World

'The world,' in that meaning of the terra from which others that are in use may be most clearly derived, denotes a system known to man througli his senses, to which he himself on one side of his nature belongs, but from which, as a personal being, he can and usually does regard himself as distinct. It is a portion of the material universe, and may even stand for the whole of it where man's knowledge of nature is limited.

It will be our chief aim in this article to examine the view taken in OT and NT of this material system, and of man's actual as well as his true relation to it. i. In Old Tkstament.— Sgn, which is commonly rendered 'world' both by AV and KV, is not a word of larger meaning than |";n ' earth ' ; indeed, so far as a distinction can be drawn between them, it has the narrower application. [Cf. art. Earth, and see esp. Pr 8" ii-|N '?3n = RV 'his habitable earth,' also Job 37'-]. The two words const.

-intly occupy the corresponding places in the parallelisms of Heb. poetry (Ps 19^ 24' etc.) '^3" occurs only in poetry, and the word ' world ' may have been thought to have somewhat more jioetic associa- tions, and have been adopted for tliis reason to translate it. [Sjn is never rendered by 'earth' either in AV or IIV ; pN is rendered by ' world ' only at Ps 22"", Is 23" 62", and Jer 25-« in AV, and only at Job 37'-, Is 23", and Jer 25^ in RV.

In these last two places ' earth ' was reserved to tr. n?7tt]. There is no single word in OT which describes the material universe, even as it was conceived by the Hebrews. The phrase ' heaven and earth' is used to convey that notion (Gn 1', Ps 89", Jer 10" 51" etc.) Both ["IN and Vsg are also distinguished from the seas or the sea (Gn 1", Ps 98"). Heaven and earth by their vastness and stability, and by the rich variety, excellence, and beauty of that which they contain (cf.

the expression ' the fulness of the world' and 'of the earth,' Ps 50" and 21' etc., as also ' the sea and its fulness,' Ps 98') ; the sea kept under firm restraint for all its raging; the sun, moon, and stars observing their regular times and seasons, were felt to be con- stant witnesses to the power and wisdom of God, of Jehovah the God of Israel, who is the Creator and ruler of all (Am 4" 5", Is 48" 51", Jer 5-" 10'= 51", Ps 19'-« 24'-'' 8. 33«» 29. 89" 93. 95- » 104).

To their testimony even the heathen might be ex- pected to pay heed (see esp. Ps 19'"). In this 8en.so even inanimate things praise God (Ps 96'"'" OS"' " 148). Moreover, His care for His creatures was recognized, as shown in the regular provision which lie hn-smade for their sustenance. He is their guardian, the source of life and hapfiine-ss to all 938 WORLD WORLD l=ving things (Gn 8'^, Ps 33' 36'» 65'-" 103»- » 104=''» 147*-", Job 10'2).

But He was believed, too, to manifest Himself in a special manner in the more exceptional and terrible aspects of Nature, in storm and earthquake, in drought and pestilence. Bj' means of these He had fought and was expected to light on the side of His own people against their enemies (Ex 15, Jg S^"- -', Am 9»- , Ps 18'-" 48«- ' 68711 7g3-9 77n...o 7^ §3"-" 97'-» 105. 106'-'° 111. 114. 144-*), or punished Judah and Israel {Am 4"-") or individuals (Ps 107) for their sins.

Those proofs of His presence and operation which are regular, and those more unusual ones where there has evidently been some particular end in view, are remarkably brought together in some passages (Ps74"-ias9'«-" 136).

With the rise and development of the doctrine of Wisdom, interest in Nature was greatly stinm- lated, a more careful observation of particular facts, and even a certain kind of speculation u]ion her laws, were encouraged, but all under the guid- ance of a strongly religious spirit (Pr 8**-", Job 26'-''' 2S. 36, -39.''40«-41. Corap. Wis 7"-=^, Sir 43. A similar bent may be noted in a work belonging to another class of literature, En. 72-82 and 2-5).

So far we have spoken of the imjjression made upon the minds of devout and inspired Heb. pro- phets, psalmists, and philosophers by the contem- plation of that order of which the earth forms a part. But the earth itself was specially thought of by them as the spacious dwelling-place of man- kind, divided into its many races, tribes, and king- doms. [See such expressions as ' kingdoms,' 'peoples,' 'inhabitants' of 'the earth,' or 'the world,' Gn 22'*, Jos 4«, 2 K 10"- ", Is 26»- " 37=" etc.]

