Archaic KJV Word
Wealth
Modern equivalent: well-being
What Was Lost
The holistic vision. Paul telling believers to seek each other's wealth meant seeking each other's total well-being -- spiritual, physical, relational, material. When wealth became only money, the scripture narrowed from a vision of comprehensive mutual care to financial generosity alone.
Closest Survivor in Modern English
commonwealth (preserves the 'common well-being' meaning in a political term)
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV 1 Corinthians 10:24 -- 'Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth'; commonwealth as 'common well-being'
Died ~1800
Narrowed from 'well-being/welfare/prosperity in all dimensions' (from weal 'well-being') to exclusively 'monetary riches,' monetizing a word that once encompassed total human flourishing.
What Replaced It
“well-being”
Compound phrase needed to replace what one word once held
“welfare”
Politicized; now implies government aid rather than general flourishing
“prosperity”
Also narrowed to financial success; prosperity gospel proves the point