You asked

how did first century jewish listeners understand 'the world' (kosmos) compared to greek philosophy?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

This verse is part of a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, recorded in the Gospel of John. The Gospel was written by John, one of Jesus' closest disciples, likely in the late first century CE, to a mixed audience of Jewish and Gentile believers and seekers, aiming to demonstrate Jesus' identity as the Son of God.

What does it mean to consider 'the world' not as an abstract concept, but as the concrete reality God loves and seeks to save?

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Read alongside it

Genesis 1:1
Describes God as the creator of the heavens and the earth, laying the foundation for the biblical understanding of the 'world' as God's handiwork.
Romans 1:20
Paul speaks of God's invisible attributes being clearly seen through creation, implying the world's revelatory nature.
Colossians 1:15-17
Presents Christ as the one through whom and for whom all things in heaven and on earth were created, emphasizing his relationship to the 'kosmos'.

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