Hence, further, both Sjb and yiV (■"') are used by themselves for mankind, which is capable of doing right and wrong and of knowing God, and which shall be judged by God (Gn 6", Ex 9"', Nu 14=', Gn 18-», 1 S 2'", Ps 2, Is 38", Ps 9« 10" 33 96'^ etc.) But when we speak of mankind in these relations we must beware of thinking primarily of a collection of responsible individuals, as from our modern habits of thought we may be apt to do.

In accordance with the point of view of the OT, ' the earth ' in this use of the term must be imder- stood to mean ' the nations of the earth ' ; the judgment of nations and the homage that sliould be paid by the nations generally to the God of Israel are intended in the passages in question. ' Earth ' is also used in a sense akin to our phrase ' human society' in Ps 75' ('the foundations of the earth '=' the principles on which human society rests'; cf. Pr 30").

In the following places, how- ever, it seems to describe men as men — Jos 23'^, Is 24'-=° 2(i', Jer 50« 51=°. Tlie last-mentioned use may possibly be associ- ated with the idea of man's origin (Gn 2' and 3", Ps 146^), though it is to be remembered that in these places the words used are nijis and irj;. But at Ps 10' the expression n^C'P ^"•■ 'mortal man from the earth ' may most naturally be explained thus.

The little value of man and his transitori- ness are in this way brought home to the mind. No moral signification seems to attach to this ' earthiness ' of man. It does not implj- earthliness of aims and principles. On the oilier hand, a notion analogous to this is suggested in at least one passage (Ps 17") where another word -hn, some- times translated 'world,' in sense of tiyne (Arab. khnlada ' abide,' ' endure ') is used.

[At Ps 39' 89" and Job 11" it is rendered 'age,' 'time,' 'life'; but at Ps 17" 49' and Is 38" (implying here i^n for ^-in) 'world' both in AV and KV. In the former of these passages, however, ' mortals of time ' would give a good sense]. An excessive devotion to the things of this present life, which are the things of sense, is here indicated such as to I constitute a type of character. This is an interest" ing anticipation of NT thought.

Another point of interest is the analogy between the use of i^n, s word denoting tinie, and the subsequent use of ai'iii'. Another word oViy, to the meaning of which aiijn still more closely approximates, is also translated ' world ' at Ec 3'^ AV and RV (not RVm). In later Hebrew it did bear at times this sense, but it is more than doubtful whether it has it here. (.See esp. the CDmmentaries of Nowack, Hitzig in the Kiirzgef. Com., and E. H. Plumiitie, in loc). ii. APOCRYrilA.

— In the Books of Wisdom and 2 Maccabees we are introduced to the important word k6(t/xos in the sense which it acquired ainoni^ the Greeks through philosophic usage. The LXX of OT has the word, but only in its earlier meaning of 'adornment,' or as a rendering of n;:? ' lio.st (Gn 4', Dt 4" etc.)

; while ["ix and '73B are there translated by yr) and oUovixivT] (f-ix almost always by yfi, and '735 by o'lKoviiivTf ; there are, however, a few cases in which these renderings are inter- changed, all in Isai.ah). But in the Apocryjiha, i.e. in the two books of the Apocrypha above mentioned, it occurs repeatedly as a name for the material universe, which is its most common signitication there. The Most High is ag.ain and ag.

ain described by such phrases as ' the Creator of the world,' 'the Ruler of the world.' For the word in this sense comp. Plato, Gorgias, 50S ; Aristotle, de Mund. 2. The thought of order, and of the beauty arising therefrom, which the word by its derivation suggested, is naturally associated with this application of it, and may well have been present to the mind of the author of the Book of Wisdom in his use of it .at 11".

Other passages, interesting in connexion with his view of the Koa/ios, are 1" and 7"'-. In 5'-" and 16" refer- ence is made to the co-operation of the world, i.e. the forces of nature, in the work of moral retribu- tion and the defence of the righteous, in full agree- ment with OT thought, though the language is somewhat ditferent. Man's birth is described as an entry into the world, 7^ (some MSS, however, read /Sioi-).

