Jesus says that the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole oikoumene as a testimony to the nations. The Greek word is often translated 'world,' but it had a recognizable range of meaning in the first-century Mediterranean world.
Jesus in Context
The Gospel Preached in the Whole Oikoumene
The Greek term oikoumene helps explain what first-century hearers understood when Jesus spoke of the gospel being proclaimed throughout the world.
Introduction
Historical and Cultural Context
The Greek oikoumene literally refers to the inhabited or settled world. In Roman-period usage it could describe the known civilized world and could sometimes be used particularly with reference to the Roman imperial sphere. Luke uses the same word when describing Augustus' census and elsewhere when speaking broadly about the inhabited world.
The term does not function as a modern geographical expression based upon knowledge of every continent. It belongs to the geographical vocabulary of antiquity.
Why It Matters
Recognizing the ancient meaning of oikoumene helps readers hear Jesus' statement within its original linguistic setting. The saying envisions the message of the kingdom moving far beyond its immediate Judean and Galilean setting to the nations of the inhabited world.