Bible

[ bahy-buhl ]

noun

1. the collection of sacred writings of the Christian religion, comprising the Old and New Testaments.
2. Hebrew Bible ( def ).
3. Often bi·ble. the sacred writings of any religion.
4. bible, any book, reference work, periodical, etc., accepted as authoritative, informative, or reliable:

   He regarded that particular bird book as the birdwatchers' bible.

Bible

/ ˈbaɪbəl /

noun

1. 1. the Bible the sacred writings of the Christian religion, comprising the Old and New Testaments and, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Apocrypha
   2. ( as modifier )

      a Bible reading

2. See Tanach
   the English name for Tanach
3. often not capital any book containing the sacred writings of a religion
4. usually not capital a book regarded as authoritative

   the angler's bible

Bible

¹

1. The book sacred to Christians (see also Christian ), which they consider to be the inspired word of God. The Bible includes the Old Testament , which contains the sacred books of the Jews (see also Jews ), and the New Testament , which begins with the birth of Jesus . Thirty-nine books of the Old Testament are accepted as part of the Bible by Christians and Jews alike. Some Christians consider several books of the Old Testament, such as Judith, I and II Maccabees , and Ecclesiasticus, to be part of the Bible also, whereas other Christians, and Jews, call these the Old Testament Apocrypha . Christians are united in their acceptance of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament; Jews do not consider the writings of the New Testament inspired. The Bible is also called “the Book” ( bible means “book”).

Bible

²

1. The book sacred to Christians (see also Christian ), containing the Old Testament and the New Testament . The Old Testament contains the writings sacred to the Jews (see also Jews ).

Notes

By extension, any book considered an infallible or very reliable guide to some activity may be called a “bible.”

Other Words From

• an·ti-Bi·ble adjective
• pro-Bi·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Bible¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bible, bibel, from Old French bible, from Medieval Latin biblia (feminine singular), from Greek, in tà biblía tà hagía (Septuagint) “the holy books,” plural of biblíon, byblíon “papyrus roll, strip of papyrus,” equivalent to býbl(os) “papyrus” (after Býblos, a Phoenician port where papyrus was prepared and exported) + -ion noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of Bible¹

C13: from Old French, from Medieval Latin biblia books, from Greek, plural of biblion book, diminutive of biblos papyrus, from Bublos Phoenician port from which Greece obtained Egyptian papyrus

Example Sentences

She still balanced her checkbook, and spent her days doing crossword puzzles and poring over her Bible.

From ProPublica

Some defend the Pences by claiming they “just follow the Bible.”

From Washington Blade

First and foremost, as the Bible says, love your neighbor as you love yourself.

From Fortune

Nonetheless, some parts of the Bible have been used to justify the quelling of social unrest.

From No Straight News

It would have been a familiar theme to the people who wrote the Bible and it is reflected in the texts themselves.

From No Straight News

And “what kind of person,” Steinberg asks, “dares to write a sequel to the Bible?”

From The Daily Beast

It needs to be said: bigotry in the name of religion is still bigotry; child abuse wrapped in a Bible verse is still child abuse.

From The Daily Beast

No more allowing people to justify their bigotry by spouting a cherry-picked Bible verse.

From The Daily Beast

He stated—quite rightly—that animals are never mentioned in connection with eternal life in the Bible.

From The Daily Beast

In the Bible, Moses does kill a guy—the Egyptian slave master who is beating an Israelite to death.

From The Daily Beast

There seems something in that also which I could spare only very reluctantly from a new Bible in the world.

From Project Gutenberg

Each religion claims that its own Bible is the direct revelation of God, and is the only true Bible teaching the only true faith.

From Project Gutenberg

And furthermore, I imagine something else about this—quite unlike the old Bible—I imagine all of it periodically revised.

From Project Gutenberg

Is the Bible revelation so clear and explicit that no difference of opinion as to its meaning is possible?

From Project Gutenberg

I shall therefore, in my effort to prove the Bible fallible, quote almost wholly from Christian critics.

From Project Gutenberg