The position assigned to him in it is, in accordance with Gn l^-^, Ps 8"-, that he should 'rule the world — diiirri t6v Kbcfxov — in holiness and righteousness' (9^). For this reason, too, it would seem, Adam is soniewliat strangely called ' the first-formed father of the world' (iC).

But the world has, through human perversity, become the scene of idolatry and moral corruption, and there- with death has "been admitted into it, though this is attributed to the envy of the devil (14'^-*' 2'-^, cf. Ro 5'=). There does not seem to be a passage in which K6<Tfio!

, either in this book or in 2 Mac, denotes mankind exclusively, for at Wis 6=* where the world is said to be lienelited by the large number of the wise, and at 14" where the ark is spoken of as ' the hope of the world,' the wliole of creation may be thought of as associated with men. Before passing from the Apocryiilia we may observe that in Wis 13' there is a use of ai'iui' which may help to show how it came to have at times almost the sense of ' world.' iii. New Tf..stament.

— We have noticed one or two pljices in the Book of Wisdom in whic^li (toVyuoi appears to denote simply this earth and its inhabit- ants. Two interesting examples are referred to by Liddell and Scott {sub voce) d the use of the word in much the same way in public inscriptions of the end of the first or beginning of the 2nd cent. A.D. Nerva is called auTrip toO irivTos kIkt/j-ov, and Trajan corrrjp tov Koirfiov. See Boeck, CIG 1306, 334.

In NT many more instances of its having this meaning will come before us, as well as of other meanings which arise out of this one. It it necessary to ask at once whether we ought to ^ORLD WORLD 939 nttempt to carry the original meaning of 'order' tlirouLrh all these applications of the word [West- cott, Coram, on Gosjm according to St. John, Addi- tional Note at end of ch. 1, on /citrMot, tries to do this]. Its sense is not anywhere restricted to denote the earth in classical literature.

It is there used sometimes of tlie heavens alone ; and indeed there is reason to think that the Pythagoreans, who are credited with having been the tirst wlio employed it to express a philosophical concei>tion, applied it thus. And we can readilj- understand that the heavenly bodies with their regular motions might impress them with their order and beauty.

The earth, too, might well come to be included under the term Kijuos, as forming one member of a great systetn in which there was true relation of parts. But it is not so easy to see how by itself it could have been regarded as ' an ordered whole.' It must bo remembered that the ancient mind was not penetrated aa the modem is with the thouglit of law in nature.

On tlie other hand, the possi- bility that the 'cosmopolitanism' of the Cynics and Stoics influenced common speech is not to be overlooked. Yet it should be observed that their phrase kIujhov iroXinjs h.id a ditt'erent force from that which 'citizen of the world' has to our ears. In the mouth of the .

Stoic it expressed the convic- tion that the universal system and law, the polity of the great City of Zeus, in which every man had his own place, conditioned his life and determined his obligations.

To the Cynic, on the otlier hand, — if we may take the passage in Lucian, Biwi" irpaa-it §§ 7-10, as a correct representation of the teaching of Diogenes and his school, — it meant, indeed, that he was unfettered by ties of country and could make his home anywhere, but the reason for this was that his life was composed of the sim|)lest, most universal elements. The saj-ing attributed to Socrates by Plutarch (lltpi 'i-vyrii, § 4, GOO f.)

— that he was himself not Athenian nor Hellene, but citizen of the world (/tiir/tios) — should also be com- pared, where in the context Plutarch quotes tlie saying of Plato that man is oi'pd^'ios. The use of Kua^ios with that particular liniitatiou of its mean- ing which we are considering may have been facilitated in a measure by this language of the schools.

To a still greater degree, probably, it was due to the fact that the earth seemed, espe- cially perhaps to the Hebrew mind, to be incom- parably the most important part of the created universe, to which the heaven with its lights, pro- perly sjieaking, belonged, as a canopy over it. But the question for us is, not so much what the history of this usage was, but wliether the notion of order was usually present to the mind of those who employed it as the NT writers do.

