Inhabitants of The Land

by Wayne Blank

The English word world has a number of shades of meaning, from, in the greatest sense, the planet Earth and/or all of the inhabitants of the Earth, to, in a more limited political or religious sense, merely a part of the Earth under a particular jurisdiction or influence i.e. most of the great empires of history (e.g. Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Persia, Rome) regarded just the areas under their control to be "the world," and the largest religions are sometimes referred to as the "Christian world" or the "Muslim world" etc. In the least sense, it is sometimes used for one's own life and habitat (e.g. the saying, "welcome to my world"). Except the last one, all are found in the Bible where "world" is used to translate a number of different original Hebrew and Greek words of the Holy Scriptures that all mean either inhabitants or land.

The Old Testament

The Hebrew word (pronounced) eh-retz, meaning the earth, or the land:

Earth

"Behold, The Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world [i.e. eh-retz, meaning the earth or the land], Say ye to the Daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him" (Isaiah 62:11 KJV)

The Hebrew word (pronounced) tay-bale, meaning inhabitants:

"But The Lord shall endure for ever: He hath prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world [i.e. tay-bale meaning inhabitants] in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness" (Psalm 9:7-8 KJV)

The Hebrew word (pronounced) keh-led, meaning temporary life:

"From men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world [i.e. keh-led, meaning temporary life], which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes." (Psalm 17:14 KJV)

The Hebrew word (pronounced) aw-lawm, meaning hidden place (or the modern term "underworld"):

"And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world [i.e. aw-lawm, meaning hidden place]; they increase in riches." (Psalm 73:11-12 KJV)

The New Testament

The Greek word (pronounced) koz-mose, meaning inhabitants of the world:

"The next day John [i.e. John The Baptist] seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world [i.e. koz-mose, meaning inhabitants of the world]." (John 1:29 KJV)

The Greek word (pronounced) oy-cow-men-ay, meaning occupied world (i.e. at that time, the Roman empire):

"So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana [see Diana of the Ephesians] should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world [i.e. oy-cow-men-ay, meaning occupied world i.e. at that time, the Roman empire] worshippeth." (Acts 19:27 KJV)

The Greek word (pronounced) ay-on, meaning an era:

"But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world [i.e. ay-on, meaning an era, see Who Still Rules The World Today? and What Satan Fears Most] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4 KJV)

Fact Finder: What does the Biblical term "end of the world" mean?
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