κόσμος; τὰ ἴδια and οἱ ἴδιοι

Says κόσμος (kosmos, "world") occurs three times in 1:10, and its sense shifts. Ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἦν: he was present in the created order. ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο: that order was made through him (1:3). ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω: here the world is humanity, which did not recognize its Maker. This last, darker sense dominates later in John (e.g., 15:18–19; 17:14).

Says 1:11 sets a neuter against a masculine of the same adjective. εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθεν: τὰ ἴδια (ta idia, neuter plural) means "his own things, his own home." Elsewhere in John it means "home": the disciple took Mary εἰς τὰ ἴδια (19:27), and the disciples will scatter ἕκαστος εἰς τὰ ἴδια (16:32). Abbott-Smith gives "one's home" for τὰ ἴδια at John 1:11; 16:32; 19:27. καὶ οἱ ἴδιοι αὐτὸν οὐ παρέλαβον: οἱ ἴδιοι (hoi idioi, masculine plural) means "his own people." παρέλαβον (parelabon) means "receive, welcome," as one welcomes someone into a home.

Implies 1:11 narrows 1:10. The Word came not as a stranger but to his own home, and his own household refused him. This makes the rejection more pointed. 1:12 then opens the family to all who receive him.

Uncertain Whether τὰ ἴδια and οἱ ἴδιοι mean Israel (the land and the covenant people) or humanity at large. The narrowing from 1:10 and the later Gospel (e.g., 4:22; 12:37–41) favor Israel. The team prefers that reading, with humanity as a secondary possibility.