We can con- ceive that it might have been to that of St. Paul (cf. Ac 17"), but it does not seem probable in the case of others, and indeed the idea is not suggested in connexion with the term icoV^os by any context in which it is used, even in St. Paul's E|)istlcs.

And when our world was viewed in its ethical as[)ecta it seemed to Christian apostles to be, not a realm of order but a scene of disorder ; and their teaching substantially is, that it could not be an order while God was left out of account, though there is no evidence that they formulated their thought to themselves exactly in this way. We have seen what range of meaning px and Sja have in OT, and have observed that yjj and oiKovniyr) are used in LXX to render them.

In connexion with the meanings of ic4<r^o5 it is not uniiniKirtant to notice that there are in NT l)ariiliel or closely flimihir pa-ssages in one of which yij or oIkov/jJi'ti is found, and in the other itoffMOt. Comp. iMt 4« with Lk 4», Mt 24" and 20", Mt5' with Uo 4", Jn :i" and 8'='. Yet, even though icdo'/u)! at times seems to have much the same meaning as -y^ or oUovu^vrj in many passages of LXX, it was felt to be a preferable word for many purposes.

In sjjite of the usage of LXX there was danger of confusion in employing oUou- IJiiv-n, which was applied by Greeks and Romans specially to the GriEco-Roman world. [This word occurs most frequently in the writings of St. Luke, and most often with the meaning just indicated], Klmiioi may also more readily have suggested a comprehensive idea, so as to include more at least than yri did ; it suggested tlie idea of a whole, if not necessarily of an ordered whole.

The philo- sophical associations which still clung to the woid also made it more suitable when the intention was to signalize certain princiiiles which underlay and governed the entity in question. It may be ob- served that ol/cov/ji^yri occurs but once in St. Paul's writings (Ro 10'*), and there in a quotation from LXX ; 7-5 also is met with there comparatively rarely. We proceed to review the use of K6<r/ios in NT more in detail.

Our object in doing so will be to mark dill'erences between various writers, and also to some extent in the same writers, in the denota- tion of the term, and in the concejition implied when that which is denoted is the same. It will be seen that there are instances in all the chief groups of writings of its standing for (1) the material universe, (2) our world as containing mankind, but without tlio connotation that the world or men have certain ethical characteristics.

The ethical signilication of the word appears to be contined to the Epp. of St. Paul, the Gospel and Epp. of St. John, tlie Ep. of St.

James, and 2 Peter ; though there is a possible exception wlien the king- doms of the world and their glory are ottered as a temptation (Mt 4'), and the possession of the whole world is compared with the true interests of the soul (Mk S-'", iMt 16-'», Lk 9-s>) ; we may in these places be intended to gather that worldlj- dominion and wealth are even of themselves dangerous to the soul.

Further, we ought to be better able to form for ourselves a char and complete view of the conception as a whole presented in the teaching of NT and in iiulividual writers, after marking aspects of it which are severally pro- minent in particular passages. The idea tlius obtained we must take with us in order that we may fully feel the force of other passages. This is specially true in the case of St. John's «Titings.

Thus, when in Jn 13' it is said that the hour had come that Jesus ' should depart out of this world unto the Father,' and that He had ' loved his own which were in the world,' some thought of what the world is must have been present to the mind of the evangelist. It is, moreover, obvious that where St. John uses the word in successive, or nearly successive, clauses or sentences — as he does again and again in clis.

14-17 — though from each occur- rence the same notion cannot be gathered fully, it would be a mistake to regard them disconnectedly. The word has one meaning in the thought of the writer, though he may not be equally conscious of all its elements at every moment, and thougli he is still less able to convey the whole of it at once to others, but lights up hr.st this, then that part of it, after his characteristic manner. 1.

The material universe, the heaven and earth which were created at the bc;;innini;, moaC trequcntly in tlic ])hrase &«■ jwTapoXr; xcrf^uv, or Others similar to this, ilt 21-1 '^:^^ Lk ll^ Jn 170 ••", Ro 1», Eph 1. 1 P 1», Ho ' 0'». In Jn 11» we read of the natunil Iit;ht of this world ; in 1 Co 8^ W^ i xcrfj^ seems to be equivalent to the Latin phrase in renim nalura. 1 Co i'^' hfloiijfs, perhaps, here.

