noun · feminine
oikoumenas
Strong’sG3625
the inhabited (Roman) world
stem oikoumen-15 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books4 of 10 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
οἰκουμένη refers to the inhabited earth, the whole populated world 1234. In classical Greek writers it originally meant the lands occupied by Greeks, as opposed to foreign territory, but it came to be used more broadly of the entire inhabited globe 13.
The word is also used specifically for the Roman world, that is, the Roman empire 1234; by extension it can refer to the people who live in that world rather than the territory itself 13.
It further appears in the phrase "the world to come," describing the coming age associated with the reign of Christ 13.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
οἰκουμένη, -ης, ἡ
(fem. pres. pass. ptcp. of οἰκέω; sc. γῆ), [in LXX chiefly for תֵּבֵל, אֶרֶץ;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3625 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidoy-kou-men'-ay
land, i.e. the (terrene part of the) globe; specially, the Roman empire
Fromfeminine participle present passive of G3611 (as noun, by implication, of G1093);
King Jamesearth, world.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
(i.e. γῆ), ἡ, inhabited region, see at {οἰκέω} Refs 4th c.BC+; then the Greek world, opposed to barbarian lands, Refs 4th c.BC+ = the inhabited world (including non-Greek lands, as Ethiopia, India, Scythia), as opposed to possibly uninhabited regions,Refs 4th c.BC+ = our world (= Asia, Libya, Europe); οἰκουμέναι worlds,LXX+4th c.BC+; loosely, the whole world, Refs 4th c.BC+: so perhaps in some passages cited under Refs
II the Roman world, ὁ ἀγαθὸς δαίμων (etc.) τῆς οἰ., i.e. the Emperor, NT+1st c.AD+
III ἡ οἰ. ἡ μέλλουσα the world to come, i.e. the kingdom of Christ, NT
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | oikoumenas1×οἰκουμένη | oikoumenais |
| object accusative | oikoumenan8×οἰκουμένην | oikoumenain |
| direct address vocative | oikoumenar | oikoumenair |
| of, belonging to genitive | oikoumenau4×οἰκουμένης | oikoumenaiu |
| to, for dative | oikoumena2×οἰκουμένῃ | oikoumenai |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
oikoumena is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
15 occurrences, every one of them listed
oikoumenas“world”subjectnominative singular1×
Acts 19:27… han holas tas Asias kai tas oikoumenas sebotō.… province of Asia and the whole world.”
oikoumenan“world”objectaccusative singular8×
Luke 2:1“world”… para Kaisarou Augoustou apograforō pantan tan oikoumenan;… went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.
Acts 11:28… megan mellarō eri epi holan tan oikoumenan; hotinas geneta epi Klaudiou.… famine would sweep across the whole world. ( This happened under Claudius.)
Acts 17:6… toin politarchoin, boarōntois hoti Tois tan oikoumenan anastatarantois houtois kai enthade pareialō,… These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,
Acts 17:31… hēmeran en ha mellatō krinarō tan oikoumenan en dikaiosuna en andro ho horizata, …… day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He …
Acts 24:5… pantoi toi Ioudaioi toi kata tan oikoumenan prōtostaton tē tau toiu Nazōraioiu hairesiau,… among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the …
Hebrews 1:6… palin eisagateia ton prōtotokon eis tan oikoumenan, legatō; Kai proskunalar auto pantois angelois …… God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels …
Hebrews 2:5Ouk gar angeloi hupotassata tan oikoumenan tan mellarōntan, peri hau lalanō;… angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are …
Revelation 12:9… kai tos Satanos, tos planarōntos tan oikoumenan holan balita eis tan gēan, kai …… Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth …
oikoumenau“world”of, belonging togenitive singular4×
Luke 4:5… deikata auto pantain tain basileiain tau oikoumenau en stigma chronou;… instant all the kingdoms of the world.
Romans 10:18… autoiu, kai eis teim perateim tau oikoumenau teim rēmeim autoiu.… words to the ends of the world.”
Revelation 3:10… peirasmou tau mellarōntau erchorō epi tau oikoumenau holau, peirazara toin katoikarōntoin epi tau …… about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on …
Revelation 16:14“world”… heim ekporeuotō epi toin basilevoin tau oikoumenau holau, sunagara autoin eis ton polemon …… signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day …
oikoumena“world”to, fordative singular2×
Matthew 24:14… euangeliem tau basileiau en hola ta oikoumena eis marturiem pantei tei ethnei, kai …… will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations …
Luke 21:26“world”… fobou kai prosdokiau teiu eperchorōnteiu ta oikoumena, tais gar dunamiais toiu ouranoiu saleuili.… faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.