Old Testament

American  

[ohld tes-tuh-muhnt] / ˈoʊld ˈtɛs tə mənt /

noun

Chiefly Christianity.

1. 1. the first of the two main divisions of the Christian Bible, including the Mosaic Law, the history of the people of Israel, the wisdom writings, and the major and minor prophets: in the Vulgate translation all but two books of the Apocrypha are included in the Old Testament.

   2. this part of the Bible thought of as the complete Scripture of the Jews.

2. the covenant between God and Israel on Mount Sinai, seen as the basis of the Jewish religion.

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Old Testament British  

noun

1. the collection of books comprising the sacred Scriptures of the Hebrews and essentially recording the history of the Hebrew people as the chosen people of God; the first part of the Christian Bible

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Old Testament Cultural  

1. The first part of the Bible (see also Bible), so called by Christians (see also Christian), who believe that its laws and prophecies are fulfilled in the person of Jesus, whose mission is described in the New Testament.

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Etymology

Origin of Old Testament

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; translation of Late Latin Vetus Testamentum, translation of Greek Palaià Diathḗkē; cf. paleo- ( def. ), dia- ( def. ), tick ³ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The first was a smoldering, wrath-&-judgment Old-Testament oratorio, Watchman, What of the Night? by James Gutheim Heller, rabbi of Cincinnati's aged Plum Street Temple.

From Time Magazine Archive

As a radical, Frank is not so uncompromising as shillelagh-artists like Corcoran, Old-Testament purists like Cohen, bouncers like Henderson.

From Time Magazine Archive

Melchizedek and Abimelech were Canaanites, and the most sacred and honorable characters in Old-Testament history.

From History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to 1880. Vol 1 Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens by Williams, George Washington

The Old-Testament Joshua, who "stopped the Sun," was in all probability this same Syrian divinity.

From The Truth about Jesus : Is He a Myth? by Mangasarian, M. M. (Mangasar Mugurditch)

One is not surprised by the frequent stories of pestilences in the Old-Testament history.

From Hebrew Life and Times by Hunting, Harold B. (Harold Bruce)