An;,'el8 are added probably aa distintfuiMhed from the world ; men, on the other hand, aa a particular and important part of it. 2. The earth, but rarely without reference to that which II contains, and espocially to its hinnan inhabitants. (a) The scone ot human life, the aboiie of mankind, Ho 619. U 1 Co lia, L'ph «ia, 1 Ti I" «', Ue 10», 1 P 6». Ja 1» tJi^ liw, 1 Ja 340 WORLD "WORMWOOD 41 9-17. In Jn 2125 little more eeeme to be implied than the extent of space included.

(6) The earth, together with all the treasures it contains, and including, no doubt, dominion over men, Mt 4, Mt l(pJ = iIk 8^ ~L\i 9'^, Uo 41a, 1 Co 322. (c) The scope appointed for the work of the missionaries of the ffospcl ; it 18 to be preached throu<jhout the world ; Mt 5H 1333, Mt 26i3=.Mk 149, Mk W\ Uo l*. Col 16, Ph 215. 1 Ti 3i'"', 3.

Idiomatic and peculiar uses — (a) A rhettjriral expression for the great majority of people In a particular place, as in French, ' tout le inotide,' Jn 12i9. {h) Equivalent almost to the modern phrase 'the public' Show thyself to the world ' = 'court publicity," Jn 7-, cf. 1820. (c) Means of sustenance for the body is called ^'Of t«u Mir/Mv, lJn3i7. (rf) * The tonciie a world of iniquity,' Ja 36. (p) The world before the Flood, He 117. 2 P 2^ 3".

The popu- lation of the world, then, and its accumulations of wealth and the products of its labour, are no doubt chiefly in view ; yet the comparison in 2 P u**- 7 with 'the heavens and the earth that now are,' suggests a sweeping away at that time of the old order of nature. V The term used with ethical sitniificance. (a) As material and transitory- the world presents a contract with that which is spiritual and eternal. In this way St.

Paul Been)S to regard it in the very important passages Oal 43 e'-, Col 2 20. So we gather from comparing them together and from their contents (see Lightfoot, in loc). The instances with which the apostle is dealing illustrate the general principle to which he refers. The Law and its ordinances belong to an external sphere.

Now things outward ( = ' the things that are Been' of 2 Co 41^ have for St, Paul lost all their value through Christ's death, in comparison with the things spiritual, and this ougnt to be the case with all Christians. He is not think- ing of ttie world as evil. Indeed the Law, which is 'of the world ' in the sense defined, has been used by God for the rudi- mentary instruction and discipline of the Israelites, and so may other things which are of the world be used.

Elsewhere, also, he allows for a certain use of them, which must, however, be sparing and kept in strict subordination to higher considera- tions, 1 Co 731-34 ; cf. Lk 1230, This view of the world is hardly to be traced in St. John's writings ; a darker one appears, we shall find, there, upon which St. Paul dwells less.

{h) Devotion to the things of the world produces a certain temper of mind, which under the sense of loss is manifested in that 'sorrow of the world' which is not 'according to God,' 2 Co 710. There is a scale for estimating men and things, which may be in a measure true relatively to the things of this world, but which is, to aav the least, altogether incomplete, 1 Co 1^- 23 413, Ja 25. The* world has a fancied wisdom which does not know God, 1 Co 120.

^i 319, Jn l^o ; it cannot receive the Spirit of Truth, Jn 14^7. There is, in short, a spirit of this world, 1 Co 212. Tho.se in whom this spirit is are described as being ' of the worhl ' or of this world ' (Jn 82^, 1 Jn 4-- 6) ; and. by contrast. Christ's disciples as not of the worid' fJn 151 17' : cf. also 1 Co .510 and 1 PS). The state of the world arising from the influence of this spirit is one of dire moral corruption, Eph 22, 1 Jn 215-17^ Ja 127 44^ 2 P 1- 220.

(c) The world denotes the mass of men who are hostile to the truth and to the followers of Chriut, or at least indifferent to it and them, Jn 77 IG^o- 33. 1 jn 31- 1^ 4-'- 5. (d) The world is dominated by the Evil One, Jn 1231, i Jn 4* 519. (e) The world as the object of judgment and of saving mercv, Ro 36- 19 1112. 15, 1 Co 02. 2 Co 5I!' Jn l'^> 3^5-19 442 033. 61 glZ. 2^ 93 12^6.47. Primarily, of course, men are the objects of judg- ment, and that individually.

