the "world" (κόσμος) in John 12:19

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Stephen Nelson
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the "world" (κόσμος) in John 12:19

Post by Stephen Nelson »

John 12 seems to equate the "crowd" (ὄχλος) in verse 17-18 with the "world" (κόσμος) in verse 19:

John 12:17-19 (NIV)
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.
Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.
So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the [*whole] world has gone after him!”
ἐμαρτύρει οὖν ὁ ὄχλος ὁ ὢν μετ’ αὐτοῦ ὅτε τὸν Λάζαρον ἐφώνησεν ἐκ τοῦ μνημείου καὶ ἤγειρεν αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν.
διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ ὁ ὄχλος ὅτι ἤκουσαν τοῦτο αὐτὸν πεποιηκέναι τὸ σημεῖον.
οἱ οὖν Φαρισαῖοι εἶπαν πρὸς ἑαυτούς· «Θεωρεῖτε ὅτι οὐκ ὠφελεῖτε οὐδέν· ἴδε ὁ κόσμος [*ὅλος] ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ἀπῆλθεν.»
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/? ... NIV;SBLGNT

*The NIV's use of [ὅλος] is oddly absent from the NA28 apparatus. According to Swanson, it's attested in D L Θ Ψ f13 157 1071 33

BDAG classifies this usage of "κόσμος" as follows (emphasis added):
⑥ humanity in general, the world
ⓐ gener.
all the world, everybody Ac 2:47 D; 1 Cl 5:7; cp. ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κ. 59:2; εἰς ὅλον τὸν κ. Hs 8, 3, 2. Likew. ὁ κόσμος (cp. Philo, De Prov. in Eus., PE 8, 14, 58) ὁ κ. ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ἀπῆλθεν J 12:19. ταῦτα λαλῶ εἰς τὸν κ. 8:26; ἐν τῷ κ. 17:13; ἐγὼ παρρησίᾳ λελάληκα τῷ κ. 18:20; cp. 7:4; 14:22. ἵνα γνῷ ὁ κ. 14:31; cp. 17:23; ἵνα ὁ κ. πιστεύῃ 17:21.
Modern Greek has a well-attested, common usage of "κόσμος" in the sense of "people".

Per Wiktionary:
(collective, in the singular) society, people, the masses
-Δεν φταίει ο κόσμος, φταίνε οι πολιτικοί.
-It is not the fault of the people, it is the politicians' fault.
(expression)
-όλος ο κόσμοςeverybody
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/κόσμος

Why don't Lexicons categorize "κόσμος" in the sense of "everybody," in a way that's more restrictive than "all the world"? BDAG seems to skim over this without breaking out "everybody" under a heading that's separate from "all the world". But these categories seem distinct in this context.

Is it reasonable to conclude that the "world" in John 12:19 is roughly interchangeable with the "crowd" referenced in the previous verses? If so, wouldn't "everybody" or "everyone" be better, idiomatic translations, rather than the hyper-literal gloss "world"?

Or is this generally understood as hyperbole on the part of the Pharisees? Or perhaps, having mentioned the "crowd," the subsequent occurrence of "[the whole] world" simply implies "everyone (in that particular crowd)," hence the scribal interpolation [ὅλος] (i.e. "the whole crowd").

Obviously, there must have been some diachronic semantic development at play, by which the term's common sense of "humanity" was narrowed into a concrete sense of "people" or "the masses" (in Modern Greek). John 12:19 seems like it would be a good candidate for a precursor to this development. But I'm not sure why the gloss ("everyone") isn't more common or, at least, more prominent in BDAG vis–à-vis John 12:19.
Jonathan Robie
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Re: the "world" (κόσμος) in John 12:19

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Stephen Nelson wrote: May 27th, 2021, 4:45 pmWhy don't Lexicons categorize "κόσμος" in the sense of "everybody," in a way that's more restrictive than "all the world"? BDAG seems to skim over this without breaking out "everybody" under a heading that's separate from "all the world". But these categories seem distinct in this context.

Is it reasonable to conclude that the "world" in John 12:19 is roughly interchangeable with the "crowd" referenced in the previous verses? If so, wouldn't "everybody" or "everyone" be better, idiomatic translations, rather than the hyper-literal gloss "world"?
I don't think the two are interchangeable. Can you make the case that it is, perhaps drawing from other examples in which a specific crowd is unmistakeably referred to that way?

I don't think these lexicons are interpreting it the way you are. They are describing the way they understand the usage of the word.
Stephen Nelson wrote: May 27th, 2021, 4:45 pmOr is this generally understood as hyperbole on the part of the Pharisees? Or perhaps, having mentioned the "crowd," the subsequent occurrence of "[the whole] world" simply implies "everyone (in that particular crowd)," hence the scribal interpolation [ὅλος] (i.e. "the whole crowd").
Imagine the scene: a Beatles concert, the crowd is going wild, someone says, "wow, everyone loves the Beatles". I don't think that means "everyone in this crowd loves the Beatles. Of course, there's no indication that anyone else loves the Beatles". No, the person who says that believes that the enthusiasm of this particular crowd is widely shared among others. Is it literally everyone? No, the person who said that might not like the Beatles himself, and neither does his uncle, but a whole lot of people do.
Stephen Nelson wrote: May 27th, 2021, 4:45 pm Obviously, there must have been some diachronic semantic development at play, by which the term's common sense of "humanity" was narrowed into a concrete sense of "people" or "the masses" (in Modern Greek). John 12:19 seems like it would be a good candidate for a precursor to this development. But I'm not sure why the gloss ("everyone") isn't more common or, at least, more prominent in BDAG vis–à-vis John 12:19.
I suspect you are overthinking this a little ...
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Barry Hofstetter
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Re: the "world" (κόσμος) in John 12:19

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Stephen Nelson wrote: May 27th, 2021, 4:45 pm
Or is this generally understood as hyperbole on the part of the Pharisees?
I would say hyperbole, without a doubt. They simply mean that now even larger numbers of people are are interested in Jesus than before. I don't think the comment is necessarily restricted to the literal crowd present, but is a general description simply to say "humongous amounts of people are now going after him."
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
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