κόσμοςkósmos
orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication, the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively (morally))
Greek (New Testament) · G2889
Meanings
1. order.
2. ornament, adornment, especially of women (Hom., and elsewhere): 1 Peter 3:3.
3. Later, the world or universe, as an ordered system: Acts 17:24, Romans 4:13, 1 Corinthians 3:22, Philippians 2:15, Hebrews 4:3, and elsewhere
4. In late writers only, the world, i.e. the earth (= ἡ οἰκουμένη, cf. Matthew 4:8 with Luke 4:5): Matthew 4:8, Mark 16:15, Colossians 2:20, 1 Timothy 6:7, and elsewhere; hence by by metonymy
(a) of the human inhabitants of the world: Matthew 5:14, Matthew 13:38, Mark 14:9, John 1:10, John 4:42, John 12:47, Romans 3:6, 1 Corinthians 4:13, 2 Corinthians 5:19, 2 Peter 2:5, and elsewhere
(b) of worldly affairs or possessions: Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36, Luke 9:25, 1 Corinthians 7:31, 1 John 2:16, and elsewhere
(c) in ethical sense, of the ungodly: John 7:7, John 14:17, John 14:27, 1 Corinthians 1:21, James 1:27, 1 John 4:4, and elsewhere
(d) metaphorically: ὁ κ. τῆς ἀδικίας, James 3:6.
Synonyms
αἰών, see that word (cf. also Dalman, Words, 162 ff.; Tr., Syn., § lix; Westc., additional note on John 1:10; DB, iv, 938 ff.).
Same root
- κομίζωkomízō · G2865properly, to provide for, i.e. (by implication) to carry off (as if from harm; genitive case obtain)
- κόσμιοςkósmios · G2887orderly, i.e. decorous
- κοσμέωkosméō · G2885to put in proper order, i.e. decorate (literally or figuratively); specially, to snuff (a wick)
- γλωσσόκομονglōssókomon · G1101properly, a case (to keep mouthpieces of wind-instruments in) i.e. (by extension) a casket or (specially) purse
- κοσμικόςkosmikós · G2886terrene ("cosmic"), literally (mundane) or figuratively (corrupt)
- κοσμοκράτωρkosmokrátōr · G2888a world-ruler, an epithet of Satan
Where it appears
Appears 185 times in the Bible.
- Matthew 4:8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
- Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.
- Matthew 13:35 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet: “I will speak to you in parables. I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.”
- Matthew 13:38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.
- Matthew 16:26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
- Matthew 18:7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.
See every passage
- Matthew 4:8, 5:14, 13:35, 13:38, 16:26, 18:7, 24:21, 25:34, 26:13
- Mark 8:36, 14:9
- Luke 9:25, 11:50, 12:30
- John 1:9, 1:10, 1:29, 3:16, 3:17, 3:19, 4:42, 6:14, 6:33, 6:51, 7:4, 7:7, 8:12, 8:23, 8:26, 9:5, 9:39, 10:36, 11:9, 11:27, 12:19, 12:25, 12:31, 12:46, 12:47, 13:1, 14:17, 14:19, 14:22, 14:27, 14:30, 14:31, 15:18, 15:19, 16:8, 16:11, 16:20, 16:21, 16:28, 16:33, 17:5, 17:6, 17:9, 17:11, 17:13, 17:14, 17:15, 17:16, 17:18, 17:21, 17:23, 17:24, 17:25, 18:20, 18:36, 18:37, 21:25
- Acts 17:24
- Romans 1:8, 1:20, 3:6, 3:19, 4:13, 5:12, 5:13, 11:12, 11:15
- 1 Corinthians 1:20, 1:21, 1:27, 1:28, 2:12, 3:19, 3:22, 4:9, 4:13, 5:10, 6:2, 7:31, 7:33, 7:34, 8:4, 11:32, 14:10
- 2 Corinthians 1:12, 5:19, 7:10
- Galatians 4:3, 6:14
- Ephesians 1:4, 2:2, 2:12
- Philippians 2:15
- Colossians 1:6, 2:8, 2:20
- 1 Timothy 1:15, 3:16, 6:7
- Hebrews 4:3, 9:26, 10:5, 11:7, 11:38
- James 1:27, 2:5, 3:6, 4:4
- 1 Peter 1:20, 3:3, 5:9
- 2 Peter 1:4, 2:5, 2:20, 3:6
- 1 John 2:2, 2:15, 2:16, 2:17, 3:1, 3:13, 3:17, 4:1, 4:3, 4:4, 4:5, 4:9, 4:14, 4:17, 5:4, 5:5, 5:19
- 2 John 1:7
- Revelation 11:15, 13:8, 17:8
Source: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), public domain.