Jn 3.16) and sent His Son to save it (Jn 3.17); Christ is the light who has come into the world (Jn 3.19) as its Savior (Jn 4.42). Yet, according to the prologue of John's Gospel, the Light is rejected (Jn1.5, 10), and from chapter six onward (and especially from 13.2 to the end of chapter 17), Christ and His disciples are presented more and more in opposition to "the prince of the world," i.e., satan (Jn 12.31; 14.30; 16.11; 8.44–45) and his followers; in 7.7, "the world" hates Jesus; in 8.23, the non-believing Jews are of "this world," but Jesus is not; in 9.39 and 12.31, Christ has come to judge "the world." The sin of "the world" and the cause of its rejection is its refusal to believe in the Son (Jn 8.44–45; 9.39–41; 16.9; 1 Jn 2.15–17; 5.4–5).

In the Pauline writings "the world" may mean mankind in general, as opposed to the followers of Christ (1 Cor 5.20; 2 Cor 5.19), or the earth with its material goods in contrast to "the things of the Lord" (1 Cor 7.32; see also 1 Cor 2.12; 7.29; Col 3.1–2). "The spirit of the world," in contrast to "the Spirit that is of God," is characterized by a refusal to recognize the primacy of God (1 Cor 2.6, 12). "The Prince" of the world and its personified "powers" that are opposed to Christ's rule have been overcome by His salvific work (Eph 2.2; Col 2.15; See Also Jas 1.27; 4.4; 2 Pt 2.20).

In both the Johannine and Pauline writings, however, "the world" is regarded also as the possession of Christ by virtue of its creation and the Redemption. The original unity of the world, of the entire cosmic universe, was created by and for Him who is "the image of the invisible God" (Col 1.15–16; Jn 1.3). By His redemptive sacrifice, Christ has resumed Lordship of "the world" (Phil 2.10; Jn 12.32) and restored the whole cosmos to unity under Himself. God's purpose is "to re-establish all things in Christ" (Eph 1.10). The Church, which is the body of Christ in the new and definitive world order inaugurated by the risen Lord, continues His work in this present "world" (Col 1.18; 3.1–4; Eph 1.20–21; Jn 16.33;17.20–23).

Bibliography: Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, translated and adapted by l. hartman (New York, 1963) 2604–06. h. sasse, g. kittel, Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament (Stuttgart 1935) 3:867–896. h. w. hertzberg and e. dinkler, Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 7 v. (3d ed. Tübingen 1957–65) 6:1615–21. l. cerfaux, Christ in the Theology of St. Paul, tr. g. webb and a. walker (New York 1959) 419–438. o. cullmann, Christ and Time, tr. f. v. filson (rev. ed. Philadelphia 1964). r. h. lightfoot, St. John's Gospel: A Commentary, ed. c.f. evans (Oxford 1956). r. schnackenburg, God's Rule and Kingdom, tr. j. murray (New York 1963).

[j. l. ronan]