But this is not all that is meant. In view of the general use of the term xotruui and of OT language, we must think, also, of a judgment upon mankind collectively, and on the manner of life and environment which it has made for itself, and in a sense, too, on the whole crea- tion with which it is so intimately connected ; and so also with regard to salvation (cf. RoS^y).

(/) The Holy Spirit has a special offlce in regard to the world, distinct fromthat which He exercises towards believers (Jn 1(3^ >i). (j) The Christian can through his faith overcome the world ; i.e.. no doubt, alike its spirit in himself, the opposition of worldly men, and the world's ruler (1 Jn 4-* M"). 5.

The word alatv — which signifies properly a period of time, but a much Icnger one than we mean by an age, probably indeed the whole period during which the present order of nature has continued and shall continue— is used in many places with much the same connotation as ' world.' It is often rendered by this word both in AV and RV, though by 'age' in RVm and at He 6^ in ItV. A<w» and jw5-a« are brought into close connexion at 1 Co I'-iO and Eph 22- 3.

This ' leon ' is contrasted with that which is to come (Mt 1232, Mk 1030. Lk 1830, He &•). We read of it« cares (Mt 132-J = jik4"!'); its sons (LklCS 2034) ;iu rulers, i.«. the kings and jrreat ones of the earth (1 Co 2H- ») ; its wisdom (1 Co 120 2o 322) ; it3 fashion, to wliich the Christian must not be conformed (Ko 122). It ie evil (Gal I-), and under the dominion of the Evil One (2 Co 4").

This use of «<dtfv with an ethical signification is not dithcult to understand, easier indeed than the oorresix)nd- ing and commoner one of Karfi^t. It is otherwise with the expression at He 1^ itrA<;«-i tm ttiaivoit. Here «/ «/wyir seems to mean ' the sum of the " periods of time," including all that is manifested in and through them '(see Westcott, m loc).

But to regard creation primturUy with reference to time, aod not merely to time as a general condition, but to periods of time, if not natural for us ; it would seem to have been more so for lh« Hebrew mind (cf. the Rabbinic use of D7'iy). It may be worth while to note that the original sense of the Eng, word 'world by its derivation is 'age of man.' In the Gospel and Epp. ol St. John and the Apocalj^pse ala, occurs only in the phraie tie vit »iij*» and similar expressions.

Tlie conception of tlie world which we have been considering is characteristic of Christianity. There is nothing Uke it in the philosophy or religion of Greece and Rome. It ditlers widely also from the belief found in the various forms of Gnosticism, In Manichaeism, or Neoplatonism, and in Oriental systems to the present day, that matter is essen- tially evil, or necessarily at best a hindrance and burcfen to the spiritual nature.

From the Christian point of view things material constitute indeed a grave danger owing to the misleading fascination which they have for the minds of men, streng- thened, as it is, through the subtle influence of habits of thought and opinions which have gro\\Ti up in human society, and which are based upon a false estimate of the value of the wealth and honours of this world.

To such an extent are men governed by wrong motives and aims in this respect, that any one who, with singleness of purpose, sets him- self to act with reference to Goa and His glory is likely to feel himself more or less alienated from and placed in a position of antagonism to his kind. The little handful of Christians in the first age must have experienced this sense of estrangement with peculiar acuteness.

But at the same time they had been taught, and they believed, that the world in its origin came from God, and also that, bad as its present condition was, it was salvable — that alike the men who are of it and the things that belong to it may be redeemed from sin and sinful uses and consecrated to the glory of God.

In conclusion, we may observe that the order of nature is appealed to in NT as well as in OT in proof of the existence, the power, and the goodness of God (Ac 14", Ko 1-'"^), but the same stress is not laid upon the more exceptional phenomena as signs of His presence. Literature.— Art. on nivfMe in Cremer's Bibl.-theol. Lexicon; Westcott's Commentary on St. John^ Additional Note at end of ch. L V. H. Stanton.